What popular diets do you recommend for weight loss, and which is right for me?

This is one of the most popular questions I get asked. I am so glad that my clients are willing to make a change nutritionally in order to get the loss they are looking for. I can't say it better than this article. This article comes from the American Council on Exercise and tells the components of a diet and also compares most of the popular diets out there. Read it, and pay specific attention to #2 on Nutrient Density of a Diet.

What popular diets do you recommend for weight loss, and which is right for me?

Bran Muffins

photo from:http://www.herbivoracious.com/2007/08/bran-muffins.html

My favorite bran muffin in the world WAS Claim Jumper's Honey Bran Muffin. Oh how I loved this muffin.
My waiter there asked me,
"What kind of bread do you want with your salad?"

I responded:
"Umm, What kinds do you guys have?"

Waiter:
"Garlic cheese toast, sourdough roll, apple cinn. muffin, blueberry muffin, cornbread muffin, and Bran muffin."

I thought in my head,
"Ok bran is totally high in fiber, awesome, has to be the best option out of those choices"

So I ordered the honey bran muffin, and loved it. I would go to Claim Jumper and other restaurants and ALWAYS ordered bran muffins whenever available.

I just went to Claim Jumper a few weeks back and looked at their nutrition facts. (Oh, ps- every restaurant HAS to provide the nutrition facts when asked for them, it's my new favorite thing to do!)

My beloved bran muffin's stats were so shocking to me that I swore them off right then and there:

556 calories, yes.... 556 calories!
and 94 g of carbs!!!

I decided to never order my bran muffin again and so I was on the hunt for a homemade bran muffin recipe. I came across these and I LOVE THEM!

Kellogg's THE ORIGINAL ALL BRAN MUFFIN (using a few of their variations)
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. kellogg's All-Bran original cereal
1 1/4 c. fat free milk
2 egg whites (or 1 egg)
1/4 c. applesauce

1. Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine Kellog's All Bran cereal and milk. Let stand about 2 minutes or until cereal softens.
3.Add egg whites (or 1 egg) and applesauce to the milk and cereal mixture.
4.Stir well- add in flour mixture and mix well.
5. Portion evenly in to 12- 2.5 inch muffin pan cups coated with cooking spray.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Do not use cupcake liners! I made this mistake... the whole muffin sticks to the liner.

These are less than 100 calories per muffin!

Craving Sweets?

(I tried to pick a sweet that didn't look appetizing AT ALL so no one after reading this would want a sweet)


I have a sweet tooth. I love my sweets, always have! I notice when I truly CRAVE something sweet, I am usually tired at the time and I'm hoping it will give me that sugar high/energy boost that my mind convinces me it needs. I have talked to MANY of my clients and it seems to be the same scenario most of the time.

While I'm feeling that sugar low and searching for something to pick up my blood sugar level, the worst thing I can eat is a sweet. It will raise my blood sugar level, then my insulin (secreted by your pancreas to level out your blood sugar level) will have to kick into high gear to get my blood sugar level down, and then I will have an even lower crash, feeling even more tired than if I didn't eat a sweet.

The best thing to do? Avoid the kitchen and go take a nap if you can. Let your body rest and rejuvenate. Most likely you won't want that treat when you wake up as you are probably thinking more sensibly.

If the nap is not a possibility, do the opposite of rest and get some kind of exercise in. If it's sit-ups, push-ups, a jog around your block, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, whatever it is... you most likely just worked hard and got your mind off of the sweet and your body will not want the sweet. Exercise is an appetite suppressant!

The best thing you could eat when searching for that energy "pick me up"? A protein- it will not give you that low that a sweet would.

The Holidays are here! Do your best and try to avoid the sweets.

Hot for the Holidays Contest!

While everyone is gaining weight during the Holidays, we will be losing weight!
image from http://thepqnation.com/livingwicked/category/yum-or-lack-there-of/

This is the hardest time of year for people to continue to lose their weight. Most gain during November and December, and wait to get it off until New Year's Day!


So your motivation is our contest: My client who can lose the most body fat percentage will win a Burke Williams massage!

All you have to do to enter:

1) Commit to at least 20 minutes of cardio 3 times per week (not at your workout with me) *this could be a quick walk around the neighborhood, a jog, a bike ride, etc.

2) We will measure your body fat at your next appointment.

3) We will REmeasure your body fat at the beginning of January.

The grand Prize Winner: A Burke Williams Massage

2nd Place: A gift card to Henry's Supermarket (so you can buy all of your produce!)

3rd Place: Exercise Ball

All of those who want in, let me know and we can start tracking your fat percentage!

Check back into the blog, or add it to your reader for a yummy/ healthy recipe coming this week!

BEST OF LUCK!

A Balanced Diet

THE HOT DOG DIET:

"Criticized as one of the more bizarre fad diets around, The Hot Dog Diet is a three-day diet that is rumored to help you lose up to 10 pounds. If you think you’re going to be scarfing down chili dogs for lunch and frankfurters for dinner though, think again.
The Hot Dog Diet is a strict eating plan that allows you to eat just a few hot dogs over the course of the 3 days in addition to ice cream, peanut butter and eggs. These foods are believed to increase metabolism so that you burn calories more quickly and consequently lose weight."Read more: The Hot Dog Diet - Diet Review http://www.dietsinreview.com/diets/the-hot-dog-diet/#ixzz15Q0EnP4d

Not kidding- this is a diet that some people use. Yes, you may see weight loss since you are only eating 600 calories, but let's be honest... yuck, and your heart will hate you!

I hear about all sorts of new diet fads that my clients all tell me about, or ask me if I've heard about this diet, or what I think about that diet, etc.

In college, I took many nutrition classes and physiology classes to know what foods do to your body physiologically. While some high protein-really low carb diets will definitely help you see weight loss, your body will not be getting the proper nutrients, antioxidants, phytochemicals it needs.

Protein- do we need it? YES! In excessive amounts? NO! One of my professors in college asked our class one day, "What is one of the strongest animals? What did we use to pull wagons?" We all answered with, "A Horse!" My professor then asked, "And what do horses eat?" We all said, "uhh, hay" and he said, "There you go! My reason I am against high protein diets!"

Carbohydrates- do we need them? YES! What kind of carbs should we eat? Most of your carbs should come from Fruits, Vegetables and WHOLE grains.

Fats- do we need them? YES! Some fats (polyUNsaturated and monoUNsaturated) lower our bad cholesterol (LDL's) and raise our good cholesterol (HDL's). Saturated and Trans Fats increase our bad cholesterol, and decrease our good cholesterol.

Polys and Monos: nuts, seeds, olive oil, canola oil, avocados, peanut oil, salmon, flax seed

Saturated: Animal products: meat, poultry, eggs, butter, creams, cheese, (coconut and palm oils act as saturated fats even though they aren't animal products, try to avoid these).

Trans: Anything that says "partially hydrogenated",most margarines, commercially baked goods- cakes, cookies, crackers, shortening, most fried foods from restaurants.

We do need a balanced diet in order to ward off certain diseases and cancers, and we can't cut out one of our fuel sources (proteins, carbs, fats) and call our diet balanced. Yes, you may lose weight by cutting out a fuel source, but weight is a lot different than warding off certain cancers and heart diseases. If we keep a healthy, balanced diet, that is low in calories, you can still see weight loss without having to give a fuel source completely.

The Magic Pill to Weight Loss

(image from scienceblogs.com)

Client: "I am exercising a ton, and I haven't seen any weight loss!"

Me: "How has your eating been this week?"

Client: "Could be better"

Me: "Get right back on track and you will see it!"


Trying to lose weight without changing your diet just won't work. It might work to an extent, but soon enough your body will lose those initial 5 to 10 pounds from starting an exercise plan then it will stop losing. You will stay where you are at.



A diet plan in conjunction with exercise is the key to be able to see weight loss. It is the magic pill! I have suggested many different diet options for my clients to which I think will work best for their lifestyles and habits. Some of my clients are athletes and they are going to have a completely different diet plan than say some of my clients with diabetes or someone trying to lose weight.

The bottom line: Calories IN vs. Calories OUT
This statement is simple. If the amount of calories you consume in a day outweigh the number of calories you expend in a day, you will see weight gain. If you consume less calories than what you expend, you will see weight loss.

Typically women should not consume LESS than 1200 calories per day and men should not consume LESS than 1500 calories per day.

WTB?

"I'm hip, I surf the web. LOL, laugh out loud. OMG, oh my gosh. WTF, why the face. Um, you know, I know all the dances to High School Musical."- Phil from Modern Family, trying to prove he's cool.

So WTB... Why The Blog?

Everyday I share with my clients cool articles I read about, training tips, nutrition facts, new studies that just came out, good and healthy recipes, my favorite songs to workout to, physiology on exercise and nutrition, great stretches for certain tight muscles, new exercises to do at home and so on.

I never remember what client I told what, so I decided that I can have a blog and post whatever I want and need to on here so all of my clients can get the same info.

Here it goes!