Weight Loss Just Not Happening?

Reasons why you're stuck: 

Stress - The impact stress can have on your weight has two avenues, it raises your cortisol levels, leading to an increase in appetite and may also lead to emotional eating, often giving us a reason to eat high-fat, carb-heavy comfort foods, like sweets, pizza and chips.

If stress keeps you awake and you are sleep deprived, several studies have shown strong links of weight gain, obesity and lack of sleep.  We, Americans seem to pride ourselves in how little sleep we get, a kind of badge we wear.  You need 8-9 hours of sleep, you are raising your eyebrows as you are reading this. 

According to Dr. Louis Ignarro, Nobel Laureate in Medicine & co-author of Health is Wealth (10 Power Nutrients That Increase Your Odds of Living to 100) "Unrelieved emotional & psychological stress may inflict greater damage than any other condition."  Stress produces chronic levels of powerful homones that harm the cardiovascular, nervous and immune systems and popular misconceptions do Not think of stress as illness, Stress Imbalance Syndrome, which according to Dr. Ignarro and his co-author, Dr. Andrew Myers, is a combination of

• Chronic Stress
• Insomnia (Sleep Hormone Dysfunction)
• Depression (Neurochemical Dysfunction)

Based on a solid and growing body of scientific research we know that physiological effects of unrelenting stress causes imbalnces and deficiencies of hormones & neurochemicals that regulate the sleep cycle.  The doctors agree that "when we are deprived of restorative sleep, it becomes easier to slip into clinical depression or into a self-reinforcing cycle of insomnia & depression that can sap & destroy quality of life"  Fortunately, their book tells us we can alleviate the nightmarish process and restore functions with nutrition and lifestyle changes.

Samantha Clayton, mom of triplets + 1 = 4 kids & looks like this!

Several studies have proven:

One of the best ways to counteract stress and keep losing weight is exercise.  Take a short walk on your lunch break, Zumba, Samantha Clayton has Youtube exercises or yoga is very calming.  

Mindless eating, is television your dinner companion?  It's easy to get off-track, not thinking & have a second portion.  Portion control is important, 2 cups of salad, 1 cup cooked vegetables and meat (chicken, fish, super lean beef) a protein portion should be about the size of the palm of your hand, approximately 4 oz.  it is easy to lose track of what you are really eating, if you are Not tracking it.  

Need an easy way to help you? iChange.com is a Free site, it helps you track your water, sleep, protein, exercise and calories. It even tells you how many calories you burn and subtracts them from for you.  You can join our nutrition group.  I would love to be your coach and help you. #Koachkay

Log It And Lose It

Herbalife
June 01st, 10:34 AM

By: Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD

Think keeping a food diary is a waste of time?  You might want to think again.  Study after study consistently tells us that self-monitoring - that is, keeping track of what you eat, how much exercise you get, and how much you weigh - is one of the key components to successful weight loss.  In a recent review of 22 studies1. on the subject, the authors concluded that, across the board, there was "a significant association between self-monitoring and weight loss."

What the studies tell us is that when you're accountable to someone - not just to yourself, but also to a healthcare provider, a life partner or a friend - you greatly improve your chances of losing weight and keeping it off.  And, the more often you keep track, the more successful you're likely to be. 2. In one study involving nearly 1700 people, those who kept food diaries six days a week lost double the weight of those who kept records only once a week or less. 

Why does this work?  Because it's one of the best tools around for helping you to monitor - and change - your behavior.  You can't change your behavior until you analyze - and acknowledge what you're currently doing.  Once you've got a clear picture of how much you're eating and  how much (or how little) you're exercising, you're in a much better position to figure out what you need to work on. 

And there's more to it than simply writing it down.  What's even better is to record not only what and how much you're eating - it's also good to note why.  Were you hungry?  Or was your eating triggered by fatigue, boredom, anger or stress?  This honest self-appraisal will help you see where you're eating appropriately - and where a little behavior modification is called for. 

There are all sorts of ways to keep track - anything from low tech paper diaries to high tech apps for your phone - but no matter how you keep tabs on yourself, there are a few things that will help ensure your success:

• Be honest. Just keeping track of your 'good' days isn't going to help you. You need to come face-to-face with your behavior - the good, the bad and the ugly - before you can make positive changes. Write it all down, and give yourself a pat on the back when you're good. But don't beat yourself up when you're not. Tomorrow is another day.
• Log your eating as you go, or even beforehand. Some people like to write down what they plan to eat and how much exercise they plan to do each day, and use the diary like a checklist. If you can't do that, at least keep track as you go. For one thing, if you pull out your diary each time you eat - or get the urge to eat - that little delay might make you think twice before you indulge. And, if you wait until the end of the day, you're unlikely to remember everything you ate - and by then it's too late to change it!
• Hone your skills when it comes to calorie counting and estimating portion size. Your food diary is a great tool, as long as the information you're logging is accurate. So practice, practice, practice! Weighing and measuring your foods at home will help you better estimate what you're eating in restaurants, too.
• Don't forget the details. The cream in your coffee, the butter on your toast, the dressing on your salad and the mayo on your sandwich - all those calories add up. 
• Analyze your food carefully, to make sure you don't forget any of those 'extras'.

1Burke et al.  J Amer Dietetic Assn.  111:92, 2011.

2Hollis et al.  Am J Prev Med. 35:118, 2008

I modified parts of this post to accent some of the most important things to do.  If you would like to use iChange to Track your self, it is FREE and comes with a Coach, me, #Koachkay;) Just click on the link above & it will take you directly to our group.

Do You Really Want to Change??

Action for today:
Do you really want to change, improve, grow, & get to the next level?
If so, let me give you 5 steps to consider:

1. Get mad.
I’m serious, you have to really get mad. You have to significantly increase the pain of NOT changing.
Staying the same, maintaining status quo, going on as is has to be WAY more painful than the process of change is.

The biggest reason you haven’t changed is staying the same is easier and less painful than changing is.
Your brain will alway seek the path of greatest ease and least resistance. It is your job to take control of your brain and apply some serious pain to NOT changing.

What is that going to take?
You figure that out.

Write out the bleak scenario of your life 10-15 years from now if you don’t change.
Take a picture of your naked self and tape it to the mirror.
Take a snapshot of your financial statement and tape it to the mirror.
Tape up your sales results, or lack thereof, and your standings of being #48 out of 50 sales people.
Embarrass yourself.
Punish yourself a bit.
Induce pain on yourself.
Now I am not talking about any mortification of the flesh or self-flagellation for penance, but maybe some emotional whipping is in order.

“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.”
-James Allen

2. Create massive disruption.
You have to interrupt every previous pattern that induced or triggered your weakness.
I suggest doing a massive sweep of your environment.
If changing your diet is your desire, clear out every shred of junk food from every environment you linger.
Make every person you dine with swear to an oath that they will not allow you to eat crap food.
Make it nearly impossible to fall off course.

If you are trying to rid yourself of distraction, take everything out of your office.
Clear it clean.
Then only put back what is essential and non-distracting.
Even stacks of old projects, file drawers of needless material will weight on your subconscious mind - eradicate it all.

3. Create public humiliation (if you fail).
Declare your new behavior publicly.
Write a letter to your granddaughter apologizing for the lack of character you have shown and your plan and promise to change putting your integrity on the line.
Don’t be the only one to hold yourself accountable.
Recruit as many people as possible to hold you to account.
You’ve already failed yourself many times.
You’ve lied and let yourself off the hook repeatedly.
That isn’t working. It’s time to call in reinforcements - to enforce yourself.

4. Track visually.
Put your progress up on the whiteboard at the office.
Tape up a big desk calendar on your wall with the red X marks of progress.
Find a way to track every daily step and make it physically visible - for you and those around you to see.

5. Plan for failure.
After all, you ARE human. Humans are weak, by nature.
So you are going to fall. But don’t let a fall be failure.
Just get back up and keep going from where you are.
Success is not perfection. Success is progress.
Just be better today than you were yesterday.
And if for some reason you aren’t, be better tomorrow than you are today.

Let's create some massive change in this upcoming month of May and throughout the rest of 2016!

Your Daily Mentor,
-Darren Hardy 

Night Time Eating

Trying to lose weight or maintain, it is best to eat before 6 PM.  In fact, findings show that people who regularly eat later, like night-shift workers and those with night eating syndrome (when a person eats more than 25% of their food after dinner), tend to have higher waist circumference and BMI, compared with people who eat on a more conventional schedule.

And even healthy women who eat their meals later metabolize carbohydrates at a slower rate, have a lower glucose tolerance, and burn fewer calories while at rest, compared with those who eat earlier, according to a recent study published in the International Journal of Obesity.

Dr. David Katzin used to say "The food you eat in the dark doesn't count, right?"  When we go to the movies and have popcorn, a small popcorn, without butter, from AMC weighs in at 225 calories and 11 grams of fat. Crank it up to a medium and you're up to about 430 calories and 20 grams of fat. A large AMC popcorn, without butter, contains 1,030 calories and 41 grams of fat, most theaters pop their corn in coconut oil and you add more butter..... Hate yo tell you but it does count a lot.

I take a HLF Deluxe Protein Bar for a movie snack of 12 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar, 6 grams fat and only 170 calories.

Entrepreneurial Help

Would I Be Fired Today?

How often do you get up, have your tea or coffee and browse through your emails, the newspaper or Facebook?

Procrastination seems to be innate behavior in most people, me, included.  

Two things that may help;

1. Jim Rohn always said to make your to do list every night before bedtime.  

2. use Google Calendar to schedule bits of time for what needs to be done each day and sync it with your phone, it will keep you on time for appointments and you'll be amazed at productive you'll become.

ARE BANANA CHIPS A HEALTHY SNACK? | HERBALIFE HEALTHY EATING ADVICE

Bananas are a nutritious fruit because they are rich in fiber and potassium but keep in mind once they are deep fat fried you may not get the same nutrients. Registered dietitian, Susan Bowerman, gives you the nutrition breakdown on banana chips.

Many manufacturers deep fat fry banana slices to achieve the crunchy texture of banana chips. A serving of banana chips (about 1 cup) is the same number of slices you’d get if you cut up a large banana. Let’s compare the nutrition facts of both.

One cup of banana chips has:
• 420 calories
• 28 grams of fat
• 22 grams of sugar

A regular large banana has:
• 120 calories
• 1/2 a gram of natural fat
• 17 grams of natural sugar

Snacking on banana chips can help you get vitamins and minerals in your diet but, keep in mind the fat, sugar, and calories that may be lurking in this favorite snack.

Learn more about healthy snacking!

Contact Your Independent Herbalife Distributor TODAY!
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Making Healthy Eating Changes for Good by Susan Bowerman

Making Healthy Eating Changes for Good
By susanb, December 29, 2011

A couple of weeks ago, I posted my top 10 resolutions for a healthier 2012 (read post). Maybe you’re already doing many of the things on the list – in which case your list of resolutions will look a little different from mine. But as you’re thinking about your own health and fitness goals for the upcoming year, I’d like to add a few words of encouragement – with some thoughts on how you can make promises to yourself that you can actually keep.

If you look over my list, you’ll see that it’s really a list of 10 healthy behaviors. I wrote the list this way for a couple of reasons. First, I think too many people make resolutions that focus on the end result (“I’m going to lose 25 pounds this year”) rather than on the behavior changes (“I’m going to eat more fruits and vegetables”) that will help them get to where they want to go. Secondly, the behavior changes I’m suggesting are reasonable – they’re things that most people can do – and they’re changes that, taken together, can lead to a healthier you.

What that means is that while you focus on your goals – whether it’s to generally shape up, get healthier or get more fit - think of your resolutions as the behaviors that you think you can reasonably tackle, and will ultimately lead you where you want to go. In other words, keep your focus on the trip, rather than the destination.

Too often, for example, I see people who are focused solely on getting their weight down. When they’re thinking only about how quickly they can lose the weight and get to their ‘destination’, they might employ strategies they can’t reasonably employ day in and day out – they’re not focused on the trip.

If this sounds familiar to you, I encourage you to measure your progress not by what the scale says, but by the positive and consistent behavior changes you’re making. Because when you begin to weave those behaviors into the fabric of your everyday healthy lifestyle, your weight will take care of itself. Keep your focus on how good you feel every day as a result of the positive changes you’re making – and consider the changes you see in your body and on the scale as an added bonus.

Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife.

Seven Tips for Changing Bad Eating Habits

Seven Tips for Changing Bad Eating Habits

By susanb, December 1, 2011

Some of the most challenging clients I have are the ones who have a lot of weight to lose, who need a complete diet and lifestyle overhaul…and who take me to task on every suggestion I make. Pack a lunch instead of going to the drive through once a week? “Can’t – no time in the morning”. Get up a half hour earlier to take a walk? “Nope – too tired”. Get rid of the ice cream in the freezer? “No can do – I keep it there for the kids”. Mind you, I’m not asking them to make all these changes all at once, but some people really resist even the smallest change. Sometimes they’re afraid to fail, or they feel the sacrifice is too much. Sometimes, the rewards aren’t readily apparent. So when someone has a lot of bad habits that need to be broken, the best thing I can do is to try to help them prioritize – and work on the easiest things first.

There are those people who can tackle a lot of changes at once and be successful – but they’re the exception. Most people need to take things in a stepwise fashion – and sometimes those steps are very, very tiny ones. I worked with one stubborn patient for weeks, who would agree to nothing – until I suggested he simply switch from whole milk to low fat for a week. While not enough of a change to make much of a dent in his weight loss, he did manage to do it – and he kept on doing it – which turned his thinking around from “there’s no way” to “maybe I can”.

Whether you have a number of bad habits to change or only one or two, there are some basic principles when it comes to navigating your way through the behavior change process. So here are some tips for smoother sailing:

• Set your behavior goals and make them reasonable. And be specific. “I want to get physically fit” or “I will eat better” is too vague. Instead, set a goal of “I will walk 30 minutes a day” or “I will pack my own lunch twice a week”.
• Start with the easiest changes first. Once you tackle those and feel successful, you’ll feel empowered to take on more challenges. As each small change becomes permanent, they’ll start to add up – which can add up to big health benefits, too.
• Don’t think ‘forever’. Try just getting through a weekend without overdoing it, or take things a day at a time – or even a meal at a time if you have to.
• Keep track, so you know how well you’re doing. If you’ve been trying to boost activity, keep a log of your minutes or miles. If you’re trying to cut back on sweets, set a limit for the week and keep track. And for each small success, give yourself a pat on the back.
• Try to anticipate what might derail you and plan accordingly. If parties are your undoing, plan to have a snack before you go, and decide ahead of time how many drinks you’ll have. If you know you’ll hit the snooze button instead of exercising in the morning, put the alarm clock across the room – right next to your workout clothes.
• Practice the art of distraction. When you get the urge to eat something you shouldn’t, tell yourself that you’ll wait 15 minutes before you give in. Chances are, you’ll get busy doing something else and forget about it.
• Notice what triggers your bad habits and break the chain. If the vending machine at work tempts you every time you walk by, find another route so you’ll avoid it, or don’t carry any money with you. To stop nighttime noshing, head into the bathroom to brush your teeth, instead of into the kitchen to raid the refrigerator.

Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife.