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7 Surprising Weight Loss Nutrition Tips

7 Surprising Weight Loss Nutrition Tips

I wanted to share 7 nutrition tips that experience has shown me to be effective. They might surprise you.

1. Eat tastier food – It’s actually quite the win-win. When you eat better tasting foods, your brain is more satisfied. This flavorful contentment elicits positive brain-chemistry changes to prevent you from over-indulging. Perhaps you’ve experienced this firsthand when visiting an expensive restaurant. With often smaller portions, you can achieve the same enjoyment with higher quality ingredients and combinations. So get creative when you cook. Use lots of spices and herbs in your meal preparation, and don’t forget how fruits and vegetables can enhance proteins and fats.

7 Surprising Weight Loss Nutrition Tips

2. Stop drinking juices – But for years, I’ve heard that orange juice is good for me. Well, you can thank the clever marketing campaigns. They came really close to the truth: oranges are good for you. In their natural form, oranges are filled with fiber, which has the benefit of slowing the body’s absorption of sugar – including the sugar in the orange itself. The problem with juices is that they take all the sugar from fruits, often multiple fruits (and/or certain vegetables), and put them on a liquid superhighway to your blood.

3. Learn to share – We teach our kids this character trait, but when it comes to restaurants, we adults too often fall into the “mine” mentality. With the average restaurant meal containing 1128 calories, not to mention appetizers or desserts, it is definitely more than one person needs. Of course, you can run into the “but I don’t want that” problem, so here’s an idea to solve the issue of differing cravings. Let your spouse silently choose 3 different menu options that they would enjoy while you do the same. After you both have your picks, discuss them out loud and see if you have a match.

4. Become friends with fat – You’ve got to be kidding, right? After years of avoiding this horrific substance, we are now asking you to consume it? Yep. Yesterday’s truth has become today’s misconception. It turns out that avoiding fat like the plague creates a large void that is readily filled with worthless starches. The roller coaster this alternative puts your blood sugar on throws you into an addictive ride that ends in consumption of even more calories than had you eaten the fat in the first place. So don’t fear it, but try to choose the best options: like avocado, nuts, seeds, and fish oils.

5. Buy more groceries – Let me get this straight. You want me to purchase more food so I eat less? Exactly, but don’t miss where you need to purchase food from – the grocery store. Remember the 1128 calorie restaurant meal? Having lots of groceries on hand reduces the frequency with which you go out to eat. You should be shopping for food every single week. If what you are buying lasts longer than that, you are buying the wrong stuff. Be sure to hit the store on a full stomach. Grocery shopping while hungry never ends well. Pack your house with healthy (and tasty) food and watch the weight come down.

6. Drink away the pounds – I’m sorry, but I don’t mean alcohol. And we already discussed the problem with juices. I’m speaking of good old water. And that’s key: don’t drink the new, fluoride-rich stuff that can challenge your thyroid and joints. (Although that’s quickly becoming the “old” water.) Though dentists can use the substance topically to produce collagen expansion and harden teeth … research shows that internalized fluoride is nothing but a systemic poison. Purified water (like reverse osmosis) is a good option to help you shed the pounds. Often times, our body misinterprets thirst signals for hunger. Staying well hydrated results in less calorie consumption.

7. Be the annoying person – You know that guy or gal who is always having the waiter, waitress, or even barista customize their order? Yeah, it’s time-consuming and sometimes a little embarrassing. Well, I have bad news: It’s time to become that person. You’d be amazed at how many calories (and therefore pounds) these modifications can save you over a year’s time. Getting your salad dry, skipping the mayo on your sandwich, leaving the barbecue sauce off your brisket, and rejecting the extra pumps of syrup in your tea or coffee can do wonders for your weight. Sure, you’ll go through a slightly disappointing time of transition if you love some of those things. But before long, you’ll create a new routine and, believe it or not, eventually come to prefer the new way.

For a Magnificent Metabolism, Eat All the Time!

For a Magnificent Metabolism, Eat All the Time!

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We all know personal trainers often recommend you eat 4-6 times peers day, yet many of us still don’t do it. I might be able to motivate you by sharing some less common knowledge from the other side of the coin.

Sumo wrestlers have a trick to getting huge. It’s eating only twice per day! They recognize how easily they can gain weight by slowing the metabolism. The human body is naturally very efficient. When fed infrequently, it will slow down all metabolic processes to conserve energy. The good news is that the reverse is also true. When you eat frequently, the body understands that it doesn’t need to conserve energy – meaning you store less fat!

Another benefit to eating more often is that you can easily consume smaller portions at each meal or snack. The portion size can be controlled because you won’t be as hungry since you just ate 2 or 3 hours ago. The lack of cravings also means it’s easier to pick a lean and healthy snack. This is much preferred to the ravenous “eat anything and everything in sight” people we tend to become when meals are widely spaced.

Alcohol: The Popular, Beloved Killer

Alcohol: The Popular, Beloved Killer

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Most 20-something, partying personal trainers pound more beer than all their clients combined, leaving quite the bias on how they present the subject of alcohol to their clients. Though I’m not completely opposed to clients drinking a little here and there, I’m not opposed to stating the truth on the matter either.

One glass of wine per day has been applauded for its health benefits. However, although it’s not as newsworthy, natural grape juice contains the same antioxidants (polyphenols) that protect the cardiovascular system, which are the biggest source of benefit. So if one glass leaves you wanting more, drink the grape juice and avoid the temptation.

Excessive alcohol use increases the risk of a number of diseases: fatty degeneration of the liver, infection of the liver, liver cirrhosis, sleeping disorders, sexual problems, infection of the esophagus, infection of the stomach, infection of the pancreas, premature dementia, cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx, intestines and breasts; hypertension and heart problems. Alcohol is also contributes to pregnancy, traffic, abuse, and crime problems. Considering the workplace, 13% of all employees on sick leave have alcohol problems. Employees with alcohol problems also produce at least 10% less work than their colleagues. So limit the alcohol, and don’t be afraid to drop it altogether. You know it will benefit you.

The Big Secret: Balancing your pH for Optimal Health

The Big Secret: Balancing your pH for Optimal Health

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Many people, including health professionals, are not aware of our food’s impact on the pH of our blood, or the stress our body is placed under while trying to manage it. And God forbid a personal trainer knows a single fact that a medical doctor doesn’t, right? We too often forget that doctors are people too, with a limited capacity for knowledge accumulation … just like everyone else. In fact, a doctor’s busy schedule can prevent them from learning and understanding the latest advancements in human physiology. Their time is rather spent on disease management with various pharmaceuticals – far from creating optimal health through proper food consumption and stress reduction. So just because your personal medical doctor might not understand how much we can influence our body and cells with our food, doesn’t mean the science doesn’t happen.

A healthy cell has a slightly alkaline pH (the cytoplasm), yet the vast majority of foods we typically consume have an acid-forming effect on our blood, cells, and tissues. Interestingly, we applaud our immune system when it fights bacteria and viruses, and blame it when can’t win. Yet everyday we are responsible for either creating an internal environment in which cells flourish and enzymatic activity is efficient, or an internal environment that slows the metabolism and breeds bacteria. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, which have an alkalizing effect on the body. Especially avoid carbonated beverages, which contain phosphates that bind to calcium and inhibit the body’s ability to regulate blood pH, which then handicaps how well the body can protect cellular pH. Instead, try the green drinks like barley and wheat grass (I like to add lime and natural honey), which strongly alkalize the blood while delivering important enzymes, proteins, and antioxidants.

Your body’s buffering systems will keep your blood in check well enough to keep you alive, but if your body must focus all it’s attention on fixing acid-swamped blood, your cellular energy will suffer. Alkalize from the outside in, unburden your body, and see how you feel. You’ll be amazed.