Here’s the thing….Losing weight is so much more than cutting calories.
Years ago when I wrote for the Times Union Newspaper, I wrote an article on how to lose weight by cutting back on portion sizes/calories. When I think back on this article I cringe. In my defense, the information on best practices for losing weight were not nearly as sophisticated as they are today. I’ve learned much since that time.
Here are three powerful tips for permanent and quick weight loss. We are all in this together, but you gotta do the work. Insight without action is just plain…well not good!
1. Eat! Eat and Eat!
I tell my 30 Day members, ‘this is your time to feel really good.’ We are not looking to see how miserable we can make ourselves as we lose weight, but instead, how happy we can make ourselves. Losing weight in the middle is in big part about eating the right foods. Eating an abundance of the right foods is what satiates us, keeps us from having to exert will power at every turn, makes us happier, and makes us feel and look more alive. It also is long lasting so we do not gain the weight back.
2. Eat – Stop – Eat- Stop -Eat – Stop.
This I call interval training for eating. You will not see it in any nutrition books but you will reap the benefits of huge weight loss if you get used to eating like we were designed to eat. This way of eating is the way many of us grew up. When we ate, we ate! When we didn’t eat, we didn’t eat! This interval training for eating sounds all fancy but it isn’t. Just know that when you eat – eat. And when you do not eat – you do not eat. The research is clear. The member results with the 30 Days to Lean program are clear. Unless you are a full fledged diabetic, fasting between breakfast, lunch, and dinner is a powerful tool. Here’s the thing: Just enjoy yourself when you do eat. Eating is such a great part of our lives. Get back to basics. Get back to truly loving food. When you do, life is so much sweeter!
3. Sleep.
Studies published in TheJournal of the American Medical Association suggest that sleep loss may increase hunger and affect the body’s metabolism, which may make it more difficult to maintain or lose weight.
Sleep loss appears to do two things:
- Makes you feel hungry even if you are full. Sleep loss has been shown to affect the secretion of cortisol, a hormone that regulates appetite. As a result, individuals who lose sleep may continue to feel hungry despite adequate food intake.
- Increases fat storage. Sleep loss may interfere with the body’s ability to metabolize carbohydrates, which leads to high levels of blood sugar. Excess blood sugar promotes the overproduction of insulin, which can lead to the storage of body fat and insulin resistance a critical step into the development of diabetes.
Follow these three tips and see the progress!