Health Food

Author: Lindsay Hogg

People avoid lifestyle changes because they don’t seem as effective as the craze diets out there that you can lose 5 pounds on, in a day. There is a need and desire to lose weight fast (trust me I know it all to well). A wedding coming up, a beach vacation just around the corner… and you need to drop as much weight as possible.

But where has that taken you so far on your weight loss journey? For me, it’s often back to the beginning or I end up gaining back more weight than I started with before some silly fad diet. This isn’t to knock all eating plans, some regimes like Weight Watchers work for some people, but majority of us just gain the weight back in a constant stream of yo-yo diets.

But you can start dropping the weight sooner and faster than you think. We tend to not believe we are losing any weight if we aren’t deprived or suffering. The difference between a diet and a lifestyle change is perspective, lack of pain in the process and short term vs long term results and happiness.

Perspective
Weight loss is the answer to all problems and you will be happy with everything and anything once you are a size 0. Thus, you believe that if you slip up the tiniest bit, you’ve ruined everything.

Fact
Being happy takes way more than being a size 0. Weight gain is often the result of deeper rooted issues. When you start to focus on healing the underlying emotional issues you will not only feel happier, but the weight will start to melt away with ease.

Diet
You obsess over numbers on the scale.
Lifestyle
Instead of obsessing over numbers, you get to concentrate on yourself and what makes you feel good.

Diet
You struggle for a few weeks and manage to lose weight, but it’s only temporary.
Lifestyle
You lose weight with ease and create long term habits that will keep that weight off.

The point I’m trying to get at here is that time, after time, and time again, these diets have failed you. Maybe not in losing weight initially, but in keeping it off. Again, there is about 10% of people who these diets have worked for, but for most of us, we just need to change a few bad habits.

Take your lifestyle changes one at a time, like drinking water instead of juice or pop. I lost 3 pounds in one week just because I stopped eating past 8pm. Most of us are pretty familiar with what is healthy to eat (whole foods that actually come from nature), but we eat processed crap or overeat. Be mindful of what you’re putting in your mouth and why you’re choosing to eat it. You are constantly creating a future with your actions of today.

AUTHOR: Shannon Boyce

It happens to a lot of us. You lose weight, you gain weight, you lose weight, and yes, you gain weight back again. This is called yo-yo dieting or weight cycling. It happens when you chase after fad diets or even when lifestyle changes don’t seem to stick long term. Going up and down on the scale isn’t just frustrating… it can also have a serious impact on your overall levels of health. How? Here are some of the ways that yo-yo dieting can affect you.

Most Yo-Yo Dieters Gain The Weight Back (And Then Some)

Did you know that yo-yo dieting is actually worse for you than being consistently overweight? One of the reasons for this is that many yo-yo dieters end up gaining all of the weight they lost back, and then some. This can happen due to stress levels and even feelings of shame. Putting the weight back on can cause severe depression and feelings of inadequacy. That in turn, causes many people to turn to food and overeat. It doesn’t take much for the yo-yo cycle to start again and again – and yes, again. It’s an unfortunate reality.

The reason the weight gain happens is usually because the weight loss was a result of lifestyle changes that only work short term. It may also be from doing a fad diet, drinking only smoothies for weeks on end, and so on. They may help you to lose the weight, but those aren’t long-term solutions.

It Can Cause Emotional Health Issues

Constantly thinking about your weight and struggling to keep it off can take a serious toll on your mental health. All day long it’s: Oh, I can’t eat that. I wish I could eat that. I can’t believe I gained weight. Next time, it will be better. I’ll never gain weight again! Yes, yo-yo dieting can leave you to deal with high emotions, distress, and even feeling unhappy with your life. It is incredibly sad, but it happens all the time. When these emotional health issues get worse, it can lead to binge eating…which only furthers the problem.

Yo-Yo Dieting Has Been Linked to Serious Health Issues

You’d be surprised at the many ways that yo-yo dieting can impact your health. It has been linked to several serious medical issues. In fact, researchers found that women who yo-yo dieted more than five times in their lifetime were more likely to develop heart diseases after menopause. Why does this happen? It is thought to be because of the cells that line the blood vessels. They are called the endothelial cells. When weight gain and loss happens over and over again, the cells become damaged. That can increase the risk for dealing with things like heart attack and stroke in the future. In addition, yo-yo dieting can make your metabolism slow down, increase your cholesterol, and decrease your energy levels.

There is nothing good about yo-yo dieting. Unfortunately, it is a pattern that many men and women fall into. To avoid the repercussions of yo-yo dieting, it is important to make realistic lifestyle changes that can be maintained long after the weight is gone.

Author: Shannon Boyce

Every health and fitness book has one main thing in common. What is it? They all urge you to avoid alcohol consumption at all costs. That means no cocktail at dinner and certainly none of those all-nighters! Yes, alcohol is one fitness no-no…. but why? Have you ever wondered why you’re supposed to avoid it? It’s time to find out why and answer the question: does drinking alcohol impact your health?

Effects of Alcohol on Weight Loss

When it comes to drinking alcohol, there are many drawbacks. Regular consumption can actually impact how quickly you reach your weight loss goals. How does it do this exactly? Most alcoholic beverages are full of tons of empty calories, and you’ve got a problem. Believe it or not, it has actually been found that drinking alcohol regularly can affect your digestive system. It can be more difficult for your body to absorb essential nutrients. In fact, it may be much harder for you to get amino acids and B vitamins. Talk about paying for a night out!

If that wasn’t enough, alcohol consumption can also impact your diet in other ways. When you drink, your defenses are down. Even if you’ve been strict with your eating habits, a few drinks, and you are a thousand times more likely to order that plate of extra cheese fries. That can really pack on the pounds. Plus, the fact that most drinks are full of sugar, it isn’t hard to figure out how alcohol can cause you to gain weight, rather than lose it. In order to keep your weight loss goals on track, ditch the liquor. There are simply too many ways that it can ruin your progress.

Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Fitness

It isn’t just your weight that is affected by drinking often. Your fitness can also take a hit. This can happen in a couple of different ways. The first has to do with the fact that alcohol dehydrates your body. If you drink too much, you will likely be desperate for a glass of water! What does this have to do with your fitness? Say you went drinking the night before but still want to get your workout in the next day. Bad idea. Working out creates sweat, which can also dehydrate you. When you are dehydrated from drinking and then further dehydrate yourself, you’ll notice reduced performance in the gym. You are even more likely to overheat your body after you’ve been drinking, so be careful.

Another way that alcohol affects your fitness routine? Less energy. When you drink, your body’s ability to produce energy is altered, giving you low levels of blood sugar. That can make it more difficult to exercise well or have enough energy to exercise at all.

So, does drinking alcohol really impact your health? There are different views about whether a glass of wine a day is beneficial to your health or not. I guess it always comes down to moderation. But if you’re trying to lose weight, drinking regularly can impact those goals as well as your level of fitness.