Important Steps For Correcting Your Diet For Weight Loss

 If you have not had a chance to read my last few blog post you may want to do so before reading this one.  My journey to a new me has taken a recent detour when I met my nutritionist, Stacy, who is also a trainer.  She has given me permission to include some of the valuable information from her Be Fit Program in my blog post.

The first step in correcting your diet for weight loss is to understand how much protein you need at each meal.  Your daily menu needs to focus on getting protein at every meal with emphasis on increasing protein at breakfast and lunch.  The effect of protein on appetite or "satiety" is something you have probably already experienced when you had a high protein breakfast with eggs, meat or dairy.  It's not a feeling of being stuffed, but one of feeling satisfied.  More important, you realize that the meal seems to "stick with you".  When you include protein in your breakfast in the correct amounts you don't feel hungry in two hours.

The research is clear that when you eat protein at meals early in the day, your desire for food changes for the rest of the day.  This can result in your desire to eat less total food for the entire day.  The facts prove that protein distribution throughout the day have the greatest effect on weight loss.  Let's face it, most adults consume most of their protein at dinner time.  The problem with this is that the amount of protein in each meal is how your body "uses" the protein.  It takes 30 grams of protein at a meal to fully stimulate healthy muscles.  With a skewed protein distribution, only the dinner meal has enough protein to get into the range to stimulate protein synthesis and protect muscles.

To fully understand protein needs in your diet, you need to understand a little more about the roles of protein in your body.  Generally, when people think about protein needs they think about building muscles.  The proteins you eat and the proteins in your body are actually long chains of small parts or molecules called amino acids.  There are 20 different amino acids required to make all of the different proteins in our bodies.  The proteins you eat are digested in your intestines and then absorbed into your body as the individual amino acids.  These individual amino acids are then used to form the millions of proteins that make up your body.  The process of building new proteins in the body is called protein synthesis.

A  rule of thumb is that you need to get 25 to 30 grams of protein at every meal.  Including protein at your snacks containing a range from 15 to 30 grams of protein.  (based on your activity level) will also help rev up your metabolism and lose body fat.

In conclusion:
Protein helps you stay full, aiding in weight loss, keeping you from the munchies.
Protein repairs and rebuilds muscles.
Protein revs up your metabolism.
Protein is IMPORTANT!

Here are some great choices for Protein
Lean Beef - Flank Steak, Eye of Round, London Broil, Tenderloin, Top Sirloin, New York Strip, 2% or 4% Fat Lean Beef
Fish - Tilapia, Salmon, Tuna, Cod, Grouper, Halibut, Macheral, Mahimahi, Sea Bass, Red Snapper, Swordfish, Lobster and Shrimp
Chicken Breast (canned is ok if there is no salt added)
Turkey Breast
Canned Tuna (low sodium, in water)
Boar's Head low-sodium (Turkey or Roast Beef - limit intake since it's processed)
Pork Tenderloin
Egg Whites
Low Fat Cottage Cheese (watch for sodium)
Tofu (watch for sodium)
Veggie Burger (watch for sodium)
Legumes (They provide protein and carbohydrates so measure accordingly)

I hope that this blog post has clarified any remaining questions that you may have had concerning the importance of having enough protein in your daily food choices.  Without the proper amount of protein you will not be able to burn off the fat that is keeping you from being the healthiest that you can be!

20 Healthy Zero-Calorie Foods

Check out this information that I found recently on www.msn.com Healthy Lifestyle.   There are some amazing truths in this post.  Who knew there were "Zero Calorie" foods out there?

These eats may be ridiculously low in calories, but they’re loaded with nutrients that can help speed up weight loss and boost your immunity So-called “zero-calorie” foods, like celery and cucumbers, contain fewer calories than the body uses to break them down. And although nutritionists account for the energy it takes to chew and digest them when they calculate how many calories we need, these eats deserve prime spots on our plates. You can eat them in large quantities without busting your gut, and low-calorie doesn’t mean low nutrients. “And, obviously, if eating very low calorie foods keeps you from eating higher calorie foods, that's a says Monica Reinagel, licensed nutritionist and creator of the Nutrition Diva podcast. So fill up your fridge with the following 20 foods that are loaded with vitamins and minerals—not calories.

Cucumbers

If you’re tired of fending off hunger by guzzling glass after glass of H2O, snack on cucumber slices instead. “Eating foods that are high in water can help you feel full at least temporarily by taking up a lot of space in your stomach,” notes Reinagel. Cucumbers also pack vitamins K and C, potassium, and a compound called silica, which helps to build and maintain connective tissue, like muscle, tendons, ligaments, and bone.

Citrus Fruit

Don’t wait until cold season to fill up on oranges, tangerines, and grapefruit–they may help whittle your middle. People with higher vitamin C levels have lower waist-to-hip ratios than those whose bodies contain less of the antioxidant, according to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. What’s more, University of Arizona researchers found that those with higher levels of vitamin C oxidized 25 percent more fat during treadmill sessions than those with lower levels of the vitamin.
Celery

Celery delivers serious crunch for next to no calories—each medium stalk has about 6—but it’s not shy on nutrients. One cup has a third of your recommended daily intake of vitamin K, along with vitamin A, fiber, folate, and potassium. Celery also contains compounds called phthalides, which can relax muscle tissue in artery walls and increase blood flow, thereby helping to lower blood pressure.

Apples

An apple a day keeps your weight at bay! Just make sure to eat the skin. The peel contains most of the fruit’s metabolism-boosting fiber, as well as ursolic acid, a compound that may prevent the pounds from piling on, according to a new study from University of Iowa.

Kelp

Don’t be squeamish about eating your sea vegetables. Kelp is loaded with vitamin K, which helps keep bones strong, along with a natural fiber called alginate, which may help block fat absorption, according to research from Newcastle University in the UK. For only 6 calories per 4-ounce serving, try mixing Sea Tangle Kelp Noodles into salads, soups, and stir-fries.

Asparagus

A half-cup of cooked asparagus will set you back only 20 calories. Plus, you’ll get hefty doses of vitamins K and A, and B vitamins such as folic acid. Since B vitamins play a role in breaking down sugars and starches, eating asparagus may help regulate blood sugar and fend off type 2 diabetes.

Apricots

Brimming with beta-carotene, apricots can help fight cancer and heart disease as well as protect your eyesight. Eating three or more daily servings of fruit rich in vitamins A, C, and E and carotenoids like beta-carotene may lower your risk of macular degeneration, the dominant cause of age-related vision loss. When participants in a study published in the Archives of Ophthalmology ate this much fruit they were 36 percent less likely to suffer from the disease compared to  those who consumed 1.5 servings or less of fruit daily.

Watermelon

This summertime fruit is loaded with arginine, an amino acid that may aid weight loss. Researchers found that obese mice that were fed arginine supplements burned more fat and gained more lean muscle than those that did not receive them, according to a Journal of Nutrition study.

Tomatoes

The lycopene in tomatoes can protect against prostate cancer and help keep skin looking young by eliminating free radicals that build up when you’re exposed to ultraviolet rays. Tip: Cooking tomatoes spikes levels of lycopene and makes it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients, according to a Cornell University study.

Broccoli

Broccoli may be the nation’s most hated upon veggie, but it doesn’t deserve that reputation. One cup raw contains as much fiber and vitamin C as an orange.

Cauliflower

Counting your carbs? Try boiling, mashing, and seasoning cauliflower to get a mashed potato substitute that tastes almost like the real thing. A half-cup of boiled cauliflower contains only 14 calories, but nearly half your daily recommended intake of vitamin C.

Strawberries

One cup of the summertime staple packs more than 100 percent of our daily recommended intake of vitamin C. Strawberries are also one of the most antioxidant-rich fruits you can eat. Compounds called polyphenols may protect your body from the type of cell and tissue damage that’s linked to heart disease and certain cancers.

Leafy Greens

Whatever variety you pick, you can’t go wrong with piling a plate with salad greens. At 4 calories per cup, watercress is loaded with vitamins A, C and K, and a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating 3 ounces of the peppery green daily increases levels of the cancer-fighting antioxidants lutein and beta-carotene. Spinach (7 calories per cup) is brimming with vitamin K, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and selenium and contains a hormone that allows muscle tissue to repair itself faster, according to research from Rutgers University.

Red Chili Peppers
Add a little spice to your cooking and slim down while you’re at it. Capsaicin, the compound that gives red chili peppers its kick, has been shown to help your body burn more calories. Plus, research shows that we tend to eat smaller portions of spicy foods because of the heat.

Mushrooms

Whether you sauté them or eat them raw, mushrooms are an often-overlooked superfood. Dutch researchers found that when you digest mushrooms, your body produces cancer-fighting, immunity-boosting metabolites.

Red Bell Pepper

Any way you slice it, red bell peppers are a great source of nutrients. A medium sized one delivers 250 percent of your daily recommended intake of vitamin C, 75 percent of your daily vitamin A needs, and 10 percent of your fiber goals. Chop them up and pair with hummus for a healthy snack.

Summer Squash

Whether you love zucchini, butternut, or acorn, all squashes are chockfull of vitamins and belly-filling fiber. But summer squash has one advantage: you can eat more of it without gaining weight. In fact, you can have two times more summer squash than winter squash for the same number of calories.

Turnip

The turnip sometimes takes a backseat to more popular root vegetables, like carrots and potatoes, but its nutritional benefits shouldn’t be overlooked. The root contains cancer-fighting glucosinolates and is a good source of fiber, calcium, and potassium.

Green Tea

Whether you prefer it hot or iced, unsweetened green tea is calorie-free and high in an antioxidant called ECGC, which may reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers while revving up your metabolism. Participants in a Tufts University study who drank the equivalent of three cups of green tea each day lost twice as much weight as those who did not drink the tea. Green tea drinkers also lost significantly more belly fat than non-tea drinkers.

Water

The importance of water can’t be overstated. Staying hydrated keeps your metabolism humming, and can keep you alert and energized throughout the day. Drinking two glasses before a meal can also help you keep control over your portions.

The Battle of Pounds vs. Inches Has Begun

If you have been reading my blog over the past week you already know that I have begun a new adventure on my journey to a new me.  On Thursday August 9^th I met with a nutritionist, Stacy who is the owner of Be Fit in Hoshton, GA for the first time.  She gave me so much information during our first meeting that it is just now starting to “sink in” all that she shared with me.

Tonight was my third meeting with her and my second weigh-in.  Just in case you did not read my blog post from 8/21/2011    “The Power of Protein – A New Day Has Dawned”  let me cut to the chase.    It was during my first “weigh-in” last week that I became a believer in the power of protein.  Without doing any exercise, elliptical trainer or treadmill, I successfully lost 11 Pounds!  Not to mention I went down 5% in body fat and shed 3 inches from my body.  Now that was the power boost that I had been looking for.

This week I began exercising every day, eating the protein that she had prescribed (105 g. per day) and did my best to hit my daily goals for carbs, fat and sodium.  But to be honest I struggled the most with that sodium.  I don’t know what it is about sodium but EVERYTHING you eat has sodium in it!

All day today I was excited to meet with Stacy to see the “Fruit of my labor” and all day I logged everything that went into my mouth.   All food, water and exercise was  recorded.  I knew that she would be analyzing everything in my favorite online tool, www.myfitnesspal.com  (Just a word to the wise, be careful who you give your  log on and password to, they might be able to see more than you wanted them to.)

I arrived for the appointment and told her that I had a great week.  We chatted briefly and I quickly asked her could we get on with the good stuff.  I just knew that the results would be amazing,  after all I had put in all the hard work and effort.  And didn’t my parents raise me to believe that with hard work comes  great rewards?  So I was ready to collect on some of those rewards.

Just as before, she became a fast little “squirrel” as she whipped out her  trusty measuring tape and began the process of measuring me from head to toe, not leaving any area unmeasured.  She just as quickly jotted down the results on the log sheet.  When she was done she was grinning from ear to ear.  During the past week I had lost another 4-3/4 inches from my body!  She then asked me to step over to “Mr. Iron Man Scale”.   Now this was the part that I had been waiting to do all day.

I slid my sandals off and waited what seemed forever for her to program in my age and height.  Then the computerized scale began its calculations.  The other two times that I weighed I did not look down to watch the progression of numbers as they displayed across the black screen, but today I wanted to know.

When the scale stopped on my current weight I felt my heart drop from my chest.  Actually my whole countenance just fell.  Who would have guessed that all that hard work and effort would have resulted in just one lonely pound?    I was not so unrealistic as to think that I was going to have a second week with a 10 or 11 pound weight loss, but honestly I was hoping for more than One Pound!  Come on, this just did not seem fair to me.  This had to be a trick or something, but as I stepped off the scale and made my way back to the table I could not hide my disappointment.  Stacy was still smiling like crazy and my disposition was that of a defeated person.

I immediately started expressing to her that this wasn’t fair.  What did I do wrong?  Why did I have such success last week when all I did was add protein to my diet and this week I did all of that plus added back my daily exercise?  Not to mention we ate at home almost every night and  I had been taking my lunch to work to keep from having to eat out so much and take in too much sodium.

This was when the nutritionist did what she can do best.  She taught me a very valuable lesson.  All the information that I had been reading was actually happening in my own body and I needed to give it a chance to work!  She said that she was not disappointed in me at all.  On the contrary, she was very pleased with all of my progress.  She said “Don’t just look at the One Pound, you need to look at the TWELVE POUNDS that you have lost in just two weeks!  And don’t forget about that 5% body fat!  But do you know what she said was the absolute most important result to her?

The part of the equation that everyone can see, and that is the  7-3/4 inches that I had lost from my body during the past two weeks.  I wasn’t sure about that statement.  I was still trying to absorb the fact that all my effort had only resulted in one pound and what did I need to do differently to accomplish a better result (and in my mind, more pounds) the next week.

The reason I called her my “Coach” is because she sat this player down on the bench and told me what it was really all about.  She said “Kathy it is not about weight.  It is about “Balance”.  We are in the beginning stages of training your body.  When you put more protein in your body then you are helping the muscles develop more.  As the muscles develop into greater muscle mass you need to know that muscle always weighs more than fat!  (At this point I was about to turn off the volume because this is NOT what I wanted to hear.  Hadn’t I told my husband before I met the nutritionist that by her identifying my plateau in weight loss as a nutritional problem that she was going to change my diet to a protein based one, and therefore I was going to gain weight)   But she continued, “Once you build the larger muscle mass and you continue to feed that internal furnace with protein – which is what it craves, you will begin to burn off all that fat!   Remember your Muscle is your metabolic furnace!”

She said that she would rather me re-train my brain to love the inches coming off and don’t worry about the weight.  She said that the inches coming off are what others are going to notice.  The number on the scale is what I would notice, and wouldn’t I rather be losing something that everyone else can see?

So after that pep talk, she  revamped my allocations again.  I still have the same daily nutritional goals, but after reviewing all of my daily food logs for calories, protein, carbs, fats and sodium she gave me the following guidelines.  Breakfast and lunch try to eat no more than 40 carbs, both mid-morning shake & mid-afternoon shake will give me another 4 carbs each, and try to stay at 30-40 carbs for dinner.  She said that unless I am going to work-out in the evening that those carbs at dinner would not be burned off and my body would “store” those as fat.  And I don’t know about you, but I don’t need my body storing any more fat than it already has!

So in the Pounds vs. Inches Competition here are the current standings:

Pounds 12

Inches 7-3/4”

Watch for my next blog post as I give more nutritional information regarding not only protein but the importance of healthy carbs.  Everyone needs the right balance to lose weight and get healthy!

Breaking Down The Facts On Protein

As promised I am sharing some important nutritional information from the new BE FIT Program that I have begun two weeks ago.  With the permission of my nutritionist I would like to begin sharing some of the most important information that I have ever read regarding the importance of Protein.

  Protein must always be a central part of your diet.  Unfortunately, for years you have probably  heard statements like "Americans eat too much protein" or "Avoid animal protein because the cholesterol and saturated fatty acids are bad for your heart" or "Too much protein is bad for your kidneys".  Guess what?  All three of these statements are False.

As a child you learned that protein is important to build muscles and strong bodies.  It seems logical that when your growing, you need protein.  So we often think that protein is only important for children or guys wanting to build big muscles.  Protein is extremely important for growing children but it is just as important for adults.  This is because every day your body needs to make nearly 250 grams of new proteins to replace old proteins, to repair tissue damage and to adapt to new activities.  During the course of a year, virtually every protein in our body gets replaced.  Now compare this to growth needs which only account for 3 to 5 grams of new protein each day.  (Growth really is not a very big part of daily protein needs.)

   Also, as we get older, we become less efficient at making new proteins.  After age 30, we begin to lose body proteins at a rate of about 5% each decade.  The proteins you lose come from you muscle and bone strength.  (Think about the elderly people in your life and the condition of their appearance in both their muscle tone and bones.)  By the time you reach age 60, you may have lost significant muscle and bone strength.  With each passing year you lose mobility and become more likely to be injured with a fall.  Equally important, each year you also have less msucle to burn the calories you eat.  So habits that seem okay at age 30 can make you fat by age 50.

(Now I wanted to share this next part because during our first meeting my nutritionist expressed that because I was only averaging between 60-65 grams of protein per day before meeting with her and gaining a new perspective, that I may have sustained muscle and bone loss.  Please continue reading this important information as provided by my nutritionist.)
   
     Loss of muscle and bone becomes even more dangerous during weight loss.  Why?  If you lose weight simply by restricting what you eat, then you will lose weight from every part of your body.  You will lose body fat (which you want to lose) but you will also lose weight from your muscles, bones, heart, liver, intestines and kidneys. (Which you don't want to lose).  These muscles and organs (called "lean tissue") are obviously important to keep your body running, and these "lean tissues" are the parts of your body that burn calories!  (I think that bears repeating.  Please stop and re-read that last sentence)  If you lose weight with the wrong type of diet, you will lose "lean tissues" and reduce your ability to burn calories.  This makes it more and more difficult to lose weight or to keep weight off.  (Now you can understand they "Why you can't lose the weight or keep it off yo-yo"  that we have all been on) The longer you use a bad diet, the fewer calories you can eat.  If you can do the right things duing weight loss and just lose fat while you protect your muscles, then you can keep losing weight , and prevent it from coming back!

Wow!  I wish I had thought of that back when I first stated my journey to a new me!  I just concentrated so much on the 1400 calories and making sure  that I got to pick and choose what food that I wanted to "Spend it on" that I did not stop to consider what was going on inside of my body.  I guess because I could see results on the outside I never stopped to consider what kind of "results" I was causing on the inside.  Tomorrow I will share a little bit more about this powerful nutritional fact about protein.  But until then, don't delay, Eat More Protein Today and Every Day!

The Power Of Protein - A New Day Has Dawned

This blog post is a continuation of my previous four  blog post. If you did not read the last four blog post:   What Does Protein Have To Do With Anything?”   "A Lesson In Nutrtition 101", "Meeting With The Mystery Nutritionist", and  "Just When I Thought I Had It Figured Out..." please stop reading this blog entry and catch yourself up. I will pick up the story where I last left off.

The next day I began to wonder if this was really the answer?  What would getting 105 grams of protein do for me?  Would I lose weight?  Would I feel different?  Well this blog post is about my week and what changes I made and the first week’s weigh-in.

The day after that first meeting with my nutritionist was a Friday.  Normally this would be my “let’s don’t’ take my journey to a new me so serious and get ready to enjoy the weekend.”  Which means I would go out to lunch with my friends and have a nice dinner out with my husband.  But instead I woke up with a new found desire to see if either a.)  The nutritionist has it all figured out.  Or b.) This is a bunch of junk and there is no way that protein can make that much difference.

Just like with everything else that I have done on my journey to a new me, I decided to really test the waters first before declaring to other’s “Hey follow me as I define my 1400 calories in an attempt to start the scale moving back down.”  There was no written guarantee that this was going to work and I made a decision on Day One of this path that I would do everything in my power to hit the targets of 105 g. of protein, 140 g. carbs, 40 g. fat, and 1700 mg sodium and stay at 1400  calories.  The only tool that I knew that I could trust to help me do this was my favorite, my fitness pal.com

My normal routine in the morning is to get up and start my day on the elliptical trainer, but if I was going to place my trust in the “protein thing” I decided to just change my eating for this first week.  That was probably the hardest decision that I had made so far.  Exercise has become a very important part of my day and to not exercise was going to be strange.  But to be honest I was excited to see if the nutritionist was right in her assessment. 
I kept my daily food journal with all of my meals and I drank two protein shakes that I had purchased from her at my first meeting.  I began to look forward to those chocolate drinks as a treat.  She had told me that it is important to keep my metabolism moving and about every three hours I need to put something in my system.  (I knew she was not talking about a Snickers Bar here)  So I ate breakfast and 3 hours later I had my protein shake then when lunch time rolled around I had to make myself eat because I was not really that hungry.  And I found that when I wasn’t really that hungry I ate less than I normally would and by the end of the day after eating three healthy meals getting in the ratios that she had advised I often had calories left over!!!!  Now that was amazing to me.  Remember my concerns about having to give up 260 calories because she wante me to drink those two 130 calorie protein drinks?   Well I did not miss those 260 calories!  The protein shakes were a great investment of calories and so healthy too!

The next week my husband had to meet with his client (my new nutritionist) and deliver some artwork.  She asked him how I was doing and he said "She is doing great!"  My wife said she is really doing it and she feels like she is losing weight and she is not even exercising!  With that the nutritionist said, “What?  What do you mean she’s not exercising?”  He said  "I don’t know, you will have to ask her tomorrow when she comes back to her next appointment."

The next evening I arrived at my appointment and eagerly told her about my week.  We looked at my food entries and she said that the only problem area seemed to be the sodium.  Because even though I was not adding salt to any of my food that I was eating, most foods that you eat at a restaurant is prepared with some sort of sodium or sodium product.  So that is something that I will still need to be more aware of.

Then came the fun part!  She pulled out her trusty measuring tape and took all of my measurements quickly moving from one area of my body to the next.  Stopping only to write down the results on the log sheet that she had started the week before.  So with everything else behind me it was time to face “Mr. Iron Man Scale”.  With butterflies in my stomach I waited for her to program in my height and age before I stepped onto the platform.  The numbers started flashing and making their calculations and it was with great surprise that my nutritionist made the big announcement.  "Kathy you’ve lost 11 pounds in one week!”  You could have knocked me off the scale with a feather.  I couldn’t believe it!  I knew that I had lost weight, I could feel it, but to hear her say it and the big loss at that was so unbelievable!!  Then she said something that came as almost just as big of a surprise, and she stated "You’ve lost 5% body fat!

My response?  "Holy Cow!"  I said “Wow, that is incredible!”  and she replied, no you’re the one that is incredible!   I was so happy with both of those results from the scale that I did ot even think about all of those body measurements and she then showed me that I had lost several inches as well.  I was so glad that I had not messed myself up by not exercising and I promised her that this week I would make good protein rich food choices to meet my new nutrition goals but I would also add my exercise back to my daily routine.

With permission from my nutritionist I will be sharing more details and information about the "Be Fit Program" and the “Why” and "How" this formula is working for me.

I go back to my nutritionist on Thursday and I can’t wait to see what this week’s results will be.  I am not so unrealistic that I think that every week will result in an eleven pound weight loss, but with this new strategy in place the results will at least be moving in the right direction.

What Does Protein Have To Do With Anything?

This blog post is a continuation of my previous three blog post. If you did not read the last three blog post: "A Lesson In Nutrtition 101",  "Meeting With The Mystery Nutritionist" and "Just When I Thought I Had It Figured Out..."  please stop reading this blog entry and catch yourself up. I will pick up the story where I last left off.

As she began to explain in layman's terms what we were reviewing in the paperwork I told her flat out that I was not interested in changing what I was doing to the point of going on an Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet or any other similar diet that would restrict me from being able to eat normal food.  I told her that if I felt like I was on a "Diet" then I would not "Do It".  She said that she understood but that she wanted me to understand the important role that protein has in the weight loss process.

When reviewing my food entries she was not pleased with the 50-60 grams of protein that I was eating on a daily basis.  She said that she wanted me to continue eating the 1400 calories but to "define" where I spent them.  As you know, up til this point I had basically followed my doctor's advice and that was to eat anything that I wanted as long as it was no more than 1400 calories per day.  It felt like she was trying to brain wash me or something.  This was a very foreign concept for me to digest.  Now she is saying for me to stay with the 1400 calories but make sure that at least 105 grams are allocated for protein.  She did other ratios and came up with the following daily goals for my food intake. 

Besides the 105 grams of protein, I needed 140 carbs, 40 grams of fat, and to limit the sodium to 1700 grams.  I was not sure how that I was suppose to keep up with all of this but she assured me that the myfitnesspal.com tool that I was already using had this nutritional information in the tabs and I could see my individual food items and their nutrients as well as an overall total for my daily food log.

Even after all of the explanations I still did not know how that I was going to come up with 105 grams of protein per day.   To me that sounded like a million!  When I voiced this concern to her, she left the room and returned with a frothy chocolate protein drink.  She asked me to try it and even though I had never been one to like those things I thought, "What do I have to lose".   I tipped the glass back and took small sips at first, but once I realized it had a nice taste and texture, I threw back the rest of the glass in a couple of swallows.  I asked her if I could purchase some protein drinks like this at Sams Club or Costco and she said no, this is a special formula with no fillers and very low sugar.  But the best part was that each scoop could be shaken into 8-10 oz. of cold water and it would give me 23 grams of protein!  Whoa that is alot of protein for a small glass of something that tasted like Nestle Quik!  Now you have to remember that I have basically quit eating all sweets and chocolate of any type so this could be a healthy option for my sweet tooth.  And the other component that I wondered about was the calories.  She showed me the nutritional chart and it only had 130 calories .  So I felt like it was worth building in one of those shakes per day.  When I told her yes, I would do one shake a day she shook her head and said no I need you to drink two per day!  Well you know what I did immediately I added up those two protein drinks and saw 260 calories being allocated to my food intake every day, and this would reduce my balance of calories from 1400 to 1140 calories per day.  My mind was trying hard to think about how this could be done and she interrupted my mind racing game and asked me to stand up.

She was as quick as a little squirrel gathering nuts, all 85 pounds of her.  She whipped out her measuring tape and began to go to town!  She measured my neck, then moved to my chest, my waist, my lower stomach, my buttocks, my hips, my thighs, my calves, my upper arms, my arms above the elbow, my wrist, and on and on and on.  I had never seen someone move so fast or get something done so expediently.  Without me realizing it she had written everything onto a log sheet and she was moving across the room.

We walked over to the thing that used to cause me the most fear but now held nothing on me.   Mr. Scale.  except this was not the over-the-counter digital scale that I had sitting in my bathroom.  This was some type of brain scale, I think it said "Iron Man" on it or something.  Any way, I slid my shoes off (isn't that what your supposed to do?) and stepped right up onto Mr. Iron Man.  She knelt down and began "programming" information as she asked me for my age and height.  A few seconds later I saw her start writing down some numbers.   I had no idea what those numbers were, and when I thought we were finished I started to step down and she said "Wait!".   I thought to myself whatever else could this scale possibly be doing except maybe make me another one of those delicious chocolate drinks but then it stopped doing it's thing and the number 50 came up.

I just looked down at that number 50 and wondered what it meant.  We walked back over to the table and sat down and the curiosity was getting the better of me.  So I asked what was all that about and she told me that not only would she be taking my measurements every time that I came (again I thought to myself, when did I say that I was coming back?) she would have me step onto the scale and she would record all my numbers.  I told her the one that probably interested me the most was the last one, the 50.

She asked me if I knew what that was and I told her no I did not.  She said that is the "Age" that the computer thinks that you are based on all the starting information that I input and you current weight and BMI.  Well what about that!  I replied, "Well 50 isn't so bad, I will be 49 on my next birthday in December!"  and she said "Well when I get finished with you we want to see it in the 30's."  Wow that would be great but that seems so far off.   I told her that I wondered what it was when I started my journey to a new me 101 pounds ago and she said that there is no telling but it would be considerably higher.  I know that when I watch the TV show the Biggest Loser the doctor on the show often does this type of weigh-ins and the ages are often twice the age of the contestants.

I left that night with a renewed sense of purpose and made the appointment to come back the next Thursday.  She asked me to continue doing what I had been doing and to remember to get my 105 grams of protein every day. 

The next day I began to wonder if this was really the answer?  What would getting 105 grams of protein do for me?  Would I lose weight?  Would I feel  different?  You'll have to check in tomorrow to hear about my follow up visit and to see if I lost or gained weight and if this was indeed the next path on my journey to a new me!

Learning A Lesson In Nutrition 101

This blog post is a continuation of my previous two blog post.  If you did not read the last two blog post:  "Meeting With The Mystery Nutritionist" and "Just When I Thought I Had It Figured Out..."
please stop reading this blog entry and catch yourself up.  I will pick up the story where I last left off.

As she began reviewing my food entries I saw her eyes widen and her smile fade. Remember the paperwork that she had asked me to read when I first got there? The paperwork that had so much information that I had to read and re-read many paragraphs multiple times because the music was too loud to concentrate? Well this is when the pop-test began...

She remarked that she could see that I was keeping up with my food entries pretty good and that I was easily staying within my 1400 calories that I had set for myself daily.  But the next thing out of her mouth was:  "Where is the protein?"  I did not know how to react to that questions so I did what any good defensive end would do and gave her the excuse, "I don't like to eat too much meat. It's not that I am a vegetarian or anything but meat is just not that important to me."  She commented that protein can be obtained through many ways other than meat, and without missing a beat, she got me with her left hook.  She said "Would you look at that sodium?"  That is more than double what you should be getting on a daily basis!"  What was she talking about?  It was my turn to just sit there and look back at her blankly.

You see she was no longer looking at my food entries she had punched into a section of myfitnesspal.com that I had never seen before.  The Nutritional Content and Breakdown of every food that I was putting into my mouth!  And in the words of Ricky Ricardo from the old '50's television show, I Love Lucy, I heard in my head "Lucy you got some explainin' to do!" 
I don't know why I never looked at the Nutritional Content and Breakdown, but shouldn't I have known that the mystery nutritionist would be all into that part of myfitnesspal.com

Instead of being shocked or upset with me she began to explain the finer details of what she was able to see in my food log.  Every item that I was recording into my food log had a full breakdown of the calories but also of the protein, fat, carbohydrates, sodium and yes sugar.

I guess I was still living in the world of "My doctor said that as long as I only eat 1400 calories per day that I will lose weight".  and when I said this to her she made the statement, "Yes, he was right that would be a very helpful tool to help you lose weight but after a while your body knows that it is only going to get 1400 calories so it will not lose any more weight.  It becomes comfortable with this amount of calories every day and learns to live with it basically."  She said "Did you read the paperwork that I gave you earlier?  There are some important things that you need to consider."

Well yes, I had attempted to read the important information but between my nerves and the very fit trapeze artist hanging upside down from their red silk fabric and the loud music, I had not really digested much of the information.  She was so patient with me and began to go over the facts about the Be Fit Program and what it is and what it can do.  Let me share some of this with you now.  With her permission I would like to take a few excerps from her program.

   "I will teach you how to eat for optimal health.  Going back to the basics:  "If God made it, eat it" and "If man made it, keep it to a minimum!"  When food gets altered in any way then the food becomes processed.  Processed foods typically have less fiber and more sodium."

(We discussed that I had double the amount of sodium than I should have, as what was being reported on my food journal.  She felt like it may be due in part to the number of meals that I "eat out",  and she remarked that there are always more preservatives and sodium in restaurant foods than what I would be able to prepare myself at home)

    "I feel in order to be successful in your healthy way of living you need to learn what foods such as protein, carbohydrates and fats do for the health of your body.  Also the importance of watching your sodium and sugar intake needs to be a focus."

(Now comes the part that you may have to do like I did and read it more than once just so you know that you understand it.)

    " Your muscles are the metabolic furnance of your body." 
(Let me say that one again: " Your muscles are the metabolic furnance of your body." 
The health of your muscles determines your ability to win the battle of the bulge.   Weight control is not about body fat, it's about helping your muscles do the work for you."

(During our conversation she stated that she was not just talking about the muscles in my arms and legs that everyone can see, but my internal organs that are muslces, like the heart.)

     "Your muscles determine everything about your body, weight, including how many calories your eat, what foods you need and ultimately how healthy you are.  Many popular diet programs teach you to focus on the negative thoughts about body fat.  Instead, invest your time and emotional energy in positive thoughts about keeping your muscles healthy.  The Be-Fit program focuses on a macro-balance protein and carbohydrates in the proper ratios in order to reset and recharge your metabolism, keeping your muscles healthy and your body lean."

    "The concept of macro-balance is about eating the right proportions of high-quality proteins, smart carbohydrates and heart friendly fats.  Getting these portions correctly balanced will forever stabilize your blood sugar, reduce typical energy crashes, eliminate cravings and halt hunger pangs.  Building macro-balance into your meals with change the composition of your body and melt away the unwanted fat.  You will look and feel better than ever!"

    "The word "macro" comes from macronutrient which is defined as a Whole Food.  The word micronutrient is the small things you take in such as vitamins and minerals.  You can take all the vitamins and suppliments you want but if your macronutrients are not balanced, your body cannot absorb the vitamins sufficiently."

I know that this is alot to absorb in one blog post so I will close for now, but the next post will give further details regarding the Protein and Carbohydrate portion of the Be Fit Program.  Don't miss my next blog post. 






 

Meeting With The Mystery Nutrionist

This blog post is a continuation of my previous blog post, "Just When I Thought I Had It All Figured Out".  If you have not already read that blog post, please stop reading this one and catch yourself up so that you will know what is going on in this post.  I am going to begin this blog post where I left off.

I hit redial and waited as the phone rang a couple of times, and she answered and with a cherrful "Hello".  I re-introduced myself to her and apologized for having to cut our earlier telephone conversation short.   She assured me that it was no problem, she understood that she had probably interrupted me at work.  As we began to talk I realized that she was very friendly and immediately I felt my guard going down.  I had a split second to think "I may regret this later" but for some reason I just kept on doing what I do, talking and sharing.

As she began to tell me a little about herself and what she does as a nutritionist and trainer, I began to open up to her about my weight loss success over the past year.  She listened to what I had to say, I mean she really listened.  I could tell that she was processing every word that was coming out of my mouth.  She stated that my husband had told her a little bit about me and then she mentioned that he had also told her about my struggles that I was currently experiencing while on my journey to a new me.  She said that she did not know for sure but she thought that she may have an answer as to why I had stopped losing weight, and wanted to know if I wanted to come into her business to talk and see if we could work on this together.

You know how your mind starts warping into twenty different directions when you are faced with a question that you are not quite sure how to answer?  My first thought was "This is  one of my husband's business clients, did I really want to mess up his business relationship by saying "No" to her? 

My second thought came suddenly, "Just based on the little information that I had already shared with her, I knew that once I got on her turf and in her office I might not withhold anything.  And all of my secret struggles may be out in the open".  and finally I realized, what did I have to lose?  This may be the golden opportunity that I had been waiting on.  It looked to me like it could be a win-win situation so without further hesitation a voice that sounded very much like my own said "Yes, I would love to meet with you".

We set up our first appointment for the following Monday evening but I had to go on an unexpected business trip and our appointment was delayed.  We set up to meet the following Monday evening but she had a conflict and we then moved it to later in the week.  That Thursday I remember getting up and dressing in the most light-weight clothes that I owned.  We all know that by the end of the day you weigh more than you do in the morning when you step on that scale in nothing but your birthday suit!

When I arrived at her place of business, Be Fit, I sat in my car for a few brief seconds to collect my thoughts and then I ventured inside.  She was behind a long counter and she was speaking to another client.  I took this opportunity to look at my surroundings.   I saw the vinyl graphics and artwork that my husband had placed on her walls.  To my left there were two very fit women climbing on long red silk fabrics that were knotted and tied into the
 I-Beam in the ceiling above.  They were pulling themselves up and wrapping their legs around that red fabric and laying upside down and twirling around and I remember thinking to myself "If she thinks that this is the answer to my weight loss struggles she may need to re-think that".  I couldn't imagine myself pulling myself up on that red silk fabric much less the overhead I-Beam supporting me. What was the weight capacity of that thing any way?  But before I could turn and run I saw her say her goodbyes to her other client and she walked over to me.  "Hi, you must be Kathy.  I'm Stacy.  Your husband has told me all about you!"

The first thing that I noticed about her was how small she is.  Not just in height but her over-all appearance.  She looked to weigh about 80 pounds and all of it was muscle.  She probably has less than 1% body fat on her.  We shook hands and she asked me to meet her in the kitchen area. 

She gave me a packet of paperwork to read and review and told me she would be back shortly.  I tried to read the pages of nutritional information that she had asked me to review but the music coming from the workout area where the two super fit women were climbing on those red silk fabrics was keeping me from being able to process everything that I was reading.  I found myself reading the same passages two and sometimes three times.  I don't know if I thought that there was going to be a pop quiz or test or what,  but I wanted to make sure that I had read and understood as much of the information as possible before she returned.

When she returned she realized how loud the music was and immediately closed the door behind her.  We sat across from each other at a lunch table and I waited for her to start the "Pop Quiz".  When she began by asking me what was going on with me I once again felt my guard go down and I began to open up to her about how I had lost the 101 pounds during my first year on my journey to a new me and that I had successfully met my one year goal.  I told her that I am very goal oriented and had set my next goal to lose 50 pounds this year, in 2012.   She asked me how was I doing toward meeting this goal and I explained not to good and that was one of the reasons that I had decided to come in and talk to her.  I told her that I was doing all the same things that I had done last year to lose the weight, like eating 1400 calories per day, and exercising on the elliptical or treadmill but the weight was up and down, up and down to the point that I was up at least 7 pounds this year. 

As she listened I could almost see the little wheels spinning around and around in her head as she was thinking and processing everything that I was saying.  When I finally quit talking she simply asked:  "Can I have you log into your food diary on Myfitnesspal.com on your cellphone?"  She explained that her internet was down but hopefully next week we would be able to see my progress on her laptap.  (I thought to myself, "Who said that I was coming back next week?" )  But instead of saying anything, I did as she asked.   

As she began reviewing my food entries I saw her eyes widen and her smile fade.  Remember the paperwork that she had asked me to read when I first got there?  The paperwork that had so much information that I had to read and re-read many paragraphs multiple times because the music was too loud to concentrate?  Well this is when the pop-test began...

(To Be Continued)

Just When I Thought I Had It All Figured Out...

Just when I thought I had it all figured out I learned that I had a few more things to learn.  One week ago today I met someone that has absolutely changed my life for the bettter.  She is a person that I would probably have never met on my own but my husband had done some artwork for her recently.  It was during one of their meetings that he told her about my successful weight loss of 101 pounds.  When she asked him how I had accomplished it he explained that I only ate 1400 calories per day.  She wanted to know how long had I been doing this in order to lose the 101 pounds.  He told her that I had lost it during one year time period but that this year, the past seven months, that I  have not really been able to lose any weight.  He told her about my yo-yo of gaining 2 pounds, down 1 pound.  Losing 1 pound, up 3 pounds, down 1 pound, to the point that I was now up at least 7 pounds for the year. 

She thought about it for a few minutes and then asked him a few questions.  "Does she exercise?"  He told her "Yes, she  works out on an eliptical or walks on a treadmill every day.  She then asked "What kind of food is she eating to get her 1400 calories"?  He replied "She basically eats anything that she wants but she is careful not to go over the 1400 goal".  And her next comment was "I would bet that her problem is not a calorie issue but a nutritional concern.  How much protein is she eating of the 1400 calories?"  and he replied honestly that he did not know.

That evening my husband spoke to me about his conversation and my first response was not positive.  I asked him why he was having a discussion with this person, a complete stranger to me,  about my struggles with weight and the seeming plateau of sorts that I had been stuck on for this past seven months on my journey to a new me.  He said that she owns her own company here in our hometown, BE FIT, and she is a nutritionist and trainer.  This both intrigued me and scared me at the same time. 

It intrigued me because here was this person who did not even know me but had an idea as to why my system of losing weight seemed to no longer work for me, and it scared me because I had a bad feeling that she was going to try to talk me into doing a Low Carb / No Carb, South Beach, or Atkins type diet and have me eat all protein and meat and no carbs.  I knew from past experience that these were not viable options for me because none of them had ever worked.  I did not want to go down that path on my journey to a new me.  Like I have stated many times before, "If it feels like a diet, I won't do it"!

That evening I could hardly sleep.  I tossed and turned all night long thinking about my husbands conversation with this perfect stranger and my reponses and feelings about what she had to say.  The next day my husband did something that I did not expect. He said, "If she calls you to talk to you about some of your struggles would you talk to her?"  In my mind I thought, "Are you crazy"!!!  "There is no way that I am going to discuss my most personal feelings and struggles with this person, your client, who I know nothing about. No that is not something that I am the least bit interested in doing or want to do"  But  instead I heard the following reply come from my very own mouth, " Well I guess that would be alright." 

Later that afternoon while busy at work my cell phone rang and it was the mystery nutritionist.  To be quite honest, I was not ready to speak to her. I had analyzed and over-analyzed everything that I thought that she was going to say to me.   I was still scared about what she had to say.  So  I told her that I was at work and that I would need to call her back.  She was okay with this and later that afternoon while on my drive home I made myself call her.  Just like we all do when we have to return those phone calls that we know are going to be painful.  You know, the calls that you put off until you  have no other choice but to return them.  I hit redial and waited as the phone rang a couple of times and she answered with a cheerful "Hello".

There is alot more to this story but you will have to check in tomorrow to hear the next part.
I promise you don't want to miss it!