3500 Calories To Lose A Pound

I was reading this intriguing article by Tom Venuto, Burn the Fat earlier. Maybe research is finally onto something here. Is it as easy as we previously thought - just create a calorie deficit of 3500, and you'll lose a pound of fat? Sounds great doesn't it. I've always wondered some things though: Like, does it make a difference what the calories you eat are made up of in terms of whether or not you lose FAT or LEAN BODY MASS (aka muscle)? And, does your body easily give up it's hard earned stores of fat? Something tells me it is not that simple. And the above article might shed some light on why it is not as simple as we were taught.

The summary written by Tom Venuto from the article published in the International Journal of Obesity is as follows:

* Calories required to lose a pound and fine-tuning your caloric deficit

* 3500 calories to lose a pound has always been the rule of thumb. However, this 3500 calories figure goes back to research which assumed that all the weight lost would be adipose tissue (which would be ideal, of course). But as we all know (unfortunately), lean body mass is lost along with body fat, which would indicate that the 3500 calorie figure could be an oversimplification.

* The amount of lean body mass lost is based on initial body fat level and size of the calorie deficit. Lean people tend to lose more lean body mass and retain more fat.

Fat people tend to lose more body fat and retain more lean tissue (revealing why obese people can tolerate extremely low calorie diets better than already lean people)

* Very aggressive low calorie diets tend to erode lean body mass to a greater degree than more conservative diets.

* Whether the weight loss is lean or fat gives you the real answer of what is the required energy deficit per unit of weight loss

* The metabolizable energy in fat is different than the metabolizable eneregy in muscle tissue. A pound of muscle is not 3500 calories. A pound of muscle yields about 600 calories.

* If you lose lean body mass then you lose more weight than if you lose fat

* If you create a 3500 calorie deficit in one week and you lose 100% body fat, you will lose one pound. But if you create a 3500 calorie weekly deficit and as a result of that deficit, lose 100% muscle, you would lose almost 6 pounds of body weight! (of course, if you mangage to lose 100% muscle, you will be forced to wear the Dieter’s Dunce cap)

* If you have a high initial body fat percentage, then you are going to lose more fat relative to lean, so you will need a larger deficit to lose the same amount of weight as compared to a lean person!

* Creating a calorie deficit once at the beginning of a diet and maintaining that same caloric intake for the duration of the diet and after major weight loss fails to account for how your body decreases energy expenditure with reduced body weight

* Weight loss typically slows down over time for a prescribed constant diet a the “plateau”). This is either due to the decreased metabolism mentioned above, or a relaxing of the diet compliance, or both (most people just can’t hack aggressive calorie reductions for long)

* Progressive resistance training and or high protein diets can modify the proportion of weight lost from body fat vs lean tissue (which is why weight training and sufficient protein while on calorie restricted diets are absolute musts!)

Tom goes on to add:

If you have very high body fat to begin with, the typical rule of thumb on calorie deficits may underestimate the deficit required to lose a pound. It may also be too conservative and you can also probably use a moderate to aggressive deficit more safely without as much worry about muscle loss, metabolic slowdown, etc. If you are extremely lean, like a bodybuilder trying to get even leaner for competition, you would want to be very cautious using aggressive calorie deficits. You’d be better off keeping the deficit conservative and starting your diet/cutting phase earlier to allow for a slow, but safe rate of fat loss, with maximum retention of muscle tissue. The long and short of it is that its not quite so simple as 3,500 calories being the deficit to lose a pound. Like lots of other things in nutrition that vary from person to person, the ideal amount of calories to cut “depends”…

Read the entire article at: http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/2007/09/3500_calories_to_lose_a_pound.php

Refuse Bitterness

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Ephesians 4:31 NIV).

Bitterness is an extremely destructive force. It seeps into the depths of your heart when you choose not to forgive someone. When you harbor unforgiveness, it closes the door to God’s working in your life. The Bible even tells us that if we choose not to forgive others, God cannot even hear our prayers. Thank God that He has empowered us to forgive and release bitterness! You have the choice to get rid of bitterness so you can live in freedom! You may have been through unfair situations, but it’s not over until God says it’s over. God always has the final say, and He is a God of justice. God sees every wrong that’s ever been done to you. He sees every unfair situation. If you will stay in faith and keep your hopes up, He will make your wrongs right. He’ll bring justice into your life. Your attitude should be, “It may have been unfair. They may have done me wrong. But I refuse to get bitter. I know my time is coming.” As you choose forgiveness and keep your thoughts focused on the Word of God, you will walk in complete freedom in every area of your life!

Heavenly Father, today I refuse bitterness. I refuse to allow the past to keep me stuck. Right now I forgive those who have hurt me. I pray blessing on them, that they would come to know Your Truth. Father, thank You for setting my heart free today. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Angels On Earth

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.
If you want to be happy, practice compassion."
-Dalai Lama

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning- disabled children, the father of one of the school's students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question. "Everything God does is done with perfection. Yet, my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is God's plan reflected in my son?" The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. "I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like Shay into the world, an opportunity to realize the Divine Plan presents itself. And it comes in the way people treat that child."

Then, he told the following story: Shay and I walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, "Do you think they will let me play?" Shay's father knew that most boys would not want him on their team. But the father understood that if his son were allowed to play it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging. Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting none, he took matters into his own hands and said, "We are losing by six runs, and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning." In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three.

At the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the outfield. Although no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base. Shay was scheduled to be the next at-bat. Would the team actually let Shay bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game?

Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least be able to make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly toward Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball to the pitcher. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have ended the game.

Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman. Everyone started yelling, "Shay, run to first. Run to first." Never in his life had Shay ever made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second!" By the time Shay was rounding first base, the right fielder had the ball. He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman for a tag. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's intentions had been, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's head.

Shay ran toward second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases towards home. As Shay reached second base, the opposing shortstop ran to him, turned him in the direction of third base, and shouted, "Run to third!" As Shay rounded third, the boys from BOTH teams were screaming, "Shay! Run home!" Shay ran home, stepped on home plate and was cheered as the hero, for hitting a "grand slam" and winning the game for his team.

"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, "the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of the Divine Plan into this world."

And now, a footnote to the story. We all have thousands of opportunities a day to help realize God's plan. So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a spark of the Divine? Or do we pass up that opportunity, and leave the world a bit colder in the process?

Wasn't that incredible? The first time I read it, I missed something important. I don't want you to miss it. Shay had played baseball a number of times. Before that day, no one had gone out of their way to help him. He had never made it to first base before. Shay may never completely be able to appreciate what happened that day, even though it was probably the thrill of his life. The biggest thing that happened was that over 20 other kids got to experience what helping someone else can do for them. They got to feel the excitement that you can feel by putting yourself second, instead of first. The world was made better just then... from the ripple effect it had on them, and now that this story is getting out.

And I too feel privileged to be able to share this story with you so that you can get closer to what may be the meaning of life. I think it's to help ease the burden of it for others...and feel that joy.

by Mike Brescia

How Do You Eat An Elephant?

"The greatest things on earth have been done little by little."--Thomas Guthrie

It's terribly heartbreaking to talk to people and hear them say they just can't stop smoking, for example. They'll say it was a tough week and they needed to smoke or to do whatever their habit is. But success in anything - from quitting a bad habit to gaining a good one, from obtaining a singular accomplishment or a string of them - requires many decisions and actions. And they all come one-at-a-time.You don't have a bad week. You have a weak moment. And then another one. Your life is made up of moments, not weeks. Have you ever noticed how, let's say... a basketball game can change momentum in 30 seconds or less? One team is in control and BOOM... 3 quick baskets by other team and they're in control.

It's all in the mind.That's why it's SOOOOO important to make sure that your beliefs - your core-level beliefs - about yourself and about life are right. You've GOT to believe in your abilities. You CAN do whatever you want to do. You can. There can't be the slightest doubt. I don't doubt you and I don't even know you personally. But I know this... No matter who you are, where you came from, your physical limitations, your color, your age... it has nothing to do with what you want to do and your GOD-given ability to achieve it. It's true, you may have to work harder than others, but you can do much. You might not ever pole vault over 19 feet, but within your physical abilities you can achieve a lot. And I want you to get really clear about one thing. You need to keep your life in compartments of seconds and minutes, not days.

Taking things "one day at a time" is one of the biggest causes of failure there is. Emotions can change from one moment to the next. One minute your resolve seems firm, and the next, after a particularly stressful meeting - bam! All your resolve is out the window. When that cigarette, or whatever your habit is, is screaming for you, in that one moment you must do everything you can to block it out. Do something. Do anything... One thing you can do is pull out your Victory Log and read it. If you don't have one, make one. Mine has saved me on many occasions and led me to my greatest triumphs.

by Mike Brescia

The Right Attitude

Do you have what it takes to reach your weight-loss goals? If you think it's just about diet and exercise, you're wrong. Exercise and a proper diet are crucial to any weight-loss and fitness program, but reaching any long term goal — especially one that requires major lifestyle change — means improving your attitude, too. You can have all the external support in the world, but if your self esteem is shot, you'll never have long-term success. Having the right attitude is so important. We all know how easily negative thoughts can lead to a lack of confidence, hopelessness, and depression. You've heard about self-fulfilling prophecy, right? Well, if you tell yourself that you'll always be overweight or unhappy, you'll probably end up overweight and unhappy. It's a tough lesson to learn, but it's true. Okay, so let's turn that scenario around. Tell yourself that you can get fit and you will be happy. It's that simple, I swear. You can master your own fate with positive thinking!

Jillian Michaels

Reality Check from Someone who's Lost 110lbs! (and keeping it off)

Look people. Losing fat ain’t easy. Let me say this again. Losing fat AIN’T easy. I routinely have people ask me what my secret is, how did I lose over 110lbs., and other various spins on the same questions. When I tell them I did it the old school way they lose all interest. Nobody wants to hear they might have to sweat and not be able to eat Skinny Cows twice a day. It suprised all of us to find how many people are looking for a magic bullet or they are looking for someone to tell them how simple it is. For 95% of us, losing fat is hard. It takes lots of work, saying no, making sacrifices, and learning a whole new way to live. That stuff is hard and never let anyone fool you.

[In order ] to lose the fat. You have to:

1. Eat healthy foods forever; not just when you are losing weight. Sure you’ll get a little wiggle room when you reach goal, but we eat just as healthy now as we did when we were losing. Personally, I only eat more of the good stuff and have an occassional splurge.

2. Exercise HARD. Sorry, but if you want to look good you have to work out like you mean it. Sure, beginners don’t go gung-ho and walking is a great way to get STARTED. In the end, though, you are making a committment to moving for the rest of your life. You gotta strength train and you gotta get off the couch. As we all say, leave it all in the gym.

3. Quit using your stress, family, friends, co-workers, the melting ice caps, and that kid from fourth grade who called you fat give you reason to continue in self-destructive behaviors. Get over yourself so you can start living the life you want. You’ll always have stress and struggle so just learn right now that eating a cheeseburger doesn’t pay your bills or make your kids behave.

Abundance

If you just look at all that already exists in your life, all that you already have: unlimited air to breathe, ample lighting to see, music to hear, books to read, stars to dream by, trees to gaze at, floors to dance on, friends to cavort with, enemies to befriend, strangers to meet, woods to walk through, beaches to comb, rocks to scale, rains to cleanse you, rivers to float you, animals to comfort you, you do have to admit there's more of it than you could ever, ever, ever spend. But try anyway.

Compliments

When someone pays you a compliment you look them in the eye and say, “Thank you! I’ve been working very hard.”

I don’t care if you are just beginning or you are at the end of the fat loss journey, start taking compliments and quit dismissing them. It wears on your psyche to deny that you work hard, eat right, and look good. You deserve to hear those things and people really mean it. Even if you don’t believe it just fake it til you make it. You know why? The last thing you want to do is finally reach your fat loss goal and feel miserable about your looks. You gotta start NOW changing how you think. It’s a long process so use your whole journey to learn how to believe in yourself.

I want everyone to repeat after me: I promise that for the next week I will say…
“Thank you. I have been working very hard!!!”

Be proud of yourself and allow all the great things you deserve into your life. You owe it to yourself.

Keeping a Journal

Think about the tapes you play that tell you that you don't have what it takes to lose weight. Imagine you are at goal. How does it feel? Are you afraid, happy, confused? What are your emotions? Keep a journal of the journey. See if there are any patterns that trigger certain behaviors. Make a plan! What are you going to do the next time the old tapes tell you that you are going to eat off plan.

I think I will buy myself a pretty notebook and start writing down my thoughts. For me personally, in the real world I hide behind my weight as far as my self confidence is concerned. Once I am at goal I am scared that I will stand out more and people will expect me to be more outgoing than I am comfortable with. Seeing that in writing made me smile because - its ridiculous to think that I don't stand out now as an obese woman! Talk about head games in my own mind .... !!!

Thoughts on Staying Motivated

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."- Zig Ziglar (www.ziglar.com)

Motivation is a feeling found in the moment -- often we're either motivated to take on a given task or endeavor, or we're not. And like it or not, even the most highly motivated individuals experience this at times. It's not a destination in the sense that we wake up one day and no longer need to re-charge our internal batteries. In other words, we shouldn't expect not to experience certain times where we need to re-fuel our level of motivation -- just as we understand that we need to take a bath in order to keep the stink off ourselves So with that said, don't beat yourself up if you have times where you're not at your peak level. It happens to everyone. The difference of course is your willingness to do the little things that will change your level of inspiration at the moment.

Fortunately, for you and I -- regaining that feeling of inspired action is often as easy as reading a book or listening to a tape that carries with it a positive message. It could also be as simple as doing (even the smallest actions) the very thing you happen to be resisting doing. Think of the saying, success begets success. What that means is that each new feeling of accomplishment gives us just the boost we need to move forward -- very much like the snowball effect. We start out resisting the thing and by "forcing" ourselves to take action on it, before we know it we end up getting involved in it and at the same time feeling the sense of accomplishment that goes along with making progress in our given endeavor. In summary, do the thing you're resisting and the very action you're taking will renew your inner motivation. It sounds simple, because it is. Yet, don't make the mistake of thinking its simplicity makes it any less effective. The reality is that you have inside you all you need to un tap your potential at any given moment.

It's your life, LIVE BIG! Josh Hinds

Free Meal or Refeed?

Free Meals:
A single meal that breaks your diet. Main benefits are psychological. Keeps the sanity when dieting like this so long. It also makes the diet work better, in terms of hormone levels. I recommend a one hour dinner, personally. Eating your free meal for breakfast or lunch can make it very hard to go back on Kimkins for the rest of the day. Keeping it within one hour (like suggested in Carb Addicts book) keeps your insulin from shooting high, and prevents your free meal from a all day grazing fest. As far as what to eat, the healthier the food the better of course...but essentially eat what you want to. Period.When you do a free meal is up to you. Lyle MacDonald suggests 2 a week if you have a BF% of 25%or more. I do mine after every 3 whole days of Kimkins. You can do yours every 5 or every other day, whatever gets the best results for you.

Refeed:
Refeeds are exactly that, refeeding the body. You can do a refeed for 5 hours, a day, a week, or a month. They are the next level up from a free meal. You normally do a "structured refeed" after you come off of a diet to restore muscle glycogen. When we diet we cause "tissue breakdown", the refeed also helps with this. The refeed is basically a long diet break.

Refeed

Refeeds are best used when interspersed throughout long periods is calorie and/or carbohydrate restriction. As the name implies, you're acutely refeeding nutrients (calories and/or carbohydrates) into your system after it's been deprived of those nutrients for a predetermined period of time (5 days, 7 days, 2 months, etc.).

It's important to distinguish between a "refeed" and just trying to rationalize going off your nutritional plan (e.g. cheating). Refeeds are strategically placed and when used right are integral parts of your nutritional plan. Cheating on your diet is more often than not an unplanned event brought on by poor planning or exposure to a situation in which your will power is compromised and you succumb to the primal urge to stuff your face!


3 Effective Ways to Use Refeeds
I'm sure other nutritionists have ways they like to use refeeds but here are the ones I've found to be the most popular.

* 12-48hr Refeeds every 5 days

This method was made popular by Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale's Anabolic Diet. For those of you who aren't familiar with the anabolic diet (actually it is now called the Anabolic Solution), here are the basics:
5-6 days of low carb dieting (<30g/d)
12-48 hrs of eating high carbohydrates

Pretty simple, but very effective. During the week of low carbin' it, you'll deplete your glycogen stores and shift your body to using fat as its primary source of fuel. During your carb up, you'll stuff your glycogen stores full (and even a little beyond their normal capacity) and stimulate the release of insulin. Insulin does get a bad rap, but it's an extremely anabolic hormone that when used correctly is very beneficial

Where people go wrong with these types of refeeds is that they don't listen to (or look at) their body. They just carb up for 48 hours. However, Dr. Di Pasquale is very clear that 48 hours isn't a hard recommendation. Instead it's a guideline.

"The important thing is knowing when you've had enough. When you start feeling puffy and bloated and can even sense the fat coming on, it's time to go back to your weekday high fat/low carb routine."

For carboholics this can cause a problem because it's very easy to ignore the above statement and justify in your mind that the rules say you can carb up for 48 hours... if you're feeling puffy on Sunday, then put the deep dish pizza down!

Another strategy that Dr. Pasquale recommends is to eat low GI carbs for the first half of your reefed and higher GI carbs for the second half. This will initially keep your body's secretion of insulin in check allowing you to consume more carbohydrates overall.

One of the things that's unique to the Anabolic Diet is that it's one of the rare (maybe only) times when you can incorporate a reefed into a mass building nutritional phase. Most of the time refeeds are used when calories and carbohydrates are restricted, but with the Anabolic Diet you'll always be restricting carbohydrates (whether trying to lose fat or gain muscle), thus there's an opportunity to take advantage of refeeds with carbs.

* One refeed day every two weeks

This application of refeeds is probably in the forefront of most as it's the reefed methodology that Dr. Berardi uses in the Get Shredded Diet. The regular two-week refeeds when on a very low calorie diet have a similar benefit to the Anabolic Diet type refeeds as they'll jam your muscles so full of glycogen that you'll think your scale is broken when you step on it the next morning.

One of the benefits of the every two week refeed is that you'll run less of a risk of laying down body fat as the caloric/carb spikes only happen for 12 hours (unless you get up early just to eat) every two weeks. The major benefit to this type of refeed is psychological. Being on a very low calorie diet is draining and taxing. Refeeds every two weeks give you short term "goals" to strive for, making the daily grind of consuming 2000 calories (or less) more bearable.

* One week reefed during a 15-20 week diet period

This novel strategy was introduced to me by Dr. Lonnie "Lats" Lowery as he employed this strategy last time he was getting ready to don the posing trunks.

Here's how you can apply this reefed to your nutritional strategy.

1) Plan out a 20-week diet that will allow you to gradually lose body fat at a reasonable rate. The diet period is very long so you don't have to shoot for a very large caloric deficit.
2) Plan a week long carb/calorie reefed for week 10. This week of increased calories isn't an abrupt injection of calories like the previously two described refeeds. Instead it's a 400-600 calorie increase with a good portion of it coming from carbohydrates. Another difference is that your caloric increase comes from clean calories not pizza, wings, and coco puffs.
3) At the end of week 10, return back to your prior diet.

This application of a reefed is the most likely to have an influence on increasing your metabolic rate back to normal and boosting thyroid hormone output due to the duration of the refeed. Increasing your caloric and carbohydrate consumption for 7 days is most likely going to allow for a resetting of your thyroid and metabolic rate to some extent, if not completely.
One of the problems that many people run into with this kind of refeed is that it takes a lot of planning. How many people do you know that plan a 20-week diet period? I bet you can count them on one hand. This reefed (like the others) will provide a well deserved break from the world of caloric restriction. This benefit should not be overlooked as it may be the most important.

To wrap up this look at refeeds:
1) Always Plan Them
2) Stop when your body begins to smooth out
3) The more body fat you have, the shorter your reefed period should be.

Your Time Is Coming

Your time is coming! The dreams and desires, the things you want to accomplish, the situations you want to see changed will happen. Just because it has taken a long time, or because you’ve tried and failed, don’t give up on those dreams. Don’t be complacent about pursuing what God has placed in your heart. I encourage you today — get your fire back! It may be taking a long time, but God is a faithful God. No matter how long it’s been, no matter how impossible it looks, if you’ll stay in faith, your time is coming. Every dream that’s in your heart, every promise that has taken root, God not only put it there, but He has every intention of bringing it to pass. Start declaring today, “My time is coming… God is working behind the scenes on my behalf… I will fulfill my destiny… I will fulfill the plan God has for my life!” As you declare and expect and wait for the appointed time, your faith will grow. Your hope will grow. And you’ll step into the destiny God has in store for you!

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time…though it tarry, wait for it” (Habakkuk 2:3 KJV).

What Is Your Mindset?

Your mindset is the sum total of your beliefs, values, identity, expectations, attitudes, habits, decisions, opinions and thought patterns... about yourself, others and how life works. It's the filter through which you interpret what you see and experience. Your mindset shapes your life and draws to you results that are an exact reflection of it. What you believe will happen, happens.

Thoughts are powerful magnets. Whatever our mindset tells us, that's what we attract, whether or not we're even aware of what our mindset is! For example, if you have the belief that "Life is very hard and I have to struggle just to stay even," you don't have to be aware of that belief in order to experience struggle. If fact, if you want to see what your mindset really is, you have only to look at your life and your results. The Bible tells us, "According to your beliefs it shall be done unto you."

When we don't examine our mindset and question whether it supports us or limit us, we are operating "on automatic." We are no longer choosing our beliefs and mindset, but they nevertheless cause us to live a certain way. We create our own mindset, but at some point, our mindset creates us. If we don't question a belief that "life is hard," for instance, we are going to keep struggling without even knowing why.

What is your mindset? Whatever you "think" about must come about. How may you be limiting your results?

James Ray

High Fiber Low Carb List

More Fiber Than Usable Carbohydrate:

Collard Greens
1 cup chopped, cooked, 4 grams usable carb, 5 grams fiber

Avocado, Hass
1 medium avocado, 3 grams usable carb, 12 grams fiber

Spinach and Chard
1 cup chopped, cooked – 3 g usable carb, 4 g fiber
Frozen 1 10 oz package – 3 g usable carb, 8 g fiber
6 cups of raw spinach or chard=about 1 cup cooked

Broccoli
1/2 cup chopped, cooked, 1 gram usable carb, 3 grams fiber
1 cup chopped, raw, 4 grams usable carb, 2 grams fiber

Cauliflower
½ cup pieces, cooked,1 gram usable carb, 2 grams fiber
1 cup raw, 2 grams usable carb, 2.5 grams fiber

Blackberries
1 cup, raw, 6 grams usable carb, 8 grams fiber

About as Much Usable Carb as Fiber:

Asparagus
1/2 C pieces, 2 grams usable carbs, 2 grams fiber

Celery
1 cup chopped, 1.5 grams usable carb, 1.5 grams fiber

Eggplant
1 cup raw, cubed, 2 grams usable fiber, 3 grams fiber
1 cup cubed, cooked, 5 grams usable carb, 3 grams fiber

Lettuce, Romaine
1 cup shredded, .5 gram usable carb, 1 g fiber

Mushrooms
1 cup, sliced, raw, 1 gram usable carb, 1 gram fiber

Radishes
1 cup raw, sliced, 2 grams usable carb, 2 grams fiber

Red Raspberries
1 cup, raw, 7 grams usable carb, 8 grams fiber


And that piece of bread??

1 slice Multi-Grain/7-Grain 12.1 grams carb, 1.7 grams fiber

Are Low Carb Diets Are Low in Fiber?

I challenged my Mum to give up all her carbs for 30 days. It's a start for her. I was telling her how much I've lost. 40lbs = 18.18kg. She was impressed but concerned about fiber. I asked her why she thought she'd get more fiber in a piece of bread than in a cup or two of broccoli. I mean, 1/2 cup chopped, cooked, has 1 gram usable carb, 3 grams fiber. WOW! Way more than in a piece of bread.

WAY MORE THAN A PIECE OF BREAD!!!

She is considering it. I asked her what she had to lose. The 30 days were going to pass one way or another.

Is It True that Low Carb Diets Are Low in Fiber?
It is a common misconception that reduced carbohydrate diets are automatically low in fiber. In fact, most non-starchy vegetables and low sugar fruits are quite high in fiber, and a well-constructed low carb diet emphasizes vegetables and other sources of fiber. Unfortunately, most people, at least in the US, don’t get close to the recommended amounts of daily fiber, no matter how many carbs they are eating! But there is no reason for you to be one of those people.

What is Fiber?
Fiber is that part of plant food that is indigestible by humans. It passes through our digestive systems without being broken down and absorbed into our bloodstreams as other food components are. Think of a cow eating grass – that cow needs extra stomachs, chews its cud, etc, to digest the grass. We can’t digest grass because we don’t have specialized digestive systems. That indigestible stuff is fiber.

How is Fiber Beneficial?
When people think of the benefits of fiber, they usually think of preventing constipation. It’s true that fiber bulks up our stool and tends to make people more “regular.” But fiber has other benefits as well, some of which are very pertinent to low carb diets, including lowering the impact of sugars and starches on blood glucose. A high fiber diet is associated with lower risk for heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and diverticular disease.

What Are the Different Types of Fiber?
Fiber has three different properties that matter to human health. The property most nutritionists talk about is solubility, the ability to disperse in water. Soluble and insoluble fiber are the labels most commonly used to describe fiber. However, two other properties of fiber are turning out to be important: fermentability (how easily the fiber ferments in the colon), and viscosity (the ability to gel with water) of the fiber, which may be more important than solubility.

What is Insoluble Fiber?
Insoluble fiber is what we usually think of when we think “fiber” or “roughage”. Wheat bran and most vegetables are examples of sources of insoluble fiber. It is tough, and doesn’t easily break down. Insoluble fiber tends to increase the “speed of transit” through our digestive systems, and increases regularity of bowel movements.

What is Soluble Fiber?
A lot of soluble fiber is viscous, allowing it to absorb and retain water, forming a gel. This type of soluble fiber actually slows digestion down. Because of this, it has a tendency to stabilize blood glucose, and permit better absorption of nutrients. It tends to reduce blood cholesterol. It also increases satiety, so people aren’t inclined to eat as much. Sources of soluble fiber include flax, beans, peas, oatmeal, berries, apples, and some nuts and seeds.

What is Fermentable Fiber?
Some fiber will ferment in the colon, producing compounds that help support colon health, and possibly have other benefits. There is some evidence that it is this type of fiber that may reduce the risk of colon cancer. Most soluble fiber is highly fermentable. Pectins (found in apples and berries) and the fiber in oats are examples of fiber with a large fermentable component. Inulin and oligofructose are also highly fermentable, as is resistant starch.

Does Fiber “Count” as a Carbohydrate?
Although most fiber sources are carbohydrates, fiber doesn’t raise blood glucose so low carb diets don’t “count” fiber. (Fiber can provide calories, but not as glucose, but as products of fermentation in the colon.) In fact, fiber helps to moderate the effect of “usable carbs” on the bloodstream, so it furthers the goals of low carb diets. To the extent that is creates satiety, it may also help prevent weight gain, and aid in weight loss.

How Much Fiber Should a Person Eat?
Generally, recommendations for adults are between 25 and 40 grams per day, and that 20-30% of the total fiber intake be soluble fiber. Most people have a much lower fiber intake than is recommended. Researchers who study the diets of our prehistoric ancestors say that they ate upwards of 100 grams of fiber per day, so we probably can handle very high amounts of fiber without difficulty.

Do I Have to Eat Fiber in Food? Can’t I Just Take Pills?
While fiber supplements can be helpful additions to a high-quality nutritious diet, they should never stand in for high-fiber foods, which are also rich in antioxidants and other nutrients essential to health. There is some evidence that simply taking pure fiber as a pill, or sprinkling high fiber additions over your food doesn’t carry all the same benefits as when it is in food. Also, some high-fiber additives such as wheat bran contain compounds (phytates) which block the absorption of some nutrients, so large amounts of this should be avoided.

What Has Almost All Fiber?
Flax!! There is almost no usable carbohydrate in flax seeds. It is very high in both soluble and insoluble fiber (about one third of the fiber is soluble), and has a pile of nutrients to boot. Flax is just could be the ultimate low carb fiber source. 1 T ground flax has 2.0 grams of carbohydrate, 1.9 of which is fiber.

Flax Information:
Flax Seed Nutrition and Health Benefits
Flax Selection, Storage, Tips, and Recipes
Where to Get Flax Seeds and Grinders

Vegetables that are close to all fiber: Mustard Greens, Chicory, Endive

Self-esteem Makeover

Do you need a self-esteem makeover? Here are the essentials you will need to do it!

Do not use your weight to measure your self-worth:
What does weight have to do with self-worth? Your self-worth is the sum of everything that makes you special and unique - not just your thigh and waist measurements! Add up your assets, talents, how you treat others, how you treat yourself, the contributions you make to your family, friends and community. Now you have self-worth.

Count your blessings:
You have a lot of things to be thankful for a home, a loving family, friends you enjoy, a job, a sunny day, the knowledge you've acquired - even things like shoes, a coat. Many people don't have these things. A mind that counts blessings has no room for self-pity. So you don't wear a size 2? Neither did Eleanor Roosevelt!

Are you continually playing negative tapes in your mind?
Eject them and insert new tapes! You may have to make a conscious effort. When the critical tape starts playing, picture yourself hitting the "stop" button and insert a new, positive tape.

Don't use "all or nothing" thinking:
No one is a "total" failure. Most things you do right. Just because you sometimes make a mistake or take a wrong path does not make you a "total" failure. It makes you human. Besides, the president of CBS was recently asked for his secret to success. His answer: failures - because how else would we learn?

No one starts from zero:
You probably eat pretty well a lot of the time. We can always make improvements, but consider the glass half full, not half-empty!

Strut your stuff!
Shine! Show the world your talents. We all have them. Capitalize on what you do well. I'll never dance Swan Lake, but then again, I'll bet that ballerina doesn't play a mean piano like I do.

Give thanks to your body for what is does for you
Appreciate its functional nature. It's a pretty remarkable machine. You can use it to take a walk along the beach, hug someone, listen to a concerto, make love - or go shopping! And it can do all of these things no matter what shape or size it is.

Educate yourself about issues of size and weight.
Learn what's fact and what's fiction. What the research really says and what most people believe are two entirely different things. Reputable researchers will tell you that obesity is still a complex, poorly understood condition that has very little to do with lack of willpower and a whole lot to do with biology and physiology. Most importantly - especially for those who are considered "overweight" - stop blaming yourself. It's not your fault. The research continues to show this over and over.

Become preoccupied with the world... not with dieting.
When we're constantly dieting, weighing, measuring, counting calories, calculating fat grams, recording our feelings in food diaries and agonizing over what to eat and what not to eat, we have little time left for what's going on in the rest of the world. And it's such an interesting place!

Put nothing on hold as a reward for weight loss.
"The best advice I ever got was to make a list of the things I would do differently once I was thin - then pick the top one and do it right now. The item at the top of my list was to take flying lessons and now I'm a single-engine land pilot!"

Develop a personal style that announces you.
Find some signature pieces. Never ever put off buying attractive clothes until you lose weight - you don't have to wear a 10 to be a 10! Don't buy into the silly notion that you can only wear dark colors because they're more "slimming". At best, dark colors shave off five pounds. Big deal! If I have a choice between looking five pounds thinner or wearing lime green, I'm going for the lime green!

And Women of America:
We do not have "figure flaws," despite what many of the magazines tell us. Each of us is simply shaped differently. It's called diversity. We appreciate it in flowers. Why not in people?

Surround yourself with positive, supportive people.
Tell weight critics that your size and shape are no longer topics on the conversational buffet table! Eliminate negative people from your life. Surely you have enough supportive people in you circle of family and friends that you'll never miss the "nay-sayers."

Look into your past for sources of low self-esteem.
Retrieve critical comments that were made to you, especially as a child. You will probably discover that your body image was shaped by other people and outside influences. You are an adult now. You have better information. Refute these old messages and from now on, shape your own body image.

Concentrate on developing a healthy lifestyle rather than losing weight.
Developing a healthy lifestyle is positive and can be measured in lots of ways. Losing weight has only one measure of success: the scale.

Slow down!
If we can't remake ourselves overnight, we feel we've failed. We need instant gratification. The truth is slow weight loss is the only kind that will ever last (haven't you noticed the fine print in ads for quick weight loss products that says, "Results not typical"?) Stop setting weight loss deadlines: for the class reunion, the wedding, the party. Make weight management an ongoing part of your "healthstyle."

You've hear of PMS? Try having PMA - Positive Mental Attitude!
How you feel about yourself is how others will feel about you. Your attitude is always reflected back to you. I guarantee it!

Remember that society is not always right about things.
Just because we have a cultural obsession with thinness doesn't make it right. Society has a long list of injustices and intolerance. Like human beings, societies are imperfect and make mistakes.

Remember, in the final analysis - it's the size of your heart that counts, not the size of your body.

Truckstop

I am sitting at the truckstop watching everyone go by in their shiny pretty cars. It all started when my Mummy sent me some pineapple lumps. You'll have no idea what these are but suffice it to say they were the start of a 3 day stop, wandering through the junk food aisle at this nasty stinking truckstop. Once or twice I've even wandered into the restaurant and ordered eggs, or steak and fully intended to climb back into my car and head out on the road, but the very most I've achieved is a few laps of the parking lot! I actually ate chocolate for lunch today, and as I was licking the last bit of stickiness out from under my fingernails at the traffic lights, it dawned on me that why we are so fat here in the US is because everything is supersized (well duh) and that the Cadbury chocolate bar I paid $1.20 for at WalMart was 4 times bigger than the Cadbury chocolate bar I'd be able to get for the same price in NZ. And the worst thing is, I'd have been happy to eat that smaller bar. What a waste. (of my waist)

Anyway, I just climbed back into my car. You should see the mess: Candy wrappers, empty icecream carton... I am going to find some trash bags and dispose of all of this, then I am going to do something that I've never done before. PLAN MY MEALS for tomorrow. I am going to be back out on the road, puttering along until I get my sorry ass back into the fast lane. Please if you see me, toot your horn and don't race off into the distance. I need to get back up to speed again.

Normal Chaos

You have probably heard it said by someone wanting you to repeat a monotonous activity that "practice makes perfect." As many times as you and I may have heard this, it is quite simply not true. Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes consistent.

If you practice something at a high level of performance, it will reinforce that same level of performance. On the other hand, if you practice an activity over and over in a substandard manner, you will do little more than reinforce this substandard level of performance.

You have probably dealt with people or organizations that consistently perform at an unprofessional, impolite, and substandard level. Like me, you probably wonder: How did things ever get so bad in this organization? The answer is simply that mediocrity has been going on for so long, and reinforced so deeply, that it now seems normal.

Human beings always seek their own level of comfort. You have probably heard about prisoners who are finally released after spending many years behind bars. Then, more often than you would think, these individuals will go out and do something stupid, get caught, and get sent right back to prison. After years of counseling within the prison system, psychologists have determined that some inmates become so accustomed to living within prison walls, that it becomes their comfort zone and, on a subconscious level, they prefer it to life in society with you and me.

So much of what we do in our personal and professional lives is done out of habit. If you will consider your morning routine as you get ready to go to work, you will realize that dozens of things happen in a mindless habitual fashion. This is a powerful tool if you use it wisely, because we can control our habits if we will simply become proactive and choose our own course of action.

Anything we do for 21 days will begin to become a habit. This means that, on the 22nd day, something will seem strange or out of place if you do not follow the routine you have established.Excellence can become a habit. Chaos can become a habit. And mediocrity can become a habit. The process is inert. It does not care at what level you perform. Our minds simply want to reproduce that with which we are familiar.

As you go through your day today, remember: You are currently a product of yesterday's habits; but take heart, because tomorrow will be a product of the habits you form now.

40 lbs Down

Update September 10th 2007: I started Kimkins on June 9th, and I've been amazed at my lack of hunger, my energy levels and most importantly, my weightloss! I am only 5'1" tall, so carrying 100+ pounds extra on my frame looks more like way more weight than that. So far I've lost 40 pounds and managed to get back onto plan where previously I'd have given up after a "cheat".

Do Not Quit

Above all else, do NOT quit! The universe always bows to persistence. The empowering approach is to see your physical challenges as assets, because overcoming obstacles forces you to develop discipline, determination and character. These traits will carry over to other areas of your life and make you a stronger person.

As Arnold Schwarzennegger once said, "Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength. When you overcome hardships, that is strength."

Natural Hormonal Enhancement

During the course of a lifetime on the NHE eating plan [or any diet plan], all NHE followers will stumble occasionally - including myself. To think otherwise is to be unrealistic. So rather than intensely striving for perfection in the short term and then becoming disheartened and quitting when you err, commit yourself to a steady and consistent application of effort in the service of your long term health and physique objectives. Resolve not to eat an entire cheesecake or drink a twelve-pack of beer. But if it happens, it's not the end of the world. Healthy eating is a lifetime endeavor, one which will likely influence both the length and quality of your life. And like life itself, we will falter occasionally in our efforts to eat right. But if we get back up each time, renew our commitment, and keep moving forward - we cannot fail.

from Natural Hormonal Enhancement by Rob Faigan

In Memory of Robert Lee 1968-2007

We just found a feather on the floor, I think DD brought it inside for the cats, but it is black and white: just like Mr. Lee's karate uniform. DS wanted to keep the feather. It is a feather that fell off his angel wings, according to DS. So there I'm sitting with tears rolling down my face again. I know I will find my peace and a chance to say goodbye when I go into the quiet karate studio again one day next week. I'll sit there and watch Robert working with my kids, in my mind, and hear his voice coaxing my DS to jump higher and to not allow his fears of failure to hold him back. I'll laugh with him as he allows the kids to finish their session with the face masks on so that they can fence each other with staffs and swords. DD would just beat on her brother and they'd be laughing so hard at the end of class.


Dear Mr. Lee, Thank you for caring about me. I loved learning from you. Now you can fly to the rainbow. I will miss you. Love, Alex

Robert Lee passed away on Monday September 3rd 2007 from a massive brain aneursym. He was 39 years old. We will miss him very much.

Weighing In...

Isn't it a weird feeling seeing a number on the scale you've not seen ever, or not seen in years. It feels kind of naughty.

My bathroom scale is being very silly this morning and while I'd like very much to believe it - I'm afraid I am going to have to see if it says the same tomorrow. When I first got up, I weighed myself. I am still 1/2 lb over my lowest weight just like yesterday. About 45 minutes later, after DS had gone to school, I weighed myself again before getting into the shower. I was now 2.5lbs UNDER my lowest weight. The scale said 163.5lbs (not once, not twice, but 3 times - even after resetting the scale by weighing on one leg to get a different weight). I had a huge glass of water, and took a shower, then weighed myself again. Now I weighed 1.5 OVER my lowest weight. So right now the scale is in time-out for misbehaving. I had a huge growl at it for teasing me like that. Very unacceptable! But I am not going to get upset about any of the weights, I will weigh myself tomorrow and see where the numbers land. I did explain quietly to the bathroom scale that it could be replaced. But I think it knows I'd not easily do that.... the saga continues.....

Self Sabotage

I so want to hit that 40lb lost mark, but I fear I sabotaged myself last night! Instead of going to bed when I was so exhausted I nibbled on yogurt mixed with protein powder, and then just more protein powder off my little spoon. Plus quite a lot of water. I knew the scale wouldn't be nice this morning.

Sabotaging Ourselves. Why do we do it? It's the "Peter Rabbit" syndrome - remember how Peter made himself sick eating all those raddishes and carrots in Mr. McGregor's garden, and then had to go straight to bed when he got home. I'm sure he was lying there on his bed thinking "Why did I do it?"

We feel horrible after doing it, and the self mutilation is intense - but I think the majority of us do it. So why, when we are on a roll, cheat free, or close to a goal - WHY DO WE SELF SABOTAGE?

Exercising vs. Dieting part 2

Here's what else I believe about exercise vs dieting:

I believe that the human body is the only machine on the face of the earth that wears out and breaks down from not using it enough

I believe that much obesity and disease are a direct result of inactivity

I believe that much of the deterioration that happens as you age is a direct result of a sedentary lifestyle and a loss of muscle

I believe that cardiovascular exercise + weight training + a small calorie reduction is vastly superior for fat loss purposes than a calorie reduction alone, both in the short and long term

I believe that calorie restriction alone is a short-sighted and incomplete approach to a complex problem, and it requires a complete change in lifestyle habits to achieve better health, better body composition and results that last

I believe that everyone who is able-bodied should get some type of physical activity almost every single day

I believe that anyone who is healthy and physically able should get involved in weight training 3 days per week (up to 4 - 5 times per week for athletes and bodybuilders)

I believe that anyone healthy and physically able should do at least 3 days per week of vigorous cardiovascular exercise (jogging, brisk walking, treadmills, stairclimbers, ellipticals, aerobics classes, etc), and they may increase their exercise frequency, intensity and or duration if necessary, to accelerate fat loss

I believe that more people should stop taking their bodies for granted and start appreciating that those wheelchair-bound individuals I mentioned earlier would give anything to be able to run or ride a bike

It's tempting to keep looking for some kind of "no-sweat" secret, whether in the form of a special diet technique, a magic fat burning pill or whatever, but in the end, it always, comes back to this: You need a calorie deficit to lose weight... and it's better to burn more calories than to cut more calories. Exercise - including weight training and cardio training - should be a part of every weight management program and a part of your lifestyle. This is one of the ultimate secrets to fat loss and long term weight control:

Remember, don't starve the fat, "BURN THE FAT."

by Tom Venuto & http://www.burnthefat.com

Exercising vs. Dieting

Top 10 reasons why exercising ("burn"), not dieting ("starve"), is the superior method of losing body fat:

The most effective fat-burning programs in the world always contain two types of exercise - weight training and cardiovascular training. The reasons to include both could go on for pages, but here are the top 10:

1. Exercise increases your metabolism.
2. Exercise creates a caloric deficit without triggering starvation mode.
3. Exercise helps you sleep better and manage stress better.
4. Exercise (strength training) tells your body to keep the muscle. Dieting causes muscle loss.
5. Exercise increases bone density.
6. Exercise helps prevent diabetes, control blood sugar, and improve insulin sensitivity.
7. Exercise improves cardiovascular health.
8. Exercise improves mood, helps relieve depression and increases self esteem
9. Exercise increasese mobility and quality of life as you get older
10. Exercise helps you keep the weight off long term.

Creature of Habit

Old habits die hard, but the good news is that they do die. Don't lose hope or beat yourself up over it if you're having trouble breaking bad habits. It's not that easy to change your ways. Just keep plugging away.

Start by replacing old habits with new ones. The key is to learn how to take care of and pamper yourself in ways that are life affirming, not self-destructive. Learn how to deal with sabotaging emotions by establishing some healthy patterns of behavior and investing in your physical and emotional well-being.

If you judge yourself every time you're in front of a mirror, try focusing on the things you love about yourself. When was the last time you looked in the mirror and told yourself how great your features are and how beautiful you look?

If you're constantly looking to the media for celebrity fitness trends, try finding more realistic role models — real people who've lost weight or achieved other goals similar to yours. They will be the most inspiring. Start paying attention to people you know.

If you tend to blow off your workouts until your vacation rolls around — or there's some other event, like a wedding, lighting a fire under you — ease yourself back into your daily workouts. Without commitment, you won't be able to achieve the goals you truly desire. Put your life in perspective. Everything is a choice — from how you feel when you wake up in the morning to whether or not you floss your teeth at night. To make the right choices, you need to ask the right questions: What is my true goal, and how are the choices I'm making going to help me achieve that goal?

by Jillian Michaels

Measuring vs. The Scale

Measuring is a better way to gauge your fat loss success than just using the bathroom scale. Start your measurement journal today. On the first day of every month, take your measurements so that you can accurately establish if your body is losing fat or just burning up your muscle. If you are losing fat you will see some difference in the scale (and sometimes none) but a lot of lost inches, and if you are losing mostly muscle you will see a big drop in the scale but little change in your inches.

____________________

The scale is such an inaccurate way to see weightloss success.

1. It doesn’t tell you what type of weight you are losing. Plenty of people who burn, burn, burn on the cardio neglect to add in strength training to their routine. These people lose a combination of fat and MUSCLE. Losing muscle may drop the scale numbers, but it also drops your ability to burn calories. Your goal in weightloss is to maintain or slightly build your muscle tissues while focusing on burning the fat off your body.

2. The numbers on the scale are faulty at times. Day to day you can gain and lose up to three to four pounds. Factors that influence the scale are stress, sodium, water retention from weight training, dehydration, hormones and so on. Even weighing once a week can be deceptive and that’s why I look at four weeks of numbers before casting judgment on the success of an eating and exercising plan.

Inches on the other hand…ahhh…this is a good sign of successful weightloss. Let’s say you in month one you lose 5lbs. After the first month you take your measurements and see you have lost 8 inches. Wow! That means you are losing fluffy fat and people are noticing. Now, take an identical person who just dieted and didn’t really exercise much. They lose 8lbs but only lost 2.5 inches overall. This person likely lost a lot of muscle and some fat. Not only is their appearance to other people just about the same as it was 8lbs. ago, but they lost their lean, metabolically active muscle tissue in the process. What does this mean to you? Less food you can eat when you hit your goal weight, the risk of developing osteoporosis, and a flabby appearance.