Bloating and Weight Gain

Don’t make excuses; make improvements. – Tyra Banks

Bloating and weight gain are very common in midlife, but they do not have to be. There are solutions to help you.

It can be challenging to beat the bloat and lose weight during this time of our lives. What we did in our 20s and 30s is not going to work in our 40s, 50s, and beyond. Our bodies are changing, so we need to change our approach to weight loss.

Here are a few good tips:

Remove flour and processed sugar from your diet. Drink at least 8 cups of water per day Move your body for a minimum of 30 minutes per day Add in weight training, if possible Improve sleep habits by practicing a bedtime routine each night Practice deep breathing exercises each day. Deep breathing exercises have been shown to help with bloating, gas, overall digestion and… (continue reading)

Diet or Lifestyle Change?

If you’re tired of starting over, stop giving up. – Unknown

Below are things you may have experienced while on a ‘traditional’ diet:

Weight is typically lost quickly in a set period of time Foods are categorized as “good” or “bad” Entire food groups are left out (i.e., dairy, carbs, etc.) Calorie consumption is greatly restricted Progress is dependent on a number on the scale “Calories in; Calories out” Once the diet ends, the weight comes back on…and then some

Here are some things you will experience with a lifestyle change:

Eating healthy, nutritious and whole foods, knowing they will nourish and sustain you Slower, more permanent weight loss because it’s done at a healthy pace Second nature (actions of restriction vs. feelings of restriction) Less likely to experience extreme hunger, food deprivation, and mental stress Measuring your progress beyond what the scale says Something that you can stick with… (continue reading)

Freedom feels so good!

Freedom from the control food has over you. Freedom from medications you may be on due to excess weight you’re carrying around. Freedom from feeling tired all the time. Freedom from having to worry about what you’re going to eat. Freedom from feeling sick after eating too much.

Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Oh, how good it feels!

Emily’s testimony after 28 days

“I am grateful. I am grateful to have met you and to have the opportunity to learn from you. The combination of the actual diet + the coaching, the knowing you are there to ask questions, say the shit I don’t want to say to anyone else, has really made a difference.

I have found that food has been a comfort to me. It was a crutch. When I am worried, tired, stressed, or bored, food has been my companion, the soother. I also have found that I was lying to myself – especially in the last 4 years when I have gained the most weight. I said I ate healthy, but I never acknowledged the “bites” throughout the day that packed on the pounds. It’s shocking really.

With this diet, I get to eat nourishing, healthy foods – foods that I remember eating when I was the thinnest in… (continue reading)

What type of fat should I eat?

In a 12-week study, 40 women were randomly split into two groups. Each group was given approximately two tablespoons of either soybean oil or coconut oil and instructed to follow a reduced calorie eating plan and to walk 50 minutes a day.

At the end of the study the “coconut oil group” increased their good cholesterol, reduced their bad cholesterol, and significantly reduced their waist circumference (stomach fat).

The soybean oil’s group levels of cholesterol went up and they didn’t lose any stomach fat – even with a reduced calorie eating plan and walking 50 minutes a day.

Organic sources of fat like coconut oil and macadamia nut oil have saturated fat, but it does not matter because they are full of nutrition and are better for you than processed vegetable oils, like canola and soybean, that cause inflammation in your body.

Cravings

Take care of your body. It’s the only place you have to live. – Jim Rohn

Cravings will come and go every day, depending on how tired you are, what stressors you have in your life, etc. The good thing about cravings is that they are normal and will eventually pass. They will also decrease in strength and frequency over time.

Here are some coping strategies that may work for you.

Learning to resist cravings

The mental activities of cravings and urges disappear over time as long as you don’t actively pay attention to them. After some time, they will run their course and disappear, usually within 10-15 minutes. It’s ok to sit with the temporary discomfort. It won’t “kill” you and will pass pretty quickly. You then can feel good about your achievement!

Remember that it’s important not give up what you want most for what you want in… (continue reading)

Things that can affect your Weight Loss

Why do some women lose weight easier than others? There are so many things involved in weight loss. It is much more than just calories in and calories out. Some of the things that affect ability to lose weight are:

– stress levels
– sleep
– hormones (estrogen, progesterone, thyroid hormone, cortisol, insulin, etc.)
– food intolerances
– gut bacteria

We focus a lot on the “calories in”, which is easiest to control, but all these things make “calories out” harder to control.

You don’t have to settle for dull moods, foggy brains, flabby bellies, night sweats, insomnia, fatigue, low libido, weight gain and bone loss so “common” and “accepted” with getting older.

Learning how sugar and flour effect your mood and health is critical, especially as you age. Check out my facebook page for menopausal women .

Fried Rice Recipe

2 eggs OR 6 oz. tofu OR 1 egg AND 2 oz. chicken or 2 oz. steak
1 C. cooked rice
2 C. veggies (onions, cabbage, carrots, peas)
1 T. sesame oil
Tamari and white pepper to taste
Non-stick spray

Lightly scramble the eggs/tofu and set them aside. If using chicken, cook through, remove from pan and dice. Stir-fry the veggies with a non-stick oil spray and tamari. Add the protein and cooked rice to the veggies, top with a bit of Tamari and the sesame oil and stir.

From The Skinny Coach Solution Recipe book
You can get your own here

Maureen’s Testimony

“I’m still very happy living with this new way of eating. It is a welcomed lifestyle change that has allowed me to live with a normalcy in connection with food. I eat appropriate amounts of healthy, simple and delicious foods. I no longer binge or crave foods like a use to. I feel very satisfied and content and do not feel like I’m missing out on anything. Ironically, I have found that other people think I am. It is interesting to see people’s reactions and hear their comments when I politely say I don’t eat that anymore or that is no longer part of the way eat. I often see looks of sorrow or get reactions that I must feel deprived. This couldn’t be further from the truth, yet it is very difficult to convince people of that. I know that is not how I feel but that may be… (continue reading)

GMO

A diet containing roundup tolerant genetically modified corn (GMO) can cause tumors and organ damage and lead to death in laboratory rats, according to research published in the journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology. The rats’ diet reflected the kind of exposure to genetically modified food that humans, who eat genetically engineered food, should expect. In other words, it was the type of and amount of GMO that you eat when you eat GMO corn.

Try to do your body a favor and do not eat anything that is genetically modified – especially corn.

Lifestyle Change vs. Diet

It’s not about starting another diet; it’s about making a lifestyle change!” Lifestyle is the buzz word right now as people are becoming painfully aware that diets have a dark and dirty under belly. Unfortunately, while we may hear it every day it doesn’t change the fact that when you wake up tomorrow, and start eating 1200 calories a day and exercising like Peyton Manning you feel like you’re on a DIET.

Allow me to clarify what the difference between another diet and having a true and meaningful lifestyle change. Your body has been on one diet or another since you were born. Whether it was the ‘junk food diet’, the ‘I’m in college and eat Top Ramen diet’, or the ‘I’m pregnant, step away slowly diet’; either way it’s a diet. It’s a conscious decision to eat a certain way every day- that literally is all a diet is.

(continue reading)