Living In A Fat Culture

The reason why I still find it a challenge to maintain a healthy weight is because I haven't changed my lifestyle.

I'm still in a culture of sedentary activity and high calorie food. That is, I'm having to tell myself to watch my calories and tell myself to exercise. I can't seem to get myself to where eating healthy and exercising regularly is a habit I don't think about.

I mean, the reason why I was able to go from 240 pounds to 150 pounds is because I took weight loss seriously. I took it so seriously, that I pushed myself to stick to a diet and exercise regularly.

But since I reached the 150 pound goal, I find it even more tough to maintain it.

Keeping that sense of seriousness is really hard to do. It took me about five years to go from 240 to 150, and most of that weight loss actually occurred in the last 18 months. But I have to spend the rest of my life maintaining this weight.

How does one keep that level of commitment for that long?

It's like they say, losing weight requires a change in lifestyle.

I think the reason why most people gain all the weight back is because losing the weight was only a temporary goal that satisfied an immediate desire. They were never able to transfer that desire into a lifelong commitment.

You just can't spend the rest of your life telling yourself to exercise. You have to instead turn exercise into a habit that you find too difficult to stop. You have to create a new way of life that breeds healthy eating and exercise.

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Debunking the Myth of Detoxification

I just finished reading an article by Simeon Margolis, M.D., Ph.D. entitled, "Detoxification: A Worthless Scam", in which he identifies several various whole body cleansing products and services and lays them all out as scams...

"Like many others, I believe that the accumulation of toxins in the body is a myth since the human body effectively eliminates "toxins" and waste products through the liver, kidneys, lungs, gastrointestinal tract, skin and immune system. So, I don't believe detox is necessary--or that it works."

This is pretty much what I've been told by two other physicians, including my current physician, as well as a physician I used to work for back in my old healthcare claims processing days.

My current physician told me that he has referred hundreds of people for a colonoscopy and not once did any of them show any layers of old fecal material stuck to their insides. I suppose if anyone knows the truth about colons becoming bloated out over years of sticky festering poop, a gastroenterologist would know.

I would not advise anyone forking over money to get an enema unless you happen to enjoy them, and you know a rather good-looking hydrotherapist. But all that waste material they show you washing out from your body is the just fresh fecal material that would have already passed had you given it time.

But there are certain other mythical body cleansers that don't really cost you big bucks, don't really harm you, and is actually healthy for you...

• Lemons are said to cleanse the toxins from your liver. I don't quite believe that's true, but how could it hurt you physically or financially to squeeze some lemon juice into a bottle of water and drink?



• Leafy, dark green vegetables are also said to detoxify your liver. If it works, great. If you eat enough of it, you might even fill yourself up with low calorie, high nutritious food, instead of junk.



• I've heard that soups and herbal teas will remove toxins from your body. But it seems like all this does make you urinate more, and keep your colon hydrated enough to work efficiently. Yet, there's nothing wrong with a bowl of chicken soup and a cup of green tea.



• Walking is also supposed to detoxify the body. But think about this. How many times have you read that exercise is necessary to promote healthy bowel movements? Pooping is just a more common way of saying "detoxification".



• Probiotic supplements are said to build up a layer of "good bacteria" in our intestines that actually fight off the bad bugs and prevent toxins from being absorbed into the bloodstream. I can actually believe that, and have read a lot of material on this. But I don't advocate buying up any of the probiotic pills and powders, you'll only spend way too much money than you need to. In fact, this bacteria is already in us. All you have to do is feed it, and it feeds on inulin, a nutrient found in a variety of vegetables and grains. Eat your salads and whole wheat on a daily basis, and you'll have all the probiotics you'll ever need.

And lastly the best way to detoxify is just not consume any toxins in the first place. Stay away from alcohol, don't smoke, and eat all-natural and organic foods. If you can do that, then you're already far less toxic than 90% of the population.

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How to Stop Sugar Cravings

As I have mentioned several times on this blog, sugar is the worst thing to consume if you're dieting.

Not only does it add more calories itself, but it slows down, and even stops the body from burning fat, creating a double-negative effect.

Here are my tips on how to stop sugar cravings...

• Stopping the sugar craving is a matter of learning to love other foods. If you continue to eat sugary foods, all it will do is pacify the craving, and you'll never learn to control it.



• Avoid non-sugar sweeteners like Splenda, Equal, or Sweet'N Low. These might satisfy your craving for sugar, but it will only keep you craving for more. What you want is to stop the craving altogther.
  
  Train yourself to appreciate food for what it tastes like without sweeteners. Enjoy coffee black. Enjoy tea unsweetened. Eat french fries without ketchup.



• Use lemon or lime concentrate for flavor. What I do is buy a couple cases of bottled water and squirt some lemon or lime into it for flavor. There's no added sugar or sweeteners in that stuff, just pure juice. I drink a few bottles of that every day.



• Fruit for dessert. When that sweet tooth starts acting up reach for fresh fruit. Buy strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, grapefruit, mangoes, cantaloupe. In fact those fruit specifically have lower sugar levels than other fruit. But rely on any fresh fruit you like.
  
  One advantage with fresh fruit is that you don't have to refrigerate them, and they taste just as good room temperature as they do cold. Keep them close to you on your desk, or sitting on the kitchen island to make them more convenient.



• The temptation to buy cookies. If you're at the store and you see a package of cookies, or a box of doughnuts, or a pint of ice cream, and you find it too hard to resist buying, then fine buy it. BUT, the rule is that you have to also buy fresh fruit.
  
  For every sugary food you buy, you have to buy a healthy alternative. At least you'll have a package of oranges, or a carton of strawberries there at your house, and if you're honest with yourself, you'll do yourself a favor and eat them.



• Dessert at the restaurant. After a meal, always ask for a coffee, black. The coffee will give you something to put into your mouth, and the liquid will fill up whatever space you might have left in your stomach.
  
  If you're with other people, make sure you are the first to order. Otherwise, if you hear your friends ordering an apple pie, or a fudge brownie, it'll only make it more difficult for you.



• Use steak seasoning instead of steak sauce. Steak sauces all contain sugar, that's part of the reason why Americans love their steak sauces. Most steak seasonings, on the other hand, don't contain sugar. But always read the ingredients, some of them do.
  
  Keep a bottle of seasoning when you eat a steak, and just sprinkle it on each piece.
  
  If you find that a steak is too dry, then use guacamole, salsa, or hot sauce. These rarely ever contain sugar. If you think guacamole on steak sounds freakish, then imagine guacamole on a hamburger and you realize that it's actually pretty darn good.



• Beer instead of wine. Wine contains sugar, and you'll soon realize that the reason why so many people drink wine is because of the sugar. Beer on the other hand contains very little, to absolutely no sugar. Stick with lighter colored beers, they typically have no sugar at all, and you'll actually find that a 12oz bottle of beer is lower in calories than a 5oz glass of wine.



• Watch out for salad dressings. Most salad dressings contain sugar! Read the ingredients list and you'll find either sugar, cane juice, or corn syrup. Stick with salsa as a salad dressing. It has the salt that people love on their salads, but with no sugar and no fat.



• Snack on pickles. Pickles don't contain sugar. In fact, pickles contain very few calories at all. They are, however, full of salt. But if you have the urge to snack, consider reaching for one.



• Let your friends throw away junk food. Invite a friend to come over to your house and throw away all your junk food. Tell him or her to rummage through your pantry and refrigerator and toss out all the cookies, cakes, ice creams, sodas, and any other sugary bad boy they can find. Or if you think you're "man" enough, then toss them all out yourself.
  
  You're first thought is that it's a waste of money to throw away food, even if it's junk food. But it's an even bigger waste of your health, to keep them.

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Mission Carb Balance Tortillas

Lately, I've been eating these Mission Carb Balance whole wheat tortillas for breakfast.

They pack a whopping 21g of fiber per tortilla (in the large size), and if you consider that 25g of fiber is what the average person should consume each day, these tortillas pretty much keep your daily fiber intake regular.

They say that breakfast is the more important meal of the day for weight loss purposes. So I eat one of these tortillas for breakfast, plain with nothing on it.

As far as taste is concerned, they're not bad. They actually have a heavier wheat flavor than other whole wheat tortilla brands, and if you're a beer drinker like me, you tend to enjoy the flavor of grains, such as wheat. I don't put anything on these tortillas, just eat them plain.

Fiber is also a key component towards weight loss because it can't be digested. That is, the body still burns calories trying to break down fiber. So the more fiber you consume, the more your body is working, and that keeps your metabolism up.


These whole wheat tortillas are also pretty convenient for commuting to work in your car. Just roll one up and eat it while you drive. You can't do that with a bowl of oatmeal or cereal, and yet you're getting more fiber and whole wheat out of it.

You can pretty much find Mission Carb Balance Tortillas at most grocery stores. Make sure they are "whole wheat" because Mission sells a white flour variety in the Carb Balance line as well.

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Hamburgers versus Hot Dogs

If you're at a BBQ or picnic, and find yourself deluged with greasy burgers and hot dogs, which do you choose? The hot dog or the hamburger?

From a calorie standpoint, choose the hot dog, it's a little lower.

I did a lookup on the nutritional content of a standard sized pork frankfurter and hamburger patty...

Pork frankfurter, cooked, (3oz): 204 calories, 18g fat
Beef hamburger patty, cooked, (3oz): 251 calories, 19g fat

Hamburger bun: 120 calories
Hot dog bun: 110 calories

Of course you can skip the bun, which is what I typically do.

But from a health standpoint, the beef hamburger patty is better. It's typically free of preservatives and much lower in sodium. The frankfurter is loaded with preservatives and sodium.

Condiments

Stay away from ketchup and relish, they're both high in sugars. My advice is to stick with mustard for the least calorie impact.

If you're eating a hamburger patty without the bun, pour some salsa over it, that too is fat-free, and about as calorie-free as you get with a condiment.

If you're going to add the bun, but skip out on mayonnaise, then add a tomato slice to give it more moisture. Also add pickle slices and onions, if you like those, to give it more juice.

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How to Keep Your Metabolism High

Keeping your metabolism running high all day long will cause you to burn lots of calories. There are ways to do it, and below I've put together some tips that I use for myself...

1. First, remember that our bodies are constantly burning calories even though we may just be sitting or sleeping. A 150 pound person will burn about 2,000 calories a day doing mostly sitting and sleeping. A 200 pound person will burn about 2,900 calories, while a 300 pound person will burn about 4,000 calories.
   
   Read, "How Many Calories Do You Burn In a Day?"



2. Eat constantly. But eat low calorie foods. When your digestive system has food to process, it burns calories and keeps your metabolism running high. Focus on fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, and fresh meats, to keep the calorie intake down, and eat only small portions.
   
   On the other hand, starving yourself will cause your body to lower its metabolism, and thereby burn fewer calories.
   
   Read, "How to Lose Weight by Constantly Eating"



3. Do low impact exercises. It's better to walk for two hours than it is to lift heavy weights for 20 minutes. Anytime you exercise, even if its just low impact stuff, your metabolism increases. Therefore, the longer you exercise the longer your metabolism stays high. And even after you finish exercising, your metabolism continues to run high as you recouperate.
   
   Read, "Length of Exercise is More Important".



4. Take hot baths. From my personal experience, soaking in a tub of hot water causes your heart to beat faster, which in turn causes your metabolism to go up. As your body temperature goes up, the heart works harder to push blood to your sweat glands. The water doesn't have to be scalding hot, just hot enough to break a sweat and get your heart pumping. Soak in the tub for just 30 minutes, and read a book while you're at it.
   
   Read, "Lose Weight by Taking Hot Baths".



5. Eat more meat. Beef is actually a great weight loss food because it takes much longer to digest than fruit, vegetables, and grains. The longer your body is digesting food, the longer your metabolism stays high. But eat only lean meats, and don't add any steak sauce because most steak sauces and BBQ sauces contain sugar. Use hot sauce, or steak seasoning instead.
   
   Read, "Eating Steak As a Diet Food".



6. Always eat breakfast. The very first thing you should do when wake up is eat something. It gets your digestive system working, and your metabolism running. Again, stay away from sugary cereals, sweetened oatmeal, or fruit juice. Instead, eat high fiber grains, fresh whole fruit, or eat a steak.
   
   Read, "Eat More Meat for Breakfast".
   
   
7. Stay cold. It may not be comfortable, but when your body temperature drops below normal, your body starts burning calories to generate heat. That means your metabolism is running high. All cold weather animals, like sea otters, polar bears, penguins, all have high running metabolisms to keep their bodies warm, but as a result they have to keep eating. Our bodies work the same way, and you can use cold temperature to your benefit.



8. Get a full sleep. Sleeping actually burns lots of calories. A 150 pound person can burn about 500 calories in an eight hour sleep. A 300 pound person will burn double that. This is because sleep is when the body generates new cells and repairs damaged tissues. But make sure you get a full night's sleep to take advantage of it.
   
   Read, "How Many Calories Do You Burn Sleeping?"

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Drinking Beer Can Help Lose Weight

A press release issued yesterday by organizers of the Great British Beer Festival says that drinking beer in moderation can help you lose weight, but only as a replacement to wine and other alcoholic drinks.

What constitutes the most calories in alcoholic drinks is the alcohol itself, and beer has the lowest alcohol...

"The major source of calories in any alcoholic drink is the alcohol itself, and because beer is the drinks category with the lowest average alcohol content it is also lowest in calories. Beer also contains no fat or cholesterol and very few free sugars."

Wine, which long has held a reputation that it's healthy to drink, actually contains far more sugars than beer, and far more alcohol.

You can read the press release here...
http://gbbf.camra.org.uk/634

Also read my previous article on this subject...
http://www.weightlossblogger.org/2009/12/losing-weight-with-beer.html

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