September 29, 2008 by John
Most nutrition experts today believe that soft drinks are the number one dietary cause of fat gain. Colas used to come in little 8-ounce bottles. Now the average size bottle is 20 to 24 ounces, making carbonated drinks the single biggest source of refined sugars in the American diet.
The problem is, many people seem to think that the calories in what they drink don’t “count.” They only pay attention to the calories they chew. Big mistake.
Obviously, sugared colas do nothing but hamper your goal of losing fat and keeping it off forever. We know that water is best, but the transition can be difficult. Here’s how to ditch the sugared cola habit:
Step 1. Drop the full-sugar sodas and move to diet colas. If that’s too difficult at first, at least drink only diet colas later in the day as consuming sugar at night is one of the worst things you can do for your body! The new diet drinks with Splenda are much better than the diet drinks from just a few years ago.
Step 2. Once you’re only drinking diet colas, begin to add in flavored waters (carbonated or noncarbonated) in place of the pop.
Step 3. It may be the caffeine you’re addicted to rather than the sugar, so this gradual transition will prevent any caffeine withdrawal. But eventually, you should be drinking only flavored water or pure water as your main source of fluids. A cup of coffee in the morning and a glass of tea at lunch is fine, but try to consume water the rest of the day.
It takes about 21 days to kick a habit, so if you can stay off the sugared colas for at least three weeks then your “coke habit” will be cured and your waistline with thank you!
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September 22, 2008 by John
If you are trying to lose weight but have been unsuccessful so far, check to see if you are making any of these common mistakes.
- Eating too often. it is a commonly held belief that eating multiple small meals each day is a good way to lose weight. But this only works if the meals are SMALL! If each of these so called ‘small meals’ start to creep up in calories and start to get larger you are never going to lose any weight. I suggest eating less meals per day. This way you have more chance of having a satisfying meal and less opportunities to over do it.
- Not doing resistance exercise. many people still think ‘cardio’ type workouts will burn more fat. This is incorrect as research has shown that higher intensity intervals will burn more fat. Also, higher intensity workouts and resistance training workouts build and maintain muscles, which keeps your metabolism rolling along. Traditional ‘Cardio’ type workouts can’t build muscle and will not burn as many calories as higher intensity intervals. A circuit workout of whole body exercises will get your heart rate up, and works all the muscles of your body is the most efficient way to burn fat and build and tone muscles.
- Snacking. Typical ‘snack’ foods can have way more calories than you think. Before you know it you can be consuming more calories in a ‘snack’ than in one of your meals.
- Not eating enough fruits and vegetables. Fruits and Veggies take up lots of space in your stomach and make you feel full without putting in too many calories. Eating lots of fruits and veggies can ensure that you will feel full without putting in too many calories.
- Trying to do it alone. Research is indicating that the people you socialize with will have an enormous impact on you reaching your fitness and nutrition goals. Social support is probably the single most important factor to staying on a good workout and nutrition plan. Try to recruit a good workout partner or two to stay on track with your workouts. Also be aware of the friends and family who seem to always sabotage your nutrition habits. Ask them to politely support you and not pressure you to break your plan.
These are the most common problems that get in the way of weight loss success. When a potential client asks me how to lose weight, the first thing I do is check to see how many of these mistakes they are making. I’d say nine times out of ten they are making all of them, and they don’t even realize it! Taking action on each one will put you on the right path to lasting weight loss.
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Posted in: Cardio Exercise, Food and Nutrition, Health and Wellness, Science and Research
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