How to Conquer the Six Common Obstacles of Weight Loss

What happened to your weight loss plan on New Year’s Eve? Sure, most people start dieting on January 1^st, but in order to know what you’ve been doing wrong so far, it’s a good idea to look back at what you did at the last party you went to. Let’s say you diligently prepared for looking good by only eating lean chicken breast and working out more than you usually do. Great. But when you arrived at the party – expecting to eat dinner soon – you received a glass of pinot and some nibbles instead and didn’t eat until 8:30. By that point, you were famished, tipsy and had already munched on half a bag of crisps and dip. Let’s be honest; you wolfed down that dinner and regretted it later.

 

According to Celebrity Nutrition & Fitness expert JJ Virgin, author of NY Times bestseller The Virgin Diet and the bestselling Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy, ‘If I were at that party, I would encourage you to backtrack to figure out where things went wrong. I’ve helped countless people pinpoint common, yet debilitating obstacles that hinder fat loss.’ Over the course of her career, Virgin has seen six obstacles that, time and time again, get in the way of weight loss wellness. So which of these things are hindering your wellbeing?

 

1. Arriving Hungry: You have no way of telling what time food will be served at an event or when out for dinner, so make sure you have a healthy snack beforehand to ward off temptation. Virgin advises, ‘If having a meal isn’t possible before your flight or Saturday morning get-together, keep a bag of raw almonds nearby to stave off hunger.’

 

2. Neglecting Planning: As the saying goes: failing to plan is planning to fail. ‘Schedule and prioritise your workouts on your calendar,’ Virgin instructs. ‘Otherwise, mid-afternoon craziness usually usurps your fitness routine. Same thing with dinner.  If you don’t pre-prep and have a general idea what will on your family’s plates tonight, chances are you’ll succumb to your kids’ pizza or drive-thru pleas. Being lean and sexy doesn’t just happen. You need to plan ahead and make it happen.’

 

3. Not Tracking What You’re Eating: Virgin notes, ‘A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found people who wrote down every forkful they ate lost twice as much weight as those who didn’t.’ You can go the traditional pen-and-paper route, or try looking online for helpful tracking resources.

 

4. Not Having A Support Network: ‘Don’t attempt fast fat loss alone,’ Virgin warns. ‘Find a good friend who genuinely wants your success, and let him or her know what you’re trying to accomplish. A huge reason people in Weight Watchers and other programmes succeed is due to the power of the group support.’

 

5. Letting the Hijackers Get to You: Is your vegan co-worker getting on your nerves about the amount of protein you eat? Is your Mum making you feel guilty for not trying her famous apple crumble? Virgin points out, ‘Even with the best of intentions, some people in your life will try to derail your success. You need to be crystal-clear from the beginning about your purpose, set inspiring goals, continually visualise them, and manage your success. Don’t let the negativity dominate, and if you feel like someone’s intentionally trying to sabotage your success, call them out on it.’

 

6. Ignoring the Basics: ‘Every eating plan contains a blueprint to provide the nuts and bolts that help you to achieve your success,’ says Virgin. ‘You might be tempted to skip to the more advanced parts of the programme, mix or match programmes, or otherwise avoid what seems obvious and commonsense…Start with the foundation and build from there.’

Categories: Planning, support network, Weight Loss

Seven Diet Secrets That Are Vital To Losing Weight

Whatever weight loss question you have, the answer is probably “eat less, exercise more”. Still, looking after your wellness isn’t as easy as it sounds and, if it were, we’d all be in great shape. Aside from taking care of your wellbeing, there are some other key behaviours that play a role in fat loss, so let’s take a look at some of these hidden gems:

1. Plan, Plan, Plan: We’ve all heard the phrase “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail,” which is why Emma-Leigh Synnott, MBBS, an exercise, nutrition, and metabolism specialist, asserts that you need a realistic goal and specific targets set for your week to reach that goal. That said, make sure you find a healthy balance between planning and enjoying your life – don’t be too strict with yourself; be fair.

2. Sleep More: According to Susy Sedano, the community manager of LiveStrong.com with a MA in Clinical Psychology, ‘Sleep does more than help your body recover from a long day — it actually helps you fight fat. In fact, researchers at the University of Chicago reported that sleeping less than seven to eight hours can increase your appetite (forcing you to overeat), slow your metabolism (causing you to burn fewer calories) and make the body retain more abdominal fat…Lack of shut-eye is also associated with bad workouts.’

3. Snack Less: Often you’re advised to snack more to keep your metabolism humming, but this is bad advice for a lot of people. While it’s true that some people benefit from eating little and often, the average snack has increased by 200 calories over the last 30 years to nearly 600 calories. This is why researchers from Purdue University found that the snacking method ended up sabotaging participants’ weight loss efforts. If you can’t cut down your portions, eat fewer meals.

4. Work Out Exactly What You’re Eating: ‘Part one of the energy equation is to simply restrict your fuel intake,’ notes Sedano. ‘But unfortunately, most people do very badly with this. Research has shown that most people grossly underestimate how much they are eating, sometimes by up to 50%! There are a number of ways you can track what you are eating, such as using MyPlate, but whatever system you use the key is consistency and accuracy.’

5. Move It: If part one of the energy equation is – as Sedano says – restricting what you put into your body, part two is cranking up the amount of calories you burn off. As well as working out on purpose (e.g. going to the gym, attending fitness classes or taking up jogging) you can shed a few extra calories by adding incidental exercise to anything you do. Walk instead of driving, take the stairs instead of the lift and tap your foot when you’re sitting at your desk. It may seem like a small attempt at weight loss, but those little things really add up.

6. Don’t Waste Calories on Drinks: If you can only consume a certain amount of calories a day, why would you waste those precious points on a drink? So many beverages are heavy in calories and, worst of all, they don’t even help you to feel full. This means you get even hungrier after drinking calorie-high drinks, and consume even more calories through food. One of the best diet tips around is to stick with water and, for variation, herbal teas.

7. Cheat on Purpose: Take a look at your diet plan – are you really going to be that good? Of course not! Sedano comments, ‘Going on a diet is tough on you, both mentally and physically. That’s why a cheat day is a frequent part of many successful diet plans. The splurge can provide you with the break from your restrictive habits that will keep you satisfied while still losing weight.’

Categories: cheat days, Planning, Snacking

Get the Skinny: Wellness Expert Trials 10-Day Cleanse

Whether you’ve read about them in the glossy pages of celebrity magazine, or your friend at work is trying one out in preparation for the big Christmas Do, everyone has heard of detoxing. This weight loss technique is a huge favourite with dieters trying to get in shape in a hurry, but is it actually going to benefit your wellbeing long-term? Luckily, wellness expert Nicola Conville, creator of myhealthyfamily.com, recently trialled the Dietlicious 10-day Cleanse, and now we’re passing her findings on to you.

 

Conville enthuses, ‘I do love a good detox plan. I have been doing detoxes once or twice a year for the past 10 years and have been amazed how much they have evolved in that time. Forget subsisting on carrot sticks and repackaged laxatives, the modern cleanse features clean, delicious, wholesome food. With some careful planning, it’s possible to go DIY, but if you want a plan that’s easy to follow and stick to, there are some fabulous companies that will deliver healthy meals to your door so you don’t have to do a thing.’ So, how did Conville get on with the Dietlicious 10-day Cleanse?

 

Day One: Conville recalls, ‘I wake up with a sore throat and thumping headache – not a good start. I consider postponing the cleanse but then remind myself that all that fresh food will probably help me recover faster. I drink a delicious watermelon, mint and acai smoothie for brekkie and feel much better. While the food is yummy, I do find myself feeling hungry through the day so I snack on cashews and bananas to fill myself up.’

 

Day Two: ‘The temptation to order a coffee is strong,’ Conville admits. ‘So I cheat a little and get a decaf. My mouth waters at the sight of some delicious cakes at my local bakery but I know it’s just a case of wanting what I can’t have! For lunch I have spinach chana dhal with basmati rice and dinner is barramundi with fresh veggies.’

 

Day Three: Conville relates, ‘This is the hardest day so far as withdrawals really kick in. I miss coffee, I miss wine, I miss chocolate. The mango and chia seed smoothie I have for brekkie gives me the sweet hit I need. My daily cup of ginger tea is proving very addictive too.’

 

Day Six: ‘I am really in full swing now – and more than halfway through the plan,’ Conville notes. ‘The food is yummy and so easy to prepare and I don’t feel as hungry as I did at the start of the plan. It seems my body is readjusting to eating lighter, fresher meals.’

 

Day Eight: ‘Only a few days left to go and I am feeling light and fresh,’ Conville asserts. ‘I am moving quicker and my skinny jeans are feeling a little looser. I no longer have a 3pm craving for chocolate; instead I snack on mixed nuts or fruit and have a peppermint tea. I love the feeling of having good energy levels all day long and I am sleeping like a baby.’

 

Day Ten: On the last day, Conville details, ‘I have a frittata for brekkie and enjoy my last meal of salmon with chermoula and sweet potato mash. I have no real desire to drink wine or wolf down a pizza, but I am looking forward to cooking and preparing my own meals again and eating with my family.’

 

So how is life after the Dietlicious 10-day Cleanse? ‘While a detox is not for the faint-hearted, it’s a great way to get your health back on track and develop some good habits,’ Conville comments. ‘I have found that if I bring nuts and fruit to work with me I don’t even think about hitting the vending machine at 3pm. It really is all about the planning. I’ve also cut my daily coffee to two to three times weekly, and am drinking more tea instead. If you do go on a detox, plan it well, let everyone around you know what you’re doing so they’ll be supportive (no nicking your food!) and phase in and out of the cleanse gently rather than indulging before and afterwards, however tempting it might be!’

Categories: 10-Day Cleanse, Cleanse, conville, day cleanse, detox, feeling, Food, nbsp, nbsp day, Planning, wellness expert

Why Is it So Important to Plan for Pregnancy with Diabetes?

Planning for a pregnancy is important for all women’s wellness, but, according to Rita Forde, an advanced nurse practitioner at the Mater Hospital’s Diabetes Centre in Dublin, when your wellbeing is affected by diabetes, ‘this need to plan has even greater importance’.

Ms Forde noted in the Irish Journal of Clinical Medicine: Modern Medicine that ‘optimal medical care, patient education and training must begin before conception’ in order to prevent early pregnancy loss and congenital malformations in your baby. She added that your diabetes management during pregnancy becomes more intense, on top of coping with the ‘normal emotional and physiological diversity of pregnancy’. Yet some women find it hard to stay motivated with their disease management during pregnancy, and this is where complications arise.

According to Ms Forde, ‘major congenital malformations remain the leading cause of mortality and serious morbidity’ in the babies of women with diabetes, in spite of the fact there have been major advances in the treatment of diabetes, particularly for pregnant women. The evidence suggests that poor glycaemic (blood sugar) control during early pregnancy is the main culprit for this as hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar), can disturb your baby’s normal growth and development if you suffer the condition during the first eight weeks of pregnancy.

Ms Forde works in the Mater’s Diabetes Centre, where a dedicated pre-pregnancy clinic has been established since 2004. The clinic aims to ensure that the women attending ‘are in the best possible general health prior to pregnancy’, as potential malformations often occur before you even realise you’re pregnant. Ms Forde explained, ‘Therefore it is essential for women with diabetes that specialist care commences before pregnancy in order to reduce the rate of these anomalies.’

When women attend the clinic, Ms Forde noted that they deal with issues such as folic acid supplementation and weight, as well as diabetes, throughout regular reviews. ‘Their diabetes management and control are assessed and alterations to treatment made as necessary to achieve their pre-pregnancy targets,’ Ms Forde said, adding that pre-pregnancy care should be considered as part of the management of all women of reproductive age with diabetes. ‘The challenge now is how best to inform all women of reproductive age with diabetes about the importance of obtaining specialist care prior to becoming pregnant,’ she concluded.

Why Is it So Important to Plan for Pregnancy with Diabetes?

Categories: Hyperglycaemia, Planning, pregnancy