The Healthy Lifestyle Way

Here are some tips to help get you started on reducing the amount of fat in your diet, and keep you going.

Meat

Every January a multitude of people endeavour to lose weight. Many do it as part of their New Years resolution, others are driven by a forthcoming special occasion like a wedding or school reunion, and some do it for the reason that they’re unhappy with their weight and have been for more years than they care to remember - and want to change the way they look.

Unfortunately, most people who attempt to shed some weight see only a small amount of success, that doesn’t last for very long. Others see none at all. Many who set out on a weight loss strategy in January, often lose weight at the time,. But by the end of the very same year, not only have they put all their losses back on, they normally have found even more from somewhere.

The solution to losing weight lies in two special things: information and application. First you need to know exactly what to do, then you’ve got to do it. No ifs, no buts, no maybes, and no cutting corners. Then the answer to maintaining weight, once you have made the losses you require, is to follow a healthy lifestyle plan for ever.

My belief is that providing my clients with important information it gives them the power to make healthy choices. So today I want to talk to you about fat.

Many of my clients are now following my Lifestyle Plan. It will not only help them lose weight, it will teach them how to both lose weight and maintain that weight loss. One of the most important principles of this plan is to keep below 10 grams of fat per meal.

Research has shown that the most effective diets for long-term, healthy weight loss and developing a streamlined, toned body are high in complex carbohydrates and low in saturated and trans fats.

Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Fats

Fats should make up no more than 35% of your daily calories and preferably less (20-35% is the recommended range). Fats consumed should ideally be monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, or “good” fats, which provide numerous health benefits. These fats can be obtained by eating nuts, seeds, avocados, vegetable-based oils (olive, canola, peanut, sunflower, soybean, corn and cottonseed), soybeans, salmon, tuna and mackerel. Our lifestyle plan makes it easy for you, we suggest that you aim to have no more than 10 grams of fat with each meal.

Saturated Fats and Dietary Cholesterol

Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol are found in a number of popular foods, generally animal-based products. Aside from increasing the long-term risk for a number of health problems ranging from heart attacks and cancer to obesity and diabetes, saturated fats can sabotage your short-term fitness goals. To lower saturated fat intake, avoid foods such as steak, hamburger, lunch meats, poultry skin and fat, whole milk, egg yolks, cheese and butter.

Trans Fats

Trans fats, found in solid and semisolid margarines and other products where ingredients are “hydrogenated” should be avoided altogether. Many popular processed snacks and spreads contain hydrogenated fats, including some peanut butters. When in doubt, check the label. If you see the word “hydrogenated,” avoid the product.

Let me repeat avoid products made with hydrogenated oils (these are clearly labeled and listed in the ingredients). Cakes, cookies, doughnuts, pies, frostings and salad dressings all contain hydrogenated oils. Frozen fried foods like French fries, fried chicken, fried fish and potpies contain significant amounts of trans fat.

Decreasing Consumption of Saturated Fats

If you do eat foods with saturated fat, keep it in moderation. Trim the skin from chicken and turkey and the fat from beef. If you eat ground beef, choose extra lean and drain the fat off before consuming it.

Beware of Carbohydrates

While complex carbohydrates found in whole wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, other whole grains, vegetables and fruits are excellent fuel for exercise, promote fitness and help to sustain long-term weight loss, simple carbohydrates should be kept to a minimum along with saturated fats. Simple carbohydrates, found in white rice and anything containing white flour or sugar (white breads, many desserts and sodas), contribute to weight gain and a variety of health problems.

About three years ago a film called The Secret came into my life, which is based on the ‘Law of Attraction’. Having been captivated by this, I then read the book of the same title. The author is a lady named Rhonda Byrne. You can check out the Secret web site at:www.thesecret.tv.

The Law of Attraction simply says that you attract into your life whatever you think about. Your dominant thoughts will find a way to manifest themselves into reality. The Law of Attraction is a powerful universal law. It is said that Universal Laws govern the Universe. They are the basic principles of life and have been around since Creation. They are laws of the Divine Universe. Universal Laws apply to everyone, everywhere. They cannot be changed. They cannot be broken.

The Law of Attraction is working in your life right now, whether you are aware of it or not. Once you are aware of this law and how it works, you can start to use it to deliberately attract what you want into your life.Like Aladdin’s genie, the law of attraction grants our every command. Aladdin summons the Genie from his lamp, and the Genie replies ‘Your wish is my command,’ and begins to leverage the universe through people, circumstances and events to fulfil the wish, and this is what the Law of Attraction does for you.

In the book ‘The Secret’ a simple creative process is put forward of how to use the Law of Attraction. There are three simple Steps:

1.    Ask

2.    Believe

3.    Receive

Ask - Know what you want and ask the universe for it. This is where you need to get clear on what it is you want to create and visualise what you want as being as ‘real’ as possible. When you get clear in your mind about what you want you’ll become a magnet to draw those things towards you.

Believe  - Feel and behave as if the object of your desire is on its way. Focus your thoughts and your language on what it is you want to attract. You want to feel the feeling of really ‘knowing’ that what you desire is on its way to you, even if you have to trick yourself into believing it – do it. Get yourself to the point of believing by  make believing See it clearly in your mind, feel it with all your might, and everything you need will come to you. You must act, think and speak as though you are receiving it now. Act as if you have it already.  

Receive  - Be open to receiving it. Pay attention to your intuitive messages, signs from the Universe to help you along the way as assurance you are on the ‘right’ path. As you align yourself with the Universe and open yourself up to receiving, the very thing you are wanting to manifest will show up. When you omit the frequency of having received it, the law of attraction moves people, events and circumstances for you to receive  So now use this knowledge to assist you in achieving your weight loss and fitness goals.The how is not your part in the creative process. It will be shown to you. You’ll attract the way. Don’t get irritated, upset, disbelieving when you don’t see the things you’ve requested. Have steadfast belief. AND KNOW ITS ON ITS WAY.

Use the Law of Attraction to make this year … 2010 …. your best ever!

Happy New Year One and all!!!As I look out of the window this morning and see the snow outside (there’s almost 2 feet of fresh snow on the ground and it still coming down heavily), I look forward to the year ahead and what it will bring to me.  As a Life Coach and Fitness Trainer, as well as Author and Speaker, I also think of all those that I will work with this year, and what their expectations are at the beginning of this new year.  

Hands down, the most common New Years resolution, year after year is the optimistic dream that this will be the year to shed that extra weight. As 2010 began, many will have vowed that this year they would drop those extra pounds, get to the gym and fit back into their skinny jeans.Are you one of these? 

How many of you in the past have made a new years resolution and by about lunch time on January 1st it has almost been forgotten about? Well why shouldn’t January this year be the year that your resolution for weight loss actually comes together. Well, do yourself a favor and commit once and for all to achieving his long yearned for result, and create the new you. 

Many of my clients will be beginning my ‘Healthy Lifestyle Plan – Steps to Healthier Living’ this New Year, to lose weight and stay healthy.  

Are you tired of dieting? Whether you’re ready to start losing weight, need to boost your metabolism, or just want to learn more about healthy eating, my blog over the next couple of months will bring you articles relating to this lifestyle plan, and I trust it will help you achieve the results you to now have only dreamed about.  Many people have a list of diets they’ve tried over the years and the one thing these diets all have in common is that they often fail. Why? They leave you hungry and deprived, and they slow your metabolism, setting you up for a never-ending cycle of yo-yo dieting. My Lifestyle Plan changes all that. Here’s how: 

It Revs Your Metabolism

This is perhaps the most significant aspect of the Plan, and it’s what allows you ultimately to be delivered from dieting for good. With a higher metabolism, you burn more calories all day long — even when you’re sitting on the couch. My Lifestyle Plan raises your metabolism through eating — yes eating — and strength training, which builds calorie-burning muscle.  

It Allows You to Eat

On the plan you eat all day long — six small meals rather than three large ones. This helps keep you from feeling hungry even during the start up phase of the plan, which lasts only one week, and it keeps your metabolism revved.  

It Offers a Wide Variety of Food

The plan recommends limiting your intake of refined carbohydrates and sweets, and limiting your fat intake to less than 10g per meal but no foods are off-limits. The meal plans are so easy to follow — no counting is necessary! You simply choose 3 healthy meals and 3 healthy fruit snack. 

It’s Healthy

Diets that deprive you of certain foods also deprive you of the nutrients contained in those foods. Because our plan not only allows, but encourages you to eat a wide variety of foods from all the food groups, your diet will be rich in the nutrients your body needs. It’s a diet you can stick with, as it satisfies your hunger, your taste buds, and even the occasional less-than-healthful craving, making it easier to stay on track. Here I offer you 8 steps to a new you: 

1. Eat several meals a day

Of course, you can’t just eat something at breakfast and expect to keep your blood sugar level in check all day long. Eat at least 3 meals spread over a whole day. Even better would be to eat up to 6 small meals per day. This way the food energy can be gradually processed, Keeping constant food cravings under control is essential when trying to learn a healthy lifestyle or on a fat loss program. your glucose or blood sugar level indicates how much energy you’ve got readily available for use. If your blood sugar is too low, a hunger signal will go to the brain initiating food cravings.Low blood glucose levels indicate you’re low on energy. Obviously, this happens when you don’t eat enough throughout the day. As a result the body will send out a message saying it needs food, which in turn will trigger the cravings. The lower your blood sugar levels, the more severe your cravings could be.So instead of eating 3 big meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), or eating all day all the time, spread your calories out over 6 smaller meals. Eat one meal every 2 and a half to 3 hours. Doing this will speed up your metabolism keeping the huge swings of the blood sugar to an absolute minimum. 

2. Eat Low glycemic foods / complex carbohydrates

We love filling up on simple carbohydrates when the cravings kick in. Simple carbohydrates are found in foods such as pizza, pancakes, spaghetti and high fructose sodas. These simple carbohydrates are very quickly absorbed by the body, causing a blood sugar rush. Simple carbohydrates quickly supply us with that much craved carb load. After the initial high simple carbohydrates give us, the blood sugar will dramatically drop. Incorporating Low Glycemic (complex carbohydrate) foods (eg. oatmeal, brown rice, whole pasta, vegetables and others) into your diet will supply you with slowly absorbed energy and keep your sugar in balance all day long. Not only will this keep cravings away, it will make fat loss a lot easier as well.Lower the bad Carbs! Limit foods high in bad carbs. These carbs will eventually turn into fat. Foods like sugar, white bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. are high in simple (bad) carbs.  

3. Control the amount of fat you eat

The bad fat must go! Stay away from “bad” fat! Get rid of all the crisps and chocolate. No more fast food, nothing fried. No more biscuits, no more cake, no more of these saturated fats. Processed foods are to be avoided. There is no question about it and there is no way around it, get rid of these types of foods. Don’t get me wrong, you should not be eating 0 grams of fat every day, but the only places you should be getting your daily fat intake from are lean meats (not the fried fast food kind), chicken (again, not fried!), etc. as well as the foods that contain the “healthy” types of fat, which can be found in just about every type of fish (tuna fish, salmon, etc.), nuts, olive oil and flaxseed oil. My recommendations are to aim below 10 grams of fat per main meal. 

4. Include Protein in Your Meals

Eating more protein will make you feel satisfied and full faster. Foods that contain protein are needed by the body to grow and repair body cells and fight off disease. The body usually needs more protein during times of sickness and stress.High Protein Foods are:·         Meat and Seafood·         Milk and Milk Products·         Eggs·         Nuts, Nut Products and Seeds·         Dried Beans and Peas·         Soy Products, Tofu·         Commercial Nutrition Products High in ProteinMake every effort to include high protein foods in your diet. Getting good, high quality protein will not only increase your lean mass (non fatty tissue) but it will increase your metabolism, and burn away fat. You know how sugar makes you fat? Well Protein makes you lean. Whether you want to be buff, lean, or just thin, meat is what’s goning to give you the body you want. And, you can get what you want out of fish and poultry too. When it comes to meat, the leaner the better. 

5. Never Eat Carbohydrates By Themselves 

Each meal needs to provide your body with a balance of lean (low fat) protein, low Gi (based on the Glycaemic Index), high fibre Carbohydrates and essential oils.This balance will keep your blood sugar and insulin level stable which is necessary to get your body into a fat burning mode. This balance also helps control your appetite, so you are less tempted by unhealthy foods. One way to make sure you store less food away as fat is to mix up your nutrients. That means mixing carbs, protein and fat. We get much more nutrients and efficiency out of our meals when those three nutrients are eaten together instead of separately. The oils in the fats and proteins will act a lot like the fibre does, inso far as making the carbs take a longe time to break down in the stomach., thereby reducing the effect on your blood sugar.

6. Water!

Drink water! Get rid of the soda, get rid of the beer, and get rid of the sports drinks and the cordials. Drink around a half gallon a day, more if you can. Spread it out throughout the day, just like your 6 meals. Yes that’s a lot of water, but it’s that water that will give you energy and speed your weight loss. Water is essential in a healthy lifestyle and it’s probably the cheapest and easiest way to stop cravings. Anytime you feel puckish drink water, and I promise you that craving will disappear. Keeping a bottle of water by your side is a must do in my book. Water is ‘the oil that keeps our body running smoothly all day long’. 

7. Strength Training!

Yes! Lifting Weights isn’t just great for muscles, it’s great for losing weight. Muscles burn calories. In an earlier article I referred to a book ‘Body for Life’ by Bill Phillips, he describes a simple, but very effective strength training programme. You can get details of this here http://bodyforlife.com/.Weight train, three times per week on alternating days with aerobic exercise three times per week is what I suggest you do. 

8. • Develop an Exercise Routine
Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle.  Fitness takes hard work and dedication but the results can include lengthening your lifespan and creating a body that you are proud to show off. Stop making excuses. Now is a great time to commit to a new you in the New Year. My clients will be aiming to do 50 minutes of exercise daily. Three or Four of those will be workouts in the gym where they will be combining their strength training with aerobics activities. The other three  or four days will include a very easy activity, namely walking. A fast brisk walk is as good a fat burning activity than most others. I do suggest at this time of year, with the snow thicker on the ground than I remember before, you wrap up warm, wear a hat, and purchase a pair of wellies.

9. Sleep! Yes! Sleep! The easiest, yet most over looked step. Get at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Trust me, you need it!  

When making resolutions regarding your fitness and health, remember that making changes to your body and lifestyle take time. You can’t do it all in one day. Stick with it, believe that this year you will achieve your goals …to  Get Fit, Stay Healthy, and Be Happy!