Saturday, December 30, 2006

Weight Increase - Who gained it?

All right! Who gained the weight over Christmas... I know you are out there. I know I might have place a couple of pounds somewhere but usually after Christmas and New Years, I lose the weight over again and will be back to the usual weight in a couple of weeks.

Now there is a little time to write down what your goals are for the upcoming year. It is a good idea to write down what your goal is for losing weight and/or gaining muscle. I personally have another child on the way and she will be taking up a lot of my time so I might not be able to hit the gym like I normally do but I have an elliptical machine in the basement so I will be spending time on that instead. I guess my wife will finally have what she wanted, me to stop lifting and just do cardio.

BORING! Is my response to that.

I hope everyone has a great New Year and I will talk to you next year.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Weight Management - Why so much explanation

I was asked earlier today about the human body. The question was looking for an exact answer to a human body question. All of the information has not yet been extracted from the human body and I expect that we will not have all of the answers to a complex machine. Because this machine is always changing and adapts to everything and then passes down the adaptations to its children.

The answer that I gave to this person was to have them look into the problem that they want an answer to and think about it on a more simple stand-point. Right then and there, they were able to answer the question about their body and that they need to eat right and smartly for their body to develop in the manner that they want.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Weight Loss - What is the point?

I understand that a person wants to lose weight by cutting down on certain ingredients in order to lose the weight, but in the process they completely cut the taste out of the food and brought it down to the first ingredient. For instance, we wanted to cut the fat and calories out of these cookies that we made. So we cut half of the sugar out of it and then also cut half of the fat out of it. At the end of the day we came up with a new way to warm up a pretzel. The original recipe was to take half of a rolo and place it on a mini pretzel and bake it for 5 minutes. This was to make a cookie which we were going to have for a christmas treat. Well, we cut so much of the candy out of it, that we removed the chocolate and carmel flavor to the treat. Like I said, it now just tastes like a warm pretzel.

My suggestion is to make the treats that you want, just minimize the amount and frequency that you eat them.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

Weight Loss - Glycemic Index

Back in May 05, 2006 I talked about how my daughter eats. That she uses her natural instincs in finding the correct food and eat correctly as far as not stuffing herself. I talked to my mother today and she is ona diet that is called the Glycemic Index. The glycemic index (GI) is a ranking of carbohydrates on a scale from 0 to 100 according to the extent to which they raise blood sugar levels after eating. Foods with a high GI are those which are rapidly digested and absorbed and result in marked fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low-GI foods, by virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, produce gradual rises in blood sugar and insulin levels, and have proven benefits for health. Low GI diets have been shown to improve both glucose and lipid levels in people with diabetes (type 1 and type 2). They have benefits for weight control because they help control appetite and delay hunger. Low GI diets also reduce insulin levels and insulin resistance.

Recent studies from Harvard School of Public Health indicate that the risks of diseases such as type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease are strongly related to the GI of the overall diet. In 1999, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recommended that people in industrialised countries base their diets on low-GI foods in order to prevent the most common diseases of affluence, such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

You can check what the glycemic index is in certain foods by going to this site and typing in the food of your choice, Glycemic Index Database.

The point to this posting is that the glycemic index tells people that if they try to keep the foods as clean and natural as possible, then they have a better chance in losing weight because they are probably eating foods that our bodies have evolved to. our bodies were never intended to eat and digest artificial flavors and sugars. There are chemicals within most foods that I have a hard time pernouncing and that were never indended for our digestion. Keep it simple and your body will love you for it.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Weight Training - Stay on Track!

Just to re-interate the last second to last post. No matter how your friends or family (who see you every day) critzise you that you are not losing weight or looking thinner...stay on track. Keep lifting and doing your cardio like you have been. If you see yourself getting stronger and that cardio training is starting to get easier, then you are doing the right thing. If you are getting stronger then you are gaining more muscle. If you are gaining more muscle and staying the same weight then you are losing fat. If you are gaining more muscle then you are able to burn more calories per time you have been using to do your cardio.

If you feel you are making progress and can see them in the mirror then you need to keep it up. That should be your only motivator and don't rely on what other people think of you. I have been getting more definition slowly but I can see it because at the end of the day, I am my biggest critic.

As a suggestion, if you are not getting as big of a result as you would like and you do not train your legs much, start. Your legs are the largest muscle group on your body and they are the largest consumer of calories than anything else. So work more on getting them bigger and stronger so you can burn more calories and start looking better....in your eyes.

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Weight Loss - Spoil yourself!!!!!

Their is one key advise for anyone trying to lose weight.........spoil yourself once in awhile. I know what you are thinking....why eat something that might possibly add to what I am trying to lose.? Here is the answer. When you try to eat very healthy and stay away from the unhealthy items i.e. fast food, candy, or pastries; your hunger for those foods grow and grow. If you let it grow to large and don't try to lower it by having one or two of those things, you will get discuraged and kick off of the diet. It is easier to satisfy those cravings once in awhile so you don't lose site of your goal.

What is your goal anyways? Are you trying to lose weight so you look good, fit so you can play harder and better, or just trying to get that body back so your wife will be physically attracted to you again? If you are trying for any of these eventually you will get there and stay there. But how good would you feel if you didn't get to indulge in some of the good stuff while you look good.

My advise to you is to indulge the temptations just a little bit....moderation. I like to have a special treat once a week. I look forward to Sunday so I can have fried chicken and ice cream, but the rest of the week days I eat sensible and healthy.

So enjoy losing weight but most importantly, enjoy life because we only get one chance at it.