Daily Nutritional Guide: What You Need To Know

One of the biggest obstacles in losing weight & keeping it off is knowing how much & of what to eat. With the help of the daily nutrition guide, it makes life a little bit easier. It doesn't take away the cravings for the foods that have the most calories but deliver nearly nothing in nutritional value, but with this information, you can at least decide if it is worth it in the long run (answer: usually no!).

Each individual will have different nutritional & caloric needs, such as pregnant & nursing moms. So this is meant only as a guide. You need to tweak it where most needed.

	Women age 25-50	Women over 50	Men over 24
Calories	2,000	2,000 or less	2,700
Protein	50g	50g or less	63g
Fat	65g or less	65g or less	88g or less
Saturated Fat	20g or less	20g or less	27g or less
Carbohydrates	304g	304g	410g
Fiber	25g-35g	25g-35g	25g-35g
Cholesterol	304g	304g	410g
Iron	18mg	8mg	8mg
Sodium	2,300mg or less	1,500 or less	2,300mg or less

I hope this chart gives you the basic knowledge to make informed nutritional choices. Contact me for more information.

So, Why Aren't You Losing Weight?

Weight not coming off nearly as fast as you would like, even though you are watching your calories & killing yourself during your workouts? There are surprising reasons why this may be!

1. ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS: People that use or overdo consuming foods with artificial sweeteners have a higher chance of gaining weight & developing metabolic syndrome, a condition that includes having excess belly fat, high cholesterol, high blood pressure & insulin resistance. One theory why is that your taste buds send signals to your body that calories are on the way, but when those calories don't arrive, you end up craving more food to compensate for the lack of calories in the artificially sweetened food. Instead of having artificial sweeteners, try drinking water instead of diet drinks & limit or eliminate products with artificial sweeteners.
2. EATING EVERYTHING ON OUR PLATE: Most of us were brought up being told to eat everything on our plate, that there are children starving in China & money doesn't grow on trees. So, we feel we are being wasteful if we don't clean our plate. Instead of eating larger amounts of food, try eating off of a "salad" plate or leaving a few bites on your plate. You can also try taking smaller portions & going back for seconds if you are still hungry.
3. THE MORE WEIGHT YOU LOSE, THE FEWER CALORIES YOU NEED: Something that people do when they start a weight loss program is figure about how many calories they can eat in a day. The thing is, the smaller you get, the fewer calories you need to maintain your smaller weight. It take 3500 calories to gain a pound of fat, so if you are eating 2000 calories a day but your BMR (basal metabolic rate) is only 1500, you will end up gaining weight. You can go HERE to sign up for a free program, then go to "Eat Smart">"Nutrition Tools">"Caloric Needs". Fill out the questionnaire to find out what your current BMR is.
   
4. EATING TOO MANY CARBS & NOT ENOUGH FAT: No, I'm not suggesting any sort of low carb diet. However, over the last couple decades, we have gone from one extreme to the other. We need both carbs AND fats, but they need to the right kind. White carbs, such as pastas, breads & rice spike your insulin, which leads to gaining weight. Instead, focus on complex carbs, like whole grains, fruits & vegetables, & monounsaturated fats, like olive oil, fish, nuts & avocados. Avoid as many saturated fats, like those in butter, meat & ice cream, as often as possible. And of course, trans fats are a complete no-no!
5. HAVING SYNDROME W: Syndrome W is basically elevated insulin levels that make it difficult to lose weight. Since blood glucose levels are typically normal, it is often missed in routine physicals. People with Syndrome W have typically been of normal weight all their lives, but as they age, begin to put on weight around the middle. If you suspect this is the case with you, ask your doctor to check your insulin levels. Check www.syndromew.com for more information.
6. EXERCISING FOR TREATS: So you workout hard, blast a few hundred calories, so decide you can reward yourself with a high calorie treat. Sound familiar? Chances are, we've all done this, at least once in awhile. Think of calories as money in the bank & you can't withdraw more than you put in, to maintain your current weight & you need to save them in order to lose weight.
7. DOING THE SAME WORKOUT, OVER & OVER AGAIN: If you continue to do the same workout over & over, you will end up burning fewer calories. This is because your body gets used to the workout & isn't "confused" anymore. Another thing is, if your workout isn't particularly challenging, you are also burning fewer calories. Once the workout begins to get easier, it's time to change it up so it is more difficult again. Check THIS out for different workouts to change up your routine.

These are a few ways to make changes so you can lose weight & feel great. If you need more ideas or help, feel free to ask.