NewsSlim Aug 2007

Document Your Daily Weight-Loss Activities

One of the best habits to maintain in order to see your weight-loss goal come to fruition is to document your daily activities. This involves recording exactly what you eat, what exercise you perform and what supplements you take daily. It is also worthwhile writing down how you felt that day. Record your energy levels, appetite, general well being, muscle soreness and mental state. Each of these areas can have an impact on the performance of your daily activities relating to nutrition, exercise and supplementation. To make the documentation exercise even more beneficial, every evening set weight-loss activity goals for yourself for the following day and at the same time, rate how well you did that day.

By documenting your daily weight-loss activities you become more conscious of what you are doing rather than simply ‘going through the motions’. You are far less likely to unconsciously react to an emotional situation by eating or mentally talking yourself out of a workout because you know you have to write it down.

Plus, the act of writing down your weight-loss activities makes you far more accountable. You can easily see where improvements can be made and this ensures you stay on the right track. It may also help you identify reasons why your progress has stagnated. By identifying what’s stopping you from losing weight, you can take steps to correct the fault rather than becoming despondent about your lack of progress.

Setting weight-loss activity goals for yourself each evening before bed focuses your mind on the positive steps you need to take. It plants a ‘motivation seed’ in your subconscious mind so when you wake up in the morning there is no need to wrestle with thoughts of pressing the snooze button and staying in bed. As the Nike ad says, ‘just do it!’

It is amazing how much of an impact simple documentation of your activities, feelings and activity goals can have on your commitment to do the right things every day. It seems to add more fuel to your ‘motivation fire’. The act of putting pen to paper after each meal and exercise session as well as at the end of each day reinforces the positive habits and helps you stay focused on your weight-loss goal.

Whenever you write anything down relating to your daily weight-loss activities it is essential that you are as specific as possible. Rather than simply writing down: a chicken and salad sandwich for lunch; write down: 2 slices of multigrain bread, 100g of chicken breast (no skin), 2 slices of tomato, ¼ cup of lettuce, no butter.

In the early stages of documenting your daily weight-loss activities it may seem like a real chore. However, very soon after creating the habit you will be amazed at how easy it is to incorporate the habit into your lifestyle. Better still, in a very short period of time this habit will have an enormously positive impact on the daily activities you choose to perform. This discipline will influence everything you choose to do and will pay dividends by helping you dramatically change your body in a relatively short period of time.

Make a commitment right now to get into the habit of documenting your daily weight-loss activities and get ready to be amazed at the changes that will occur in your body.

To find out more about MultiSlim visit www.multislim.com.au

EAT NORMAL, EVERYDAY FOODS

The foods you select must be:

· Easy to obtain

· Easy to prepare

· Foods that you currently eat and enjoy

· The same foods your family consumes

· Foods that provide good nutrition to your body

· Varied to minimise any deficiencies

This sounds like a fairly standard recommendation but you would be surprised at how many diets actually make it difficult for you to follow them for a long period of time

Often they restrict the consumption of certain foods and/ or only allow a limited number of foods to be consumed. For example, some diets recommend consuming only a very small amount of carbohydrates but allow you to eat an unlimited amount of protein and fat! Others suggest consuming only a few types of food (like the grapefruit or bread diets) and some forbid eating good-tasting, high-fat foods, even occasionally.

Easy to obtain

If you intend to follow a sound nutritional plan for the rest of your life no food should be totally restricted, and the types of foods eaten should be easy to obtain. Whether you get them from supermarkets or fruit and vegetable stores for home preparation, or whether you eat out at restaurants, it should be easy to obtain meals that assist your fat-loss efforts. Having suitable meals simply means you provide your body with a portion of carbohydrate, a portion of protein and a small amount of fat every few hours throughout the day. A simple way to determine your portion sizes of carbohydrate and protein from whole-food sources is to use the size and thickness of your palm. Later I will list the macronutrient (carbohydrate, protein and fat) profile of some ‘everyday’ foods so you can prepare suitable meal options with ease.

Even if you are eating at a restaurant it is very easy to get a suitable meal by simply being selective about the foods you choose and also by telling the waiter exactly how you want your meal prepared. Remember, you are eating at their establishment and it is your right to have the food prepared the way you want it. It is also your body and you certainly don’t want to be putting unwanted food or excess calories into it if you don’t have to.

If you are going to a friend’s house for a meal, you may want to prepare a ‘fat-loss friendly’ dish to make a contribution to the meal. I’m sure your host won’t be offended if you sincerely want to help them prepare a successful meal. Alternatively, you may want to eat before you go there so if they don’t have suitable food on offer, you can still eat their food but simply have a reduced portion.

Easy to prepare

The preparation of meals should be quick and easy and each meal should contain foods that you enjoy eating and that are nutritious for your body. Easy preparation of meals is essential because with our hectic lifestyles these days eating seems to have become a time-consuming chore. Just consider the popularity of fast food outlets. They may not provide our body with ideal nutrition but they fulfil our need for quick, easy, convenient and good-tasting meals. Since what we choose to eat influences the way we feel, our energy levels and ultimately, how our body looks, it is imperative we make wise food choices and that these choices are convenient and easy.

Foods that you currently eat and enjoy

Ensuring that the nutritional plan you follow contains foods you currently eat and enjoy means there is a greater likelihood of long-term sustainability. If you are required to follow a nutritional plan that includes foods you don’t like or foods that you don’t normally eat, then it is highly likely that you will eventually give up the plan.

The same foods your family consumes

The meals you choose in order to accelerate fat loss must contain the same foods that your family normally eats. For most people, preparing two different meals at night, one for the family and one for themselves, is simply out of the question. It is essential that the evening meal helps you achieve maximum fat loss without eating differently from the rest of your family.

To give you an example, one of the fat-loss nutritional principles is to ‘taper your carbohydrate intake’, which means reducing your carbohydrate intake in the evening. Now, if your family is used to having a high carbohydrate intake for dinner this principle may seem difficult to apply. However, by simply trying to lower your own carbohydrate intake at dinner (without eliminating it altogether) and feeding your family the same as you normally would, it can be achieved. The easiest way to achieve this without eating differently from your family would be to do the following:

Apportion yourself a large serving of low-density carbohydrates like vegetables or salad (the carbohydrates with little starch in them - see the low-density carbohydrate section of the table, page 138), have your normal serving of protein (or slightly more if you are exercising) and have only a small serving of the high-density carbohydrate foods like starchy vegetables (potatoes/ pumpkin) or pasta/ rice/ bread.

Alternatively, it may be worthwhile increasing the size of your mid-afternoon meal to compensate for a reduced food intake in the evening. You can then save the rest of your evening meal for lunch the next day perhaps. Better still, try to encourage your entire family to follow a healthier style of eating by reducing their evening intake of starchy carbohydrate as well.

Foods that provide good nutrition to your body

As was mentioned before, ‘You are what you eat’. Therefore, it is imperative that you ensure the foods you consume are highly nutritious and will provide your body with all the nutrients it needs to function optimally.

Varied to minimise any deficiencies

Variation in the diet is also important. Not just to prevent boredom but also to ensure your body doesn’t become nutrient deficient. Since the body has a requirement for at least 40 different nutrients every day, it is imperative that you consume a wide variety of different foods to ensure you get adequate amounts of these nutrients. It is also important that you eat a wide variety of foods to ensure you don’t miss out on any ‘yet-to-be-identified’ nutrients. One of the best ways to achieve this is by consuming a variety of normal, everyday foods.

1. Nutrition

High Protein Diet Increases Weight Loss and Reduces Heart Disease Risk in Diabetic Women

A study published in Diabetes Care has shown that an increased protein intake can promote weight loss and reduce heart disease risk in women with type 2 diabetes. One of the easiest ways to increase protein intake is through supplementation. Having a protein shake for your mid-morning and/ or mid-afternoon meals is the best way to consume more protein in your diet.

Diabetes Care. 2002 Mar;25(3):425-30.

High Protein Reduces Hunger and Weight Gain After Weight Loss

Researchers in the Netherlands have found that a greater protein intake helps suppress hunger and reduces the weight gain that may follow weight loss. Many people regain the weight they lose and sometimes even more within weeks or months after initially losing weight. However, if they make a conscious effort to consume more protein they will have a greater chance of keeping the weight off long term.

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 Jan;28(1):57-64.

2. Supplementation

Guarana and Green Tea Significantly Increase Calorie Expenditure

The combination of guarana (caffeine) and green tea has been well documented to promote an increase in energy expenditure. This study used a set amount of caffeine combined with varying amounts of green tea. All groups increased energy expenditure with little difference between the groups. XLR8 Thermogenic contains both of these ingredients along with other thermogenic compounds which have also been shown to increase energy expenditure.

Br J Nutr. 2005 Sep;94(3):432-6.