You
are not a stupid person. Not by any means.
In fact, it's my
guess that you're healthier than most.
You probably
exercise regularly. You watch what you eat. You keep up-to-date on
the latest health concerns. You don't binge on sugar.
And
you never - ever - eat fast food. Well, almost never.
But
you do have a few unhealthy skeletons in your closet -ones that
you probably aren't even aware of.
The following 5 Stupid
Things are frequently committed by health conscious people. Once
you break these bad habits, you'll find that achieving your weight
loss goals just became a whole lot easier.
1. You're Dehydrated
- It has been said that 75 percent of the population is
chronically dehydrated. Would you disagree? When was the last
time that you actually drank 8 glasses of water in a day?
- Dehydration occurs when more fluid leaves your body than is
taken in. Symptoms include: fatigue, irritability, headaches,
nausea, rapid heart rate, and, in extreme cases, even death.
- Dehydration also slows your metabolism, which hinders weight
loss.
You shouldn't wait until the feeling of thirst or
dry mouth hits you, at that point damage has already been done.
Instead, constantly rehydrate throughout your day to avoid
dehydration.
The best way to do this is to incorporate
water into your daily schedule. Have a water bottle at your desk
and train yourself to sip on it often, and get into the habit of
drinking a full glass of water with each meal and snack.
2. You Eat Out Too
Often
- Research suggests that most people eat out one out of every
4 meals and snacks. That's an average of once a day.
- Restaurant food is designed to do one thing: to taste good.
In order to increase eating pleasure, each item is loaded with
fat, salt and sugar. This causes you to eat way more calories
than you actually need.
- Even when you order ‘healthy' items, you're still taking in
more calories and fat grams than you would if you had prepared
the item at home. Imagine the last salad you ordered out. Didn't
it come with cream dressing, croutons, cheese sprinkles and a
piece of butter laden bread on the side?
The main reason
people eat out is for convenience, so with a little organization
you'll find that preparing your own meals takes less time than you
thought it would. On the weekend sit down and plan out your meals
for the week. Then go to the grocery store and stock up on
everything you'll need for those meals.
Pack your lunch
and snacks each night before bed, then grab it on your way out the
door in the morning. When you prepare dinner at home, make enough
for at least the next day as well. Your efforts will pay off both
in terms of weight loss and in money saved.
3. You're Sleep Deprived
- In Gallup Poll surveys, 56% of the adult population reported
that drowsiness is a problem in the daytime. That's more than
half of us that clearly don't get enough sleep.
- Healthy adults require 7-8 hours of sleep each night. When
you fail to meet this need your body goes into sleep debt, which
continues to accumulate indefinitely until you catch up.
- A lack of sleep negatively affects your immune system, your
nervous system, and interferes with healthy hormone release and
cellular repairs.
The best way to combat sleep
deprivation is to set a scheduled bedtime. Your body will benefit
from a consistent sleeping and waking routine, and you're sure to
get all the rest you need.
If you have trouble falling
asleep once you're in bed, then try these two tips. First, make
sure that you don't drink any caffeinated beverages after
lunchtime. Second, don't eat for three hours before you go to bed.
This helps eliminate sleeplessness due to indigestion, and will
also turbo-charge your weight loss.
4. You're Stressed Out
- I don't have to tell you that we are living in a fast-paced
world and that most of us have stress levels that are through
the roof. But what you might not realize is that your stress
levels are making you fat.
- Stress creates an increase in the hormone cortisol, and
chronic stress creates a chronic increase in cortisol. This is a
problem because is slows your metabolism, leads to cravings and
is linked to greater levels of abdominal fat storage.
- The vicious cycle of stress and weight gain goes around and
around. Stress causes you to eat emotionally, and your raised
cortisol levels cause that food to be stored as fat.
One
of the most effective ways to instantly eliminate stress is to sit
down and write out a list of all the things that are bothering
you. This should include things that you need to get done, issues
that weigh on your mind and anything you believe contributes to
your stress level.
Once it's all down on paper, organize
it like a to-do list and start resolving each item. Doing so will
get the stress off of your mind and will put your body into the
motion of resolving each issue.
5. You're on Exercise
Autopilot
- You do the same thing each and every time you exercise. Same
machines, same pace, same duration. While your routine sure
feels comfortable, your results have long since halted.
- A plateau occurs when your body adapts to your routine and
weight loss stops. It is incredibly frustrating, and totally
avoidable.
- You don't have to increase the amount of time that you spend
exercising in order to see quicker, faster results. It's all
about challenging your body.
There are two simple ways
to instantly increase the effectiveness of your exercise routine.
First, increase your pace. Secondly, increase your intensity.
Constantly vary your speed and intensity in order to keep your
muscles guessing and adapting.
Another way to break
through the exercise plateau is to do something totally new. If
you regularly use weight machines then start using free weights.
If you normally jog on the treadmill then start using the bike.
Are you ready to break the plateau as you take your
routine to the next level?
Would you like to know without
a shadow of a doubt that you are going to lose weight in the
coming months?
It's my goal to see you achieve greatness.
I believe that you've got what it takes.
It's so simple.
Call or email today to get started on a program that will improve
your health and well being, and will get you amazing
results.
Open-faced
sandwiches are great for cutting out extra calories while trying
to lose weight. This recipe calls for sprouted grain bread, which
is flourless bread that is densely packed with nutrients. Store
your sprouted grain bread in the freezer, since it is made without
preservatives or chemicals to promote shelf life. Yield: 2
servings
