I smiled as I returned to the living room empty handed. I wasn’t actually hungry, so I didn’t feel deprived for leaving the chocolate in the cupboard. The smile was because I had just schooled myself in one of the key habits I encourage in the get lean program I created: When making food decisions, taste is an important consideration. As part of that program, I encourage those taking it to make two lists:
Weigh less and exercise more?
Are you a new year’s resolution person? Have any for this year? Are they related to weight loss, healthy eating, and exercise? If so, I have 3 suggestions I’d like share:
The problem with blaming obesity on low-fat guidelines
Here’s the problem with including low-fat guidelines as a suspected cause for rising obesity rates: The guidelines didn’t result in people eating less fat.
Carb tolerance related to geography?
“People living in historically agricultural societies like Japan had, on average, seven copies of AMY1, while people near the arctic circle in places like Yakut, Russia had, on average, four copies of AMY1.”
8 Pre-Requisites for Fat Loss
The third thing to remember about goal setting is that you really need to break it into bits. If your goal involves losing 50 pounds, break that down into 5 or 10 pound chunks. That means you’ll be thinking about 5 to 10 week periods. Celebrate each mini victory along the way. This is crucial because our brain works like the economy. Your brain evaluates rewards using a net present value principle.
If you love red wine like I do and are trying to cut back…
Fact#2: drinking a glass of red wine every night is reasonably healthy. Moderation and lots of antioxidants and whatnot.
Fact#3: going out once or twice a week and drinking 2 or 3 glasses of red wine is reasonably healthy. That moderation thing again.
Problem: Implementing Fact#2 and Fact#3 in the same week activates the Cumulative Moderation Effect (CME).
5 Things you should know if you’re going to cook more often (and you should!)
Do it! This is one of the best things you can do for your health. Eating out is a recipe for over eating, and often eating things you would never eat at home. Cooking is also a great option for the bank account.
Why moderation isn’t working for your weight goals
When it comes to both maintaining one’s body weight or for weight loss, more often than not, moderation is a synonym for failure. And I think there’s a very simple reason why that is the case.
Think back to the past week or two, and ask yourself how many food or beverage items you consume in moderation?
How many minute abs? Really?
My new year’s wish is that media outlets one day are required to substantiate the things they print, like “15-Minute Flat Belly Workout”. Does anyone believe that they will get a flat belly by doing 15 minutes worth of ab exercises? I think it’s shameful. And harmful. Because some people will believe it.
Should I take this supplement?
Never make a decision about whether you should take a supplement based on a flyer. If you already know that you want to take a supplement, and you receive a flyer showing it is on-sale then great, but even then, make sure it is a brand that you trust.