Tag: weight loss

Coast Lifestyle

How to Achieve Healthy Weight Loss that Lasts

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If you’re alarmed by the number on the bathroom scale, you probably want to find a way to lose weight fast. But healthy weight loss takes place over time, not over the weekend.

Small, manageable changes to your diet and exercise will yield lasting results—even if it feels too slow. It’s important to think about weight loss as a sustainable solution, not a quick fix. This kind of thinking isn’t your fault.

The idea that you can lose a lot of weight quickly and maintain it long-term is a classic weight-loss trap. Avoid it by sidestepping the well-trod path of rigid diets that leave you feeling hungry. These diet plans produce results that may not last long. You could quickly tire of the restrictions and find yourself rebounding into old habits. And it’s more likely you gain the weight back than see lasting changes.

That’s because quick weight loss isn’t the best way to settle at a healthy weight. In other words, it simply isn’t sustainable.

Incremental changes over a longer period of time aren’t flashy or cool, but they are the best path to a healthy weight. This includes lifestyle modifications and shifts in the way you think about food, rather than just how much you eat.

Eat up these facts about how this measured approach is the right one for healthy weight loss that will last.

Why Healthy Weight Loss is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Here’s a fun fact: It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose one pound (equal to about 0.5 kilograms) of fat. If that seems like a lot of calories, that’s because it is. The average recommended daily calorie intake for adults is 2,000 calories. So, one pound of fat represents almost as many calories as two full days of eating.

This is one reason why healthy weight loss is a gradual process. If you want to lose weight, you have to start by reducing the number of calories you consume. If you eat 500 fewer calories each day than you burn, you can expect to lose one pound over the course of a week.

You can achieve this calorie deficit with diet alone. Or you can mix in exercise to burn more calories in a day. Thirty minutes, five times a week is a great place to start. Focus on any type of exercise or activity that increases your heart rate and moves your body.

By incrementally altering your diet and exercise habits, you can safely lose one to two pounds a week. At the same time, you’re creating manageable lifestyle habits that can stick.

The Open Secret to Weight Loss: Calorie Deficit
No matter what new diets promise, the proven way to lose weight is by creating a calorie deficit. Calories are converted from food into cellular energy by your body during metabolism. They power muscle contractions, breath, brain activity, and so much more. But when you consume more calories that your body needs to operate, they are stored as fat (including visceral fat) for later use.Learn more about calories in this helpful overview.

Typical Changes in Your Weekly Weight-Loss Rate

Even a gentle, incremental start to losing weight can provide you with an encouraging beginning. That’s because it’s possible to lose more in the first few weeks of your weight loss journey.

Build on the momentum, but understand what’s going on biologically. This quick start is the result of your body ridding itself of extra water weight. But staying the course means your weekly weight-loss rate could eventually settle around a pound or two per week—the incremental, sustainable rate you want.

Be cautious of diets and exercise programs that promise faster results. And remember that it’s typical to experience a weight-loss plateau a few weeks after you start. This is your body’s natural response to a sudden drop in weight. Along with the fat loss you’re aiming for, it’s possible to lose a bit of muscle mass, too.

Since muscles are the calorie-burning machines of the body, decreasing their mass can hurt your rate of calories burned. You can minimize muscle loss by ramping up your exercise and keeping your protein intake high. That way you’ll bust through the plateau in no time.

One way to break through periods of changing weight-loss rate is to focus on why you’re doing it. People lose weight for many different reasons. But the fact is, living at a healthy weight benefits your overall well-being.

The heart is one of the first organs to see lasting benefits. Maintaining a healthy weight supports your cardiovascular function, circulation, and reduces the workload on your heart.

Sleep issues are often linked to being overweight. So, one added benefit of your healthy weight loss could be improved sleep. Healthy weight loss can also be good for your mood and help support healthy energy levels. You may find you have more strength and endurance than before, along with a boost in self-esteem that often comes with weight loss.

Designing a Sustainable Weight-Loss Diet: Quality of Calories vs. Quantity of Calories

Diet is one of two main ways to control your calorie balance sheet. So, what you eat obviously plays a key role in the success of your weight loss journey.

While the numbers vary individually and by gender, adults need between 1,600 and 3,000 calories each day to thrive. As you’ve read above, a moderate, consistent calorie deficit will be enough to trigger weight loss.

But you should think beyond simple calorie counts.

It’s important to know all foods are not created equal. Some are high or low calorie. Some foods are filling, while others are not. Look at what you’re eating to determine if the calories in your food are being put to good use.

High-calorie, low-quality foods eat up a large piece of your daily intake, but don’t fill you up. Take soda for example. A 12-ounce serving of the sugary drink represents about 150 calories. These empty calories are all liquid, without fiber or other nutrients, and leave you hungry. Eating 150 calories of filling, fibrous vegetables have a different outcome.

Cutting out empty calories will bring you closer to your weight loss goals. Aim to make high quality, whole foods—like vegetables and lean protein—the center of your diet. Poultry, lean beef, and fatty fish provide quality nutrition and ample energy without the extra calories, starches, or sugars typically found in processed foods. Green vegetables are naturally low-calorie and packed with fiber that leaves you feeling full long after you eat.

On a daily basis, that means limiting high-calorie, low-fiber foods—like sugary drinks, fruit juice, and candy. Replace the drinks with water and snack on an apple instead. Always remaining mindful of where your calories are coming from can help you take control of your diet and create lasting, healthy weight loss.

Up the Ante on ExerciseIt often takes healthy eating and exercise to create lasting weight loss. Experts recommend 150 minutes of exercise each week to achieve healthy weight loss. That can look like 30 minutes of exercise, five days a week, or three 50-minute workouts.One of the best tips for your meeting long-term weight loss goals is to find a physical activity that suits you. Exercise isn’t limited to grueling days at the gym. It can look like a walk or jog with a friend, a hike in the woods, playing a sport, or a group fitness class in your neighborhood.Don’t beat yourself up if your exercise routine is at a beginner level. Everyone starts somewhere. You will gain strength over time. Your endurance will improve. Soon you’ll find you can do more, have more fun, and feel better.

Celebrating Non-Scale Victories Helps with Long-Term Weight Loss

Over the course of your weight-loss journey, there will be hiccups that slow or halt your progress. You might indulge in too many sweet treats, catch a cold, or suffer an injury. When these obstacles pop up, don’t fret.

Trust the process. Continue to eat well. Also keep incorporating regular exercise to help break out of your slump. No matter whether your weight loss is flourishing or has plateaued, celebrate achievements other than the number on the scale.

Here are some examples of non-scale victories worthy of revelry:

  • Fitting into old clothes
  • Keeping up with your kids
  • Increasing endurance during exercise
  • Experiencing better sleep
  • Developing a new love for healthy food
  • Feeling more energized
  • Gaining self-confidence
  • Noticing an improved sense of overall health and wellbeing

These non-scale victories will make the excitement of reaching your goal weight even sweeter. You’ll feel better in your body and see all the fruits of your hard work.

Remember that a slow, steady pace is the key to long-term weight-loss success. When you focus on the whole-body benefits of weight loss, you’ll summon the willpower to keep going. If you need more motivation, think of your heart, mental health, sleep, and endurance improving each day. Reaching a healthy weight has added benefits that set you up for a happy and full life ahead.

Healthy Cove

WHEN IT COMES TO WEIGHT LOSS, DIET IS MOST IMPORTANT

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Exercise has a huge upside for overall health and can improve outcomes for cardiovascular and circulatory diseases, diabetes, neurological diseases, and depression, among many other conditions. Unfortunately, that tremendous upside doesn’t necessary apply to weight loss.

If weight loss is your goal, exercise is great. And you should exercise rregularly. But reducing food (calorie) intake is far more effective, especially in the short-term. Keep exercising if you are already (and congratulations!), but if you aren’t making the progress you want with weight loss, you may need to look closer at your diet.

On the other hand, regular exercise and physical activity is absolutely essential to long-term weight maintenance for most people. You may not be able to exercise your weight off, but maintaining a weight loss is extremely difficult without regular exercise. The habit of exercise will provide you huge benefits, and will likely extend your health span. Just don’t depend on it entirely for weight loss.

Leave the cravings behind and start with a 5 Day Smart Start. The 5 Day Smart Start allows your body to RESET with a gentle detox, giving it a chance to even out the highs and lows of sugar, caffeine and gluten.
Start today with the 5 Day Smart Start and receive a FREE Blender Bottle RESET Today!

 

See East Coast Life Solutions Specials page for more details on our 5 Day and 28 Day Programs.

Healthy Cove

THE WORST FOODS FOR YOUR WAISTLINE

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worst foods for your waistline

Newsflash! Potato chips still aren’t good for you. That’s probably pretty obvious. And you already know a healthy diet and activity are important for maintaining your weight. But one large, long-term study got very specific about the worst foods for your waistline.

Researchers spent 20 years studying over 120,00 healthy people. Evaluations every four years helped the study pinpoint foods and behaviors that have the biggest impact on weight gain over time.

A More Complex Remedy

You probably already have some guesses. But before we start naming names, there were some interesting overall conclusions. They may reinforce what you know and add information to shape your healthy lifestyle.

Let’s start with the one you might guess. Highly refined or processed foods, liquid carbohydrates, and alcohol consumption were found to contribute to weight gain. But fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains showed the opposite effect—limiting weight gain.

That’s kind of a no-brainer, but the next one is less obvious. Mostly because it’s common to hear “eating less and exercise is all you need.” It’s an easy way to describe the change to a healthy lifestyle. But the study adds some nuance.

Their analysis suggests “dietary quality (the types of foods and beverages consumed) influences dietary quantity (total calories).” So it shifts the conversation from “less is more” to “the right amounts of the right foods.” Overall, it means choosing better, healthier options help keep your overall energy balance in check.

Weight Gain Can Sneak Up on You

Weight management is inextricably tied to the laws of thermodynamics. It all comes back to the conservation of energy—total energy in a system remains constant. Basically, you can’t make energy disappear. If you eat calories and don’t use them, they’re stored.

That reality makes weight gain easy over time. While a cheat meal won’t pack on five pounds of fat, constant calorie overruns impact your weight and health. And it doesn’t take much.

The study found that consistently having an extra 50–100 kcal per day is enough to add weight. Those small increases stack up over time. That’s how the average study participant gained 3.35 pounds during each four-year interval.

Findings like this underline the importance of daily dietary diligence. And shows the wisdom of taking the long-term approach of lifestyle change over quick-fix, fad diets.

Top 6 Worst Foods for Your Waistline

Now the part you’ve been waiting for—time to see how close your guesses were. Here are the worst offenders:

  • Potato chips: The absolute worst—of the foods in the study, at least. Increased servings of these snacks contributed a four-year average gain of 1.69 pounds.
  • Potatoes: You can’t have potato chips without potatoes. It’s probably no surprise that increased servings of the starchy root tacked on a four-year average of 1.28 pounds.
  • Sugar-sweetened beverages: Exactly one pound was added for study participants who increased sugary-drink intake.
  • Unprocessed red meats: The study found an 0.95-pound average gain for those who increased red-meat servings over four years.
  • Processed meats: You hear about how bad these are for your health. And the study found processed meats accounted for 0.93 extra pounds on average.
  • Alcohol: An additional drink each day meant participants added 0.41 pounds, on average, over four years. Again, that’s almost half a pound for each drink you add per day.

How did you do? Hopefully the clues above about starches, refined grains, and processed foods helped you out. Or maybe you were tipped off by other studies that have found similar results about these types of food.

The authors suggest the satiating inability of starches and refined grains may be to blame. Since they don’t make you feel as full, you eat more to fill yourself up. That could account for the constant extra calories that can really add up.

Foods to Stock Up On

The study didn’t just have bad news for carb cravers. It also identified some of the food types that showed positive effects on weight over each four-year period. Here’s what they found:

  • Yogurt: Kind of surprising that this was the study’s best of the best. The authors admit it could be confounding factors or maybe the bacterial benefits could be to blame. Other research over two decades has linked calcium-rich foods and weight. Whatever the cause, the results showed a four-year average of -0.82 pounds for participants that increased servings of yogurt.
  • Nuts: Nothing crazy about this one. Nuts are constantly mentioned as a part of a healthy diet. The study showed an average of -0.57 pounds for these protein-packed snacks.
  • Fruits: Those who ate more fruit ended up -0.49 pounds, on average over four years. The study didn’t find the same results for 100-percent fruit juice.
  • Whole grains: Unlike their processed cousins, whole grains showed a four-year average of -0.37 pounds.
  • Vegetables: This large variety of this category might explain why vegetables only accounted for an average of -0.22 pounds. But that’s still another reason to eat more vegetables.

The results probably reinforce your ideas about what a healthy diet looks like. The authors list some reasons why this group of foods showed benefits for keeping weight gain in check. And it goes beyond simple calories.

The study suggests satiety may to blame again. With higher fiber content and slower digestion speeds, these foods make you feel full. And if you’re eating more whole grains, nuts, fruits, and vegetables, you may not feel the need to fill up on other more processed, higher calorie foods.

Time to Start Healthy Habits

Diet is only a piece of a healthy lifestyle. And this study took a look at behaviors and habits that impacted weight gain over time, as well.

Health isn’t as simple as diet and exercise. But physical activity did have a huge, positive impact. Across all groups, physical activity accounted for a four-year average of -1.76 pounds. So, those who got moving fared well in the battle against weight gain.

A sedentary activity—watching television—had the predictably opposite effect. Study participants added 0.31 pounds per hour, per day. Some of this was tied to the snacking that happens during television session. Either way, it gives binge watching a new meaning.

For most of us, sleep is a pretty physically idle experience. But your sleep was tied to positive outcomes. Those whose nightly sleep averaged less than six hours or more than eight hours showed more weight gain.

The study’s advice might sound familiar—eat a fresh, healthy diet, sleep, and get off the couch. But it adds some complexity to the common “just eat less and lose weight” idea.

And whether your guesses about the foods were right, it’s a nice reminder. Checking your progress towards a healthy lifestyle can have an impact. The authors say repeated assessment over time is important. So use the information to make changes and build your health lifestyle.

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy Cove

Goodbye Diet, Hello USANA RESET

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USANA RESET: Goodbye Diet, Hello USANA Reset

Dr. Karen Wolfe wasn’t always a believer.

Now before you assume we’re talking about Roswell and alien-UFO shenanigans, let me clarify. Karen wasn’t always a believer in the USANA RESET KIT

“When RESET first came out, I didn’t like it,” she says candidly. “I thought for sure that it was a diet in a box, and I’m very anti-diet.” Living in a culture touting lemon cleanses, detox diets, and the next new Hollywood fad diet, the Australian physician, entrepreneur, and author was understandably skeptical.

But then she tried RESET for herself. And it made all the difference.

Why Karen Changed Her Mind

“I’ve come to see RESET as a great gift—one that helps you to jumpstart healthy eating habits that can change your whole lifestyle.”

Karen loves the fact that the 5 Day RESET   is a satisfying and nutritionally balanced program. It’s easy to follow, extremely structured, and very effective. Every day, simply replace three meals with a delicious Nutrimeal™ shake (Dutch Chocolate is her personal fave), take the USANA supplements provided, eat whole-food, low-glycemic snacks, and practice healthy lifestyle habits.

This whole-health approach helps you to get off the craving roller coaster and make a clean break from the effects of unhealthy, high-glycemic foods.

 

USANA RESET: Karen WolfeHit RESET on Life

“If people follow RESET for the five days, they will feel a difference,” Karen says.

For her, completing the RESET program helped to balance her blood sugar levels.† “I didn’t know I had sugar cravings until I did RESET,” she recalls. “It was a wake-up call, and I experienced cravings similar to those on detox programs the first day. But after three days my cravings were gone.”

By day five, Karen was craving healthy foods instead, and she promptly started cooking healthier meals at home. “Ultimately, the goal is to help people change their lifestyle. This isn’t a diet like I first thought it was—it’s the perfect jumpstart to launch you into healthy eating.”

USANA RESET

The Three M’s

Each RESET Kit has three elements, or “Ms” as Karen calls them: macronutrients, micronutrients, and microbiome support.

 Macronutrients

The Nutrimeal shakes provided in each kit make up the macronutrients. Not only are they creamy and ridiculously delicious, but these meal replacements also provide a good ratio of carbohydrates, protein, and beneficial fats to support a healthy weight. Their low-glycemic formulas are designed to digest more slowly to deliver sustained energy while you complete your RESET. You’ll also choose a variety of tasty, low-glycemic snacks to eat throughout the week to support your macronutrition needs.

Micronutrients

Along with the single-serve Nutrimeal packs, each kit includes a five-day supply of USANA’s HealthPak™, which provides micronutrients. “Some people may be nutrient depleted due to the everyday stresses of life and not eating healthy foods regularly. And if you’re nutrient depleted, it’s going to be hard to obtain the ideal levels of important nutrients you need to maintain overall health,” Karen says. This is why she believes supplementing with high-quality micronutrients is so crucial.

“Micronutrients provide health on a cellular level,” she explains. Each HealthPak contains a full daily dose of USANA supplements made with exclusive USANA InCelligence Technology®. “They use cell-signaling technology. This basically tells our own human cells to turn on certain metabolic pathways to maximize our nutrient support.”

Microbiome

Each RESET Kit also comes with a five-day supply of USANA® Probiotic, which provides a full range of benefits to our gut, or microbiome.

“There’s this other aspect to health that people often ignore, which is our microbiome,” says Karen. She compares our microbiome to a tropical rainforest made up of a diversity of plant types. Just as each kind of plant life plays a different role in the ecosystem, each microbe (bacteria) in our gut plays an important role.

“Our microbial cells outnumber our human cells 10 to 1, and many of us have an imbalance in our gut,” Karen says. She explains that whenever we eat certain processed foods, for example, it can disrupt the important microbe balance in our gut, which then can temporarily throw everything out of whack.

That’s where the probiotic comes into play. USANA’s Probiotic helps bring balance to your belly and digestive tract with a blend of good bacteria—Bifidobacterium BB-12® and Lactobacillus rhamnosus LGG®. Both of these strains have been clinically shown to survive the harsh acidic environment of the stomach.*

Healthy Snacks Are Actually a Thing

Nutritious low-glycemic snacks are a fourth element of the RESET Kit. Before beginning RESET, Karen highly recommends getting your snacks prepared. A few days before starting, look at the list of delicious low-glycemic snack options provided in the RESET program guide and choose your favorites. One or two days before, purchase and prepare all of your snacks and fruits and veggies so you have plenty on hand. “I recommend having a salad in the fridge at all times,” Karen says.

Here are some of Karen’s favorite low-glycemic snacks:

  • Yogurt: Buy low-fat or nonfat, no sugar added. “I love plain Greek yogurt. Yogurts with ‘live cultures’ are healthiest. If you are sensitive to dairy, try a soy yogurt.”
  • Nuts: An iUSANA RESET: Snacksdeal combination of unsaturated fat, protein, and carbs. “Nuts are portable and nutritious. Buy raw, unsalted nuts or peanuts in the shell. The average size is a ‘handful,’ which is about 200 calories, depending on the variety.”
  • Hard-boiled egg: “This makes for a perfectly balanced snack.”

Another snack tip? Clean your cupboards. “Go through your pantry and get rid of any crackers and chips. You need to get rid of any temptations,” she says.

Use the Buddy System

Another way to ensure success is to RESET with a buddy. “There may be people who will try to sabotage your efforts,” Karen warns. That sabotage could be your coworkers inviting you to a tasty taco bar for lunch, or it could be your neighbor dropping off a pan of fresh-baked banana bread. But resetting with a buddy makes you accountable and will give you the motivation to stick to your healthy eating goals. “I commissioned my husband to do it with me. Of course, he breezed through the whole thing while it was much harder for me,” Karen laughs.

Listen to Your Body

When it comes to working out during your RESET, Karen suggests walking. “My biggest recommendation is to get 10,000 steps a day,” she says. “There has been a lot of positive research on the benefits of walking, and moving is so good for your health.”

She also recommends listening closely to your body. For instance, if you regularly lift weights or swim laps and find that you are feeling tired, you may need to tone down your activity level, since everyone has different responses when doing RESET.

“Pull back if you need to, or try doing only 30 minutes of very moderate exercise. Whatever you do, be sure to get your steps in. It’s so important.”

Stress Less

Something you’ll want to be careful about during your RESET week is stress. “We can be stress eaters and easily reach for emotional foods like cupcakes and candy,” Karen warns. That’s why she “stresses” (har-har) that it’s important to care for your emotional and mental health while resetting. Really be aware of stress-management techniques that work for you and apply them throughout the week.

This could mean taking a little work break to read a good book, heading to the park for a leisurely walk, or even pampering yourself. “Have a warm bubble bath at night or get a massage,” she says. Karen also suggests getting plenty of sleep, since sleep deprivation can trigger hunger. “Set yourself up for success.”

Put Your Hands in the Air

Getting off the sugar-craving roller coaster doesn’t have to be a difficult feat—RESET makes it an easy stop. And you may find yourself happy that you’ve jumpstarted new healthy eating habits into your lifestyle.

Just ask Karen.

Biography

Dr. Karen Wolfe is an Australian physician, entrepreneur, healthy lifestyle coach, author and international speaker. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from Sydney University with a bachelor of medicine and bachelor of surgery and completed a master’s degree in psychology from National University in California.

Karen worked initially in Australia as a family physician and later spent eight years in the administration of national health care, wellness, and senior programs in her role as the medical director of the Australian Government Health Service.

Karen moved to the United States in 1991 and began her wellness career in corporate wellness. She assisted companies and school districts to reduce health-care costs by customizing wellness programs to improve the health and well-being of employees. She is a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and is a long-time faculty member of the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine. In 2016, she was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Wellness Institute.

She is the author of seven books which include Is Your Lifestyle Killing You? She is an international speaker on stress management, wellness, and nutrition.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

†As long as blood sugar levels are healthy to begin with.

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