The Diet Solution

Studies have found a link between sleep and the hormones that trigger our eating behavior.  Ghrelin which triggers the feelings of hunger and Leptin which tells the brain its time to stop get off track when your sleep deprived.

  Have you ever ate and ate but still your craving is alive and well.  It seems you just can’t get there.  This happens when these two hormones get off track.  Try your best to get seven to eight hours a sleep per night. 

Studies have also found that the darker the room the better.  It seems there is a little gland in the back of the neck at the base of the brain that produces melatonin.  This gland works better in the dark so its best to not have too many things in your bedroom that light up at night. 

Being tried makes it much harder to make healthy eating choices. You tend to crave more sugar and chocolate when you are tried.  Somehow we think its going to make us feel better, however that is not the case.  It causes a raise in your blood sugar than a drop and you usually feel worse so than you reach for more sugar or chocolate and it becomes an endless cycle.

Click here for some get books to help you reach your weight goal and remember to get some sleep.

1/3 cup Organic Virgin Coconut Oil or butter, melted

½ cup cocoa powder

6 eggs

½ cup Steviva Blend baking stevia (which is equal to 1 cup sugar)

½ teaspoon Celtic Sea salt

½ teaspoon vanilla

½ cup sifted Organic Coconut Flour

1 cup raw nuts, chopped (optional)

Directions

In a saucepan at low heat, blend together butter and cocoa powder. Remove from heat and let cool. In a bowl, mix together eggs, stevia, salt and vanilla. Stir in cocoa mixture. Whisk coconut flour into batter until there are no lumps. Fold in nuts. Pour batter into a greased 11x7x2 or 8x8x2 inch pan. Bake at 175C (350F) for 30-35 minutes.

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Summer is fast approaching  and I want to give you a few tips to help you stay on track.  I like to eat out just like everyone else so enjoy yourself and have a wonderful time.

Tips For Going On Vacation:

Always have an back up kit.  Pack some walnuts, almonds, almond butter, beef jerky, apples and pears.  These are items that you do not have to keep refrigerated.  If you get into a situation where you cannot get your hands on something healthy but need a snack, this will help to keep you from reaching for the chips or candy bar.

Breakfast is pretty easy there usually are good choices of protein on the menu. Omelets are always a good choice, stay away from the waffles and pancakes. These will raise your blood sugar level and you have worked too hard to get it under control.  If you eat a breakfast loaded with sugar it will set you up for cravings the rest of the day.  Stick with the high protein items, like turkey bacon or turkey sausage and avoid the sugary breakfast items.

 
There are many good choices for lunch and dinner.  Remember a salad before the main course will help fill you up so always start there. Order your meat and a vegetable, however avoid the heavy sauces. You can make good choices of foods that taste good and still, be healthly.

Now the desserts.  I love desserts too and will get a dessert while I am on vacation, however its not something I would get every night.  Maybe twice a week, so enjoy just do not over indulge. Remember when you get home you will have to work hard to get it back off so use moderation.  Remember the old saying a minute on the lips and forever on the hips and how true this is.

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BPA or Bisphenol is used in the lining of tin cans and in plastics such as baby bottles. Some studies have shown it may be linked to reproductive problems,  increased risk of cancer, diabetes and abdominal weight. Many compaines are moving away from using BPA in there products and or labeling to make the consumer aware. 

Here are a few tips to help avoid exposure to BPA.

Its been suggested that microwaved food has some negative health effects.  However if you choose to use a microwave for your food, do not microwave the food in plastic containers as it can increase the leaching of chemicals including BPA. Never use plastic cups for hot liquids such as hot tea or coffee, as this can increase the leaching of BPA, depending on the type of plastic.  Also avoid soda cans, analysis have showed that 42% of soda cans contained BPA. If your trying to lose weight and care about your health you should avoid soda all together and that includes the diet soda also. The artificial sweeteners are dangerous to your health.  Click here for more healthy tips.

As much as you try to avoid BPA you will most likely still be exposed to some levels. With a few guidelines you can help to eliminate your exposure as much as possible.  With this new awareness companies are mandated to show if a container contains BPA so check the bottom of the container. Plastic that shows #7 on the bottom will sometimes contain BPA, but not always.  If a bottle shows “PC” on the bottom, it is made from polycarbonate, so it will contain BPA

Try to stick to most of these guidelines and you can help to protect yourself and your family from the health dangers of bisphenol-A (BPA). Also you can help protect yourself against the issue of stubborn abdominal fat that can be caused by exposure to BPA.

I am sure its no secret to you that refined sugar causes weight gain and is the top leading cause of obesity today.  We also know that sugar is extremely addictive. We Americans do not realize how much sugar we consume on a daily basis. Did you know that most soft drinks, juices and even health drinks contain anywhere from 5-10 teaspoons of sugar in every 8 oz serving. This is like adding 10 teaspoons of sugar into a 8 oz glass of water then drinking it.  We would never think of doing this, however this is exactly what we are doing when we consume these soft drinks, juice and other drinks. 

Its not just our drinks that are loaded with sugar.   When checking the labels on cereals and prepared food, look at the first ingredient listed.  By standards the highest quantity content in the product has to be listed first or second.  They have disguised the word sugar by using corn sweetener, corn syrup, dehydrated cane juice, dextrin, dextrose, fructose, molasses, Raw sugar (this sounds healthy), sucrose and sugar alcohol to name a few.

Americans eat an average of 22 teaspoons of added sugar per day. This is equivalent to about 355 extra calories. That estimate does not include naturally occurring sugars in fruits, vegetables and dairy products, which are perfectly healthy. If our current intake is too much, how much added sugar should we really be consuming? 

The American Heart Association recommends that most women should eat no more than 100 extra sugar calories per day and men no more than 150 calories–or 6 teaspoons per day for women and 9 added teaspoons for men.  This includes the added sugars that manufacturers add during the processing of food, and sugars added at the table.

Extra sugar means extra calories and, without adequate energy expenditure, extra pounds. Consuming a lot of sugar calories in the forms of soda, cookies and cakes pushes out nutritionally rich foods like dairy, fruits and vegetables. The American Heart Association also links excess sugar consumption to risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Too much sugar is also a known cause of tooth decay.

For great tips on how to get and stay slim click here.

Sugar is addicting but once you wean yourself off sugar and sugar containing products you will seen a drastic and immediate change in your weight.  You can slim that body down.

If you want to feel and look your best you should lose weight from body fat, not from your muscles. This is why crash diets are not healthy.  Its very important when trying to lose weight, that you eat the right foods and incorporate exercise into your daily routine.  The amount of proteins, carbohydrates and fats you implement in your diet will determine if and how much you will lose. 

You can cut your calories but if you are eating too many carbohydrates you will not lose weight and maybe even gain.  However if you have a diet of mostly protein, some carbohydrates and healthy fats you will lose weight and reach your healthy goal. You can lose weight and not feel hungry if your daily intake is mainly protein. 

We use to think weight loss was determined strictly by a matter of calories intake.  Regardless of the calorie source, if I take in less calories than I burn I will lose weight.  We have found out that is not the case.  This is why so many struggle to get the results they want and they never reach their goal. Studies have found that the calories from proteins, carbohydrates and fats have different effects on the body metabolism.  This means that some calories are healthier than others.  Our body understands this and knows when to burn calories for energy and when to store for fat.

The first and most important factor is we eat for all the wrong reasons.  The main reason we should eat is to fuel the body.  I am sure you can think of many other reasons we eat other than just for fuel.  I know I have been quilty of eating for comfort, boredom breaker, and habit just to name a few.  When eating for these reason it is more than likely not good healthy foods that I am consuming. 

Understanding your metabolism and how it works will benefit you when your trying to lose or maintain a healthy weight.  There are two important hormones called insulin and glucagon.  Insulin causes fat storage and glucagon causes fat to be used for energy instead of being stored.  The problem is there are certain foods that causes the insulin level to rise quickly and when this happens the body goes to work to bring the level down by storing it in the fat cells.  The body is hoping to use it later for energy.  However we continue to eat foods that cause the spike in the insulin level so instead of tapping into the reserve we only keep adding to it.  

Some of the foods that affect insulin and cause the spike in the levels are refined carbohydrates, which include white breads, sugars, most baked goods, and most processed snack foods.   Glucagon is released when we eat protein which can decrease hunger and control your appetite.  This is why its very important to get the proportions of these two hormones correct to lose and maintain your healthy weight.