How Does Weight Loss Work?

Dr. Catherine Itsiopoulos, from the Dietitians Association of Australia, explains: “Weight loss works by burning up more energy (with increase in exercise) and taking in less energy (with improving food quality and reducing quantity). To lose weight and keep it off you need to make long-term lifestyle changes that are realistic and achievable and can be maintained in the long-term.”

THE RULES

1. Eat before you get too hungry, as not doing so can lead to overeating.
   
   


2. Eat slowly, chew food well and stop eating when you are comfortably full.
   
   


3. Eat a diet containing lots of vegetables, salads and fresh fruit.
   
   


4. Choose wholegrain breads and cereals, which are more filling and nutritious.
   
   


5. Choose low-fat dairy foods. Try yogurt for a nutritious calcium-rich snack, or a glass of milk in the evenings to satisfy a sweet tooth when you’re craving dessert.
   
   


6. Eat small portions of lean red meat, or a serving of skinless chicken, and have fish a couple of times a week: Try tinned salmon on a wholegrain roll with plenty of salad for lunch.
   
   


7. Drink plenty of water to stay well hydrated, and avoid sugary drinks.
   
   

Persimmon Snack

During this time of year, my grandfather has a tree FULL of persimmons.  We use some for Thanksgiving when my mom makes her famous Persimmon Chocolate Chip Cookies--everyone looks forward to them. But after the big meal, we have a lot of fruit left to get creative with.

The downside of the Hachiya Persimmons is that they are astringent until they are fully ripe.  If you wait for them to ripen on the tree, you have oodles of persimmons ready to eat NOW and it's impossible to keep up with them since they are fragile when ripe. So you have to pick them when they are still hard and wait for them to ripen. And wait, and wait, and wait...

You might wonder what astringent tastes like? Imagine sucking on your toner saturated cotton ball after washing your face. *Pucker up* Hachiya's are very deceptive too.  On the outside, they look yummy and ready to eat. But they are very astringent until they are squishy with ripeness.

The following were picked two weeks ago and are still hard as rocks.  Aren't they pretty? One little lick and you'd be gagging.

One thing you can do instead of waiting for these babies to ripen is to dehydrate them. For some reason, even though they are hard and bitter, after they are dehydrated, the astringency is gone and a sweet, nutritious, dried treat remains.

astringent-inedible-nasty

sweet-chewy-satisfying

**Not to be confused with the Fuyu Persimmon. (Below) They are sweet when they are hard. Notice how they have flat, pointless bottoms unlike the Hachiya above.  They're ready to eat as soon as they turn orange.  I tend to get impatient so I have to admit, I like the Fuyu better.  I think we might have to plant a tree too. (I've gobbled a couple of these already today.)

Check out this great Wiki article about persimmons. 

Make The Right Choices For A Healthier, Dtronger and Fitter Body

Cut your salt

New research shows salt is sneaking into our diets, putting us at risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke. Experts at Sydney’s The George Institute found more than 70 percent of processed meats, cheese and sauces contain high levels of sodium. Lisa Renn from the Dietitians Association of Australia says: “The recommended upper limit is 2,300 mg of sodium per day or about 1.5 tsp of salt – much less than our average intake of 3,450 mg.” Slash your salt with these tips:

• Compare food labels “Go for low-salt, reduced-salt or salt-free products and choose foods with 400 mg to 500 mg or lower sodium content per 100 g,” advises Renn.
  
  


• Go fresh Fresh, unprocessed fruits, vegetables, lean meat and seafood are low in sodium and rich in potassium, which buffers the negative effects of salt in the body.
  
  


• Up the flavour Add herbs and spices for flavour. “They’re low in sodium, but high in Vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients,” says Renn.
  
  


• Skip salt ‘substitutes’ Sea, onion, celery and garlic salts are not low-sodium. “With sea salt, you’re getting sodium but without the iodine in normal salt, so it’s better to just cut out added salt rather than looking for an alternative,” says Renn.
  
  

Fast Food = Fast Weight Gain

Most of the fast food companies operating in Australia are aware of society’s increased interest in nutrition over the past decade, and therefore provide Nutrition Information Panels on their products for consumers. Other chains have printed information or forms that you can request. Having these Nutrition Information Panels on their packaging can appeal to the health conscious individual, but what do these numbers really mean? Ask yourself; if you have read one of these labels before, have you been able to interpret the impact on your nutritional needs?

An average Australian male requires 2000 - 2200 calories per day, to maintain a healthy weight. The average McDonald’s takeaway meal provides approximately 1200 calories (60% of an average male’s energy requirement). For an overweight female trying to lose 0.5kg per week, these 1200 calories are equivalent to her daily suggested calorie intake.

The table below outlines the number of calories that are contained within four typical fast food meals compared with the calorie count of  four comparable home made meals. 

As a guide, no more than approximately a third of your fat intake should be coming from saturated fat (6). For an average male, this equates to approximately 20 - 25g of saturated fat per day. For a female, following a 1200 calorie meal plan, this is approximately 12g saturated fat per day – with each of the below takeaway meals providing significantly greater amounts.

The table below highlights the saturated fat content contained within the same four fast food meals compared with the home made variations.

Not only are takeaway foods calorie and fat dense, they also distort our concept of meal portions from an early age. Promoting larger meals at cheaper prices, it encourages people to consume far beyond our nutritional limits.

References

1. Calculated per ‘McDonalds: Nutrition - Know Your Food’ available at http://mcdonalds.com.au/our-food/nutrition
2. Calculated per ‘Calorie Count’ available at http://caloriecount.about.com/
3. Calculated per ‘KFC Nutrition Information’ available at http://www.kfc.com.au/nutrition/index.aspx
4. Calculated per ‘Hungry Jacks Menu available at http://www.hungryjacks.com.au/menu.php
5. Calculated per ‘Subway’ Nutrition Information available at http://www.subway.com.au/info/our_menu/nutritional_information/
6. The Heart Foundation. Where to find Healthier Fats. 15th October 2011 available at http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/sites/HealthyEating/understandingfatsandcholesterol/Pages/Wheretofindhealthierfats.aspx

Some things work, some don't...this one didn't

Askfirmation versus Affirmation? Well, it was a swell idea, but it didn't work for me this morning. In fact, it had the reverse desired effect.

I woke up at my usual 4:40 a.m. intending to get up and get to the gym by 5 a.m. Instead of my normal self-talk of "get up, get going and just don't think about it", I had a debate with myself.

I thought about how I didn't have to go workout, that I could think about it, and asked myself "when would I work out today?" After falling back to sleep and waking up at 5:30 a.m., I thought about it some more. The bottom line, I made it to the gym by 6:20 a.m. This is unacceptable.

If you think I'm being too hard on myself, trust me, it's really easy for me to fall back into old, bad habits. Although I've been exercising consistently for three years, it doesn't take much to convince me it's not a necessity. I'm easily swayed. Look Diana, shiny object!

Exercise is a necessity for me. It's the only thing I've done consistently for three years. I try to eat right most of the time, but obviously I mess that one up pretty often (or I'd be skinny by now).

As far as when I exercise, it's not up for discussion. I exercise in the morning. Period. I need to be at the gym by 5:30 a.m., or 6 a.m. at the very latest. This has been working for me so I don't know why I thought it was necessary to change things. Some things should stay the same.

The Big Climb
I know I keep talking about this but I'm really excited the Big Climb. So far I have 20 people signed up to participate as part of a corporate team, and today was the first day I posted it.

We're going to plan a fundraiser breakfast. I also found out today I might be able to get my company give matching funds. Maybe. I'm setting a fundraising goal of $5,000. I know that's pretty high but that's what the Light of the Night group was able to raise for cancer last summer. I hope my team can the same.

Facebook & Twitter
Since I want to get the word out on The Big Climb, I'm going to join the 21st century and start posting on my Facebook and Twitter accounts. I've had these accounts set up for a long time, but basically I'm just a stalker. I never post anything, I just read about other people's lives. Hopefully this will help get the word out about the Big Climb.

The links to my Twitter and Facebook are in the upper right corner. Please friend me or follow me or whatever the heck you call it. I'd really appreciate it!

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Styling Your Life With Fast Weight Loss

Imagine if you could style your life and redesigned it with the basics of fast weight loss tips. Sounds easy huh?

I am one of the living example of those people that fail to put into their lives the practice of weight loss. For all we know weight lose is an easy task once we get started and get used to it.

Lifestyle is how we decide to live each day and become a part of us,draw our life history. I chose to be straightforward and honest,you can see it all in my actions. When I chose to embrace continuous learning, you could see how I tried a lot of stuff and stop things that didn't work for me. I chose to try scrap booking, hence its one of my favorite hobbies. I quit smoking a year ago,thus no more puff forever. Those are my course of action over the years which play a major role in my daily life today. How about you? What is your lifestyle?

Of course I forgot to mention the sort of behaviour I have when it comes to weigh lose. I have been saying that fast and free weight lose is not impossible. Yes! Because I experienced it trough out my life. But lifestyle is also a question of consistency and persistence. For instance,lately I am not sleeping properly. We all know how lack of sleep destroys weight lose.

Are we persistent on having the healthy and slim body? My answer, NO. My lifestyle changed for the past two years. Some of these habits affected my weight. Lets discuss them as I found it helpful for some that aspire for fast weigh lose.

Remember: Changing your lifestyle is free. Worth working out,right?

1. Food choices

I discuss under eating habit hoe your food choices will make you fat. Eat according to your goals. Grab enough food that will provide the food nutrition you want for your ideal weight.

2. Bad habits

These habits are the hardest part to eliminate in our system. Its easy to learn and master the tricks of bad habits though. Try quitting and you will spend five times the effort you used acquiring them. I, for one, is guilty of bad sleeping and eating habits.

3. Peer and family relationship

Dont ever depend your decision to your friends and family. Do you belong to a group where fatness and obesity is the normal trend? If so, try to observe their habits affecting weigh lose. Never ever think that these are normal behavior. Change your way if you really want to lose those fats.

Do you have friends who always love to eat outside? Try to figure out ways how you can avoid gaining the extra calories. Decide base on your weight goals,not because of your social attachment with them. I'm not telling you not to go out with friends. Its never wrong to eat outside as long as you know your limitations.

4. Vices

Smoking, gambling and drinking are some vices that will destroy your body overtime. Its not directly related to weight lose but its directly destroying your personality. Remember how stress affects our body. Quit these vices now to attain the healthy lifestyle you are dreaming of.