WEIGHT LOSS FORUM: Limiting Sugar

Between 1970 and 2005, our intake of added sugars jumped 20%. The average American now consumes 350-475 empty calories from added sugars each day! The American Heart Association recommends that we limit our intake of added sugars to 100 calories per day for women and 150 calories per day for men.

How challenging or easy is it for YOU to limit your sugar intake? What obstacles are you dealing with? What strategies do you use to limit your sugar intake?

Please click on "comments" to share your ideas, tips or questions.

LOSE A TON IN '10 WEIGHT LOSS FORUM

For anyone who is overweight or obese, losing weight is one of the most important things you can do to improve your health.

Of course, we all know that losing weight is easier said than done. We know what we are supposed to do: exercise on a consistent basis, and eat a diet of healthy, nutritious food while avoiding high-calorie fast food, junk food, soft drinks, etc. But changing your lifestyle is not an easy task.

That's why All About You! Wellness BootCamp, Glendale Adventist Medical Center and Glendale Healthy Kids have teamed up to bring the "Lose a Ton in '1o" campaign to our Glendale community.

It's all about supporting each other as we make these important lifestyle changes. It's not too difficult to improve your eating & exercise habits for a week, or two weeks, or even a month. But, to maintain your healthy habits for a full year takes a lot of thought, commitment, dedication, hard work AND support.

This blog is a forum for YOU to share your experience. If you need tips, support or insight into any issues or obstacles you are experiencing with weight loss, this is the place to ask. Check in each week to join the ongoing conversation. Fitness & nutrition experts, Narina Minassian & Elaine Miller will post their replies, but we invite all participants to share their advice as well. Sometimes those who have struggled with the same issues have the most relevant and practical advice. We can all learn from each other.

So, let's get started! Be brave, and be the first one to post a question or comment about your weight loss experience.

WEIGHT LOSS STRATEGIES

In addition to all the srategies we listed in this week's newsletter, here are six more ways to make weight loss easier:

1. Give yourself a good incentive. (A great incentive right now is to join the "LOSE A TON IN '10" Weight Loss Challenge.

2. Don’t be in a rush! Trying to lose weight too quickly will make you feel deprived, will make you lose muscle instead of fat, will lower your metabolism and will certainly backfire on you.

3. Set yourself a series of step-by-step targets. You need to lose weight in stages. Slow, steady progress will lead to healthy, permanent weight loss.

4. Get support! A partner, friend, family member, or All About You! trainers and members can all be a great support. There is no reason to "go it alone." We all need someone to lean on at times.

5. Know that we all have bad days. Don't get discouraged by one bad snack or meal, because the worse you feel about it, the more likely it will lead to a bad day, bad week, bad month, etc. Instead recognize that we are all human and that it's ok to slip up once in a while. The key is to get back on track, feeling positive and optimistic.

6. Always have lots of healthy, low-calorie snacks in the refrigerator. Remember, you can’t eat what you don’t have. So get organized. Planning ahead makes a big difference.

7. Write it down! Keep yourself accountable by keeping a food journal and calculating your calories.

What other strategies help you with your weight loss? Post a comment to share your ideas.

BOOST YOUR METABOLISM!

Yes, there really are ways to give your metabolism a boost. But, they do not come in the form of a pill! Here's what you can do to keep your metabolism strong & healthy throughout your life.

1. Increase you muscle mass by strength training. Your muscle is your "fat burning machinery". Muscle is active tissue and requires many more calories than fat. The more muscle on your body, the more calories you burn per day. (This is why we're strength training with heavy weights in BootCamp this week!)

2. Boost your calorie burn with cardio. You continue to burn a higher number of calories for up to an hour after you've finished your workout!

3. Begin your day with breakfast. Going many hours without food in your system, makes your body go into "starvation mode." Your metabolism slows down to conserve calories. Stoke your furnace each morning by eating a good breakfast!

4. Eat small portions more often. Keep that furnace going throughout the day!

5. Drink at least 8 cups of water. All chemical processes in your body require water. Keep yourself hydrated to keep your metabolism working strong.

And now what is the most detrimental thing you can do for your metabolism?

Yo-yo dieting!! When you lose weight quickly, you lose muscle along with the fat. When you gain it back, you gain back only fat. With less muscle on your body, you will burn fewer calories every day.

After months, years & decades of yo-yo dieting, many people have severely lowered their metabolism and they find it increasingly difficult to lose any weight at all.

But there is hope! If you feel you have a slow metabolism, follow our 5 metabolism-boosting tips above. And be patient! It took time to lower your metabolism, so it will take time to speed it up.

Post a comment if you have any questions or comments about metabolism.

WEIGHT LOSS FACTS

The only way to
lose weight is to
burn more calories
than you consume.

• One pound of fat = 3,500 calories

• To lose one pound of fat, you must burn 3,500 calories more than you consume.

• The maximum recommended daily deficit is 500 calories. That is, you should burn 500 more calories than you consume each day to lose weight.

• The safest & most permanent rate at which to lose weight is one pound per week. (500 calories x 7 days a week = 3,500 calories.)

It's very tempting to get caught up in trying to lose weight as fast as possible, but in the long-run that will be counter-productive. Take your time & enjoy the process as you watch your body slowly transform as you become healthier & more fit.