Tuesday 22 October 2013

Posted by Desola | File under : , , , , , , ,




You’ve been cutting down on fat, controlling carbs and exercising five days a week. So why aren’t you losing weight or even worse, Why are you gaining?

1.      You overcompensate for exercise
Many of us reward our 1hr morning jog with a big bowl of icecream and feel justified(you’ve just burned off all those calories, right?),  Or is it the other way around? We eat a whole round of pizza with the intention of Burning it off later. however, it may be that by increasing your calorie intake to fuel or reward your sessions you are actually undoing all the hard work of your workout. In fact, as we often overestimate the calories we burn through exercise, you may even be taking in more than you have actually worked off, leading to weight gain rather than loss.

2.      You rely on exercise alone.
Yes, exercising can help you lose weight (and it has so many other health benefits) because it helps you create that calorie deficit needs to drop body fat. But here's the truth: Exercise alone will not help you lose weight. For emphasis, I'll say it again. If you are relying on exercise alone to lose weight, you are fighting an uphill battle. The best way to lose weight is to cut back on what you eat and increase your burn through exercise—not one or the other.

3.      You take/drink too much sugar/sugary drinks
Did you know that 2 cubes of sugar equals a slice of wheatbread? You watch what you eat, cut back on fatty foods and don’t snack between meals, but have you considered the amount of calories you may be drinking every day? While we all know the main calorie culprit when it comes to our drinks is alcohol, you should also consider the calories in fruit juice, smoothies, soft drinks and many hot drinks. Every calorie counts towards your daily intake, so don’t forget about the liquid ones!

4.      You eat large portions
If you’re eating low fat, healthy meals but are still not losing weight, it may be worth looking at your portion sizes. While you may think that you’re only eating three meals a day, with the increasing portion sizes many of us consume you could actually be eating the equivalent of 6 or more standard serving sizes each day. It is worth remembering that although the food you’re eating may be healthy, it should still be eaten in moderation, as eating too much of anything will cause you to gain weight.

5.      You eat too little
While eating too much food can cause you to gain weight, eating too little can also make it surprisingly difficult to shed those pounds. Your body has a natural instinct to protect itself so when it is not given an adequate amount of food it will automatically go into starvation mode, causing the metabolism to slow down and the body to hoard fat and calories. As a result of this it will become much more difficult for you to lose weight.

6.      You are not consistent
Perhaps even worse for your metabolism and waistline than eating too much or too little is flitting regularly between the two extremes. If you constantly go through a process of starving yourself one minute and bingeing the next, you will play havoc with your metabolism and cause your body to store more fat. As eating too little causes the metabolism to slow down, following this period with a binge will cause your body to quickly pile on the pounds
 
7.      You think you are living health but you are not
      If you still do "the-more-the-merrier with mayonnaise or butter, or pipe down palm oil in the vegetable soup, you are Joking! You may be eating one slice of Bread but your mayonnaise has enough calories for 3 slices. A table spoon of Palm oil has 120 calories. So watch out, you may be doing all things right but ignoring the little things that matter


8.      You haven’t given it enough time.Some people get instant results from dropping carbs, grains, sugar, and vegetable oils, while others have to take a month to get acclimated and only then does the weight begin to slide off. Also, the scale doesn’t always reflect your weightloss, so chill out!. You’re in it for the long run. Approach it with the right mindset and you won’t get discouraged. 





Thursday 3 October 2013

Posted by Desola | File under : , , , , , , , ,


Honestly, I can’t lie, I am guilty of weekend resting. I have deserved it considering my hard work during the week, plus why should I say no when someone wants to take me to cold stone, Ahn ahn., Life shouldnt be hard na. so i take a break on saturdays

But did you know that even if you stick to a healthy diet or exercise routine all week, weekend overeating could result in an average gain of 9 pounds(4kg)?

Like me, many people stick to a routine of relatively healthy eating and maybe exercise on weekdays – until 5:00pm Friday, then all hell breaks loose
 (if you still haven’t figured out how to eat healthy on week-days, check out my work-week food table here)

It takes cutting out 3500calories to actually lose a pound.  Following my work week food table which cuts 300 calories on the average daily and hence 1500 (300 caories x 5 work days) weekly, it may take two weeks to lose that pound. so If I overeat weekends say about 1800 calories(most people eat more), it actually takes back 2-3days of work back from me, there by slowing my results.

Being a firm a believer of reward for work, I still support reward days, mine is Saturday and it sort of strengthens me and gives me a day to look forward to…While its ok to relax a bit, overdoing it may just take back the progress.

What to do?

Always eat Breakfast: IM not saying you should start your day with a big piece of burger, no, Im saying eat a regular breakfast, to be safe, eat a low fat breakfast so that youll have space for junk in your calories consummation and its going to be a looong day. Plus breakfast reduces the urge to munch everything in sight

Plan your meals: if there is any time to plan your meals, it has to be weekends. Know by Friday what you want to eat through your weekend and make it available. Keep healthy food around you so even if you go on a mindless munch spree, at least it will be healthy. Stock up your fridge with fruits and veggies as well

Plan ahead. If you're headed for a party or out to dinner, eat less that day and/or power up your physical activity

Out with the Junk: Toss out unhealthy food, if you are going to be at home, you cant have a pack of sneakers lazying about, it will end up in your stomach. do not have it around!

Ask for the smaller Size: when the Small or large question comes, ask for  Small, I know it’s a reward day but a smaller cup of ice cream doesn’t make it any less of a reward

Exercise – no matter how small, just do it, even if it just a 30s squat, youll need the extra burn

Keep Busy! – find something to do, if not, the boredom will make you think you are hungry

The one Treat rule! – it’s a reward day, only allow yourself just one reward, don’t go on a marathon Junk Consumption

Its usually good to get in a lot of exercise on weekends since you have the time and you don’t even have to go to the GYM, you can burn a significant amount of calories by doing this

Goodluck this weekend,

Leave your comments, tell me what you think!