You’re not alone if you struggle with weight loss, we all do! It’s something we have to manage on an ongoing basis and it’s made all the more difficult by the environment that we live in.
In today’s podcast we’ll be sharing some long term weight loss tips:
- Why common weight loss strategies don’t work
- We’ll answer a couple of questions, including will a sugar free diet help me lose weight?
- What is the best sugar substitute for weight loss
- And 5 reasons why a natural weight loss program is the best
TRANSCRIPT
Hello and welcome back to the GFE podcast, it’s Jedha here and this is episode #63.
I was having a conversation with a couple of people the other day and they were talking about how they still hadn’t got ahead so far this year with their weight loss and health goals that they’d set at the beginning of 2014. We were talking about feeling stuck, feeling stressed, and like every other year, starting to feel entirely disappointed with the efforts that they’d put in.
Do you feel like that right now?
It’s heading toward the end of the year, we’ve only got a couple of months left to go, and as each month ticks around this is the kind of conversation that frequently comes up. Even moreso as time seems to get closer to the end of the year.
We start to see that what we think we want to do and achieve doesn’t necessarily get put into action, yet it feels so important to us and we just don’t know what to do about it. We get to this point of the year and start thinking, gosh maybe I really need to do something NOW instead of getting to January 2015 and being in exactly the same place again next year because I really don’t want to be here.
Does this sound familiar to you? Do you want to change it?
This is exactly the conversation I was having and I know so many people who want to change and yet we struggle so much to do it. I mean we all struggle, including myself, it’s in our nature. But we have to be able to burst through those barriers so we don’t just keep going around in circles.
I really feel it’s because we are so overwhelmed with all the steps that we think we need to take to get to our goals, and I’ve found that when we are overwhelmed it stops us from doing anything at all. Overwhelm makes us procrastinate and essentially leads to inaction. I also feel that we struggle to do things on our own, we need support, we need help to make changes, and we need like minded people around us who can make a positive contribution toward our own goals. Often this is a missing element because the people around us don’t truly support our goals.
I get emails from people every single day saying I need to lose weight I feel so uncomfortable and unhappy, I want to feel better and have more energy, I want to look in the mirror and like what I see, I weaken to temptations all too often I need some help, I have issues with my health that I think is caused by inflammation but I don’t know where to start, staying on track with my nutrition is hard and I always give into cravings, I need to lose 10lbs, 20 lbs, 50 lbs so I can feel better, enjoy my life, be happy, have more energy, I can’t sick to anything long enough to see results, I jump on every diet program because the next one looks easier and quicker, I could go and on, and these are truthfully and honestly the types of emails I get every day because when new people subscribe to my email newsletter I ask every single one of them what their biggest struggle is. If you’ve received my email and replied then maybe you recognise some of your own words in amongst the ones I’ve just shared.
So you’re not alone in these struggles, we ALL have them.
So today we’ll share:
- Why common weight loss strategies don’t work
- We’ll answer a couple of questions, including will a sugar free diet help me lose weight?
- What is the best sugar substitute for weight loss
- And 5 reasons why a natural weight loss program is the best
Before we dig into these things I just wanted to say that it’s not too late to make changes and work toward your goals this year. You don’t have to wait until Monday, the 1st of next month, or the 1st January to start. Just get started right NOW.
And let me tell you a bit about how the Good Food Eating Virtual Nutrition School can help. And after this podcast you can find out more info and join us inside at VirtualNutritionSchool.com
The doors are open and we’re running a class right now called ‘This is not a diet’.
‘This is not a diet’ – is about setting the right foundations for weight loss and healthy eating habits and of course ALL of our classes are based on a ‘real food’ anti-inflammatory diet plan so we can help you reach your goals and improve your health at the same time.
‘This is not a diet’ is a 7-week natural weight loss and nutritional foundation class that takes you step by step through a process that will help you take the actions needed to get to your goals. You’ll learn a new and simple way of eating that will effortlessly get you to your ideal weight without having to count calories, carbs or anything else that takes the joy out of eating. You’ll learn habit changing techniques that work, exactly where to focus your energy on to get results, and loads more things too.
Most importantly it’s all broken down into a step-by-step process with exactly what action steps to follow as you go. Classes have short audios or videos for you to engage with, followed by exactly what to do next. I honestly don’t think there is another place out there that does this. I think everyone just throws the information at you and expects you to work it out, in which case you never do and you fall back into your old habits very quickly. But we will give you the exact action steps to take the whole way through.
I’ll also be there to provide support and answer questions because we have a great community forum where you can check in every day if you want to. And you will also be able to meet other people on a similar journey too. I should also add that we have an amazing recipe database with delicious healthy recipes, we’ve got a nutrition and health library for you to access, and we’ve got plenty of other great features to come.
But… don’t think that taking an online class is going to create loads more work for you, it’s not designed to be that way because we want to help make things easier remember, not harder.
That doesn’t mean you won’t have to get involved because you will. I’ve talked about this a lot in previous podcasts because if you want to create change and transformation in your life it’s all about taking action – not massive action that causes you to stop in your tracks and get overwhelmed but having some simple action steps to take on a regular basis that can help you change your life and change your health every day.
That’s what THE GFE VNS is all about, it’s like having a best friend to rely on that can help you through the good and the bad times. A friend you can rely on to be there at the end and in those times of need. We’ll help to give you those action steps so that you can keep moving forward and of course it’s a safe and positive community environment of like-minded people that will provide support for you to lose weight, decrease inflammation and get healthier.
I’d like to invite YOU to be a part of it. As I said we’ve got the doors open now to ‘This is Not a diet’ – our 7 week natural weight loss and nutrition foundation class and I’m hoping that you will love to join us there and you can find out more of the details over at VirtualNutritionSchool.com
Now let’s get back to talking about weight loss and our goals.
First up we’re going to chat about why common weight loss strategies don’t work.
Most common weight loss programs are based on cutting calories, because the common knowledge has us all believing that the equation for weight loss is energy in and energy out, right?
So if we count calories or points and we stay within our lower intake we’ll lose weight. So lots of programs use shakes to do this. But there’s a few problems with this method of thinking and the one that stands out to me the most is that there is never a focus on the quality of food you are eating.
All the focus is on quantity. You can still have sugary shakes made with a list of 40 ingredients, you can eat ice cream, or weight watchers cherry pie, as long as you stay within your lower intake then you’ll be fine.
Counting calories or points may help you reduce calories initially so that you achieve weight loss results BUT eating quasi foods like this screws with your hormones, does not add any nutritional value to your body, and in the long term won’t help you sustain weight loss.
As soon as you stop counting calories or points or you stop focusing on eating less, you put all the weight back on. Has this happened to you?
I know a lot of people it’s happened to so the one simple step to overcoming this is to stop thinking about quantity and start to think about quality.
That’s it. Think about the quality of the foods you are eating.
How can you swap the lower quality foods you are eating for higher quality ones?
Keep those things in the back of your mind and you’ll be getting yourself on the right track.
This is a common question that comes up: Will I lose weight with a sugar free diet?
Sugar is one of our downfalls and one of our biggest addictions so I’m sure you’d love me to say no, you can eat all the sugar you like and you’ll be right. But sorry, I can’t say that because it wouldn’t be true.
The truth is YES, you will lose weight with a sugar free diet. And here’s why.
Sugar promotes fat storage. This occurs because eating sugar and too many carbohydrates influences key hormones in the body. The basics are that when we eat sugar our blood sugar rises and then our body releases insulin. Having a high blood sugar is not good for our health and so the job of insulin is to help bring the blood sugar back down to a normal range. Insulin will encourage the body to store fat because it is the energy storage hormone and the body just can’t cope with excess sugar.
On top of that, table sugar is part glucose, part fructose. Fructose gets metabolised entirely by the liver. Not only does that present the liver with more work, but fructose converts to fat at a much higher rate than glucose, promoting more fat storage.
With a sugar free diet, you are keeping your blood sugar in a normal range without those high blood sugar and insulin peaks. That means less fat storage and it also means more fat burning.
Cutting down or eliminating sugar is EXTREMELY beneficial on every level!
You WILL lose weight but not only that, you will regain energy, you will balance hormones, you will sleep better and much more. It is one of the best things you can do for your body. Perhaps not the easiest thing but well worth the effort.
So that brings us to the next question, what Is The Best Sugar Substitute For Weight Loss?
The best sugar substitute for weight loss is definitely stevia.
Stevia is a natural herb from South America and does not spike insulin. It is also zero calories and does not negatively impact hormones either. For you this means better weight loss results.
If you want to cut out sugar to lose weight effectively it’s best to cut out ALL forms of sugar. Sure, refined sugar and processed carbohydrates are the biggest contributors to most people’s sugar intake and these cause weight gain. But it’s not going to be much help to you if you start eating loads of sweet treats full of natural sugars like honey, maple syrup, molasses and even too much fruit can slow weight loss down.
I’ve seen people including ‘healthy’ treats every single day and wondering why they can’t lose weight?! We seem to think natural sugars are okay, and they are in moderation. But moderation does not mean every day or twice a day. Moderation means occasionally so we have to get things into perspective here.
That’s what makes stevia a great choice, so if you want to cut down on the sugar then stevia can help you do that.
Finally let’s share 5 Reasons Why An All Natural Weight Loss Plan is best
When it comes to losing weight my philosophy is always to adopt an all-natural weight loss plan. Essentially dieting doesn’t work but we do have to change our diet and that just means changing our daily eating habits.
The first reason this is so important is it develops a long-term approach
Any weight loss program that requires you to take meal supplements, skip meals, starve, take pills and so forth is always going to be destined for failure. You may lose weight initially but even statistics show that many people end up putting all the weight back on after ‘diet’ programs. When you take an all natural food approach, you will be developing the skills and ability to maintain your weight loss long term and to me, that’s the most important thing.
Sure your weight may fluctuate from time to time, everyone’s does. But it might be a 5kg/10 lb range of fluctuation, rather than a 20kg/40lb hike.
The second reason an all-natural weight loss approach is great is that it re-educates you for success
Re-educating yourself with food is what it’s all about. We have all lost our way and rely far too much on processed, packaged and fast foods. We’ve developed bad habits and choices over time and it is so important to get back to the basics of rediscovering what ‘real food’ is, how to cook it, how to do meal planning, what foods are best to eat for long term weight maintenance and so on. Once you learn these skills, they give you the most solid foundation for creating health, weight loss and overall wellness for the long term.
Third, it stops the dieting merry go round
If you continue to take a ‘dieting’ approach you may end up a few more years down the track still yo-yo dieting! Many people, especially women have spent years since their teenage years, stuck in this repetitive cycle and it’s really no good for you. Yo-yo dieting only ends up making things worse, especially for women because it disrupts our hormones on various different levels. You need to develop a lifestyle approach that consists of healthy natural foods that you will be able to enjoy for years to come so you can take a more sustained approach. And trust me your body will thank you for it.
Because when you use this approach, the forth great benefit is it heals your body from disease and prevents you from developing conditions in the first place.
When we gain weight we often have a variety of other health issues that are going on inside our bodies that we aren’t aware of. If we are doing a ‘diet’ that requires us to take caffeine pills, is that really going to be a solution to help heal your body?…NO!
By following an all-natural weight loss plan you will not only be losing weight but healing your body at the same time and that’s a great bonus!
The other benefit is that eating well increases your energy and vitality
As a long-term strategy and even for best results, I’m a BIG believer that natural will ALWAYS be best. It’s not just about weight loss but finding your energy and vitality again, reprograming life long negative habits, reclaiming your vibrant health, and feeling fresh in your mind. In my opinion, a natural approach that provides your body with all its nutritional requirements is the only kind of weight loss plan to choose!
The key is to focus on quality over quantity. Sure quantity does matter to a certain extent but it’s only a small part of the equation and first the focus should always be quality.
If you don’t know where to get started or you’d like some extra support to reach your weight loss and health goals, I invite you to join us inside the Good Food Eating Virtual Nutrition School.
You don’t have to do things on your own and we can help make things easier for you. Head on over to VirtualNutritionSchool.com
I hope to see you there.
Thanks for joining me today. Bye.
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