Category Archives: Nutrition

May 19 2012

Are You a Habitual Starvation Dieter?

I hope you’re not a long-time user of starvation diets just to lose weight. If you are, you might find yourself struggling with some of these habits listed below. You end up having what you’re trying to avoid–weight gain.

If you’ve never tried a starvation diet, you’re not missing anything except misery. Food is meant to nourish and energize your body and it should be enjoyed in the right portions.

Here are 10 common habits of those who just want quick weight loss using various starvation diets or methods:

1. You never make a commitment to a lifetime of fitness and health. You are too concerned with pounds on the weigh scale. Those who have succeeded at transforming their bodies from fat to lean have health and fitness practices that they do on most days. It becomes a sustainable lifestyle.

2. Starvation diets rule again and again. The less food you eat, the more weight you’ll lose, right? Sorry, but it just doesn’t work this way in the long-run. If your idea of the perfect diet plan for weight loss is popping crackers and diuretics, you’re headed for disaster.

Starvation slows the fat-burning process. Your body relies on the nutrients in whole, natural foods for fuel. When you starve yourself, it senses the downward shift in your caloric intake and kicks into starvation mode. When this happens, your metabolism will slow down and your body will hold on to stored fat in order to conserve energy.

Muscle mass needs more energy to function than fat. Basically, the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you’ll burn. If you continue to starve yourself, your body will feed on your muscle tissue and make it even harder for you to lose weight.

Obviously, if you starve yourself long enough, you’ll have no choice but to lose weight. But the weight loss won’t be healthy, and it will show in your appearance. You’ll become emaciated and your body will start to look like an old bag of bones.

The weight lost from starvation diets almost always comes back. Starvation slows your metabolism down. And it can take months for it to return to normal. As soon as you start eating again, you’ll likely gain all of the weight you lost back, and more. In the end, you’ll wind up bigger than you were before you started starving.

3. Chronic starvation dieters end up with damaged health. If you are eating 900 calories a day, that is not enough food to even support your basal metabolic rate.

When you go without food, you don’t get any of the essential nutrients needed for good health. This can result in fatigue, kidney failure, heart failure, gallstones, ulcers, hair loss, muscle weakness and osteoporosis. This is just a short list of the physical problems a starvation diet can cause. We haven’t even touched on the mental stuff.

It’s not uncommon for extremely calorie-restrictive dieters to struggle with depression, anger, indifference, memory loss, poor concentration, hallucinations and mood swings. Starvation can also increase your chances of suffering with eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia.

In essence, your health will be a mess if you try to lose weight by starving. The worst part about it is that some of the health issues that arise from starvation diets can cause irreversible damage to your body and require long-term hospitalization or lifelong medical care.

If you plan to turn starvation dieting into a lifestyle, you’ll end up in a body bag way before your time. No amount of skinny is worth your life. Don’t let the desperation to lose weight push you to go on a starvation diet.

4. You experience weight loss and weight regain many times.

According to a Medicinenet.com article, “Weight Cycling…Facts About “Yo-Yo” Dieting,”

“Weight cycling is the repeated loss and regain of body weight. When weight cycling is the result of dieting, it is often called “yo-yo” dieting. A weight cycle can range from small weight losses and gains (5-10 lbs. per cycle) to large changes in weight (50 lbs. or more per cycle).”

“Some research links weight cycling with certain health risks. To avoid potential risks, most experts recommend that obese adults adopt healthy eating and regular physical activity habits to achieve and maintain a healthier weight for life. Non-obese adults should try to maintain their weight through healthy eating and regular physical activity.”

“Some studies suggest that weight cycling may increase the risk for certain health problems. These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and gallbladder disease.”

5. Starvation dieters are not concerned with burning body fat. You MUST change your body’s composition. You must increase muscle mass to become a “fat-burning machine.” This keeps the weight off your body for good. You don’t need to be a body builder but you need to replace the fat (to an acceptable body fat percentage) on your body with muscle mass. This will give you the lean, healthy body you need.

You must do more than cardio exercise to change your body’s composition. “Cardio only” will not lean out your body. Too much cardio will waste away your muscle mass.

Make a commitment to full-body strength training. Among other things, it builds muscle mass, speeds up your metabolism (the body has to work harder to maintain muscle) and helps improve your bone density. And, you’ll look great.

6. There are many lies about fat loss and weight loss out there—and many people believe them. Why? Businesses are trying to make money off of you and they’ll lie, tell half-truths or present unproven facts to get it. You have to make a choice to believe or not believe those lies.

Fad dieters are always looking for the next pill, diet or fat blocker to change their bodies. The dream never comes true. Doctors, dieticians, and fitness experts agree that the best way to burn fat and lose weight is to eat higher quality calories, exercise regularly and increase your daily activity. Don’t look for shortcuts.

7. Starvation dieters lose water weight. Burn body fat and lose weight.

If you lose 20 pounds in 10 days using severe calorie restriction with no exercise (you probably won’t have the energy to exercise), just about all of that weight loss will be due to lost muscle mass and water weight.

The problem is further compounded if you gained weight without exercise. The composition of this weight gain is mainly fat and water retention. I have seen individuals with up to 70% body fat.

One big cause of water retention is too much salt consumption (sodium). If you eat many processed foods and not many whole, natural foods, your sodium consumption is too high—and you will take on more water weight.

So, you find yourself regaining this weight quickly when you begin to eat the carbohydrates, proteins and fats that your body needs. Why? Because you will also replenish water stores in your body’s cells.

8. Veteran starvation dieters are frequent users. The typical dieter tries a new plan four times a year. “We have this mentality that a diet is something to go on and then get off as quickly as possible,” says FITNESS advisory board member Madelyn Fernstrom, PhD, founding director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Weight Management Center. “But lasting weight loss requires making lifestyle changes that will work long-term.”

9. Quick weight loss veterans deal with slowed metabolism, a weaker immune system, hormonal imbalances, loss of lean mass, increased body fat, decreased energy levels and disrupted sleep patterns. Is that worth it?

10. Your confidence takes a hit with each weight loss and weight regain episode. “The more times you go through the gain-lose-gain cycle, the less convinced you become that you can break free from the constant ups and downs,” says Keri Gans, RD, a dietitian in private practice in New York City. “No one wants to diet forever; it’s hard work.”

Stop starving yourself, start eating right and start building your body the right way. Its worth the effort.

Download your FREE 14-Day Accelerated Fat Loss Program, start burning max fat and start building your lean, hard body!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

May 11 2012

Are You Missing One of These Five Keys to Proper Digestion?

By Vicki Berry, Nutrition-To-Wellness

You have probably heard that your health begins in your colon, but do you really know why?

The colon is as much responsible if not more for ridding your body of toxins as your kidneys and sweat glands.

While the kidneys, lymph system and sweat glands depend on your intake of appropriate amounts of
fluid, your colon requires a bit more attention to the diet.

Here’s why:

Over time, you may realize that a buildup in the colon walls is possible, which will prevent both the absorption of nutrients AND the elimination of toxins.

Thousands of chemical reactions and enzymes are at work breaking down our food as it passes through
our stomach and small intestine.

By the time it reaches our large intestine, it should be digested to the point that the walls of the colon can absorb the water and remaining nutrients.

But sometimes the food and toxins that we ingest are not so easily digestible, and cause accumulations on our colon walls, causing not only a depletion in micronutrients, but a toxic buildup as well.

These toxins are then able to pass into our bloodstream in place of the nutrients that are no longer allowed to pass through the blockages, leading to cancers and other chronic diseases.

There are FIVE crucial elements that must be in place for the proper functioning of your digestive system:

(1) Chewing!

Yes, your mother was right, chew your food thoroughly!

If you do not do this, eating in a hurry and gulping down your meals will result in gas and bloating, and a buildup of bad bacteria in your gut!

If you are having a lot of gas and bloating, stop and think when you eat, are you really chewing your food well enough? It’s something we often don’t think about!

Chew slowly and longer, which will actually help you to feel fuller, and ultimately aid in weight loss if you are overweight. If you are not overweight it certainly helps nutrient absorption!

Saliva is what begins the digestive process. Some vegetables are digested primarily with the enzymes in our saliva, the remainder of which facilitates digestion through the lower intestine as insoluble fiber (more on fiber in number 3…)

(2) Water

How much do you need on a daily basis, and what counts? The recommended amount is at least 1/2 of your body weight in ounces. In other words, if you weigh 160 lbs, you need 80 oz. of water (10 8 oz glasses) per day.

Now this might sound like a lot but there are some things you get to consider, which I explain in this post.

(3) Fiber

Fiber is simply a form of carbohydrate that the body cannot digest, and is not absorbed into the bloodstream. It is not converted to energy as are other carbohydrates, rather, it is excreted from our bodies.

Fiber is known to aid in shedding extra pounds, preventing constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulitis, managing blood sugar levels, and may even also help with lowering the bad LDL cholesterol. Fiber has been shown to prevent some cancers.

Fiber also helps to balance the pH (acid/alkaline level) in the intestine, which is important for nutrient absorption.

It also regulates the good bacteria, which in turn helps to detoxify your body and regulates your immune system. (For more on good bacteria, or probiotics, see number 4).

Soluble fiber forms a gel when mixed with liquid, and prolongs the time that the stomach is emptied to provide for better nutrient absorption. This is also important when eating sweet fruits so that your liver does not get over taxed and create fat from excess fructose absorption.

Soluble fiber also binds with essential fatty acids, which are crucial to cellular health. Sources of insoluble fiber include oats and oat bran, nuts, flax seed, fruits, and vegetables such as peas and carrots.

Insoluble fiber is not water soluble, and passes through us largely intact, helping to move waste through the intestines, preventing constipation, and improving digestive health. Sources of insoluble fiber include fruit and root vegetable skins, green beans and dark leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, corn bran, whole wheat.

Soluble fiber needs water to provide the required function of absorption, and insoluble fiber needs water to move, so always be sure to get enough water with an increased intake of fiber! Water will facilitate the benefits of both soluble and insoluble fiber.

So How Much Fiber Should You Have?

If you consume a diet high in refined starches and meat, you are probably not getting enough fiber.
Current recommendations suggest that children and adult women consume a minimum of 20 grams of dietary fiber per day, and adult men consume at least 30 grams per day.

The more calories you consume, the more fiber you need. Teens, active adults, and particularly men may need up to 38 grams per day or more. This recommendation is for dietary fiber from food, not supplements.

Here is one fiber chart I’ve found that is a good source to keep around, and see what you are really getting.

Fiber supplements are ok, but it is better to get as much as you can from whole foods. Sometimes the fillers and sources of fiber supplements are less than optimal, and you are certainly going to get more micronutrients from whole foods!

(4) Probiotics

Probiotics are the “friendly” bacteria that benefit the colon and therefore the immune system.

They are live micro-organisms (usually including lactobacilli, bifidobacteria, streptococci, and some yeasts such as Saccharomyces, and moulds) which are beneficial to health by restoring microbial balance in the intestine.

Probiotic foods are those that involve fermentation in their production; including miso, pickles, sauerkraut and fermented dairy products such as yogurt and kefir.

A new category called prebiotics refer mainly to certain foods, and occasionally to certain food products, that support probiotics by enhancing their survivability.

Prebiotics foods include artichokes, leeks, onions, oats, and whole grain breads and cereals, fructooligo-saccharides, or fruit derived, digestion resistant sugars (FOS), also in honey, and galacto-oligo-saccharides, which are the sugars in galactose-containing foods like goats milk.

I’ve written more about probiotics, including some history, recommendations, precautions and reliability of supplementation.

(5) Exercise

Yes, even for your digestive health, exercise plays a crucial role! Particularly core strengthening exercises and stretching, which increase the blood flow, nutrient absorption, and facilitate toxic elimination.

Be sure and visit Vicki’s site, Nutrition-To-Wellness!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs

May 10 2012

“A Weigh Out” of Food Addiction, Emotional Eating and Binge-Eating Disorder

If you use food, food thoughts, dieting, and/or a weight obsession to distract from thoughts, feelings, or life situations you’d rather not tolerate, you need professional help. So says Ellen Shuman, Life Coach, Vice President of the Binge Eating Disorder Association and the Co-Chair of the Academy for Eating Disorders.

As I was researching this topic, I clicked on Ellen’s incredible website, A Weigh Out. There is a caption at the top of the site that says, “Freedom from Emotional Eating and Weight Obsession.” That’s just the beginning.

The Mayo Clinic defines binge-eating disorder as follows:

“Binge-eating disorder is a serious eating disorder in which you frequently consume unusually large amounts of food. Almost everyone overeats on occasion, such as having seconds or thirds of a holiday meal. But for some people, overeating crosses the line to binge-eating disorder and it becomes a regular occurrence, shrouded in secrecy.

When you have binge-eating disorder, you may be deeply embarrassed about gorging and vow to stop. But you feel such a compulsion that you can’t resist the urges and continue binge eating.

Although binge-eating disorder is the most common of all eating disorders, it’s still not considered a distinct psychiatric condition. But if you have binge-eating disorder symptoms, treatment can help you.”

Ellen also has personal experience with emotional eating and binge-eating disorder and has shared her story on The Oprah Winfrey Show:

“Because of my own decades of struggle with emotional eating and a binge eating disorder, I know first hand what most visitors to this website are experiencing! Like many people, I blamed my problem on what I (and society) labeled ‘a lack of willpower’.”

“But even before I knew I had an eating disorder, that didn’t make sense to me because I had lots of stick-to-itiveness, even hyper vigilance in some other areas of my life. So why couldn’t I stop my compulsive over eating?”

“When I was finally diagnosed, therapists called what I had, “atypical bulimia” because I binged but I didn’t purge… and they didn’t know what else to call it back then. Today it has a name of it’s own and those of us in the binge eating disorder field are working hard to get this Binge Eating Disorder the recognition that it, and those of us who struggle with it, deserve!”

Thanks Ellen for sharing your story and helping many people with these struggles!

I have many workout books to help you burn fat and get healthy. I don’t have any food addiction and binge-eating disorder books to help you…..Ellen does.

If you need help or know somebody who does, visit A Weigh Out today!

Mark Dilworth, BA, PES
Your Fitness University
My Fitness Hut
Her Fitness Hut
Sports Fitness Hut
Rapid Fat Loss and Six Pack Abs