Stop starving and start eating!

When people start thinking about how they are going to lose weight, the first thing they say is "well, I'll have to cut back and eat less".  Losing weight is almost always directly associated with being hungry. There is a popular weight loss program our right now that even says, "being hungry is normal"!

This is just HOGWASH and the first and possibly the worst mistake people make in weight loss.  You have to EAT MORE to WEIGH LESS!

No, you can't eat more pizza or more hamburgers to weigh less. What I'm talking about is eating more thermic vegetables, more lean protein, and some low-glycemic carbs.

Let's talk about each of these individually:

Thermic Vegetables

Some people call them negative calorie foods.  If you're familiar with Weight Watchers, these are what they call zero point vegetables. These are vegetables that actually burn more calories as the body digests them than they contain. If you're on a diet and feel hungry, go for thermic veggies to fill you up! Keep them thermic by having them raw, steamed or grilled.

Thermic vegetables from the Ultimate Body Challenge Menu

Lean Protein

Lean proteins also have a thermic effect, however, portions should be limited to 6-8 oz at each meal since the calorie count in these proteins is higher than that in the thermic vegetables.  Not only does lean protein help burn fat, it also helps satisfy your hunger for longer. The following meat proteins should be grilled, broiled or roasted and never fried.

Lean proteins from the Ultimate Body Challenge Menu

Low-glycemic Carbs

Low\no carb diets have been around for years. You're probably familiar with Atkins, South Beach, the Zone, these are low\no carb diets that have been popular over the years.  What you need to realize is that not all carbs are created equal.  You're body needs carbs for energy, but your goal should be to fuel it with low-glycemic carbs. These low-glycemic carbs are carbs that more slowly turn to sugar in the blood stream. Suprisingly to many, vegetables are a great source of low-glycemic carbs. For weight loss and optimal health only use whole grains, like whole grain bread, whole grain pasta and brown rice and limit your servings.  Stay away from the white stuff!

Breads and grains recommended on the Ultimate Body Challenge Menu

The more I work with my clients, more and more often, I find that they are stuck in that "starvation mentality".  More often than not, their lack of results or plateaus are from not eating enough rather than eating too much.

Stop starving and start eating!!