Blog on weight, How to Lose Fat on the Cheap

It's extremely common to hit a plateau at some point during your weight loss journey. And, obviously, it can be really discouraging when the number on the scale doesn't move. Good news — there are certain things you can do to help bust through that plateau and watch the scale number lower. First of all, I want you to know that your not alone. I hit many plateaus over the ten years it took me to lose 60 pounds. I'm not saying that it will take you 10 years to lose your weight.  All of us can become discouraged when we don't reach our weight loss goals, but the mistake I made was to settle for a smaller amount and for several years I quit trying. I maintained the weight loss I attained but I gave up trying to lose more. My mistake, I finally realized that I might have lost some weight, but I still had the fat. That's when I realized the the real goal was to lose the fat. It wasn't that important what the scale said, it was more important to lose my extra f...

The answer is different for all of us. Maybe you've been working on getting back to the weight you were at in high school or on your wedding day. But do you really need to go that low? Or can you weigh more than your ideal weight and still be healthy? O.K., that's a question everyone wants to know the answer to. Actually people lose weight for dozens of different reasons. Maybe you gained weight because you ate the way your family did, the way you grew up eating and that can be the beginning of your overweight problem. But as you get older you see the other school kids and the clothes they wear and you naturally want to fit in, and so your battle with weight begins. Others gain weight later in life, because of their occupation or maybe they've become overworked and depressed or maybe they've done well in life and food and drink is the reward. My neighbor has a sales job traveling, he's in and out of airports two and three times a week. Eating restaurant food eve...

Low Carb is very popular today but carbs are energy food. The trick is to trade the bad carbs for good carbs. Easy to say, but what are the bad ones and what are the good ones. First the bad carbs; An example of bad carbs in the picture above and example of good carbs below So how much carbs should I eat? There are different opinions but in general 50% of the calories you eat should be carbs. 20% of your calories should come from protein and the rest from fats. Why should I eat fats you might say. Good fats are necessary for maintaining body functions like joint health but they must be good fats. In the picture above you can see some like the olive oil, the oil in fish, the oil in avocados, nuts, and cheese. These are all natural oils and you this is the fat your body needs.  Now depending on age you want to be careful how much red meat you eat. I go heavy on the seafood and the poultry and only eat red meat once a week in small amounts. Red Meat is not really...

Are you exercising and not really seeing the results you hoped for? Maybe you're actually GAINING WEIGHT (very common, actually). Fact is, numerous research studies have shown that individuals who start on exercise programs actually subconsciously eat MORE calories due to the fact that exercise also stimulates your appetite. This is why folks who begin exercising--without consciously getting their diet under control at the same time--often actually GAIN body fat. Do you want to put in the time and the effort in the gym to GAIN weight? Me either. Actually that's what happens to more people then you might think. I had the same problem. I was getting too heavy and the first think I thought of was joining a gym. So I spent $40 a month for many years and got nowhere. I’d lose a little and then gain it back and the cycle would repeat itself over and over. Finally my wife told me I wasn’t counting my calories and I was eating the wrong things. "Exercise is good for yo...

Living healthy is not about living long necessarily, of course that can be a benefit, but living healthy is more about avoiding disease and illnesses, it's about keeping your body from aging faster than you. Statistics show us that most people don't die of old age. The main causes today of dying are war, accidents, diseases, illnesses, you can also die from heart conditions causes by the food you eat, or stress, or even depression. But to get back to the point, very few people just get old and die when their heart stops working. We are really the masters of our own destiny. In fact science has no idea how long your body can stay alive. In the modern world we live in, we endure air pollution, pollutants in our water, stress in our daily lives, chemicals in our food supply, and dozens more obstacles. No one really teaches us how to coup with modern living. They never taught us that in school. Matter a fact, they never taught that in school. We blame past generations for all t...

In the 90’s, protein diets were all the rage. The idea behind them is to build muscle mass. Your body weight itself will burn calories, but muscle weight burns much more calories then the weight of fat and the muscle will also burn the fat you have because you’re not eating enough fat to feed the muscle. O.K., I know that might seem a little confusing but if your body is mostly muscle, the muscle will eat the fat your consuming. Your body really does need some fat. But there’s good fat and bad fat and it’s the bad fats that are stored and never seem to get burned up. Bad fats are what you have to avoid. So, the idea is to eat large amounts of protein and very little amounts of carbs or fat. Which might be great for those who like to take supplements. This type of diet, and there were many like this one, were labeled “Fad Diets” because you can’t stay on the diet indefinitely. Your not getting enough nutrition, it’s not a balanced diet. So you end up taking supplements and that doesn’...

It’s up to you to take charge of your health. You should know if you weigh too much, if your out of shape or have too much body fat. That’s something children don’t learn, how to take care of themselves, how to take care of their health. Why is it that we don’t know that we’re not in good health or that we weigh too much. First of all, I think we do know but too often we ignore the signs. If a person has colds frequently or feels exhausted and has no energy, that’s a good sign that something is missing in their diet. Most of us reach for the vitamin supplements for the answer, but what most people need is to examine their diet. Be truthful with yourself and start to keep a log of what you eat. After one week, I think you’ll know what’s wrong with your diet. Some people already know their diet is their problem but just don’t know were to start or don’t want to take the time to change. For example, I think we all know that fast food isn’t really a healthy choice. But everyday we line u...

Today I want to tackle the question I get most often, "How can I lose weight?" This is like solving a puzzle because everyone has a unique problem that has a different solution. But for 90% of the overweight population we can generalize. Processed foods causes most of the overweight problems. But just the words "processed foods" take in more than you think.  If you take all processed foods out of supermarkets you would be left with a produce market and a seafood and meat market. Everything in this new store would be fresh, nothing frozen. Frozen or canned products have preservatives. Things like bread, crackers, cookies, and cakes are all processed foods. Anything in a can or box is processed food. Even most dairy products are processed. So what's wrong with processed foods? Manufacturers have to add preservatives to add shelf life and also add other things to give the product better taste.  Most of these food additives are chemical. You can tell by th...

Then look no farther, nuts, seeds, and fruits are an all natural choice. I found a great article about my favorite snack food. We all snacks to get us through the afternoon. Most of us go to the snack machine and find something like chips or candy, when we should be eating nuts, apples, or berries. Bring your own snacks. This will prevent you from overdosing on salt or sugar. You can buy good snack food at the supermarket. If they have a bulk food section even better. If your watching your weight better off staying away from foods with a label. Manufactured foods are made to taste good, not good for you. Because manufactured foods contain nuts or berries doesn't mean it good for you. Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD Once viewed by some as a food too high in calories to enjoy on a regular basis, nuts are getting new respect. Two recent studies have touted the benefits of nuts for blood sugar control. One, published in Diabetes Care, found that eating pistachio nuts daily may...

Heart damage can occur in obese people without causing symptoms, and take place without other heart risk factors such as  diabetes ,  high blood pressure  and high  cholesterol , a new study says. The researchers said their findings about this silent heart damage challenge the common belief that the risk of  heart disease  in obese people is mainly due to diabetes and high blood pressure, which are common in obese people. " Obesity  is a well-known 'accomplice' in the development of heart disease, but our findings suggest it may be a solo player that drives  heart failure  independently of other risk factors that are often found among those with excess weight," said lead investigator Dr. Chiadi Ndumele, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease. The study included more than 9,500 heart disease-free people, ages 53 to 75, in Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi and North Carolina who were follow...

Good Question, First why should you avoid chemicals in food? The answer is Cancer. My personal opinion is that chemicals in food will cause cancer eventually. I say eventually because everyone has a different immune system, some healthier than others so Cancer cells would grow slower and might not be detected for decades if they live that long. After age 80, the chances for some Cancers are as much as 50%. So we now know that diet and exercise have much to do with your chances of getting Cancer. We also know that the amount of body fat will add more risk to your chances for Cancer. The good news is that you can do something about it. Yes, thanks to modern medicine more people survive Cancer than ever before, but going threw the process of chemo and radiation treatments is a terrible experience no one wants to go threw. Opting out of treatment is even worse, Cancer patients die a long and painful death. So how can I improve my risk for Cancer. If you don't raise your own chicken...