Showing posts with label Eating. Show all posts

Tuesday, 23 September 2014

You May Be Nutrient Starved

How to Starve to Death While Eating 3000 Calories a Day

Can a body really starve to death while eating 3000 calories a day? Absolutely! The death just comes in different forms than it does when someone isn’t getting enough calories. It comes in the form of heart attacks, obesity, diabetes, strokes and many, many other forms. Those may not be the kind of deaths we usually associate with starving to death, but they are deaths none the less, due to nutrient starvation. Yikes!

Let me explain.

Many popular diets would have you to believe that weight management is completely about calories in versus calories out. Now, to some extent that is true. If you consume more than you burn, your body will store the extra in the fat stores. But if it were completely true, then a person who ate 3000 calories worth of donuts would be in the same shape as someone who ate 3000 calories worth of fruits and veggies.

Nutrients count! Our bodies were designed to burn good fuel, not garbage. The old adage, “Garbage in, garbage out.” rings very true here. The more I study about nutrition, the more I learn that we need a balance of all of the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients in order to have our engines running in peak order. A deficiency in one vitamin means that another isn’t going to be as readily metabolized. Then your body actually becomes deficient in both vitamins even though you are getting adequate amounts of one of them. The way our bodies utilize nutrients never ceases to amaze me. It is a beautiful delicate balance that works magnificently to our benefit.

So, if you give yourself 3000 calories a day of processed, nutrient sparse food, you will very likely get sick. Even if you were actually able to burn all of those calories, your body wouldn’t have the nutrients that it needs to process the calories and so would store it as fat. Your muscles would become worn down, tired, deprived of nutrition and unable to help you metabolize your food. Your body goes into “starvation mode” and stores everything you eat as fat. Ugh! All that work just to gain more fat! It’s not fair!

Now, if you give yourself 3000 calories of nutrient dense foods such as, fruits, green veggies, lean meats, while cutting out starches . . . ya know, the good fuel, your body will have everything it needs to metabolize the calories and store it in the places where your body needs it. Your muscles develop stronger. Your bones grow denser. You immune system becomes hardier. Your brain, lymphatic and hormone systems run smoother. Ahhh…. your body thanks you by ridding itself of the extra fat that it doesn’t need. It didn’t want it anyway!

Over the years, as I have learned this, I have started to look at my diet in a new way. I don’t worry quite so much about the calories, but more about how many nutrients I can consume in a given meal. Can I add some spinach or tomato to that sandwich? Can I add some black beans to that soup? How about adding some wheat bran to those waffles and topping it with strawberries? I have started to look at those garbage foods as not only garbage, but wasted opportunities to give my body more nutrients. I only have so many calories a day that I can consume and I need to get as many nutrients packed into them as I can.

Moral of the story:

If you want to feel good and have your workouts do you the most good, give your body the fuel it really wants. It will thank you by feeling and looking the way you really want it to.

Kelly is a down to earth personal trainer who loves helping her clients catch the fitness bug. She is a busy triathlete who has completed many sprint to Iron distance races. As a mother of 5, she personally understands the challenge of balancing workouts and healthy, but kid friendly meals. Having struggled with her weight and with type II diabetes, she really knows what it is all about. Check out her website at http://ift.tt/1p2m5tj

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The post You May Be Nutrient Starved appeared first on Robert JR Graham.

Monday, 25 August 2014

The Psychology of Weight Loss

by: Steve Hall

You see the razor-thin models gracing the covers of magazines…you watch actors and actresses on the big screen who seem to never gain a pound. And you wonder: How do I differ from them? You may be surprised to learn that a number of famous people at one time had difficulty maintaining a healthy weight. But they were able to conquer their problem, thanks to a new-and-improved, healthy view of eating.

You may not realize it, but there is a certain psychology at work in successful weight loss. It is no surprise, then, that the magazine Psychology Today has explored the issue in-depth. In October of 2004, the magazine posted an article on its website detailing the experiences of Diane Berry, a nurse practitioner who studied women who had shed at least 15 pounds and had maintained their weight loss for an average of seven years.

The women shared some important things in common. For instance, they all achieved their weight loss through either Weight Watchers or TOPS, which meant that they had a firm support network as they tried to maintain their weight. The group meetings were highly important, because they learned to recognize that they were certainly not alone in their struggles with weight. The women were also quite unusual because up to 90 percent of individuals who have lost weight end up putting it back on within five years.

Another common trait of these women is that they appeared to undergo a profound mood shift as they made the transition from fat to thin. From all indications, they appeared to be depressed when they were heavy but, as they attempted to lose weight, their mood brightened.

For these women, healthy eating became a habit—a habit they refused to break. They themselves recognized the tremendous role that psychology plays in weight loss. They refused to give in to negative feelings of frustration and denial and chose a positive path instead. The women also made it a point to weigh themselves regularly so that they could chart their progress.

And they recognized that maintaining weight loss would be a lifetime struggle. They knew that they could not attempt a weight loss program then put it back on the shelf. They had to learn new eating patterns that they could continue week in and week out. In some cases, they likened their struggle to that of an alcoholic. In other words, they recognized the gravity of their problem and took steps to correct the situation.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these women’s experiences was the fact that their weight loss actually came in spurts. At times, they regained their weight, but they did not let that deter them from their final goal. They simply viewed their setbacks as challenges that they needed to overcome. This may be the key psychological trait that separates successful dieters from unsuccessful ones—perseverance. In essence, these women were able to change their personalities in a positive way in order to achieve their long-term weight loss goals.

Another interesting aspect of this study was that it showed that the women who had undergone weight loss transformation were genuinely happy. This shows the tremendous psychological impact that weight loss can have on an individual. Once an individual is free from the burden of extra weight, he or she is better able to meet the challenges of life head-on. The dieter benefits from positive reinforcement, as relatives, friends, and co-workers congratulate him or her for the weight loss. In this way, losing weight can be quite a life-affirming experience and can lead to a more optimistic outlook on life.

It must be noted here that the psychology of weight loss is a complicated matter. There is no single ingredient that can turn a fat person into a thin one. However, recognizing that there is a psychological component to successful weight loss may, in fact, be half the battle. Once an individual recognizes that he or she is engaged in a psychological fight, he or she is better able to do battle. By retraining oneself to seek healthy approaches to diet, one can, in effect, mold oneself into a new individual—one that no longer lives to eat, but simply eats to live.

About The Author

Steve Hall is the operator of http://ift.tt/1jno1dz, where you can find information on subjects you have an interest in learning about.

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The post The Psychology of Weight Loss appeared first on Robert JR Graham.

Friday, 22 August 2014

You May Be Nutrient Starved

How to Starve to Death While Eating 3000 Calories a Day

By Kelly McPherson

Let me explain.

Moral of the story:

If you want to feel good and have your workouts do you the most good, give your body the fuel it really wants. It will thank you by feeling and looking the way you really want it to.