How to Overcome A Weight Loss Plateau

Last week I only lost 3 pounds. It looks like I have encountered another weight loss plateau. Plateaus are very common in weight loss strategies as you probably already know. Plateaus are more common but not exclusive to people who use calorie restriction as the only means to weight loss.  There are only so many calories you can reduce in a single day. A plan that includes both diet (in many cases not calorie reduction but changes in diet) and physical activity is much more effective for weight reduction.  However, even with these programs people may encounter weight loss plateaus. What can you do to overcome such weight loss plateau?

First, let’s talk about why the combination of diet and exercise in a weight loss program is more effective than just a calorie restriction plan. If you’re using only calorie restriction for weight loss you will definitely come to a weight loss plateau, as you can only go to a certain level (calorie reduction) beyond which can be unhealthy and even dangerous. The other thing is that to do it properly a calorie restriction diet must be done over a long period of time with a weight loss goal of 3-10 pounds per month (often this can be accomplished simply by making more sensible food choices). Why? Well, crash diets for instance are designed for the short term and will work for many people but have only temporary results. This is because the person will eventually return to previous eating habits and gain back all the weight that was lost in the first place. The other problem with this extreme type of dieting is twofold: 1. When the person loses weight she also loses valuable muscle mass. And what type of body mass burns most calories? You guessed it: muscle mass! 2. Unfavorable body composition: when the diet is over and the person gains back the weight the muscle mass that was lost does not return. It is replaced with fat mass. As a result the person is at a bigger disadvantage now than she was before the crash diet began.

So you can see why it is wiser to follow a weight loss program that includes good nutrition and sufficient physical activity. In my case, what I have do now is work on my physical activity component. Up to the present I have concentrated on cardiovascular exercise but at a fairly low resistance levels combined with weight training. I will stay with the same strength training routine but I need to turn the cardio up a notch. As I said in the previous post I use the stationary cycle to warm up and then continue with the treadmill, combining walking and jogging. The cycling part will stay the same – 15 minutes at a pre-set program which includes a warm-up session and then automatically and randomly increases resistance. The treadmill session is 45 minutes long and consists of brisk walking and adding a 1 minute jogging interval every 5 minutes. What I will do is simply increase the jogging duration from 1 minute to two and a half minutes. Let’s see if we can climb over this plateau. Talk to you next week!

By John Tiniakos



Categories: NL Natural Weight Loss Program

I Lost Another 8 Pounds: Total of 19 Pounds in 3 Weeks

As I said earlier, I had just started going to the gym after a long layoff. My workout is about an hour and a half long – give or take - and consists of 45 minutes cardio and 20-30 minutes strength training.

Cardio

First I start with the stationary cycle for the warm-up and then I slowly increase resistance for a total of 15 minutes. I choose one of the pre-set programs that are available on the bike’s computer. Then I go on to stretching for 15-20 minutes. Immediately following that is the treadmill. This consists of mostly brisk walking with a few bursts of jogging in between lasting for about a minute each – every 5 minutes.  

Weight Room

Here I like to do 2 body parts each time. I do 3 exercises per body part – 3 sets of 10-12 reps per exercise. The object is to do a different workout each time you go to the gym. You want to sort of surprise your muscles by changing your routine as opposed to doing the same exercises and training the same groups of body parts each time. The main body parts are back muscles, chest, shoulders, stomach, arms (biceps, triceps and forearms) and legs (quadriceps, hamstrings and calves). You’ll notice that because of the time I’ve allotted to weight training I have to really rush through the workout. You don’t want to rest too much between sets and exercises; you want to keep the muscles working.

Diet

I made a few changes to my diet but not huge changes like drastic calorie reduction, meal replacement plans, etc. I am not necessarily eating less now but let’s say I’m eating healthier - keep in mind that the introduction of physical activity to my schedule increases calorie expenditure. Basically I did a mental inventory of what my meals consisted of. I realized I was eating too many bad carbs and often combining bad carbs in meals. Instead of combining 2 or more carbs per meal (rice, potatoes, bread, pasta), I went strictly with 1 carb per meal and added a vegetable.  I also switched white rice to brown rice, chose yams instead of potatoes and included whole grain bread and pasta with meals – no white flour products. I also realized that I was having too many snacks. I switched 2 of my snacks to liquid form. For example after the gym I would take a low calorie protein shake or drink. I know I shouldn’t be eating late night snacks at all, but for now I changed them to consist of only fresh fruit or fruit juice (low in sugar).

So over the last 2 weeks I lost another 8 pounds for a total of 19 pounds so far. From now on it will get increasingly difficult to lose weight at this rate but I must continue in my quest.

By John Tiniakos


Categories: Diet Plan

Lose 10 Pounds In 1 Week by Drinking Soy Milk

The other day I was in an Oriental market and I came across a refrigerated area that contained mainly beverages. The soy milk was on special and I decided to buy some. Although I had known all about the health benefits of soy milk I hadn’t used it for a few years. I had just casually forgotten about it.  And since I am back on a weight loss campaign, (yes again, because as you may have guessed I have been slacking off for the past few months and the weight has begun to sneak back into my abdomen area, which was brought to my attention by my ex-girlfriend – I’ll explain later) I realized that soy milk can be very useful for this precise purpose - weight loss.

A few months ago I had met a whole new group of friends, well actually three.  How we met was purely a coincidence. At the time I was going through a depressing stage because I had broken up with my girlfriend (ok she broke up with me but don’t tell anyone). I was working long hours - I immersed myself into my work so that I could forget her. And at night I was finding it very difficult to sleep. So I’ll tell you about the night that I met these 3 people who are now close friends who are actually 3 women. That night I remember being exhausted and was driving down a dark boulevard. I was so tired that I began to nod off. And the next thing I remember was waking up in a hospital and being all bandaged up.

Without getting into all the details I was involved in a 4 car collision, I had received a concussion and was knocked unconscious. The drivers of the other 3 cars involved were unharmed and they had taken me to the hospital because the emergency forces were slow to respond. Of the 3 women one was a nurse so she knew what she was doing. Up until that point all four of us were strangers. But for whatever reason they all stayed that night, beside me, until I regained consciousness. And then they continued visiting me at the hospital over the next few days and we sort of developed a bond which eventually turned into a good friendship (just platonic in case you were wondering).

 Anyway not to bore you with more of this story, we began spending time visiting each other’s homes, going to dinner and other social functions but mostly dinners. We were trying all kinds of restaurants from Chinese to Italian to Middle Eastern, you name it.  We all love to eat you see, but the only one that was showing evidence of that is yours truly.  Yes, I was beginning to get overweight again; while my three friends were as thin as models (I hate them). And so I had to break the bad news to them: from this point on I couldn’t see them as often as before because it was back to the gym for me and back to proper nutrition.

So when I began my weight loss regimen which included physical activity 6 days a week and proper dieting (I’ll get in to that in more depth in later blogs), which meant shopping for healthier food choices, I ran into soy milk. I was using soy milk years ago but had totally forgotten about it until recently. Many people may not know this but soy milk in your diet will help you lose weight. By that I mean substituting soy milk for cow’s milk and other beverages in you daily diet can significantly reduce fat and cholesterol intake. In fact soy milk is a plant source (soy beans) beverage and does not contain any cholesterol. Personally I still use skim milk with my coffee (2 coffees a day) because I find soy milk alters its taste although some people actually prefer it in their coffee over milk.  

Cow’s milk versus Soy milk

In 8 ounce servings, skim milk contains about 20 more calories than soy milk. It doesn’t sound like much but when you take it over a period of weeks and even months that would amount to a significant calorie reduction by choosing soy milk. To be fair, on one front both milks contain calcium which has been shown to induce weight loss in certain studies – but you have to look at the total fat issue. Also, soy milk contains no cholesterol. In fact, soy milk contains soy protein which has been proven to reduce LDL (bad cholesterol) and increase HDL (good cholesterol).

Now exercise and strength training enthusiasts will tell you that cow’s milk is much more beneficial because it contains casein and whey protein which are important in muscle building. You may begin to wonder if milk would be a better choice here when you look at the following reasoning. Cow’s milk contains muscle building proteins that help to grow muscle, especially after a strength training workout. And we know that muscle burns more calories than body fat. Therefore a body that contains a higher muscle to fat ratio will burn more calories. So why not choose regular milk over soy?  Well, let’s just say, First things first. People who are significantly overweight need to focus more on diet and cardiovascular exercise as means for weight loss. As they begin to significantly reduce body fat levels then the program can be altered to include or to increase weight training exercises. This is why I would suggest soy milk over cow’s milk at least in the early stages of weight loss until the weight loss target is reached. At that point we would concentrate on weight loss maintenance which is a whole new ball game.

We also have to look at the tremendous health benefits of soy milk as they cannot be avoided. Firstly soy milk is a good milk substitute for people who are lactose intolerant as it does not contain lactose. Various studies have shown that soy beans (used to produce soy milk) can favorably alter blood cholesterol and may reduce high blood pressure. Other studies have shown that soy can fight against cardiovascular disease and several forms of cancer including lung, endometrial and prostate cancers. Soy has been used in the treatment of constipation and diarrhea, and much more.   

I lost 11 pounds in one week by drinking soy milk without food reduction or even exercising at the gym! Let me explain. Before I started working out again, that is following my revelation to my three friends, I wanted to see how much weight I could lose in one week simply by using soy milk for most of daily beverage intake. That is, I simply drank soy milk instead of soda, milk and wine with my meals. The only other beverage I drank was plain water. That`s it. This was during the first week of my diet (although I hate using the word diet, because it pertains to something temporary). Keep in mind that during this first week I did not exercise or change the types of foods or the food portions of my meals. That’s right; I lost a total of 11 pounds in one week with soy milk. Not bad at all…35 more pounds to go.

By John Tiniakos

NL Natural Weight Loss Program

References:

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-many-health-benefits-soy-milk-11954134.html

http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/nutritional-differences-between-soy-and-cows-milk

http://greatist.com/health/skim-milk-vs-soy-milk-greatist-debate

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-975-SOY.aspx?activeIngredientId=975&activeIngredientName=SOY

Stir Fry Bok Choy: A Super Healthy and Gluten Free Recipe

Today I will give you a recipe for bok choy that I have made up myself through cooking authentic chinese dishes and then adding my own twist to them.  Although this recipe may be similar to actual recipes made in China (it has that oriental flavor), I have not followed or copied any Chinese recipe for bok choy per se. You judge for yourself. I had a dinner party last week and let’s just say that the bok choy was the main topic of discussion during most of the dinner. In fact 2 women friends would not leave unless I gave them the recipe first.

First, let’s do a short background on the vegetable. Bok choy is from the cabbage family and sometimes called white cabbage. There are many varieties of size shape, colour and taste but its main characteristic is its rounded leaves. The Chinese have been growing this vegetable for thousands of years and is an important part of their diet. Bok choy is known for its mild or light flavor and is used mainly in stir fries and soups. Our recipe today will be a stir fry.

Bok choy is rich in calcium and contains vitamins A and C and as well as beta carotene and iron. Let’s look at the health benefits here. Vitamin A and beta carotene (the body converts beta carotene to vitamin A or retinol which is essential for vision) are strong antioxidants that fight against many forms of cancer and heart disease. Without getting into a lengthy scientific discussion, antioxidants fight free radicals which can harm the body. Free radicals are molecules or atoms that have unpaired electrons which are unstable and may be formed when coming in contact with oxygen or a process called oxidation. These free radicals have been shown to be implicated in the development of various types of cancers and heart diseases in humans. So you can see now how Antioxidants as the name suggests can fight against these dangerous free radicals and help to maintain health.

Alright enough of this scientific mambo jumbo you say. Let’s get right into the recipe. You’ll see that it’s really quite simple. You don’t have to add many spices to bok choy because it is naturally delicious. First let’s list the ingredients.

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh ginger minced

1 1/4 pounds fresh bok choy

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon sesame seed oil

1 teaspoon honey

Salt and ground black pepper
 
Slice the bottoms off the bok choy and then slice it lengthwise into strips. Or slice them in half if you like.

In a wok (medium heat) add the olive oil. When hot, add the garlic and ginger. Stir for a couple of minutes until it starts to change color. Then add the bok choy, soy sauce and honey and cook while tossing frequently for 2-3 minutes until they are slightly wilted. Then add the sesame oil and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the leaves are wilted and the stacks still crunchy. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve while hot.

Spice up you dinner! This vegetable dish can be added to a Chinese or any other traditional meal as well. It is gluten free and the kids will enjoy it because it`s very tasty. It is high in fiber and nutrition and could be a great addition to a healthy weight loss diet. Enjoy!

References:
http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/nutritious_foods_for_a_healthy_body/bone_builder_bok_choy.php?page=1

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/beta-carotene/NS_patient-betacarotene

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/252758.php

By John Tiniakos
Author of the NL Natural Weight Loss Program


Categories: Diet Plan

Treatment for Shingles – How to get Pain Relief?

Firstly, I’d like to say a big hello to everyone out there that was patient enough to read my blogs over the years. I haven’t been around for a while as you may have noticed. It’s great to be back blogging again.

Today’s blog is a little off the topic of weight loss. The reason being, I think this is a very important health topic that needs to be addressed, as there is a lot of confusion surrounding it.  I’m talking about the health condition known as shingles. I’m sure a lot of people out there cringe at the sound of that illness, especially those that have suffered from it at some point in their lives.

The occurrence of shingles is rare among children and is more prevalent in adults. Shingles is a more severe form of chicken pox and occurs in people that may have already had chicken pox earlier in life. Let’s first talk about what shingles is and what are the actual symptoms.

These are the symptoms of shingles according to web MD:
-Pain or a bruised feeling – usually on one side of your face or body -- often along with a fever, chills, headache, or upset stomach.

-Tingling, itching, or prickling skin and an inflamed, red skin rash several days later.

-A group or long strip of small, fluid-filled blisters.

-Deep burning, searing, aching, or stabbing pain, which may occur once in a while or last a long time.   

My mother in fact contracted shingles a couple of weeks ago and the affected area is on the right side of her head. She had flu like symptoms and a severe migraine-type headache that just wouldn’t go away and later blisters appeared. She then went to her family doctor who identified it as shingles and gave her a prescription for anti-viral medication. 

Instead of her condition improving it steadily got worse, the biggest problem being the chronic headache. We went back to the doctor and she said that there was not much more she could offer but suggested we try alternative medicine. I had heard of a practitioner in Chinese medicine that had a good reputation and although my mother was skeptical she agreed to go as her condition was worsening.

We went to see him the next day and he suggested that acupuncture would be a very important part of the treatment. Then the treatment began: He began inserting the needles into various parts of her body while she was lying down on her back and was then told to relax for 10-15 minutes or so with the needles in place.  When that was over, he gave her some cream to apply to the affected area (head). I believe this cream or ointment was called Capsaicin which is contains red pepper extract which is believed to contain properties that relive lingering pain from shingles. He also gave her a bottle of Chinese herb pills that he said will also help relieve the pain.

On the way home from the practitioner’s clinic my mother said that the pain began to sooth immediately after the acupuncture was applied and that she felt much better at that time. A few hours later she said that the headache was still there but was significantly decreased as was the case immediately following the treatment. That was yesterday as I am writing this post now. Today she said that her condition has further improved and there are fairly long periods during which she feels no pain at all. A follow-up treatment was made for tomorrow but she says that if her condition continues to improve she may choose to cancel the appointment (at the practitioner’s request by the way). 

At this point we can somewhat conclude that a combination of Western and Eastern medicine may be a better all-around treatment for shingles if of course using the results from one person is sufficient evidence to use it as a generalization. At any rate, it certainly cannot be ignored or judged as insignificant evidence.

Well, I guess we’ll see what happens tomorrow and what my mother decides to do. I’ll keep you posted.

By John Tiniakos


Categories: Diet Plan

Bikini Body - How To Lose 15 Pounds in Less Than 2 Weeks!

Going on a beach vacation? Do you need to lose 10-20 pounds to fit into your favorite bikini in as little as 2 weeks? Here are some guidelines that will help you achieve that goal:

1. Change what/where you eat. Firstly, you must stop eating at fast food restaurants. Refrain from snacking between meals. Avoid snacks like potato chips, crackers with dips and related products. Avoid candy bars, high-fat, rich desserts like cheesecake, etc. Avoid or reduce cheeses and if you must, choose mozzarella and feta as they are lower in fat than most others.

2. Change food group combinations. Do not eat more than 1 type of carb per meal. In other words choose only one of the following carbs: rice, potatoes, pasta or bread. Do not combine any of these during any particular meal.

3. Change your menu. Avoid white carbs such as white sugar, white rice, white flour and related products. Choose healthier equivalents like whole grain pasta, whole grain bread, brown rice and yams (instead of potatoes). Include at least 4 meals that consist of fish each week.

4. Don't forget your fruits and vegetables. Every meal should include a side of vegetables. Adding vegetables to your meals forces you to eat less of the other food groups like starches and meats. Carrots broccoli and cauliflower are excellent choices, rich in fiber and disease-fighting antioxidants. Dress your vegetables with a little olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon juice and avoid creamy sauces and dressings. Salad dressing should consist of olive oil, apple cider vinegar and pinches of oregano and basil. The vinegar content in the dressing substitutes the need for salt. Have fresh fruit for dessert.

5. Reduce food intake. If you are overweight chances are you are overeating, unless you have a rare medical condition. One easy way to reduce calorie intake is to cut down your normal meal portions to half and add 2 more meals of equivalent size. For example, if you're eating 3 meals per day, each consisting of 800 calories the total calories would amount to 2400. So by reducing your meals to 400 calories (half) and adding 2 additional meals would equate to 2000 total daily calories (5 x 400). In effect, you are reducing your daily food consumption by 400 calories.

I mentioned earlier that this was easy to do, the reason being, everyone can visualize what their normal meal looks like or what it consists of. So by this process of visualizing you could quite easily reduce your typical meal to half the size. The other thing is this method doesn't require a huge sacrifice and is not highly stressful (mentally or physically) as with extreme calorie restriction diets or meal replacement plans and is therefore easier to follow.

6. And now the most dreaded part: exercise. Don't worry, you'll see that it really isn't all that bad. There is no avoiding it however: every efficient weight loss program must combine physical activity with diet changes in order to produce lasting results. All that's required here is a little walking. Well, maybe more than a little. Actually you will need to walk for 90 minute periods, 6 days a week. "That's too much time," you say.

Well you can make the time if you really try. You'll have to adjust your schedule - make it a little more flexible to allow for these sessions. Although the walking prescription comes with time requirement it is a relatively easy exercise to perform for almost anyone. And it doesn't have to be done all at one time. You can break it down to two 45-minute sessions or one 60 minute and one 30 minute sessions, etc. - at different times during the day. Additionally, you don't need to walk at rigorous levels to produce results. A moderate or moderately brisk pace would be sufficient.

Depending on a person's metabolism and BMI (body mass index) one could easily lose 10-20 pounds in 2 weeks or less by following these guidelines.

Author: John Tiniakos

John Tiniakos helps make weight loss easier through proven weight loss methods using information and analysis from the worlds leading scientists. For more information on his latest eBook visit http://howto-planet.com/NL-Natural-Weight-Loss-Program.php

How to Lose 20 Pounds in 29 Days Without Fad Diets, Pills and the Gym

It is well documented that the incidence of human obesity has been increasing steadily with each generation since about the time of the industrial revolution. As societies became more specialized, with constant advances in the fields of science, technology and agriculture, we became increasingly fatter. In addition, we now have alarming rates of child obesity essentially in all Western cultures thanks to television, computers, internet, video games, cell phones, etc. And the problem is spreading into developing counties as well. Another growing concern is the number of child obesity-related conditions that are present and increasing such as, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure and type II diabetes. These are health risks that are associated to heart disease in adults.

Surprisingly, according to a study, a significant number of adults in their 30’s and 40’ spend more than 10 hours per week playing video games. Studies have shown that the average American household watches over 4 hours of television daily. Another study suggested that adult internet users spend an average of 13-15 hours per week on the Web. What it comes down to is: we have too much time on our hands. We spend most of our leisure time participating in sedentary activities and we eat too much ready made foods from supermarkets and from fast food outlets. It’s not difficult to determine the causes of this weight gain epidemic. As we know, body weight (including fat and muscle) is based on the balance of the input/output equation. Essentially we are eating too much, too much of the wrong foods and at the same time, we are too inactive. This causes an imbalance in the equation as energy or calorie intake (food) exceeds energy expenditure (physical activity) causing excess calories to be stored as fat (adipose tissue) in the body which turns in to weight gain.

Over the past several decades we have been bombarded with a multitude of weight loss philosophies including starvation diets, high protein diets, high fiber diets, diets that consisted of moderate but frequent meals, many of which included various exercise prescriptions as well. The result? We are still, on average, overweight as a population. And obesity related diseases are reaching epidemic proportions.

Consider some of the latest diet trends that propose eating smaller and more frequent meals. One of the key components of this diet philosophy suggests that human metabolism increases more than that of a diet which consists of fewer larger meals. Results from many studies however have not supported this theory. In fact studies have shown that human metabolism (BMR or baseline metabolic rate*) does not respond differently (i.e. does not decrease) with diets that consist of 3 meals per day and which provide sufficient calories for the body to function.

Let’s consider our Paleolithic ancestors - the hunters and gatherers - and their social behavior: Scientists have studied contemporary but primitive societies (in Africa and South America) for several decades now (and continue today), since these people closely resemble the lifestyle of our ancestors in the Paleolithic era**. They have discovered that these people are much healthier than their counterparts in developed countries. One common statistic among these societies is the very low prevalence (if any) of obesity. Other findings show that diabetes, heart disease, and cancer in these cultures are almost nonexistent. Their diets include carbohydrate sources from fruits and vegetables that are found naturally in their environment, protein mainly from hunted animals and dairy products from animal sources that in most cases have not been processed (although in some of these cultures this is changing as their contact with the developed world becomes more frequent). Typically, their physical activity consists of walking for fairly long periods mixed with fewer and shorter bursts of high intensity exercise as is necessary during hunting expeditions.

Let’s look at the lifestyle of the hunting and gathering type of society in more detail here. Their diet consists of fruits and vegetables that are found naturally in their environment. A few of these cultures grow their own using small scale (micro) farming methods that are similar to organic cultivation, absent of chemicals. Essentially their diet does not include white carbohydrate sources (stripped of fiber) such as white flour, rice and sugar. Their proteins consist mainly of meat, fowl and fish that is cooked fresh as it’s caught (unprocessed). The vegetable proteins come mainly from natural vegetable sources high in fiber. In short, processed foods are virtually nonexistent in their diets. They do not follow organized or planned calorie restriction diets and they don’t have regular set exercise prescriptions. Not surprisingly, they feast when food becomes abundantly available (when the hunters are lucky enough to catch game). On the other hand, they often have to endure longer periods with low caloric intakes, as they go through periods when little food is available because of either unsuccessful hunting or droughts.

So when food is in abundance they eat a lot (high consumption). When food is sparse, they have to settle for less - in some cases close to what would be a starvation type diet for us. Their physical activity is low intensity in nature but frequent – as quite often several hours of walking per day is required to complete daily tasks.

We can experiment by emulating the diet and exercise habits of our ancestors as it were, in order to see if we can achieve favorable body weight composition and improved health condition.

I have a client named Julie, who wanted to lose 27 pounds. Julie claimed she had been going to the gym 4 times per week. She was on a weight training program and participated in cardiovascular exercise using various machines available at her health club. Also at that time, she was following a calorie based diet that included approximately 2000 total daily calories which she consumed in 6 small daily meals. She also had a slightly higher than normal blood cholesterol level.

I put her on the following plan: I advised her to avoid white carbohydrates, to choose whole grains and to begin eating more fruits and vegetables. The following cooking methods were to be extremely reduced or avoided: frying and barbequing (because that was her favorite cooking method).

The diet did not include a set amount of calories and consisted of 3 meals per day. I simply asked her to stop eating when she began to feel full during meals and more importantly to ensure she did not overeat. A good way to know when you have reached the level of being comfortably full is to eat slowly. Many people can envision the amount of food they need to consume to reach satiety. When you eat slowly, as you get closer and closer to being full with each mouthful, you will be able to actually reflect on whether you have reached the feeling of satiety (fullness). That is if you ponder on it, you’ll begin to feel each stage of fullness so to speak, and you will know (feel) when you have reached the level of complete fullness (satisfied and no longer hungry) at which point you can stop eating – without going too far (overeating), even though you may want to continue. Conversely, if you eat quickly, chances are you won’t have time to reflect (as mentioned above) and you will pass that comfort zone which will result in overeating. This method of eating takes a little practice to get used to but is very critical in a weight loss strategy.

On weekends, for one day only (Saturday or Sunday, whichever day was better according to her weekend plans) Julie was allowed to cheat, which meant she would still maintain the diet - but she was allowed to add her favorite foods that were not normally allowed - for example sweets like chocolate, other desserts, etc. – as often as she wanted (on that cheat day) but not to the point of becoming overfull or stuffed – just satisfied (as mentioned above).

Julie worked as a middle manager in a mid size corporation, 8-12 hours a day, five days a week. At work she would take her lunch at the company cafeteria or various other restaurants within or in close vicinity of the building. Because of her busy schedule however, she worked through lunch approximately 2-3 times a week. That is, there wasn’t enough time to go to the cafeteria or to other restaurants. As a result she just grabbed a snack from the office vending machine and ate it in her office while working.

I advised against this practice and told her to do the following instead. I took the opportunity here to try and mimic the hunter and gatherer: during times of hunting for food they had to endure long periods with little or no food. So I told her to stop the snacking and go without food but to drink water instead. In fact, we agreed that she was not allowed to eat food outside of an eating area or environment (home kitchen, restaurant, cafeteria etc.). All she had to do was endure the hunger pangs for a little while until they disappeared with the passage of time and the aid of drinking water. This was not so difficult to accomplish, she discovered. As she was overwhelmed with work during these periods, after a while she actually did not think of eating. She would just reach for her extra large bottled water instead, which was a reaction that became automatic or unconscious if you will. This method essentially forced her to stop snacking on junk foods at work. She could then take a meal after work at home or at a restaurant. And this did not mean that she could eat 2 meals to make up for the earlier lost meal. It meant she could have a normal dinner later without overindulging (as stated above). Consequently, during these missed-lunch days she would have one less meal than normal.

Now let’s get to the most dreaded part of the program: physical activity. Actually, you will discover that this part is not really that bad after all. Her exercise prescription consisted of slow to moderate pace walking (not brisk walking) 5 times a week for 90 minutes. It didn’t have to be continuous either. For instance, she could break it up in to two walking sessions if she wished. Julie brought her sneakers to work and walked the first hour before she started. She walked around the downtown streets near the building where she worked and often went to a nearby indoor mall and walked indoors through the maze of retail stores. After work, for the remaining half hour walk, she devised a route that ended at the subway station where she hopped on the subway car that would eventually take her home. Other times she took the half hour walk after the subway trip home, in a route she had worked out around her neighborhood. Not so bad so far right? Ok wait, here comes the harder part. Once a week she would participate in high intensity training exercise (HIT). We chose running for the exercise as she preferred this method over others.

The object this HIT session was to run as fast as you could for as long as you could - mimicking the hunter and gatherer during a high intensity hunting episode, so to speak. However, the goal in this particular case would be to complete 20 minutes of continuous running without stopping in between. Of course she would have to gradually work up to this high intensity fitness level. First she began with a combination of walking and jogging intervals for the 20 minute period. Then we raised the level to walking, jogging and some running. Next we advanced to jogging and running and finally, as her fitness level had adapted accordingly, she would run for the entire 20 minute session. Again, keep in mind that this process involves a gradual increase in intensity levels, allowing the body to adapt to each stage over a period of time as required to reach the target. In this case it took approximately 6 weeks to attain this intensity level. She chose to do this routine in a high school outdoor track near her home on weekends, either on Saturday or Sunday as her schedule permitted. So again, to be clear, the weekly exercise prescription included 5 days of low intensity exercise (walking for 90 minutes) and 1 day of high intensity training (running for 20 minutes). It’s important to note here that if you wanted to try this exercise method, you should get clearance from your doctor first.

After twenty nine days of participating in this program Julie had lost 20.5 pounds and her blood cholesterol level returned to normal levels. Twenty four days after that, she had lost a total of 31 pounds (31 lbs. in 53 days!). At the present time, however, Julie is simply trying to maintain the weight loss. She still follows the program but not exactly in its original from. That is, she still maintains the diet part (“as best I can”, she says) and she misses a walking session here and there (may miss up to 1-3 hours per week). Furthermore, she does not perform the HIT session every week but tries to do it at least once a month, sometimes twice. At the present time as I’m writing this article she has gained back 7 pounds. So 5 months have passed and Julie is still 24 pounds lighter than she was at the start of this program. And Julie claims that she is “very satisfied” with that.

So as we can see, weight loss and improved health are quite achievable by taking the Paleolithic lifestyle model and trying to copy, transform and incorporate some of its main characteristics in to modern life by being a little creative and somewhat disciplined. To get more help on achieving permanent weight loss you can visit the following site:

http://howto-planet.com/NL-Natural-Weight-Loss-Program.php

* Baseline or basal metabolic rate is responsible in burning approximately 70-75% of the body’s calories.

References:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11694799/ns/health-kids_and_parenting/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/20/us-child-obesity-idUSTRE67J4Y320100820

http://techcrunch.com/2009/12/23/harris-interactive-poll/

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=56254

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16339125

By John Tiniakos

John Tiniakos helps makes weight loss easier through proven weight loss methods. For more information on permanent weight loss visit

http://howto-planet.com/NL-Natural-Weight-Loss-Program.php

Categories: Diet Plan, Diet Program