Tag Archives: Dieting and Weight loss

You Don’t Have to Gain Weight During the Holidays

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Here we go, fewer than 60 shopping days left until Christmas. Scary, huh? What’s even more frightening is the extra weight people gain this time of year without even realizing it. I’ve had clients gain 5-8 pounds between Halloween and New Year’s. Ouch. All that sweat and sacrifice undone for a bit of instant gratification. And yes, some of them stop working out too. Double whammy.

Let’s see if I can put this into perspective. The average adults gains 1-3 pounds a year, which results in 10-30 pounds of unwanted weight after just 10 years! And we’re adults a lot longer than that. (The average lifespan is 78.) Translation – gaining a pound or two every year equals being overweight or obese.  So it’s pretty obvious why experts predict 9 out of 10 adults will become overweight or obese, isn’t it? Why settle for being average or becoming a statistic? Instead, be the exception. If you’ve got some extra fat reserves and you’re willing to make some changes, you can shed those unwanted pounds without diets, cleanses or surgery. With all the technology and scientific breakthroughs humans have made thus far, there still is no magic cure for getting and staying lean. Part of the problem is “what’s easy to do, is also easy NOT to do” – as the late great Jim Rohn so eloquently put it. For example, you might just skip a workout or two and think hey, it’s no big deal  – it’s not like you gain 20 pounds because of it. Or maybe you eat a fattening meal or two but you don’t have a heart attack right afterward, right? Or perhaps you just take that extra bite or two long after you’re full. But when you repeat these behaviors over and over – it becomes a habit and before you know it, slow and steady weight gain has got a grip on you. You want to know how most lean people stay lean? Look at their habits – you’ll probably find a common theme:

  • Regular physical activity
  • Regular meals
  • Limited sedentary time (especially in front of the TV)
  • Mindful eating – paying attention to food choices, portions and calories
  • Regular self-monitoring of weight, size or body composition

Not rocket science, right? Again, what’s easy to do, is easy not to. It’s up to you and only you to make a decision on what’s important to you and then buckle down and actually do those easy things. And don’t you dare blame your genetics or your metabolism or the coworkers that bring in all those treats. I’m not saying those things are insignificant, but what I am saying is you instantly give up your power when you blame someone or something else. You tell yourself a story about why you’re not as lean as you want to be and then you don’t make changes. Take your power! You can and you will achieve a healthy body weight when you decide to and then take consistent action. Lean and fit people reap the rewards of good habits and so can you. So to help you on your journey, here are some ideas to help you avoid holiday weight gain, or any weight gain for that matter.

  • NEVER EVER arrive to a party hungry. If you do, you’re highly likely to overeat. Instead, have a high fiber snack beforehand. An apple with peanut butter, a handful of almonds or even a bowl of fiber-rich cereal will do the trick. Fiber slows digestion, helps control blood sugar and gives us a feeling of fullness with fewer calories. And it’s very likely you’re not getting enough.
  • When you indulge (and believe me, you will) – set some boundaries and plan to make up for it. Decide ahead of time how you will splurge instead of letting yourself get out of control. Maybe you go for that favorite desert or a cocktail (or two). Fine, go for it, but either save some calories so you can have it without gaining weight or make up for it with extra activity and/or cutting back on calories the next day or two. My exerspy shows me when I’ve made it for my indulgences. When I over-eat a few extra hundred calories, I move more and eat a bit less the next day and I see those extra calories wiped away.
  • Carry healthy snacks with you. Have you ever been in the mall and smelled the cinnamon rolls? What kind of effect does it have on you? Exactly. And if you’re hungry, you’re done. So don’t set yourself up to fail.
  • Stay away from the food table. Have you ever noticed that the sight of food makes us want to eat, even when we’re not hungry? Okay, so don’t hang around the food!  There will be lots of it this time of year so go socialize somewhere else or better yet, get some kind of activity going like cards or a board game to keep your eyes and mind off of food.
  • Incorporate more activity into your daily routine. I have a TrekDesk treadmill desk and I won it by liking their Facebook page. So guess what I get to do? Walk while I work! How cool is that? In fact, I’m walking right now as I’m writing this blog. I burn at least 300 more calories a day using my treadmill desk without more time in the gym. I have to do an hour of cardio to burn that much! Now you may not be able to do this, but you CAN take a walk during your breaks and at lunch time instead of sitting in the break room. You can pace in front of the TV or while you’re on the phone. Again – easy to do, easy not to do. You can walk, right? And if you can’t, you can do upper body exercises instead.

The best weight control method is prevention, so plan to prevent that unwanted weight gain this year. After all, failing to plan is planning to fail. Don’t let that be you.

–Kat, your dotFIT Registered Dietitian

Why is Weight Loss So Difficult?

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Let’s be honest – weight loss is no easy task. If it were, EVERYONE would be thin. It may be simple on paper but it’s challenging when it comes down to actually doing what it takes on a daily basis. At least for me it is. I’m a working mom approaching my forties, a certified personal trainer and registered dietitian. So I KNOW what to do – it’s a matter of actually doing it while raising kids, having a career, nurturing my marriage, paying the bills, doing the laundry, cooking the meals and the list goes on. Oh yeah, AND dealing with PMS every single month. Guys can’t relate; they don’t know how it feels to crave chocolate and salt-n-vinegar chips at the same time. It’s definitely a girl thing.  But that’s not to say weight loss is easy for guys. It’s just different, right ladies?drive thru

Regardless of your age or gender, weight loss is challenging for multiple reasons. But if we acknowledge the facts, have reliable information, understand what we’re working with and use effective tools, we CAN and WILL win with consistency and persistence. So let’s start by acknowledging the challenges:

Challenge #1 – Our biology is such that we eat even when we’re not hungry. The classic example is Thanksgiving – you still go for the pumpkin pie despite the fact that you’re so stuffed that you have to loosen your waistband. (Yes, I speak from experience.) Our biology worked well for our hunting and gathering ancestors who had to save calories when food was scarce and burn calories to find food, but nowadays, you can get absurd amounts of food 24/7 and you don’t need to move much to get it. “Mindless eating” has actually been validated by several scientific studies. We often eat and overeat without being aware of it. Myself included.

Challenge #2 – Our environment encourages “sedentary disease,” an emerging term used to describe a lifestyle with very little physical activity. See if this looks familiar:

  • Sitting while traveling to work – car, bus, train, subway, plane
  • Sitting while working
  • Sitting while traveling home from work
  • Sitting while getting and eating meals
  • Sitting during entertainment – TV, internet, movies, kids’ activities
  • Sitting while something or someone does your chores – washer, dryer, car wash, gardener

I can definitely identify with sedentary disease, and in order for me to maintain my weight, I have to manage the calories I take in. Period. Need some hard evidence? Check out the weight gain prevention study in the March 2010 issue of JAMA (Journal of American Medical Association).  This 13-year study demonstrated that women performing an hour of physical activity every day still gained weight over time. Translation – you have to reduce calories to prevent weight gain.

Challenge #3 – Most people are unaware of how much food and calories their body needs to maintain their weight. I understand that life is hectic and sometimes stressful. But if you don’t pay attention, what you don’t know WILL hurt you. Most Americans are overweight and experts predict obesity will continue to rise. Excess weight means you’re more likely to develop diabetes, heart disease and more. Plus, you can’t be your best if you’re not healthy. And if you can’t be your best, you’re cheating yourself, your loved ones and ultimately all of humankind. No one gains weight on purpose – it happens slowly over time and most people miss it until it becomes a major issue.

Look for Part 2 with our solution later in the week. In the meantime, think about how these challenges affect you and what kinds of little changes you could make in your life to counter them.  For example, as much as a certain fast food chain doesn’t want you to do this, eliminate “fourth meal” from your day. Or do something simple like get more steps in by parking your car as far away from your destination as you can.

To be continued . . .

The hCG Diet

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You may have noticed medical facilities offering hCG injections or drops under the tongue as the “secret no one wants you to know about” solution to your weight loss battle. As a Registered Dietitian and Certified Personal Trainer, I’m all for solutions – as long as they’re safe, you understand how and why they work, and you’re willing to live with the consequences.  So let’s dig into how this diet works, the available science and why people who go on this particular diet experience results.

  • hCG is an acronym for human chorionic gonadotrophin. This hormone is produced in pregnant females and its presence in urine results in a positive pregnancy test. hCG is used as a drug to treat infertility among women and to help increase sperm count among men.  In the 1950s a British doctor claimed hCG injections would help obese patients lose weight more comfortably.
  • The hCG protocol includes regular injections or oral drops and a strict 500 calorie per day diet for 26-45 days. The diet typically consists of
    • Coffee for breakfast, no sugar
    • A small portion of lean meat, one type of vegetable, one breadstick or melba toast and one type of fruit with lunch and dinner
    • Two liters of water daily
    • Exercise, especially weight training, is not allowed due to the very low calorie and nutrient intake  (this is a red flag, as exercise is an essential part of healthy weight management)
    • After the initial 26-45 days, you cannot eat any sugar or starches for three weeks
    • The original diet called for no medicines or cosmetics other than lipstick, eyebrow pencil and powder may be used without special permission
    • The current cost of this diet ranges from approximately $150 to $400 per month.
  • According to the scientific research , there is no evidence that hCG is effective for weight loss. The reason people lose weight on this diet is NOT because of the hCG. It’s because the requirement for going on this diet is eating approximately 500 calories per day. To put this in perspective, my body requires approximately 1,200 calories per day just to fuel my brain, heart, lungs and basic metabolic functions. When I’m active, I require more – closer to 2200 calories per day. So eating 500 calories per day would essentially allow me to lose half a pound a day, or 3 pounds per week. Again, it’s NOT because of the hCG. It’s basic human physiology – when you eat drastically fewer calories than you burn, your body will use its energy stores for fuel and your body weight drops.
  • The hCG diet is considered a very low calorie diet, or more commonly, a starvation diet. That means your body will not only burn your fat stores to fuel your brain, heart, lungs and other organs, but it will also burn muscle. When you return to your normal eating habits, you will gain only fat back. In essence, you end up lowering your metabolism, which means you gain weight more easily.
  • The only proven method for losing weight is burning more calories than you take in. There are many ways to go about this, as evidenced by the array of diet books on the market. However, when you take a closer look at all of these diet books, they all cut calories. Low carb/high protein diets cut calories by cutting carbs, low fat diets cut calories by cutting fat and cleansing diets cut calories by cutting, well, food.  The hCG diet is no different, except you also take a drug, which purportedly reduces hunger. Although there are many claims that this is the case, there’s no hard-nosed science to back it up.
  • Approximately 90% of those who attempt dieting fail in the long run. Why? Because it’s very difficult to go on a diet forever. Losing weight is NOT the issue for most people – keeping it off is. The hCG diet allows people to eat only whole, unprocessed foods, which is a good thing, but you must continue to eat this way in order to sustain the results. However, eating 500 calories a day is not recommended because you won’t be getting enough essential nutrients. Plus, rapid weight loss typically results in weight rebound.
  • There are side effects to taking this drug and it’s not FDA approved for weight loss. Noted side effects are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach pain and swelling, severe pelvic pain, shortness of breath and weight gain.

If you’re looking to lose weight AND keep it off, burn more calories than you take in by making adjustments to your food choices and activity level that you can stick to. It will take longer to lose those unwanted pounds, but it’s safer, much cheaper and you’re more likely to maintain your success.  There is no magic cure for weight loss. Here’s the formula for success: Good choices +Consistency + Time. It’s probably not what you want to hear, but it’s the truth, and you know what they say about the truth…

Until next week,
Kat


References

  1. Simeons ATW. The action of chorionic gonadotrophin in the obese. Lancet 2:946-947, 1954.
  2. Lijesen GK and others. The effect of human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) in the treatment of obesity by means of the Simeons therapy: a criteria-based meta-analysis. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology 49:237–243, 1995.
  3. Bosch B, Venter I, Stewart RI, Bertram SR. Human chorionic gonadotrophin and weight loss. A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. S Afr Med J. 1990 Feb 17;77(4):185-9.

AMAZING Weight Loss Story Unfolding Before My Eyes

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Meet Allan Hoffman, 35 years old, starting weight 555 lbs, uses a wheelchair to get around, has a fractured vertebrae in his lower back and it’s fair to say he had a very difficult childhood. He’s struggled with his weight forever, battles depression and over the past 10 years his weight has gone from 305 to 555 lbs. Talk about having to overcome some challenges! His doctor said he should have gastric bypass surgery to lose the weight. Enter the exerspy and the dotFIT team.

It must have been fate because Allan reunited with a half-brother he never knew he had, who happens to be one of dotFIT’s team members.  Allan gets an exerspy, a few phone coaching sessions and starts using the dotFIT Me program to shed the weight. With his physical limitations, we had to start slow. Fast forward three months and he’s dropped 62 pounds. Here’s the strategy we used:

  1. Identify WHY you want to lose so you stick to the process. Allan’s motivation was twofold – 1) meet his biological father face-to-face for the first time this summer and 2) see his 6 year old son graduate from high school. He keeps a picture of his son on his computer to keep him focused.
  2. Set realistic and achievable goals. Allan’s ultimate goal is to weigh 210 lbs so we set him up to lose 2-3 pounds a week.
  3. Give him visible targets to hit daily so he sees progress every day.  Using the dotFIT Me program an exerspy – his daily calorie burn target was approximately 4300 calories (remember, the heavier you are, the more you burn). His daily calorie intake goal was about 2800 calories. When he hits those targets, he loses weight. Period.
  4. Log everything you eat. Becoming conscious of what goes in your mouth is the first step towards making better decisions and Allan was prone to mindlessly eat.
  5. Increase physical activity. Do upper body exercises using cans for hand weights and leg lifts as he sits in his wheelchair. Work up to 5 minutes of physical activity per day. The exerspy tracks this so he knows whether he reaches this daily goal.
  6. Eat more fiber-rich foods. Get 25 grams a day to start and track in using the online food log.

As you can see – a few simple adjustments repeated over time has produced AMAZING results. No diets. No drastic workouts or magic cleanses. Just practical changes anyone can do and a bit of encouragement and guidance along the way. To follow Allan’s story go to our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/fitnesshealth and check this blog for updates.

–Kat Barefield, MS, RD
Registered Dietitian for dotFIT

Can Supplements Help You Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals?

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It’s possible.  Depending on what you categorize as supplements, they can be the difference between success and failure for many people. Just look at the success statistics of people using meal replacement bars and shakes to assist in weight loss compared to non-users, especially in long-term weight control.

Before we start down this road of dietary supplements and weight loss, let’s remember that supplements alone are NOT a weight loss program, whereas diet and exercise alone can be. But properly used and formulated supplements can accelerate progress and make the chore easier, giving users a greater chance of sticking with their chosen method of weight loss. And on that note, let’s look at dotFIT’s position on dietary supplements and weight loss. Click here to read more on dotFIT.com.

Eat, move, lose. Period.

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One common weight loss myth that drives us crazy here at dotFIT is the starvation mode myth.  It goes something like this: Eating a diet that is too low in calories will cause the body to go into starvation mode and not burn any calories.

People love this myth.  You know why? Because people, including me, love to eat. But here’s the fact of the matter: Severely cutting calories will cause your metabolism to adjust slightly, allowing your body to run on fewer calories, but it doesn’t prevent fat loss if you’re truly burning more calories than you’re consuming.

You’ll sometimes hear the trainers on the T.V. show The Biggest Loser alluding to this when they tell their contestants how important it is that they not eat fewer than 1200 calories a day. That’s a pretty low calorie diet, and the contestants are working out at least 5-6 hours every day. If they eat less than that they won’t “go into starvation mode,” but they won’t have the energy they need.  The same holds true for the average person trying to lose weight.

If you cut your calories too much, you become less energetic. As a result, you’re less active. That is, you do fewer daily activities, and then you burn fewer calories overall. Crash dieting with excessively low calorie intake leads to low energy levels, so you burn fewer calories all day and work out less intensely. This leads to increased hunger, which in turn increases the chances of rebound and binge eating behavior. In other words, you’re likely to move a lot less and eat more. The result? You hit a plateau which easily misinterpreted as the result of a “damaged” metabolism.

The point is not to lose weight too quickly by drastically reducing calories because that method is generally not sustainable. Mainly because it takes extreme and unrealistic changes in your diet to get results and when you drift back to your old eating habits, the weight returns.  The Biggest Loser is a reality show, but it’s not reality.  The contestants are closely monitored by a staff of medics, physicians and trainers. And if you could follow up with past contestants, you would find that most of them haven’t been able to maintain the weight loss they achieved on the show.

If you need to lose weight, eat less, move more and forget about starvation mode or slowing metabolism. Remember that a calorie out cancels a calorie in, no exceptions. Research shows that most people think they’re eating less than they actually are, so keep tabs on your calorie intake by using a food journal.

And if you really want to see how many calories you burn every day, along with your steps, minutes and type of physical activity, and how efficiently you sleep at night, check out exerspy at www.dotFIT.com/exerspy.  The research and development team at dotFIT that created exerspy and dotFIT Me is the same team that created the bodybugg® system featured on The Biggest Loser. By using exerspy and the dotFIT online program, you can see the calories you’re eating and burning, which takes the guesswork out of weight control. It’s not your metabolism that’s preventing you from losing weight – it’s NOT knowing your numbers. Take control, see your numbers and get results.

Weight Loss & Hypothyriodism

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There definitely is evidence that adrenal stress and hypothyroidism affects some people’s ability to lose weight.  In fact, environmental conditions these days such as stress, food, infections, toxic load, etc. can alter energy metabolism and result in fatigue and difficulty losing weight. Poor functioning thyroid glands may make it more difficult to comply with appropriate calories because of a slowing metabolism, but it will not stop anyone from losing weight as long as you consume fewer calories than you burn. With that said, here are a few tips to help the process.

  • Increase daily activities – standing or pacing instead of sitting, house chores, gardening, playing with kids, etc.
  • Increase daily steps – wear a pedometer and gradually increase the number of steps per day.
  • Increase workout time or intensity
  • Vary exercise activities
  • Decrease food intake approximately 100-200 calories/day and repeat this reduction if after two weeks there is no change in weight, body composition or circumference measurements
  • Incorporate more fiber rich foods that help fill you up – whole grains, fruits and vegetables
  • Track daily calories and portions

It’s important to seek medical advice is you suspect a thyroid condition because proper treatment restores thyroid hormone levels and metabolism. Bottom line – if you can’t eat much, move more and be very careful with what you do eat so you get the biggest bang for your buck. Foods rich in water and fiber will provide the most food with the fewest calories and incorporating activity throughout the day will help boost your calorie burn.

dotFIT Weight Loss – Fat Releaser

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Excess body fat and diets high in calories and fat can compromise liver function. This potentially leads to multiple obesity related conditions, such as insulin resistance, fatigue and reduced liver enzymes’ impact on fat burning. If your ability to burn fat decreases it can lead to lower energy levels and a vicious cycle of increased hunger and overeating. FatReleaser™ is scientifically developed to stop that cycle in its tracks! Delivering a natural blend of ingredients to speed up the removal of fat from the liver, support and maintain healthy liver function and combat the oxidative stress brought on by accumulating fat in the liver. In a groundbreaking study the key ingredient in FatReleaser decreased the body’s absorption of dietary fat by inhibiting gastrointestinal Lipase (the enzyme that prepares dietary fat for absorption). This led to a reduction in the absorption of overall calories and subjects lost up to 300% more weight than those taking a placebo, in only 12 weeks.

dotFIT Weight Loss Program – Carb Killer

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We all enjoy eating carbohydrates and we know they are also one of the bodys primary sources of fuel. Unfortunately for our waistlines, starchy foods such as breads, potatoes, pasta and rice quickly convert to glucose, which is a sugar that the body uses for everyday energy. If the excess glucose isnt used for energy through exercise or physical activity youll quickly start to pile on unwanted pounds and stubborn fat stores. Now you can take control with CarbKiller™. Each serving contains clinically tested Phase 2®, a proprietary standardized white kidney bean extract that works by blocking dietary starch from being absorbed. By working with the bodys natural enzymes, Phase 2 blocks the action of the alpha amylase enzyme, which is responsible for breaking down starches into sugars.