Diet Tips

G.,

I'm with you. This week I started back on Weight Watchers, which worked wonders for me in the past. I also workout about 4-5 days a week, but that isn't enough. You have to combine the two for the best results. Good Luck!

A.

Hi G.,

To start, don't skip meals. You might even think about splitting up your meals into 6 small meals, rather thsn 3 regular ones, to keep your metabolism steady. Stick to a low-fat diet, eat lots of veggies, drink at least 8-8oz. glasses of water each day, and eat less carbs as the day goes on. Chicken and fish are great sources of protien and are generally leaner than red meat. And exercise. Do side bends (with weights) to tighten your obliques (waist side muscles) and do crunches to tighten your abs...lots of crunches. Don't forget to walk for your heart! My best to you!

Cardio works! I've been doing a combo of Weight Watchers, & incresed excersize, and have lost 20 lbs in about 7 weeks. I use an eliptical 45 min 3x a week, then supplement with fitness workouts through my Comcast on Demand 3 more times. Just get that heart rate up, and you'll do great, and feel better too.

I agree with the Weight Watchers program. I will also walk when the weather is warm, and then try some exercise tapes. I love Tae Bo, and I am waiting to receive my latin dance exercise tape. I have seen these dance routines at the health club and they really give you a good workout. Another thing to try would be swimming. A low impact calorie burning workout.

Best of luck.

Hi G.,

I made three easy food changes and lost weight. I lost 15 pounds SLOWLY but I am still losing and feel better than I have in a long time.
1. Cut out ALL trans fat - seriously, even if the nutrition label says "0 g" if it's on the ingredients list get rid of it.
2. Cut out ALL high fructose corn syrup. Period.
3. Cut down on saturated fats.
I never feel like I am dieting or missing out on anything. It takes time to read labels but it is worth it.

In addition to really paying attention to what I eat I started walking more and taking my son to the pool once or twice a week. This really helped with the belly! This is not a miracle for weight loss or a quick fix. It's just a few simple things you can do that are easy to live with and maintain long term. Good luck!

South Beach Diet. I'm one of those people that tried everything. Few months back I did the work out and eat healthy thing, following the number of calories allowed for my body. Six weeks straight, worked out 5-6 times a week for 1-1/2 and the scale did not move!
South beach seems to be working. I'm down 25 lbs, still have about 40 to loose and I'm sticking to it !!!

Since this is my specialty I thought I would chime in again. I am an instructor for the "mommy tummy" class in the South Suburbs.

As far as fitness goes, Crunches where your shoulders come off the ground can make a your abdominal area worse by increasing your diastisis (split in your rectus abdominus - the vertical muscle on either side of your belly button that stretch from the top of the pelvis to the bottom six ribs)

"Crunches" were not designed for pp women - at all! Sidelying pilates exercises are great in terms in pilates.

Rule of thumb for pp women - if you CANT hold your transverse muscle in (the ab muscle that is like a corset around your midsection - covers everything - you feel it move in and out when you breathe) then you shouldn't be doing that exercise.

Having said that you can adapt many exercises to be suitable for pp and help tone the muscles, and close the diastisis.

Skin tautness is more age and genetics, but muscle tone, and pooching is directly related to the DIASTISIS. A "spare tire" is related to NUTRITION. Although two things we have found in our classes that work well for people is contouring cream and a supplement enzyme that helps your body digest protein faster, AND drinking lots of water.

A side note: good posture is FANTASTIC for toning the muscles when sitting, driving, etc. This is actually called "The elevator" in the THE TUPLER TECHNIQUE - along with a few squeezes ALL the way back from time to time.

With the Tupler Technique + good nutirtion after baby number 2, I went from waist size 32 to 25 in 6 months. You can do the exercises within 24 hours of giving birth - not bad!

As for nutrition advice - I also do nutrition counseling. You can go to my website www.herbal-nutrition.com/bonniewayne/
There are great programs on there - after baby number 1, I lost 26 lbs and 13 inches in 6 weeks while nursing and I have kept it off for 4 years. Its awesome. Good luck! Feel free to email me with any questions!

I have been reading some books by Anne Louise Gittelman. She is a one of the top nutrionists and her knowledge and recommendation are lifestyle changes that will help you lose the weight and keep it off. I have read the One Day Detox Diet(it is actually a two week program) to help you jumpstart your weightloss, also the Fat Flush Plan, and the 30/40/30 Way of Eating.

She believes that most of us are chronically dehydrated, have a candida/yeast overgrowth, need to strenthen our liver, cleanse our bodies and GI track, eat more healthy fats, more protein, and cut out sugar. In her books and on her website she makes some great recommendation of supplements such as L-carnitate and flax seed oil that really help you burn fat. For me, the education about how our bodies function and how specific foods are advantageous to you has been really helpful and I think in the longrun will help me make good food choices to keep off the weight.

http://www.annlouise.com/

http://www.fatflush.com/ann.htm

Why is it that some people, who don't work out at all, look so toned? It's because of their body fat percentage. If no layer of fat is covering the muscles, even the weakest arms or abs look toned because there is nothing covering them.

So, one does 100+ crunches a day, and after a few weeks does not see much results. Why? Because, no matter how many crunches you do, you will not reduce your stomach by much. That is because of that layer of fat above your abdominal muscles. So the abs are getting all toned, but it doesn't show because of that layer over it.

And how to take off that fat? Cardio!!!!

Experts recommend at least 60 minutes of cardio most days of the week. Of course, for most of us, that's impossible, so you do your best; 30 minutes daily, 60 minutes 3x a week, etc. The more often you do cardio, the more you will burn off faster. As long as your heartrate stays elevated for at least 30 minutes or longer, that counts as cardio.

If you don't have time to go to a health club (like I do) get an excercise machine at home, or excercise tapes. I like Tae Bo and planning on getting Turbo Jam which I heard was good. Go out biking with the kids, rollerblade with them, frolick and dance around the room with them; all of these count as cardio and thus, fat burning.

Eat 6 small meals a day, packed with protein and fiber. Vegetable with peanut butter. Oatmeal with blueberries. String cheese with low-fat Triscuit. Egg whites. This keeps you full and keeps your blood sugar steady, so you don't crash and then crave for sweets. I joined www.sparkpeople.com to learn more, it's an awesome free site to help with weight loss.

I was a Pepsi addict, drinking 3-4 cans of pop a day. So you can imagine how hard it was for me to convert to water. What helped was adding those sugar free flavorings to my bottled water. Water helps keep you full and hydrated, and aids in weight loss as well.

And the most important thing, is how many calories u put in your mouth. Have u seen how many calories are in a seemingly-innocent banana? I keep a food diary, and it really, really opens your eyes how much u are eating. It also allows you to stay within your calories/day goal. For me, it's 1200/day, (again, sparkpeople will tell you exactly how much u can consume daily), so by the end of the day, I add up how much I've eaten. Then, I can know how much I can eat at dinnertime.

With these tips I lost 15 pounds so far, 10 more to go. Remember, the stomach is the hardest, and slowest to decrease. But it will happen as long as you stay committed and consistent.

This is how I lost it:

Get rid of all excess sugar. That means trying the sugar-free syrups in any Starbucks drinks, limiting or eliminating your soda/juice intake, and preparing foods as freshly as you can. If a food is prepared, there's a really good chance that it has tons of added sugar. Ketchup, surprisingly, is loaded with sugar. Mustard, on the other hand, has no sugar. Bottled salad dressings have tons of sugar. But if you make a vinaigrette you don't have any at all.

Exercize every day. Take a brisk walk, take a jog, run around with your kids in the yard for at least 15-20 minutes every day. It's good for your kids and you benefit as well.

Watch your portion sizes. This is key. A portion of meat is the size of a deck of cards. Pasta and rice is a slightly open fist. Veggies are pretty much free reign, but be aware of the preparation. Use less butter than you think you need, and after a week or so you'll get used to it. Cook with extra virgin olive oil instead of other vegetable oils.

Drink water instead of juice or pop. After a while you won't feel like you're missing anything.

Eat when you're hungry, but when you stop feeling hungry, stop eating. It takes your brain about 15 minutes to catch up with the signals sent to it by your stomach indicating satisfaction. If you eat to fullness, you've eaten too much. Eat to satisfaction of hunger instead.

Good luck! You can do it.

If you can, join a program like Weight Watchers. I swear by it. I am down 23lbs after 15 weeks. It allows you to eat what you want (no special meal for you) and teaches you portion control. Many smaller meals a day is better than 3 big meals. If you can, throw in some sit-ups... start with like 25 a day and increase by 5 every few days. Good luck ! :)

Check out www.sparkpeople.com

It is a free website where you can log your weight loss goals, fitness goals, calorie intake everyday...and so much more.
There are teams on there that you can join for motivation.

I started 3 weeks ago...haven't done so well at keeping in the calorie range it set for me, but I've lost 5 pounds.

Good luck!

Hi G.

I am an independent consultant for Arbonne International products. There is an awesome fitness program using shakes and a dietary supplement that also helps suppress appetite. The program also includes weight loss chews. They are delicious and take care of that 'snacking urge.' Let's be realistic.There is a great detox tea also for am and pm.

(We also have a pre shower cellulite scrub and contouring cellulite cream.)

Here is a rundown of your day on a 'diet' with Arbonne products:

am- take your dietary supplement which suppresses appetite(no drugs)increases metabolism and patented ingredient to promote lean body mass.

then- breakfast- these shakes can be made as smoothies with fresh fruit, they are HONESTLY delicious. am have the healthy breakfast(visit GoFigure8.com ) for more support and recipes.
Have the healthy breakfast suggested and the detox tea.

mid morning snack- one or 2 chocolate and berry burst chews. delicious.

30 minutes before lunch- take the dietary supplement tablet.

lunch- Have a protein shake. Can have tea if you wish also.

mid afternoon snack- delicous chocolate, berry burst, or peanut butter chews or a healthy snack and the detox tea. the tea is good!

30 minutes before dinner: take the dietary supplement.

dinner- Healthy dinner and figure 8 detox tea. The shakes can be used as meals- mixing them up in the blender as smoothies. I have some awesome smoothie recipes I would be glad to forward you- they go with the shakes.

For $29.00 a year, you can get a 40% discount on all these products. They work.

G., please visit the website for the healthy recipes.

When you decide to go with Arbonne, please let me know. I would appreciate if you could buy the product from me. Thank you so very much.

L. K.

Please also visit Arbonne.com