What always works for me when I want to drop extra lbs is to cut out all sugar (cookies, dessert, ice cream, cake). I also eat more frequently (6 small meals per day). My last meal is steamed veggies, a piece of protein by itself (chicken or fish) or a protein drink. I increase activity and do something different everyday- pilates, weights, yoga, step, salsa dance, hip hop, belly dance. In relation to pheromones and weight lose I have noticed that when I wear Instant Shine and/or MX 235 my appetite really decreases. No other pheromone mix does that to me. This may be a personal thing and may not affect others.
Spot on with your routine. What I would like to point out is that you found for yourself that eliminating the sugar helps you lose weight. This doesn’t come overnight and i’m sure you found this out over time. Each person has to go through trial and error periods to find out what works for them.
I’d also like to point out that you don’t do the same exercise all the time. Switching up your activities and workouts will help prevent homeostasis. Your body has an amazing ability to adjust to your diet… excercise… it adapts to your current lifestyle. While this is an incredible feat - it’s counter productive for our weight loss or muscle gain aspirations. Always keep your body guessing so it never gets used to what your doing.
~Haz~
Hi Haz:
Yep you are right. Lots of time, trail and error to find out what worked for me. I found that my body got use to my routine in about a month or so and had to totally change it to get results. What I have noticed that the better shape I am in the harder and longer to make significant changes. It is only recently that I am beginning to see ab definition or a 6 pak. I just lost some extra weight and now can see the under lying muscle without the fat pad covering it.
Also the older I get the harder to keep muscle mass and keep my body looking fit and young. Honestly it such an effort to keep up that sometimes I wonder if I can keep this up indefinitely. In any case I will continue to try as long as I can. My health and my looks are important to me.
I’ve seen a number of the better diet programs suggest “following the diet and exercise” plan for about 6 months or so, then sorta “switching off” it, or at least changing it a bit. No doubt different time frames are more suitable for different people, eg 3 months on 3 months off or the like. i noticed most of my loss would be during a certain few months, then nothing no matter what I did. So I went to a “maintenence” food and excersise level for a few months, then back on. Dropped a bit more. But there does seem to be a point where nothing further works, at least with me. It took 10 years to put it on thanks in part to a faulty digestive system (since fixed by surgery - no not a band or anything - defective organs - turned out to be partially a birth defect). Took about 5 years to drop most of it. Now think I’m down to the “un-losable” excess tissue and the like. Much as I hate it my next option may have to be lipo and surgery to remove the “excess” skin.
I found for me giving up diet soft drinks melted the pounds off of me. I didnt change the way I ate, I have always been a grazer I sometimes eat 6 times a day just a bite here and there, I have never cared for big sit down meals. The last few years I have packed on a few pounds that I couldnt get back off and I figured it was just getting older. I also had a bad dt mountain dew habit. I gave that up 3 months ago and now when I have to have a soft drink I have a regular coke once a day. I knocked off 23 pounds without trying! I dont know what they put in those things but I’ll never drink them again. I do know its not the nutra sweet causing the gain because I do still drink other things with it in there.
From what I’m hearing the diet soft drinks, especially those with aspartaine, are the worst thing for you, and seem to pack on more pounds and screw up your system far worse than cane or beet sugars. HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) seems to be #2 on the “worst” list.
I’m starting to seriously consider sticking to imported Coke (from Mexico) as it’s made with “real” sugar. A few sips of “the real thing” are often enough to satisfy any craving, whereas it can take quite a bit of diet beverage to satisfy. Changing over to small resealable bottles helps a lot too. I found pouring into a glass makes you feel you have to drink the whole glass, even if you don’t want it, and open cans and large plastic bottles (eg 2-liter sizes) go flat so fast and screws up the flavor and fizz that I lose the satisfying “kick” I am looking for (hence you drink even more…).
I’ve also gone to the multiple small meals way of eating, and making the early meals the largest (fat and calorie wise especially), and the evening meals (before bed) the smallest. Each meal is about the same “volume” so you feel filled. Might have 400 calorie whole grain cereal in AM and only a 120 calorie soup in PM.
That is the best method. Eating your biggest meals and most carbs in the morning. In the morning your body is like a sponge it has not been filled for 8-10 hours and is waiting for the nutrients. The intake of nutrients does not result in excess calories and the body will bur it thru out the day. Also reducing your calories as the day goes on helps a great deal. i personally know people that stay below 10% body fat all year round and eat any choice of food in the morning.
As far as eating more often thru the day here is how it works. Your body is like a engine and it needs to be fed to keep the metabolism going and you burning those calories. The more often you feed it smaller portions the better it will burn. Many athletes eat six times a day or more to achieve this effect. Also if you eat three big meals you are more likely to over eat at each meal. And what will happen to the excess calories? It will be stored and if you over eat at meals it actually slows down your metabolism. The human body was made to save all the food it can get and hoard it. Nothing has changes since people were scavengers. The hypothalamus in the brain controls if the metabolism needs to speed up and it can get used to the pattern.
Another things i learned in the fitness industry and from successfull athletes is that drinking milk and loosing weight is very difficult. Milk is anabolic. It is for mass gaining. It contains everything for that circumstance and even gives your body lactose which keeps insulin levels spiked. With insulin high weight loss is very difficult. To loose weight you first have to burn cabs than fat comes later.
Also one last thing is eating late at night is not good for loosing weight at this time your body slowly shuts down and stores what is left over.