Stress, Cravings and Preventing Weight Gain

What should I do when I’m stressed and crave sugary and salty junk food?

Become mindful of your stressors, how you are dealing with stress and your choices.

Learning new methods for stress relief will help 

prevent avoidable weight gain

Managing food cravings is a simple but difficult process. In my experience, I have seen that when an individual makes a emotional judgment and gives into eating when they are not hungry it is often do to temporarily losing sight of their goal(s) and/or continuation of habits.

First, understand that there are physical needs during stressful times. Your body is burning sugar and your cravings are present so you will replace immediate energy stores. Also know that an Apple is a better choice than junk.

Second, understand your role in the habits and choices that you have created. You MUST own your choices and your result. Look past your immediate desire and play out in your mind how you will feel while eating this  "much needed" food. Play out the after effects. How do you feel once you've finished? 

A few "rules" I have my clients to focus on is:

Become Mindful

Before you begin to feel stressed is the best time to focus on how you are handling your day. Monitor your stress levels. If you are becoming "STRESSED!!!" it is time to take a break, contemplate your thoughts and actions and choose your next action. This 2-3 minute reset of thinking and breathing acts to calm you and allows you to retain focus.

Smile. It relieves stress.

Remember: staying in the stressful situation will INCREASE your stress. You must change your thinking and your actions right there.  

Control your kitchen

Keep temptation out of sight. Clean the area of "junk" and create a scenario where you have to go purchase the items you want so badly. This will act to slow down your reactions.  Choose fruits and vegetables first while you focus on breathing.

Know WHY you are eating what you are eating

Say it out loud - "I am eating due to stress, not hunger."

Own the fact that you need to control your stress differently to create a long-term change.

Try these tips for controlling food cravings:

1. Develop a mantra. Something like: "I feed my body and my needs, not my taste buds."  
2. Ask yourself questions: "Why am I going to eat this?  Is it because I actually want it and need it or am I re-actively responding to an immediate desire?"
3. Keep focused on your goal. Post it in sight and refer to it often.
4. Drink a glass of water to slow the decision making process down. Water can make you feel a little fuller AND it will give you something to do while deciding if you are actually going to give in to your cravings.

 

End your stress eating here.

To your health,     
Robert DeVito

Fitness Strategies for Weight Loss Success - The Workout

Fitness Principles for Weight Loss Success

Your Workout = Upside down and inside out.

Working out improves your health, fitness and longevity.  Initially, when you begin a workout regimen the physiological changes are significant.  Your Nervous System is working incredibly hard to figure out how to handle all of these “new, unaccustomed” stimuli that it’s experiencing and you will burn significant energy performing the work AND adjusting to the work.

The good news is that you will end up burning a significant amount of extra calories every day in an attempt to recover from this new experience.  The downside is this does not last long.   

Our body is designed for survival.  That means that it is great at conserving and storing energy.  This is a true disadvantage to those of us trying to reverse the amount of stored energy that we have. 

Here are a few suggestions to maximize your exercise time and results. 

Chances are you have or will experience most of them.  The good news is you are not the first person to experience them, and we now how to deal with it.

Who should you be taking Fitness advice from?

The strategies:

1. Bottom line to weigh less:  E IN vs. E OUT.  If you are attempting to lose weight/fat you need to expend more calories than you consume.  If you are not losing weight you are not in a deficit.  Stop coming up with reasons or excuses and review your intake in its’ entirety, then review your exercise plan to insure that you are maximizing your efforts in the gym.
2. You need to understand that Weight Loss is different than Maintenance of Muscle while losing Fat.  These are two significantly different methods to two significantly different outcomes.
3. Working out initially burns a significant amount of extra calories.  Your body is an adaptive machine.  It's goal is different than your desires.
4. Working out for the goal of LIFELONG Fat Loss is different in methodology from working out for Fitness and Health. 
5. Your results slow down after 1-2 months.  It is natural.  
6. Many people will experience a rise in hunger and appetite as a result of initiating a new workout plan.  Understanding what you are eating, when you are eating it and why you are eating are keys. If you do not connect the dots of FOOD - FITNESS and FOCUS, you will spin your wheels.
7. Exercise increases the need for nutrients.  If you are simultaneously dieting and exercising then the body needs nutrition that is extremely difficult to attain from food alone. If you are in a nutrient deficit and a calorie deficit, this can begin to ruin your ‘metabolism’. 
8. The body strives for “the path of least resistance”.  This means that it likes to be efficient.  This is counter-productive towards any Fat Loss goal.  Mentally, you are striving to burn more calories; physically your body is trying to figure out how to burn less… 
9. If you are exercising for the same amount of time and at the same intensity on the same machines for more than a month you are allowing the body to become efficient.  (S.A.I.D. Principle) 
10. Consuming a meal (Breakfast) is entirely under-appreciated and the importance of said act is way too overlooked for Fat Loss.  
11. Most people weigh themselves too frequently.  You will most likely not lose 2 ponds of fat overnight, nor will you gain 2 pounds of fat.  We all experience temporary and frequent fluctuations.  Weigh yourself every week or two for an accurate measure of what’s happening. 
12. Many people never maximize their effort.  I am a huge advocate of coming to the gym frequently.  It burns calories, maintains tone, and improves overall health.  All of these are great!  But, if you are attempting to alter your body composition it takes a bit more than just showing up.  An all out effort as frequently as possible will increase your calorie burn per minute.  When you don’t have what it takes to give a maximum effort then show up anyway and work out.  When you do have that ‘tweaked’ mental state – use it!  Lift heavier, run faster, jump higher, do more repetitions.  As NIKE says: Just Do IT!  RIGHT NOW! 
13. Make frequent changes to your workout.  Workout changes prevent boredom and increase the challenge to your body. 
14. Utilize Strength Training.  It helps to maintain muscle tissue, which will help to keep your metabolism higher,  it maintains "tone" and it burns more calories than cardio does.
15. When doing strength training be sure to use "bang for your buck" exercises that use multiple muscles and motions.  If your goal is not to be a bodybuilder, then do not train like one.

Try 14-days with IFS for FREE

To your health,

Robert

What is Healthy Weight Loss?

This is a simple but tricky question.

WHAT is Healthy Weight Loss?  It is a method of reducing the amount of fat stores on your body while preserving your lean tissues. It is a slow and sustained process of altering your thinking and your choices to align with your new goals and values.

A Healthy Weight Loss plan provides nutrition for your body and movement to energize you to feel your best. It is a diet rich in grains, fruits, veggies and healthy fats. It is an eating style that includes foods, not eliminates them. It is an active lifestyle that gives you fuel and energy to live your best life.



 Who should you trust to give you Fitness Advice?

HOW do you achieve Healthy Weight Loss?

• Healthy Weight Loss focuses on... healthy patterns.
• Healthy Weight Loss focuses on the long-term outcomes, not instant gratification.
• Healthy Weight Loss allows you to be flexible, not rigid in your food and exercise selections.
• Healthy Weight Loss allows for setbacks and does not provide punishment for a poor choice or temporary loss of focus.
• Healthy Weight Loss focuses on caring for your physical, mental and emotional needs, not punishing yourself for not being perfect.
• Healthy Weight Loss is slow and steady.
• Healthy Weight Loss is allows you to eat out at restaurants, not sit home alone obsessed with following a "diet".
• Healthy Weight Loss allows you to feel good about yourself and know that you are making great changes for your life, not that you are sacrificing and restricting your choices.
• Healthy Weight Loss includes all foods, not limiting the "magical fattening" foods or avoiding entire food groups (Dairy, Wheat, Carbohydrates etc…).
• Healthy Weight Loss includes strength training to boost your metabolism, help your posture and allow you to enjoy more food.
• Healthy Weight Loss is balanced.
• Healthy Weight Loss is intelligent and planned, it avoids fads and falling for "miracles".
• Healthy Weight Loss is a way of life. Your new life.

In this new life, you would:

• Know that you have control over many things but do not have control over everything.
• Focus on obtaining fruits, veggies, fiber and protein from your food choices.
• Focus on moving more simply for the sake of moving.
• Focus on reading and learning to build your "brain muscle".
• Focus on trying new recipes and finding activities to do with your family and friends.
• Focus on your relationship with yourself and with others.

Healthy Weight Loss is a journey to a new lifestyle. Enjoy it.

To your Health,

Robert

Follow these tips to begin eating better 

What is the correct percentages of Proteins, Carbs and Fats to eat?

What is the correct percentage of protein, fat, and carbohydrate that I should be consuming?

There isn’t a “perfect” ratio for everyone. This, like your caloric requirements are different for each individual.  More important are the recommendations or ranges set forth by The American Dietetic Association.  The recommendations for each of the macronutrients of total calorie intake are as follows:

                   ● Carbohydrates: 45-65%

                   ● Protein: 15-25%

                   ● Fat: 10-30%

Your Weight Loss Coach will specify where you end up in the range based on your caloric needs, appetite and type/amount of movement.

These %’s may differ slightly day to day and on training and non-training days.  There is no one magical formula.