Eat More, Lose More. (Really??)

You work out practically every day and you're feeling good because you've lost some weight. Until a week or so passes and you can't get the scale to budge. It's like an invisible wrench has been thrown into the works. Now what?

You start second-guessing everything you're doing:

• Maybe I'm eating too much?
• Should I work out harder?
• Do I have to live on parsley and hot water?

So you restrategize. You slash calories and step up the intensity of your workouts. Unfortunately, after another week, you're still not losing. Now you want to give up altogether. But before you throw in the towel, ask yourself this:

Am I eating enough?

Contrary to popular belief, sometimes you have to eat more to lose weight. While that may sound counterintuitive, it often does the trick. Here's why:

1. Metabolism is the key to weight loss. If you don't eat enough, or often enough, your metabolism slows to a crawl and weight loss becomes more difficult, especially when you're exercising. That's why skipping meals isn't a good idea if the goal is to shed pounds.
   
   Tip: Always eat breakfast to kick-start metabolism and try eating mini-meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism fired up.
2. To keep your metabolism up, you MUST eat. Conventional wisdom dictates that when you first start dieting, the less you eat, the better. While it's true that you often should eat less, eating too little can backfire over time. As your body composition changes, your body will think it's starving, which can make it hold on to fat. (The process actually has to do with excessive release of a hormone called cortisol, but you don't need to know the details, so we'll just call it fat.) To avoid this you shouldn't eat fewer than 1,200 calories per day for women, 1,500 for men. If your daily diet consists of fewer calories than that, consider eating more.
   
   Tip: Keep a food journal to track calories.
3. You need more calories when you work out. If you're exercising while following a low-calorie eating plan, you'll need to take into account the calories you're burning. That's because it's now easier to enter starvation mode. Let's say you're burning 400 calories and only eating 1,200 to 1,300 calories per day. This means you're really only taking in 800 to 900 calories per day before you begin to calculate how your body composition is changing. Muscle burns more calories at rest than fat does, so as your body changes, you need to eat more to keep the weight loss coming.
   
   Tip: Drink an after-workout recovery drink, ProGrade Workout. After hard workouts, its calories are utilized so quickly by your body, some people refer to them as "free calories." They aren't, but they will ensure your muscles, hence, your metabolism will recover quickly.

And remember this:

Figuring out to what to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat isn't easy. That's why people often refer to losing weight as a journey. It takes a few different paths to get there. Sometimes you have to adjust your ratio of protein, fat, and carbs to start losing again. Or adjust your calorie level, which can include eating more to lose weight.

Finally, if you're still on the fence about needing to eat more to lose weight. You might be thinking, "How come I know some really skinny people who barely eat?"

The answer is this: You can eventually lose weight by not eating. It's called starving. Reduce calories enough and your body will start breaking down its muscle tissue, and this will result in weight loss. However, it makes your body increase its emergency hormonal responses, which also causes your body to be stressed and hang onto fat, making it very easy to gain the weight back again.

So I hope you take this thought away with you today: The idea is to keep your metabolism revving and running. This will help you get healthy and stay strong. Eat the right amount of food to help your body continuously burn calories, and you're more likely to shed those unwanted pounds.

Broken New Year's Resolutions!

So it’s been 11 days since you made those New Year resolutions and how many are still a daily priority? Probably not many. Why does this happen? Well, I’m here to tell you a few of the most common mistakes made. But first, let’s learn a bit about where this undelivered over promised tradition derived.

The Babylonians celebrated New Years Day over four thousand years ago, although their celebration was in March rather than in January, coinciding with the spring planting of crops. Resolutions are a reflection of the Babylonians' belief that what a person does on the first day of the New Year will have an effect throughout the entire year. Side note; You might want to remember that at the next New Year's Eve party!

Regardless of the Babylonians tradition, The New Year for modern day people has always been a time for reflecting on the past year’s events, and looking forward to what’s in store in the coming year. It's time to become motivated to change the things needed. But more often then not, most people choose resolutions that are dreams or drastic changes that may be difficult to show immediate results. Hence, one of the reasons a resolution is broken.

To help you achieve these resolutions. Below is a list of some things to remember…

1. Don’t set too many resolutions! There's a temptation, with the New Year, to run off a list of everything we've ever wanted to change. Don’t do it! You'll have better luck fulfilling one or two goals than you will with a list of twenty. You can always add new resolutions later. Take one thing at a time and focus.

2. Don’t ask for your ship to come in!. You must choose action oriented goals that are achievable over time. This is not the lottery. It’s a resolution for change, a commitment for a better life. If your resolution is more money, then be the captain for your ship. Guide it along a course that will reach the shoreline of your choice.

3. Make a Plan. This is the TRUE key to success! Once you know what your resolution is, try to break it down. Nobody accomplishes anything of significance by trying to do it all at once. This doesn't have to be a complicated plan; just put it on paper and stick to what you write. And keep that paper in eye sight always.

4. Celebrate! You must reward yourself through the progress. Every small accomplishment needs to be recognized and honored. This will give you encouragement to continue. For example, if your resolutions is to loose 10 lbs. Celebrate yourself for each pound you loose, or each time you eliminate the bad foods and add healthier choices, or when you increase your exercise program.

Example: Loose 20 lbs, you might devise a plan like this:

1) Determine the amount of time it will take to loose the weight (realistically)

2) Join a gym or exercise studio (just like Accelerate!!!)

3) Create a meal plan

4) Create an exercise plan

5) Write out meal and exercise plans and keep in eyes sight always

For those of you now inspired and thinking, I wish I would have known this on Dec. 31st. Well, there’s good news. It’s not too late to start now! So what, it’s better than giving up completely and never achieving a thing. There is always time if you use the time wisely!

Now get out that piece of paper, write down the one or two goals and get into action!
Good luck, I’ll be cheering for you!