{"id":485,"date":"2015-08-15T17:58:59","date_gmt":"2015-08-15T17:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/?p=485"},"modified":"2015-08-15T17:58:59","modified_gmt":"2015-08-15T17:58:59","slug":"recipe-for-weight-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/?p=485","title":{"rendered":"Recipe for Weight Loss"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Good morning friends, I have some good news\u2026and some bad. Shall we hit the bad news first?\u00a0 OK, here goes: <em>There is no, definitive one-size-fits-all diet, workout, or magic supplement.<\/em> That\u2019s not too tragic, though, is it? Now for\u00a0the good news: <em>there are general principles, habits, foods, workouts, and supplements that when performed\/eaten\/done consistently will yield weight loss, improved health and energy.\u00a0<\/em> In a nutshell, the list condensed below is where \u201cit\u201d is at. (\u201cIt\u201d being the recipe for weight loss and improved health success.)<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>MOVE your body<\/strong>. As much as you can, as often as you can, in the manner that suits you most. We talked about sitting being the new \u201csmoking\u201d hazard, so get moving&#8211; as often and frequently as possible.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t drink your calories.<\/strong> A fifth of what we consume (calorie wise) comes from beverages\u2026and most are loaded with sugar and empty calories. (And yes, I am also talking about alcoholic beverages.)\u00a0 Cut back! Unless of course, your &#8220;beverage&#8221; is whey protein shake\u2014which is great post workout or as a meal replacement, in a pinch.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Get more sleep.<\/strong> Sounds easy, right? The reality is we trick ourselves into thinking we don\u2019t need more sleep because we can survive on less. We don\u2019t THRIVE on less, however, and performance and mental tests tells us otherwise. Sleep aids recovery, balances hormones, helps with weight loss, improves mood and more.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Watch &#8220;portion distortion&#8221;.<\/strong> Counting calories may not be your thing, but phone apps sure make it easy. What we have learned is that most people <em>underestimate<\/em> caloric intake and <em>overestimate<\/em> energy expenditure. Plus, most restaurants provide inflated serving sizes. Split a meal with a friend or take half home. Don\u2019t be fooled by correlating empty,\u00a0excessive calories as \u201cvalue\u201d.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Cheat foods are ok<\/strong>. Alright, even saying \u201ccheat\u201d or labeling foods as \u201cgood\u201d or \u201cbad\u201d is not really a good thing to do. Consider colorful, real foods vs. processed, but instead of striving for perfection, strive for &#8220;good enough&#8221;. Or, try what I refer to as the \u201cCatholic school girl diet\u201d: eat like an angel 6 days a week and on the 7<span style=\"font-size: xx-small;\"><span style=\"font-size: 7.3pt;\"><sup>th<\/sup><\/span><\/span> day, make the devil blush! In other words, it\u2019s ok to indulge a little. Just don\u2019t let it derail you and keep it as an exception and not the rule. Remember, consistency is king.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Go heavy<\/strong>. Lifting weights, that is. Sorry ladies, you will NOT build huge muscles. And regardless of your age, everyone needs to lift heavy and combat muscle decline. Decreasing muscle mass equates to body fat increases AND a slower metabolism. Lift heavy and fire up your metabolically active tissue. NOW.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Variety is the spice of life.<\/strong> Mix up your workouts and you\u2019ll get more out of them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Find like-minded peeps.<\/strong> Community is important and like-minded people provide motivation, mentoring and help keep you accountable. I feel so fortunate for the fitness friends I&#8217;ve trained &amp; learned from over the years.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0599.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-487\" src=\"http:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0599-220x300.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_0599\" width=\"120\" height=\"164\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0599-220x300.jpg 220w, https:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0599-750x1024.jpg 750w, https:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0599.jpg 1772w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 120px) 100vw, 120px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Adkins really did have it right.<\/strong> I\u2019m not advocating a specific diet. Honestly, the best plan out there was laid out in the Old Testament. Real food, plain and simple. BUT, if you integrate a practice of carb swapping knocking out pastas and breads, it\u2019s one of the easier ways to help you lose weight as many folks are sensitive to carbs. My fianc\u00e9 and I are all over cauliflower options in lieu of pasta, potatoes, or bread. (Check out the recipe section of my blog for ideas.)<\/li>\n<li>And about that Adkins\u2026.<strong>eat more fat.<\/strong> Yes, she said that. As much as 35% of your daily calories can be a mix of nuts, avocados, or healthy oils. It\u2019s the TRANS fats you want to avoid like the plague.<\/li>\n<li><strong>You really can work out anywhere.<\/strong> Your body can provide great workouts. A jump rope is $10. Squat, climb stairs, step up, jump rope, do jumping jacks or push ups (from knees or feet), etc. A gym is not required.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Multi-function exercises work your body better<\/strong> and can aid fat loss. Consider a dumbbell squat to should press. Or, a deadlift to back row.<\/li>\n<li>Regarding food, <strong>adding solid protein at each meal or snack<\/strong> will help keep you full and keep your metabolism going.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hydrate.<\/strong> Dehydration can make you think you are hungry, impede performance, and affect your mood (plus a whole lot of other things). Water or tea help control your appetite and tea has so many wonderful benefits (see earlier blog). Drink water, drink tea, try some of the drinks I shared in my past blog, but HYDRATE, often.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>Last of all, <em>be kind to yourself<\/em>. YOU are amazing and wonderful. And far from perfect. This is a journey we make together. Laugh at your mistakes and keep trying. YOU are worth it.<\/div>\n<div>\u00a0Besides, &#8220;what have you got to GAIN&#8221;?<\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0598.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-486\" src=\"http:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0598-256x300.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_0598\" width=\"166\" height=\"194\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0598-256x300.jpg 256w, https:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0598-873x1024.jpg 873w, https:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0598.jpg 2025w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 166px) 100vw, 166px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0600.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-488\" src=\"http:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0600-217x300.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_0600\" width=\"179\" height=\"248\" srcset=\"https:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0600-217x300.jpg 217w, https:\/\/healthchicchatter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/IMG_0600-742x1024.jpg 742w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 179px) 100vw, 179px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>(My earliest health &amp; fitness mentor, Sharon Turrentine, used to ask this Q and it\u2019s a great one. I met her when I was 19 and she was 39 and training for a body building contest. She looked amazing then AND still looks amazing today. A true testament to a healthy living lifestyle. Many thanks, my friend! \u00a0You have influenced my life in such a positive way.)<\/em><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Until next time time, live fit, choose healthy, laugh often.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><em>Lisa<\/em><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Good morning friends, I have some good news\u2026and some bad. Shall we hit the bad news first?\u00a0 OK, here goes: There is no, definitive one-size-fits-all diet, workout, or magic supplement. That\u2019s not too tragic, though, is it? Now for\u00a0the good news: there are general principles, habits, foods, workouts, and supplements that when performed\/eaten\/done consistently will <span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span> <span class=\"more-link-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/?p=485\" class=\"more-link\"><span>Read More &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,55,15,65,14],"tags":[46,70,62,68,69,27,36],"class_list":["post-485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthy-eating","category-health-benefits","category-nutrition","category-diet","category-wellness-2","tag-healthy-eating-2","tag-healthy-lifestyle","tag-healthy-living","tag-healthyeating","tag-lifestyle","tag-nutrition-2","tag-weightloss"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=485"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":506,"href":"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485\/revisions\/506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/HealthChicChatter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}