77 Million Americans are clinically obese,
184 Million are overweight. Both of these figures increased
10% between 1994 and 1999 and adult
onset diabetes is dangerously out of control. The time has come
for a straight forward, common sense solution...that includes
personal coaching and support. If you could do it on your own – don’t
you think you would have done it by now?
Let’s be honest – we all need motivation, support,
and accountability to be successful and that’s exactly what
a personal coach provides. A personal coach is the key to “jump
starting” your weight loss program and keeping you on track
to achieve your goals. Most of us have been thoroughly confused
by all of the fad diets out there – and we’ve tried
them with little or no lasting results. The first step to healthy
weight loss is understanding all of the weight loss “myths” that
are out there and understanding how your body works. In fact, why
don’t we start your weight loss education right now!
The Myth of Low Fat Diets – Eating a low fat diet can help
you lose weight – but that’s just half the story. Most
people trying to lower their fat intake go to the store looking
for products whose labels show low fat or no fat. Pasta, for example
reads “0 fat grams”. There are fat free chips, cookies,
and cakes as well. The problem is that most fat free, or low fat
foods are very high in carbohydrates and also very low in fiber.
Fiber really means fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and berries.
The acid in your stomach will not dissolve these natural fibers,
so eating them fills you up faster and keeps you full longer. Eating
low fat foods that are also low in fiber means you have to eat
more to feel full. As you eat these foods the acid in your stomach
begins to dissolve the foods and digest them very quickly – it’s
like trying to fill up a sink that has no stopper. Eventually you
can get the sink to fill up - but it takes a lot more water to
do it. The result is that you eat more, you take in more calories
than you need, and your body stores the extra carbohydrates and
calories as fat. Keep reading labels, but choose foods that have
more fiber grams than fat grams. This is a simple and easy strategy
to bring into your life and the results will amaze you!
The Myth of Skipping Meals – Many years ago, if people wanted
food to eat they had to either go hunting everyday or grow their
own food. That’s a lot of work – that’s a lot
of physical activity. Our bodies were designed to expend energy
in order to get food. Even though this is no longer necessary,
it doesn’t change the fact that our bodies are actually designed
this way. When you skip a meal, your body thinks that you’re
out in the wild and, for whatever reason, food is hard to come
by. This is a built in survival mechanism that all of us have – it’s
built in. When your body thinks food is hard to find, it makes
two changes to protect you from starving. First it slows your metabolism
causing your body to slow down and burn less fat. Secondly, the
meal you eat after you skip a meal will be converted almost entirely
to fat and stored - to protect you from starving. If you skip breakfast,
almost all of what you eat for lunch is converted to fat. You think
you’re taking in less food but in reality you’re causing
your body to store fat. If you regularly throughout the day your
metabolism will increase, your stamina and endurance will increase,
your appetite will decrease, and your body will produce less fat
while it burns more!
The Exercise Myth – To create energy your
body burns fat or it burns blood sugar – but it can’t
burn them both at the same time. When you’re not doing anything
strenuous your body burns fat. When you’re sitting at a desk,
driving a car, working around the house, or even sleeping, your
body burns
fat. But when you work into the aerobic zone (70% or more of your
max. heart rate) your body will stop burning fat and instantly
begin to burn blood sugar – because blood sugar can be converted
to energy much faster than fat. When it comes to exercise, most
people trying to lose weight make a big mistake by doing the wrong
types of exercise. Strenuous exercise like jogging, bike riding,
circuit training, or aerobics are great for your heart, lungs,
and circulation. But they don’t necessarily burn fat or condition
your body to burn fat.
Those who market exercise equipment suggest that 20 to 30 minutes,
a few times a week is all you need. People believe that this type
of strenuous aerobic exercise is burning fat. Aerobic exercise
will burn fat – but only after you’ve depleted your
available blood sugar – which, for most people takes at least
20 to 30 minutes of being in the aerobic zone. Besides that, in
nature, how many animals do you see running at “full tilt” unless
they are chasing something to eat? Aerobic exercise is great for
your heart, lungs, and circulation – and once you’ve
reached your ideal weight – it’s great. But countless
overweight individuals are on the exercise bikes and tread mills,
pedaling and running, until their heart almost pounds out of their
chest – and guess what – they’re not burning
fat. How many obese people do you know who can work themselves
into the “aerobic zone” and maintain that agonizing,
strenuous level of exertion for more than 30 minutes? Exercise
equipment sales are on the rise and so is obesity – does
that make sense to you? The truth is that walking and very light
weight lifting, with plenty of time between sets, are two of the
best types of exercise for healthy weight loss. Do the right types
of exercise, drink plenty of water, and turn your body into a fat
burning machine that incinerates fat 24 hours a day!
Want to hear more? Click here to schedule your FREE, NO OBLIGATION
consultation with a professional weight loss coach. You’ve
got nothing to lose but the weight!
