I love getting questions from my readers and clients and believe me, people trying to lose weight often have a ton of questions.
To be brutally honest, if they stopped talking and asking… and instead focused more on moving more and eating healthier, most of them would see more results.
However, that being said, this article will answer some of the most common questions just so that you’re better informed and don’t make too many mistakes.
Do note though… You can't plan, think or reason the fat away. Only exercise and a healthy diet will do that.
Only do what truly matters.
1. Will eating slowly help me lose weight?
No. You could eat slowly but eat a lot and all the wrong foods. You may have read that eating slowly will result in you feeling full before you have completed your meal. So, you will end up eating less.
This is often not true since many people are mentally conditioned to finish whatever is put on their plate.
So, they’ll carry on eating despite feeling satiated. So, they’ve not eaten less but just wasted more time. It's really about whatyou eat.
2. How do I stop my food cravings?
We must be honest with ourselves here. We’ve made unhealthy eating a habit. Food cravings are a symptom of a bad habit. The cravings will take time to go away.
Have a well-balanced diet so that your body gets all the nutrients it needs.
When you have bad cravings for something sweet, eat some fruit.
If you really must eat chocolate, get dark chocolate that’s healthier. Here's what I eat when I have a chocolate craving: Fat Burning Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
Slowly but surely form new healthy habits. Don’t try and cut all your favorite foods off at one shot.
Slowly reduce consumption of them and little by little you will wean yourself off these foods. It's about creating new healthier choices not about restricting yourself.
3. Is it safe to restrict my carb intake?
A healthy diet does not restrict carb intake. You should be more concerned about where you are getting your carbs from.
Is it from healthy sources like oatmeal, vegetables, etc.? Or are you eating white bread, junk food, etc.?
What really matters is the carb source. However, when you are trying to lose weight, ideally you should restrict your carbs so that you can lose the excess fat.
Once you have reached your ideal weight, slowly you can increase your carbs till you find the sweet spot where the carbs won’t lead to weight gain.
4. I’ve reduced my calories but I’m not losing weight… Why?
Most probably you have reduced your calories too drastically. If you were going to count calories, you'd aim for only a 500 calorie deficit.
I don't count calories and here is why:
It is more valuable to think of your food in terms of proteins, fats and carbs in counting what really matters.
If you eat a low calorie diet of all fat and carbs this will not give your body the building blocks it need to create lean muscle and burn fat.
Low calorie and healthy are not synonymous so stay away from counting calories and instead count grams of protein, carbs and fats.
5. Will eating at night make me fat?
No. It really does not matter when you eat as long as WHAT you eat is healthy. I have a late night snack almost every night but it's usually a really tasty protein smoothie or some Greek yogurt with berries and honey.
These 5 questions are some of the most common ones.
Now you know the answers to these questions and you know that what really matters is you taking action.
Put on the workout attire and go sweat. When you’re done, eat right. That’s really all you need to do.
Yours in Health,
Danette
P.S. If you like this article please share it with your friends and as always, I welcome your comments below.
Do you remember making ice cream with your parents or grandparents?
They had that old time ice cream churner and all us kids were always so excited when Grandpa would bring it out from the pantry.
Did your siblings always start shouting out their favorite flavors too?!
I've always wondered if that's where the phrase “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream” started.
These are fond memories I had growing up and here's what I do when my family wants a cool, sweet and satisfying treat.
We do different flavors throughout the seasons but in December we all seem to agree that peppermint just tastes the most like Christmas!
My recipe is a lot healthier than the classic you may be used to but I think once you try it, you'll agree there's not a lot of sacrifices being made here to have a fun delicious sweet treat.
PEPPERMINT PROTEIN
ICE CREAM
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup unsweetened vanilla or original almond milk
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract (or any flavoring extract you prefer)
1/4 cup unsweetened Greek yogurt
DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix everything together in a blender; pour in a sandwich-sized bag.
2. Fill a gallon size half bag with ice.
3. Add 1/2 cup table salt.
4. Place the small bag into the large bag and seal.
5. Shake the bag vigorously for 5 minutes.
6. Remove bag, rinse salt off bag and serve.
7. You can serve with crushed peppermint candy.
This is super fun for family and kids.
Hope you and your family enjoy this fun healthy treat as much as my family and I do!
Yours in Health,
Danette
P.S. Please share this with your friends and I welcome your comments below.
Those may sound like strong words but hear me out.
First….Did you know one of the biggest causes of health problems in the world today is overuse of toxic vegetable oils?
This is mostly because the companies making these oils have created a false image.
Unbelievably, these oils are marketed as healthy, vegetable oils that are supposed to help lower cholesterol levels, promote fat loss, improve blood pressure issues and boost your health.
This is a fallacy and most people are unaware that they are being fooled by these multi-million dollar companies that are only interested in profits.
Most vegetable oils such as corn sunflower, canola, soy bean, etc. cannot be extracted by pressing unlike coconut or olive oil. These oils need to be extracted using chemical process.
In the past, the technology was not available to extract these oils, so people could not use it in their diets.
That’s why they didn't have problems like obesity and a whole range of other problems that are so common these days.
The rampant use of these vegetable oils has resulted in them being found in almostEVERY processed food.
Consuming these processed products leads to inflammation and weight gain just to name two.
Vegetable oils contain high levels of Omega-6 oils. This throws off the ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6 fatty acids in our bodies.
Instead of having and ideal ration of 1:1, most people have abnormally high ratios ranging from 16:1 or even 25:1.
This causes so many health problems that you could literally write a book about it.
One of the side effects of having too much Omega-6 in your body is obesity.
It is indirectly related. The human body needs fats to repair our cells. When the body is fed high levels of unhealthy fats from vegetable oils, it has no choice but to assimilate these fats into the cell repair.
This will lead to arterial clogging and other problems. None of which look good.
Cancer is indirectly linked to the consumption of vegetable oils too.
The best thing you can do for your health is to avoid these unhealthy vegetable oils at all cost. It can be tough since most processed foods and even foods at restaurants contain these oils. That is a choice you have to make for yourself.
There are healthy oils that you can use.
A few examples would be ghee, butter, coconut oil, olive oil, grapeseed oil and avocado oil. Ghee is excellent and can be used to fry eggs and used to make most dishes. Coconut and olive oil are great too.
So, give these oils a try and you will feel the difference.
At the end of the day, losing weight is more than just calories in and out. It’s more than just exercise.
Being lean and fit is a lifestyle choice. Once you lose the weight, you do not want it to come back. Rest assured, that weight gain is always faster and easier than weight loss. Life’s not fair.
Staying lean requires many different actions and daily choices in life.
Choosing to exclude processed vegetable oils in your diet is one of the best decisions to you could make to stay lean and healthy. Lose the fat and keep it off.
Yours in Health,
Danette
P.S. Please share this with your friends and I welcome your comments below.
Sometimes I wonder if there is anyone who doesn't just love pizza?!
It's one of my favorites, too. And it's one of the top foods that people tell me they really don't want to give up.
Well I have good news for pizza lovers today!
You don't have to give up pizza at all! With healthier ingredients in the crust and some good colorful nutrient rich toppings, you can turn a greasy no-no into a yummy guilt-free regular part of your meal plan.
My healthy pizza is every bit as satisfying as that Italian comfort food we've all come to know and love and much easier on your waistline.
The 4 pillars are the keys to your health and permanent fat loss. Keep in mind that all 4 pillars must be implemented in order to see long term success.
Think of these pillars like a table that needs 4 legs to stand. If one leg breaks or falls off, the table no longer works. You need each of these 4 pillars to stay on track with your health and fat loss.
Much Love,
Danette
PS – Please feel free to share this with your friends and leave your comments below. I love hearing from you!
We live in a very fast paced world. There's no doubt about that that. We want things done fast and efficiently.
It's because today's society demands speed, efficiency and fast results, that jobs these days are a lot more demanding than they were in the past.
People work longer hours and have less time for leisure. They are constantly stressed out and harried at work.
Did you know?…More people die of heart attacks on a Monday than any other day of the week.
In order to keep up with hectic schedules, one of the first things to get sacrificed is sleep. That seems to be the easiest way to get more done since you have more time. It’s easier to sleep less than increase productivity.
It’s easier to consume energy drinks and stay awake than to tell your boss the workload is ridiculous.
What most people fail to realize is that being constantly deprived of sleep will take a toll on your health in the long run.
So, how does sleep affects your weight and weight loss?
Research has shown that people who have less sleep eat more, feel hungrier and generally consume 350 calories more than required. Those who stay awake late often find themselves consuming snacks and heavy meals often.
Your body’s insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance levels will drop. This is bad since your body will go into fat storage modeinstead of being in fat burning mode.
Dissatisfaction at the workplace is the number one reason people are stressed.
When your insulin sensitivity is down, you will store fat much more easily. The same applies for glucose tolerance.
Lack of sleep also increases the body’s stress hormone, cortisol. Once again the body’s fat burning ability decreases or in a worst case scenario, just completely stops.
If you’re eating on a caloric deficit and training daily, your body is already stressed out. It needs sleep to rest and repair itself. Not to mention de-stress.
There is a reason it is referred to as “beauty sleep”.
All the best attempts at losing weight will be hampered if you can’t afford to get enough sleep at night.
Power naps during the day will not cut it. You need sleep at night for at least 7 hours.
Most people claim to get by on less. They may… but at a price to their health in the long run.
Aim to be more productive so that you get more work done in the office and don’t have to stay late.
Stop watching late night TV and do not work out too close to bedtime. Ideally, you should be working out in the day.
Try and meditate to free your mind from the daily stresses of life. Remember, even if you win the rat race, you’re still a rat. There is more to life than deadlines, targets and appraisals.
Get enough sleep and you will find it much easier to shed the fat. The power of a good night’s sleep should never be underestimated.
Yours in Health,
Danette
P.S. Please share this with your friends and I welcome your comments below.
