ThinkSlim

What Does A Weight Loss Coach really Eat? (Part 2)

I completed my 4 day food diary - I always find it enlightening to do that but it is a bit of a chore so I couldn't do it all the time.

If you're not sure why you are not losing weight, however, it's well worth it, especially if you give it to someone else to look at - others can often see where we are going wrong when we can't ourselves.

I added lots of commentary so you can see my thoughts on what I ate - good and bad - and you might pick up a few tips from it. Bear in mind that I am just maintaining my weight and not trying to lose it - though I wouldn't mind shedding a couple of pounds before summer.

Read on and leave your comments if you like (you might be able to see something I can't...)

What Does A Weight Loss Coach really Eat? (Part 1)

Michelle who is running the March challenge I talked about in my previous Exercise and Motivation post has suggested that the challengers photograph everything they eat for a week and post it to their blog.

Now I don't want to bore you to death with the pictures of my food (and as I'm not that handy with a camera and downloading pictures - it would take me ages) I decided to give that a miss.

But I do want to join in with the spirit of this and because I don't want you thinking that I live on lettuce (or that you should either) I will post what I eat over the next few days (no holds barred - including my chocolate consumption!) in a single food diary post after the weekend

Feel free to ignore if you don't want to know (but then again it might be a comfort to see how "normal" my diet is - that is, if any list of food can be considered normal.)

On the exercise front, I am repeating week 3 as I did not do my third session last week (felt too sorry for myself with a mild cold). This week, I've redone the first 2 of the 3 sessions for week 3, so I'm giving myself pats on the back again (and will make sure I do the third session on Friday).

Janice

Does this picture hurt you or help you?

I wasn't sure what to make of this picture of Manuel Uribe (see link below) when I saw it this morning. (Didn't help that I was eating oatmeal with sliced banana at the time, but it fair put me off my breakfast.)

At his largest size (over 1000lbs) and even now that he has lost nearly 400 lbs it must be pretty impossible to move much (if at all) - in fact he could not leave his bed. His mum and friends have been feeding and cleaning him. So, what kind of love is that to provide food that made him weigh over 1000lbs?

And, what kind of love are you showing to your family and yourself in the food YOU are serving up?

In any case, what an achievement to lose 400lbs - obviously without any exercise.

So does this picture inspire you to make an effort to lose weight (in the fear that you could grow to that size too if you're not careful) or would you rather have a picture of what you're aiming for?

For me, I just made me feel happy that I have learnt good eating habits and enjoy my food without any fear of things getting out of hand.

Half-ton Mexican man wheeled outside house

technorati tags:obesity, Manuel+Ulribe, overweight, 400lbs+weight+loss

The Royal Danish Hospital Diet

The internet is a wonderful source to find out everything you want to know but as far as weight loss is concerned you can just as easily find "information" which will harm you rather than help you lose weight.

Sometimes it is just your wallet which is harmed (and that is bad enough) but quite often it's your health which bears the cost.

You will often find diet and exercise information which is not only misguided but which may also be dangerous (especially if you already have health problems) so be sure to check out anything you're thinking of trying with your doctor.

One example I just came across on Health24.com is the Royal Danish Hospital diet. It seems that someone has posted this diet up on a forum as a great way to lose weight - yet is it is far from balanced or healthy and also has no connection to the Royal Danish hospital.

But there are plenty of other examples around. It seems our will to lose weight (without making too much effort to lose it) is so strong it shuts off our ability to question whether something is sensible or true.

Eating less (fewer calories) and moving more (using up more calories) works - that much we know is true. Question everything else....

Diet Drug to be Sold over the Counter in the US

A weight loss drug which goes by the name of Xenical or Orlistat has been approved by the FDA in the US for sale over the counter.

Although it has been available on prescription for years, lower doses of the drug will be on sale from June for about $50 for 30 days supply (90 capsules).

The drug prevents the absorption of a percentage of fat (about 25%) from meals and so reduces the calories which are available for use by the body.

Unfortunately if you eat too much fat when taking it, the drug has less interesting side effects - mainly the need to get to the bathroom - fast. For excess fat passes quickly through the body.

It seems to me that if you can reduce your fat intake to avoid the embarrassing problems you might as well just reduce it a bit more anyway and avoid having to take a diet pill at all.

I'm never very fond of unnecessary taking of any drug - prescription or otherwise - and that includes this one.

technorati tags:Xenical, Orlistat, weight+loss+drugs, diet+pills, lose+weight, eating+fat

Why So Many Diet Books?

How many diet books do you have on your bookshelves? Most people who want to lose weight have a few.

We buy them, of course,  because we hope that the book will solve our weight loss problems. And each one we buy offers new hope, where the last one failed to deliver.

But actually we would do better to think more about our own needs before buying the latest best-seller from a diet doctor.

Ask yourself how the advice in the book would affect your lifestyle and whether you will actually make those changes and stick with them. Think through what it really means to you if the plan wants you to exercise five times a week. Read the recipes. Can you eat that food? Every day? And nothing but that food?

In many cases you will be better making small changes to your habits which you can stick with rather than trying to follow the latest diet book. Changes to your habits will have a long term effect on your weight and your health. A book gathering dust on your shelf won't do you any good at all.

If you would like to get a new diet book for inspiration this year look for one which offers a plan you know you can stick with not the one with biggest hype on the cover.

Does Calorie Counting Work?

I just wrote an article about calorie counting for my Weight Loss Motivation Program site talking about all the pros and cons of calorie counting, how to make it a success and what to do if it's not for you.

Actually I have to say that though I give tips on making calorie counting work it's not something I usually recommend.

I know it works for some people but it just kills me all that adding up and writing down.  I don't have that kind of patience or time to do it and I've never found it's necessary for clients to lose weight like that.

Now I'm sure there are thousands of people who swear by calorie counting and I'll probably end up with a stack of angry email, but just ask yourself whether there's another way that works just as well and is more fun....

Also when do you stop having to go around with a little notebook and calorie chart (or a more sophisticated PDA system)? When does the spontaneity come back into eating? And do you put the weight back on then?

Seriously I'd love to hear about your experiences, good and bad with totting up those calories.

The Truth About Weight Loss

There must be more information around about losing weight than anything else. But weight loss never seems to get any easier despite all the articles and help available, does it?

Every year another diet comes out to rave reviews and with the obligatory celebrity endorsement. We buy the books (how many of us have shelves full of Atkins, South Beach,  GI and the like?) But are we getting any slimmer?

Quite the contrary - the whole of the Western world seems to be putting on weight at an alarming rate.

The fact is that traditional diets don't work - at least not for 99% of the population - the ones without the iron will and determination necessary to follow them (and keep them up after they lose weight).

Somehow it's easy to eat too much and move too little and gain weight and far more challenging to lose it by eating less and moving more!

And it's not that we don't know what to do - and if we don't we have a whole Internet full of nutrition and exercise advice available! That's not the problem for most people who want to lose weight. It's actually getting round to putting the knowledge to work  that we're not so good at.

The fact is, as humans, we're not really comfortable with change. If our desire to change is big enough to get over that then we might be able to succeed on a drastic "change your lifestyle overnight" diet.

But the foods we eat and the amount of exercise we take are usually so entrenched into our daily routines past and present that we can only make permanent changes by deliberately and gradually forming new habits and becoming equally comfortable with them.

Many diets and weight loss programs don't work because we would be unwilling to make them part of our lifestyle on a permanent basis. They are too restrictive, too unpleasant or just too much work.

Instead we need to gradually take on a set of healthy habits and routines which appeal to us so that we are willing to adopt a healthier lifestyle for good. After a while we feel so good that it becomes a habit to automatically make better choices for life.

That's why my whole weight loss program is based around gradually changing habits rather than making you follow a strict eating plan and exercise routine.

But if you're not ready for that yet, why not just pick up my free 15 page report all about losing weight without dieting? Get it from http://www.simplyslimming.com and start thinking about what you will do differently this year to lose weight and keep it off if diets have not worked for you in the past. 

Is Being Overweight Your Fault?

Difficult one this because as the founder of Healthbridge (a weight loss clinic) Dr. David Edelson, says

"Obesity is a serious, chronic, medical illness — it's not a matter of choice. People don't choose to become obese anymore than they would choose to become hypertensive or develop diabetes."

But I only believe that to be true to a certain extent. While no one would choose to be obese, in the cold light of day, most obese people are choosing to be so every day of their lives by following habits that they know have obesity as a consequence.

In my experience, obesity for the most part is not caused by a medical condition except in the minority of cases (and you can check this out with your doctor to see if you fall into that category soon enough). For most people obesity is not a medical condition but an overeating condition and a lack of activity condition - nothing more , nothing less.

Diet And Exercise Might Not Be Enough, Some Are Trying A Comprehensive Medical Treatment To Weight Loss - CBS News

technorati tags:cause+of+obesity, overeating, medical+condition

Faster Slimming

Ha! The ads for weight loss products have started again in full force following a festive lull.

Noticed an ad on TV last night for  losing weight fast by eating  smoothies, chocolate bars or "warming delicious soup" as meal replacements.

Do the ready-made low calorie items work? I have to say that yes they do for some people when they stick religiously to the diet. But then all diets work if you are able to stick to them AND maintain the changes afterwards. No secret there.

Now, if you have the  motivation to only eat a smoothie drink or a chocolate bar in place of a meal, it strikes me that you have plenty of motivation to make yourself a delicious (and much more filling) healthy meal and avoid going hungry.

And warming soup? Why not make a great big bowl of nourishment instead of eating processed stuff from a packet?

With the commercial products you will be left with exactly the same eating habits you had before and will put the weight back on as soon as you stop buying them (if you can even last long enough on that stuff to lose weight in the first place).

It's only by changing your eating habits, getting used to eating more healthily that you will see a permanent change in your body.

And eating a whole variety of healthy delicious food certainly makes mealtimes a lot more interesting than having your 20th smoothie of the month.