The Great Lose Weight New Year's Resolution

Here we are a week into 2015 so raise your hands if you, like many made a New Year's resolution to lose weight?  According to University of Scranton Journal of Clinical Psychology losing weight was the number one new year's resolution in 2014.  This resolution dropped to number 3 in 2015, right behind spending more time with family and friends (1) and getting fit (2) according to most sources. Many folks will jump onto the newest fad diet, join gyms, buy exercise equipment and go all out for all of about a month if that before they return to their normal diets and activities.

A year ago today, I was two months into my fitness journey which by default led to weight loss.  I have maintained my weight loss hovering within 0.5 lb of 108 lb.  During my weight loss phase, I heard over and over again that for every 6 lb lost, 5 lb of those are from dietary changes and only 1 lb from exercise.  The rule of thumb is:  dietary change is for weight loss, exercise is for fitness.  I think it is more complex than that because exercise can reduce stress with reduces cortisol so you lose weight, especially fat easier.  You also sleep better with exercise, another factor that is important for weight loss.  However, the primary factor in losing weight is your diet. 

That does not mean you cannot enjoy good food or your food has to be bland.  It doesn't mean you have to give up bread or eat a steady diet of salads.  What worked and continues to work for me, may help you achieve your New Year's resolution.  Here's are a few things that work for me:

• set goals -  Calculate your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) then eat 20% less for weight loss.  Do not eat less than your BMR (basal metabolic rate), the amount of energy expended while at rest.  Females should not eat fewer than 1,200 calories; men should not eat fewer than 1,500 calories.
• calorie tracking - There are numerous calorie counting apps, websites and software.  It becomes a matter of personal preference.  I like and still use My Fitness Pal (MFP) for tracking calories consumed and burned.  MFP feeds into Health (Apple) in addition to a number of fitness apps that I use.  I'm also testing Lose It! 
• fitness - You do not need to spend a penny to get fit.  Search for "you are your own gym" for ideas.   I do a lot of walking with a goal of 10,000 steps per day.  I highly recommend a pedometer (under $20) or a fitness tracker.  My current fitness tracker is Misfit Shine ($120).  Many of the fitness apps I use are free with upgrades to low cost, feature enhanced paid versions.  I really like the Runtastic apps, Sworkit, Hot5 and 7M Workout.  I also use fitness videos on YouTube.
• carbohydrates - A lot of diets put an emphasis on cutting carbs.  Carbs are not the enemy because your body requires a certain amount for fuel.  However, many women find they lose weight quicker on lower carbs.  The default MFP setting is 50% carbs.  I reduced mine to 40% which made a huge difference in my weight loss without me feeling deprived.  Simple sugars can be a problem in that they cause insulin spikes and water retention.  I tend to limit simple sugars.
• fats - Fats get a bad rap but fats do not make you fat, eating too much makes you fat.  You need fats as part of a healthy diet.  The recommendation is to get 20% to 35% of calories from fat.   I have my fat macro set to 30%.  Fats are calorie dense at 9 cal per gram.  Choose unsaturated fats, minimize saturated fats and avoid trans-fats.
• protein - Recently there has been a huge emphasis on the importance of protein.  Protein minimizes the loss of lean muscle when losing weight and it keeps you full longer.  I eat protein with every meal and quite often snacks include protein.  I eat a lot of clean protein, Greek yogurt, nuts, eggs and cheese.  I continue to use protein powder but gave up on commercially made protein bars except when traveling.  Many commercially made protein bars are too high in carbs so I make my own.
• artificial sweeteners - I don't use artificial sweeteners but there is new research that indicate they can actually prevent you from losing weight.  I use stevia if I want to reduce the calories in something sweet.  In general though, portion control works well for me for sweets.
• diet foods - In general, I avoid anything labeled as 'diet' like the plague.  These foods tend to be highly processed, over priced and poor nutritional value.  
• whole foods - This is nothing new for me but I really push whole foods especially fruits and vegetables.  
• grazing - I am a grazer, from about 10:30 AM to 6:30 PM seldom eating before or after that time period.   This is my natural eating pattern which actually falls under intermittent fasting, a successful dieting method for some. 
• the apple test - Am I hungry enough to eat an apple?  If the answer is no, then I'm really not hungry.  That means I'm reaching for a snack for any other reason besides hunger. 

IIFYM, Weight Loss and Kitchen Scales

A little over a year ago, the seeds were planted for a couple of major lifestyle changes.  I started slow but on March 19, 2013 when my blood pressure reached 181/104 I sprung into immediate action.  One of my lifestyle changes was to get fit and with that came a few dietary changes.  Now, I am one of those who a) doesn't believe in dieting and b) have never had a need to diet.  I've always hovered within the normal weight range simply cutting back on portion size and increasing activity if my jeans felt a bit tight.  That's it and by all accounts our diet that relies heavily on home cooked from scratch and avoiding a lot of food additives is healthier than some but there is always room for improvement.  I started with small changes, putting one step in front of the other, dealing with the little setbacks.  In October of 2013 while at our vacation home, I had a bad reaction to MSM, a dietary supplement I was having excellent results from.  The weight gain put me right at the upper limit of my normal!  I stopped the MSM and during the three weeks home before returning to Florida, I joined My Fitness Pal (November 2013) to aid me in my journey towards personal fitness for mind, body, soul.

I am using a flexible eating plan called IIFYM (if it fits your macros).  The macros are fat, proteins, and carbs.  I track fibre aiming for at least 25 g of fibre daily and sodium.  My daily calorie goal is 1,200 without exercise which creates a 330 cal deficit.   My daily macro goals are 30%  fat, 20%  proteins, and 50% carbohydrates.  Calories burned via exercise are added back in and are meant to be consumed.  IIFYM means absolutely no food is off limits.  I could eat 1,200 cal worth of jelly beans in a day and still lose weight BUT jelly beans would only give my carbs not fat or protein so in that quantity they do not fit my macros although a couple would fit.  If I burn enough calories to eat a bowl of ice cream and it fits my macros, then no problem.  Basically, if I burn 500 calories in exercise then my total daily goal becomes 1,700 cal with the macros adjusted to values that reflect that change.   IIFYM actually encourages you to make healthy food choices so it becomes a lifestyle change as opposed to simply going on a diet. 

When it comes to weight loss, regardless of which method you use, accurately tracking your caloric intake is a must.  The easiest way to do this is by relying on pre-messured individual serving sizes however, this can be expensive and limited in choice.  The second method is to measure using measuring cups and spoons but this method introduces a certain level of error.  The most accurate method is weighing your food using a kitchen scale.

I have two kitchen scales.  Both weigh in metric and Imperial.  The larger scale weights up to 3 kg.  It is suitable for weighing larger amounts of foods in 10 g increments.  I have used this scale for a number of years in home canning and soaping.  Home canning recipes are often given in pounds or kilograms of fruit or vegetable, weight or cups of prepared fruit or vegetable, or volume measurements (eg. cups, tablespoons).  Most of my specialty home canning recipes like salsa are in weight measures because it means I can accurately reproduce that recipe exactly the same each time I make it.  The smaller glass digital  scale is The Biggest Loser by Taylor.   It weighs up to 5 kg.  This scale is suitable for weighing larger weights as well as smaller amounts in 1 g increments.  I use it for weighing foods and ingredients for my homemade lotions and toiletries.

Why should you weigh food for weight loss?  Pictured are two small granny smith apples (2¾ inch diameter) at 77 calories in most databases.  By weight, a 100 g granny smith apple has 52 calories.  The apple on the left weighs 133 g (69.16 cal) while the one on the right weighs 143 g (74.36 cal).  Neither weigh the actually 77 cal that you would record if going by size alone.  In this case, you would have recorded 77 cal but consumed less than that.  This can be a problem over the course of a day by actually consuming less than you thought if it puts you slightly under the 1,200 cal per day for females.  It is very difficult to get your required micronutrients at less than 1,200 cal per day.  On the flip side, if you recorded the 77 cal because the apple measured in the small diameter range but the apple actually weighed 155 g (80.6 cal), you actually consume more calories than you thought you did.  Over the course of a day, this could easily add an extra 200 or more calories just on slight weight differences.  Inadvertently putting yourself under 1,200 cal or consuming enough extra so as to not give the desired calorie deficit will cause you to not lose the weight you want.  The bottom line is, during your weight loss period regardless of the dietary method, use a kitchen scale as often as possible. 

A Few Problems with Caloric Values

Today's Diet Tip:  Seven Diet Myths Debunked  Note #3 that all diets perform poorly over time.  If you want to lose the weight and keep it off, remember it is all about calories in verses calories burned.  It really is that simple!

We rely on various indicators (eg. scales, nutritional values, fitness equipment calories burned, pedometers, fitness apps) to help in our weight loss goal.  Herein lies part of the problem.   I wear my pedometer and have my fitness app on when walking about the house.  Despite calibrating both to my current weight and average step length, they will show different number of steps taken and calories burned.  This would be a problem if I were relying solely on those devices to tell me the number of calories I burned in order to eat a bit more.  The second problem especially with scales is the calibration can become faulty due to age or impact.  In other words, you may not weigh exactly what your scales say you weigh.  Another problem is a lot of fitness equipment gives you a display that includes calories burned but unless it has been calibrated with your weight, chances are very good the display will not be what you actually burned.  That means, you may not be burning as many calories as you think you are which can be problematic for desired weight loss.  For example, if using My Fitness Pal with a calculated 1,200 calorie intake combined with 300 calories burned, your intake should be 1,500.  If in reality you only burned 250 calories instead of the 300 you though you burned and ate the 1,500 you would be over by 50 calories.  If this were done on a consistent basis, it would sabotage your weight loss.

Next problem, the nutritional values.  We rely heavily on them and not just for weight loss so the key question is, are they accurate?  Many restaurants are now including a caloric value on all or a portion of their menu items.  Here's an interesting video addressing discrepancies between restaurant posted caloric value and actual caloric value:

Therein lies one of the problems with trying to lose weight.  Even if you exercise and/or increase your physical activity AND you count the calories you consume, the numbers can still be off causing you to not lose as much weight as you thought you would. 

My work-around is to focus on eating and being physically active for my own optimal health.  I use the nutritional values and calories burned values as guidelines knowing they may be off a little especially those nutritional values for meals eaten away from home.  I also increase my physical activity on days I know I will be eating out.

Read Those Labels!

Today's Diet Tip:  Hydration is extremely important when combining exercise with dieting.  Aim for drinking eight 8 oz glasses of filtered water daily.

I'm a label reader, both nutritional and ingredient labels.  These labels have a significantly higher influence on what I buy than price does.  I will often put a food product back on the shelf just on the basis of one of those labels.  A study published in the journal Agricultural Economics which found that women who read the labels on food packaging are nearly 9 lbs lighter than those who don’t.  Impressive!

Food manufacturers are constantly changing their products usually as a cost cutting measure.  The changes they make may or may not affect the nutritional value of their modified product.  In most cases, the change will.  Unless the product is labelled in such a fashion as to draw your attention to the changes, chances are very good you may not notice them.

We were preparing for our monthly games night in December.  I ask my husband to pick up more non-alcoholic beer.  I like to keep both non-alcoholic beer and wine on hand for those who choose not to drink alcohol.  Both are good for cooking as well for adding flavour without alcohol.  He brought home two cases of President's Choice Blond Brew.  I noticed one case said 80 calories per can and the other said 50 calories per can!  It was a fluke I caught the difference because usually the old label has been discarded so can't be compared to the new one.

I compared the nutritional values on both cans.  On the surface a drop in calories is a good thing especially for those counting calories.  The 80 calorie version has 55 mg of potassium which is now missing from the 50 calorie version. The 80 calorie version has 17 g (2 g sugar) carbohydrates while the 50 calorie version has 9 g (3 g sugar).   The 80 calorie version is not a significant source of sodium while the 50 calorie version has 10 mg of sodium.  Clearly what they did was add salt and sugar likely because they added a bit more water as a cost cutting measure.  So I called Loblaws Inc. to inquire about the change.  The 50 calorie version is the new version with the older 80 calorie version being phased out.

When food manufacturers change a product, they often increase water, salt or sugar as a cost cutting measure.  Changing the oil in a product is another common change, quite often to a GMO oil like canola.  Be sure to check the labels often even for those products you buy on a regular basis.  Chances are you will notice these types of changes from time to time.

I'm not a soda drinker but we do have soda in the house for entertaining.  There has long been a debate over which is better, Coca-Cola or Pepsi.  Well, the short answer is neither are a healthy drink but then they aren't claiming to be. However, many do enjoy them so the question when dieting becomes which is the better nutritional choice.   If you are counting calories, indulging in one can will not sabotage your diet as long as you have a calorie deficit for that day.  On the other hand, a can of your favourite cola will add about 150 calories to your caloric intake for the day without adding any real nutritional value.  Sodas do earn their title of empty calories for a reason!

Pepsi has just slightly better numbers when it comes to calories and sugar although the carbohydrate content is the same.  Pepsi has almost a third of the amount of sodium, something that would be of interest for those on a sodium restricted diet.  On that note, for those who enjoy soda, the choice comes down to personal preference.

Beverages are one of the worst foods for dieting because they contain a high caloric content.  Three colas can add as much as 480 calories to your caloric intake which is a lot if you are on a 1,200 calorie diet!  Fatburn offers a free activity burn tool so you can easily calculate how long to spend doing the activity of your choice to burn of your beverage calories in order to create your calorie deficit to help you reach your weight goals.

Pancake and waffle mix remains a popular pantry staple even though it is less to make from scratch.  However, there are times that the mix comes in handy.  The bottom line with mixes is they are always more expensive than a mix from scratch.  It is important to read those labels because with mixes especially, there is more to it than calories.  My husband brought back a box of Aunt Jemima pancake mix from hunt camp.  I brought a bag of Arrowhead Mills pancake mix back from our vacation home.  I had bought it for when the guys were down for their golf week.  How do these two mixes compare and which is the better choice?
 

Food manufacturers use another tactic that quickly becomes confusing to shoppers.  The Arrowhead Mills pancake mix is 140 cal for 1/4 c and the Aunt Jemima mix is 150 cal for 1/3 c.  Unless you read carefully, the Arrowhead Mills pancake mix appears to be the better caloric value for those counting calories.  However, to make a fair comparison the caloric values need to be converted to the same units so I converted the 1/4 c values to 1/3 c values.  [Conversion:  1/3 = .33, 1/4 = .25, (value)(.33)/.25 = converted value, example using calories:  (140)(.33)/.25 = 184].  The corrected value for the Arrowhead Mills is 184 cal for 1/3 c so it is 34 calories more than the equivalent amount of Aunt Jemima mix.  In terms of nutritional value though, the Arrowhead Mills is lower in total fat, lower is sodium, considerably higher in potassium, higher in fiber, higher in protein and lower in sugar.  It also contains no soybean oil (GMO) or bleached flour that the Aunt Jemima mix has.  Even though it is 34 calories more, the Arrowhead is nutritionally a better value than the Aunt Jemima mix.  It uses organic whole grain flour and organic enriched wheat flour.  I would rather cut those 34 calories somewhere else (eg. a bit smaller pancakes) in favour of a higher nutritional quality product and sometimes that becomes the choice in the quest for healthier eating.  

Create a Calorie Deficit for Weight Loss

Today's Diet Tip:  Create a calorie deficit through calorie reduction combined with increased physical activity.

We've all seen the television advertisements with Jared Fogle endorsing Subway because eating their subs helped him lose a massive amount of weight, 245 lb of weight to be precise.  Exercise was not really a part of Jared's weight loss plan but he has kept the weight off.  Mark Haub took it to a whole new level by losing 27 lb on the twinkie diet, definitely not what one would refer to as health food.    I was reading through a forum post and resulting comments on My Fitness Pal regarding "John Cisna, a science teacher from Ankeny, Iowa, lost 37lbs and saw his cholesterol drop by a third in the three months that he ate nothing but McDonald's. He also saw his low-density lipoprotein, also known as 'bad cholesterol', drop from 173 to 113."  He kept his caloric intake to 2,000 calories per day and he added 45 minutes walking to his day.  Essentially he ate fast food for 90 days, lost weight and improved his health markers.  In all three cases, a calorie deficit was created by caloric reduction from what they had been eating and in John's case, that calorie deficit was enhanced by walking daily.  This underscores the notion that as long as you create a calorie deficit, you will lose weight regardless of what you eat. 

Despite the weight loss in these three cases and the improvement is certain health markers, this is not something I would do myself or recommend.  The focus is on the food not developing a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.  I should note that I am not a huge fan of any fast food and quite frankly the last time I had a Twinkie was likely as a teenager, eons ago.  A diet consisting mainly of fast food has a multitude of other negative health implications even if you can lose weight eating it.  However, if one chooses to lose weight going on a fast food diet, that is their choice.   It may be slightly healthier than relying on heavily processed diet foods from the grocery store.  At any rate, this diet choice is rather expensive!  The Twinkie diet has the potential to quickly become problematic by not providing the body with the essential micronutrients needed.

This is one reason I do not like fad diets, diets that eliminate or greatly restrict one food group or crash diets.  Yes, they may be effective for temporary weight loss but they are ineffective for establishing long term healthy weight goals.  They can adversely affect your health, set you on a yo-yo dieting pattern or worse create an eating disorder.  These types of diets take the fun out of food which is unacceptable to this foodie!  Food is meant to be enjoyed.  Simply creating a daily calorie deficit allows you to do just that!

Starting the New Year on the Right Foot

It's a brand new year, filled with hopes and expectations.  Many make New Year's resolutions to the effect of lose weight and exercise more.  And with good reason!  I'm going to start the blog this year with a focus on losing weight via lifestyle change through healthy eating and exercise.  I'm not a nutritionist or personal trainer but I do have an interest in living a healthy lifestyle.  

The average person gains 1 to 3 pounds over the holiday season.  That weight will naturally come off if they return to their pre-holiday eating but folks tend to be impatient, wanting the weight off this minute without making any long term changes.  That means they turn to diet pills or dietary supplements supporting weight loss, go on strange even health threatening diets, and worse.  The reality is there is no magic pill or diet to lose weight,.  The secret is creating a calorie deficit through eating less and/or increasing physical activity.

Folks fall into one of two categories for weight loss.  The first group is within the normal range of their ideal weight.  They want to lose weight usually for vanity or to prevent transitioning into the second group.  The second group are over the normal range for their ideal weight.  They need to lose weight for their health.  Regardless of the reason for going on a weight loss program, it will not work unless you create a calorie deficit!

A note on dietary supplements:  I take a lot of dietary supplements, always extremely careful to do the research.  Two beneficial dietary supplements taken for non-weight loss benefits are MSM (methysufoylmethane) and Milk Thistle (silymarin).  MSM can cause significant weight gain and Milk Thistle can slow or prevent weight loss.  NAC (N-acetyl cysteine) is a good substitute for MSM or Milk Thistle without affecting weight.  Raspberry ketones, Garcinia cambogia, green coffee bean extract, green tea extract and cinnamon are all used for weight loss.  There are no good scientific studies for the efficacy of  raspberry ketones or Garcinia cambogia although there are reported serious health risks associated with them.  Green coffee bean extract may work for weight loss but the real benefit is in lowering blood pressure.  Cinnamon supports sugar metabolism which prevents the sugar being stored as fat aiding weight loss however, the real benefit is in aiding circulation.  I cannot stress this enough...if you are using or planning to use dietary supplement do the research as all dietary supplements have the potential for serious negative side effects.

I can't tell you what will work for you other than a calorie deficit will work.  Seriously, you can lose weight on a steady diet of only chocolate bars as long a you create a calorie deficit.  At the same time, you can gain weight on a steady diet of broccoli if you don't have a calorie deficit.  While the primary goal is creating a calorie deficit for weight loss, the secondary goal is an awareness of nutritional values of the foods you are eating for your health and well being.  Neither example will result in health and well being because they omit key nutritional components.  The ultimate goal for me is eating for health and well being while creating a calorie deficit

I have been on a 360 calorie deficit per day, projected 0.7 lb per week weight loss goal since November 5, 2013.  It is created mainly by increased activity but also smaller portions.   According to the calculated projected weight loss I should have lost 5.6 lb as of yesterday but I've lost 7 lb so I'm pretty pleased with the results.  That weight loss has been while at our vacation home where we eat out a lot more (aka less calorie control) and over the holidays.  Now that we are home and with the holiday season just a pleasant memory, I expect my weigh loss will increase but more importantly my fitness level will also increase.  Here is what I have been doing towards my goal of a healthier lifestyle:

• MyFitnessPal - This is an online site for weight loss, weight maintenance and general fitness.  You can set your weight loss goals, calculate the nutritional value of your own recipes, track your calorie intake and calories burned and so much more.  I like this site but there are other excellent ones as well.  All have forums if you wish to participate for moral support or simply read for ideas.
• pedometer - The recommendation for healthy living is 10,000 steps per day.  I use a Sportline ColorTrac pedometer ($15) that keeps track of my steps, distance and calories burned.  I also signed up to Runtastic, another fitness site and use Runtastic pedometer (free/$4.99) on my iPhone, a pedometer app available in the App Store.  It also tracks my steps, distance and calories burned then uploads each session to MyFitnessPal.  Runtastic also has other fitness apps available both in free and paid versions.  The purpose of using a pedometer is a physical reminder for me to get moving.  That's it and really that is all that is needed.  I average 7,500 steps per day simply doing things around our house!
• exercise - I use a Gazelle trainer at our exercise home and and elliptical trainer at home on a daily basis.  While many use exercise equipment for weight loss and toning, I am actually using it for pain management and improving circulation.  I also do calisthenics three or four times a week.  Planks in particular are extremely effective for building core strength and toning abs!
• diet -  We eat a fairly healthy diet by cooking at home and avoiding heavily processed foods, food additives, high fructose corn syrup, and high sodium content.  So, my diet has not changed much.  I am also a nutritional value label reader when making shopping choices.  That hasn't changed.  I have been more conscious on serving sizes.  I did give up cream and sugar in my morning coffee for a savings of 35 calories per cup.  I increased my water intake getting in 8 cups most days and working towards that amount daily on a consistent basis.  When eating out, I have been opting for fish or chicken.  We are eating more fish and seafood at home, regularly one meal per week but now two or three.  I'm making changes to some of our favourite recipes to make them healthier.  I continue to use butter, heavy cream, and natural sweeteners as I feel they present far less health concerns than their artificial substitutes.  I have not given up rice, pasta,  potatoes, red meat or any other food I enjoy.