valshealthblog.com

Hi,

There is a silly debate going on in the diet guru world right now.  It has to do with calories and weight gain. 

Some say that it doesn’t matter what you eat.  It only matters how much. 

So if you eat more calories than you expend or burn then you will gain weight.  If you eat less calories than you burn then you will lose weight. 

This is pretty straight forward and easy to understand.

But, there is another group that says it is more important what you eat then how much you eat. 

Now the smarter ones in this group do add the caveat that there are limits to how much you can eat.  In other words, overall calories are important.

This group believes that if you eat more carbs, then you will gain weight.  If you eat more protein then you will lose weight or not gain.

So what is the truth?

They are both right to a degree.

This has to do with how your body uses the food or energy it takes in. 

Some people will eat and eat and eat and still not gain weight.  For some of them it doesn’t matter if they eat fat, carbs or protein.  They have a higher metabolism and can process more food without gaining weight. 

Wouldn’t you like that problem?

Well you can have it.  Just not to the same degree.

Yes, overall calories do matter.  However, your body will adjust to the overall calories.  Most people notice this when they go on a diet.

As less food comes in, the metabolism slows. 

However, when you eat more, the metabolism speeds up.  To a degree.  You can’t just eat more and more food and expect your metabolism to keep pace. 

Your body has a system of checks and balances and if this gets to far out of whack, then – in this case – weight gain is a consequence.

But, what about the high protein diets that are the rage. 

Here, is the thing.  You can eat more protein than you can carbs (especially processed carbs) and not gain body weight. 

That is because your body takes a certain amount of energy to process foods.  It takes more to process protein than it does carbs.

And your body needs protein more than it needs processed carbs.  

Too many processed carbs plays havoc with your whole hormone system which can more easily lead to weight gain. 

But eating too much protein can lead to weight gain also. 

So the bottom line is, you can not get away from the formula that more calories in than burned leads to weight gain.

However, what you eat also affects the amount of weight gain or loss you have. 

So to lose weight start by eating less processed carbs and upping your protein intake.  Even if your calorie level doesn’t change, you should see a drop in weight. 

Calories and weight gain can be tricky and we’ll talk more about this in future issues.

Thanks,

Mike Val

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Hi,

Are there really any weight loss foods?  In other words, can you lose weight by eating certain foods vs. other foods.

Well, according to an article I read awhile back the answer is yes.  I am not so convinced. 

Basically this article said that if you ate more millet, asparagus, pomegranates, pine nuts and green tea your waistline would shrink.   

While I have no problem with these foods and drinks from a health standpoint, there are a couple of problems.

First is that no food by itself is a weight loss food.  Specific foods have nothing to do with weight loss or weight gain.  How much you eat will control what you weigh – to a point.  Which leads us to the other problem.

That eating a healthy diet and weight loss have nothing to do with each other. 

Now you might think I am a little crazy to say that.  After all eating a healthy diet should help you lose weight – right?

Sorry, but losing weight has to do with how much you eat and how your hormones react to the food. 

Of course eating healthy is better for you.  But, if you ate nothing but steak and broccoli you could gain weight and become fat. 

On the other hand, if you ate nothing but cookies and ice cream, you could lose weight. 

It has to do with how much you eat. 

So under the above circumstances, the cookies and ice cream would be weight loss foods and the steak and broccoli would be weight gain foods. 

However, even if the cookies and ice cream helped you lose weight, it still would not be healthy for you to eat all the time. 

If you ate nothing but cookies and ice cream you will more than likely die much sooner and have more health problems than if you ate steak and broccoli.  This has to do with how your body reacts and uses the food you ingest. 

But Mike, you might say, what about the insulin spike?  Won’t the ice cream and cookies diet cause you to gain weight because more sugar in your blood stream gets stored as fat?

Good point.  However, it isn’t as clear cut as that.  After all there are plenty of diabetics who are not fat.  One of my friends is strong, muscular and ripped.  Yet he has to take insulin shots every day. 

So diabetes is not 100% directly correlated with eating too much sugar. 

The other point is that everything we eat gets broken down into sugars anyhow.  The body only functions with blood sugars – mostly glucose. 

Even the steak and broccoli gets broken down into glucose.  So too much steak and broccoli can raise your blood sugar levels also and cause insulin to spike in its attempt to lower your blood sugar levels.

Now it will take a lot of steak and broccoli to do that, but the point is that you can’t just make blanket statement like certain foods are weight loss foods. 

Losing weight can be simple, but you have to have the correct information to do so.  You can get that by reading this blog and subscribing to my ezine. 

Sign up here: ezine

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Hi,

This is part three in the have you regained weight series.  Please check out the archives for parts 1 and 2.

Last post I left you hanging with a major problem with making those permanent changes.

You might remember, I proposed that instead of going on a temporary diet (all diets are temporary) you should look at how eating will affect your permanent lifestyle goals. 

If you decide that – for example – eating a little less calories and eating a healthier diet is something you want to do on a permanent basis that is great. 

But there is a problem.  That problem has to do with how your mind and body work together. 

So you have made your decision and now you are eager to get started.  This is only natural, but it is a problem.

Most people will do two things.  They will drastically reduce their calories and start (or greatly increase) exercising. 

However, doing these two things is setting you up for failure.  I would say that these two things are the number one reason people will regain the weight. 

Anytime you make drastic changes to your lifestyle patterns, your body, your mind and your spirit are going to resist. 

Your normal pattern is something you are used to.  It is something that is considered normal by your whole essence.  It is called homeostasis and it means basically “the same old, same old”.

You want to stay the same, even if you think you want to change.  Your body is set up to stay the same. 

Yet, you can change.  You just have to do it gradually.  Making drastic changes only causes your body to fight you.  It causes your mind to fight you.  And it sucks the spirit right out of you. 

Oh, it doesn’t happen on the first day, but it does happen.  And it happens in a relatively short time.  

Look at your original weight gain.  Did you gain 20 pounds in a few days?  Probably not.  You did it over several months, or even a few years.  A little bit at a time. 

That is how you lose the weight naturally – over a period of time.  Now it doesn’t take several months or even years to lose 20 pounds, but you are not going to do it – and keep it off – in just a few days or weeks. 

If you look at your weight loss goals as where you want to be permanently, then it becomes easier to plan for and actually do.  You don’t have to worry about what to do when the diet is over, because you are already doing it.

And it has become a part of your lifestyle.  Once you reach your desired weight loss this becomes your new you.  Your new homeostasis.  And just like before, your body will resist changing from your new weight. 

To really make sure of this, you will use the power of 36 to lock this in place. 

Find out how the power of 36 will keep you from regaining weight in the next post.

Thanks,

Mike Val

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