Why dieting often leads to weight cycling

When people want to lose weight you often hear them say I need to go on a diet. Then they go on these complicated diet plans telling them that they cannot eat these “junk foods” and often times if they follow the plan correctly this works. But too many times I have seen people lose weight then a month later they put back on the weight the same amount that they lost and I began to ask myself why is this so common among people? And the answer is weight cycling. Weight cycling is a pattern of repeatedly losing and regaining weight. Some experts refer to this type of process at “yo-yo dieting”. When people go through this phase they often feel like giving up because they feel like the whole process was a waste of time. So they get depressed and will lose hope.

Marketers that offer these different diet plans often promise quick weight loss with no hunger and very little effort. These are the diets that usually backfire. One reason that these diets often times do not work is because they are rigid. Rigid diets specify rules like ” eat only cabbage and bananas” or “never eat after 6pm”. Some of you that are reading this right now are probably on this type of diet or have tried it at some point in your life. And because these diets are unpleasant and restrictive people don’t stick with them. People that are on rigid diets tend to have a higher percentage of body fat than people on more flexible plans. People on rigid diets tend to be more depressed, have anxiety, and binge eating as well.

On the other hand flexible diets are based off on energy balancing of calories eaten and burned. They focus on portion size make exceptions for people based on their daily routines, appetites and food availability. If you go out with your friends and over eat with a flexible diet, it allows you to cut extra calories tomorrow and increase your exercise regimen to compensate. As a result of this people tend to stay on flexible diets longer.

Everyone who diets will experience some degree of lowered metabolism during a period a period of calorie restriction as the body defends its fat stores. That’s why weight loss tends to slow down after an initial quick drop and why the long-held rule that you must cut 3,500 calories to lose a pound of fat is not strictly correct. It’s also part of the reason successful weight maintenance requires permanent changes to your old eating habits.

If you have any questions or want to talk to me about training or dieting, feel free to comment below and I will get in touch with you as soon as I can. Visit my website at https://qemfitness.bandzoogle.com/home

The secret to losing weight

The big question people always tend to ask is, “how do I lose weight?” A lot of people tend to think that the major issue is their caloric intake. Calories play a factor but is not the main factor. A lot of individuals are being deceived by the people that work in the vitamin stores. They tell them all they need to do is take a certain pill and in days, weeks, or months you will start seeing results. There is WAY much more involved to losing weight. Losing weight involves many other factors such as eating a clean diet and working out regularly. But guess what… I have found a secret.

Have you ever eaten a meal in the morning and by the afternoon you felt like you were ready to crash? What I am going to talk to you about is one of the major reasons why you may have felt like this and how it can keep you from losing weight. The key component is called insulin. We all have it naturally in our body. Some of you may not be familiar with what insulin is so let me break it down to you. Insulin is released from the cells in your pancreas and into the blood stream when your body senses blood sugar has been increased. Very high blood sugar levels are not good and insulin acts as a bridge between cells and the sugar found floating in your blood. Without insulin however your blood sugar would be extremely high and your body wouldn’t be able to get that sugar into the cells. Before insulin starts forming blood glucose into fat cells, it first stores as much as possible into the liver for a later use. Unfortunately the liver can only hold a limited amount of blood sugar then the excess starts getting dumped off into muscle cells. Muscle cells can hold more glucose than liver however they also have their limit. Once the limit is reached, there is a “spill over” that happens when most of the sugar from carbohydrates in your diet will begin to be stored as fat cells in order to lower to lower your sugar found in your blood stream back to normal.

Therefore, if you control the food you consume you will have low levels of insulin making it easier to burn that unwanted fat. It is high insulin levels that block you from burning fat. Limit your carbohydrate intake and you will see a major change in your weight. Also, it is a good idea to stay away from starch such as potatoes, rice, and bread.

Gives this a try for 2-3 weeks and let me know your results! Feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Coach Q

The truth behind the growth of Gluten Sensitivity

Ten years ago few people knew what Gluten even was and you rarely heard people go into restaurants and ask if you had a “Gluten Free Menu”. Now recently you can find the terms gluten free being talked about everywhere

While we don’t know how many people have this celiac disease but it is estimated to affect 3 millions people in the world which is 1% of the population and has increased over the last 50 years.

Now the real question is, why is this becoming so popular now? Or has this had been an ongoing condition that was previesoly misdiagnosed? Now we will dive deeper into it

Gluten is a protein in rye, barley and wheat. It is also used in dough so the bread can rise, hold it’s shape and absorbs liquids like soup. It can also be used to make soup thicker as well.

Gluten-Sensitivity nor celiac disease are food allergies but they are two entirely different concerns. Some people who are sensitive to gluten may only experience mild symptoms such as an upset stomach.

Celiac disease is an inherited autoimmune disorder of the small bowel that can cause similar side effects but to a more extreme level that could lead to death. When they consume foods like gluten it irritates the gut and your body reacts as if a toxin is attacking it.

THE PROBLEM WITH GLUTEN

Some doctors and scientists believe there is an increase in gluten sensitivity due to environmental and food changes. These changes include

New wheat varieties have higher gluten content
Farmers are using wheat with higher gluten varieties because of their natural insecticide qualities
People are consuming more wheat-based products than previous decades

Some ways that we can solve this issue if you find yourself suffering from this is simply eating grains other than wheat. Healthy and gluten free options include brown rice, oats and millet. Many Gluten free products are higher in sugar,fat and sodium to make up for the lack of gluten and improve the flavor and texture.

Why lower calories is not always a better option

A lot of people fall into the trap that eating things with less calories is always a good thing. They go to restaurants and look at the menu and try to see which option is the one with less calories and they automatically assume that this is the healthiest. But I am here to tell you that it is not.

Just become something has less calories than something else does not mean that it is more nutrient dense. This example can be very extreme but you can see how something like this could play out. A lot of people stress that if they eat too many calories that it is unhealthy for them and are very strict when it comes to eating foods with a higher calorie count. But if you slip up from time to time it’s okay you will live and see another day. It’s just being mindful of what you are putting into your body is what I want you to be aware of.

Something that I would suggest when looking at foods with different calories is this:

Check the ingredients
Check the overall sugar content
Check the number of servings in the package

While calories can be a very helpful tool it is never a life or death matter if you eat over your calorie intake for the day. Also there are helpful tools you can use such as caloric measurements to keep your portions in check. But most of all make sure you are getting the proper nutrients and eating whole foods that will help you get the body you are working for.

Foods with richer vitamin C than oranges

A lot of people automatically assume that when they hear the word vitamin C they automatically think of oranges. But what you may not know is that their are many other foods that have more vitamin C than oranges. Vitamin C is great for growth and repair of body tissues. Vitamin C is also beneficial to people who’s immune system was weakened due to stress.

While vitamin C may not be the cure to the common cold there is a lot of good research that shows that it helps reduce the risk of developing further complications when you do get sick. Vitamin C is a very strong antioxidant in it’s self that can help boost your blood antioxidant levels which in turn help reduce risk of chronic disease.

One small orange has 51.1mg vitamin C and a medium orange has about 69.8 mg vitamin C. The minimum requirement that a human should consume is about 75-90 mg a day.

Below are some of the vegetables that contain more vitamin C than an orange are :

Bell Pepper 341mg
Broccoli 132mg
Strawberries 85mg
Kale 80mg
Pineapple 78mg
Kiwi 64mg

Hopefully this article convinces you enough to start thinking about your vitamin C intake. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact me.

Coach Q

To eat or not to eat processed foods?

Nowadays people are much more aware of the organic foods that are being made. We are much more conscious about how the food we eat is made. The processing of food is what makes or breaks if it is really good for you or not. Recently I have really been looking at the food that I am eating and asking myself is it in natural form?

A lot of my snacks include nuts and seeds especially when it is late night and I do not want to make a full meal. Now you may ask yourself are nuts really good for you? And the answer to that is as long as they are not processed and they are raw nuts then they are fine. The difference between processed and non processed is when you actually crack the shell yourself and eat them right then compared too when they are not directly out of the shell, roasted then extra preservatives to keep them fresh. When this happens you are pretty much eating dead food because when they are processed it loses some of its vitamins and minerals that you would only receive when you consume them in their natural state.

I know for myself that I like to have salted and sweet cashews from time to time but once I did my research and learned that some of the vital nutrients was being stripped from me I transitioned into eating nuts raw. And of course it took a little time to get used too but once you start to give your body natural foods then it will start to crave them and your sugar cravings will go away. This same concept can be used when eating vegetables as well. When you cook them for too long key nutrients, vitamins and minerals will start to go away and again you will be eating dead food. Pay attention to the foods that you are putting into your body.