Triggers! - and our Weight loss efforts.

The journey to get rid of a few kilograms of fat... can be a difficult and challenging one.

I know alot of you are wishing you have unlimited funds and that you can just step into a clinic and have the doctor just 'suck' it out of you. well... dream on. Not that its not possible.. but any invasive procedure is risky.

So today I would like to share with you how to change your environment to help you in your weight loss efforts.

For you people out there thinking.. "what would this bimbo know bout losing weight? she never had a kilo more than she needed!"

Well, let me tell you something... I wasnt always 47kg. once.. I was 65Kg!! It was a shameful moment in my life when I gave in to the lust of food. I gained from 45kg to 65KG in only 3 months!
I blame it on the endless delicious and high caloric food of russia! haha. good times :)

This is me 60+ kg. several years back.

This was one year later, about 55 or so, this is the dress that motivated me to lose weight. It was still a little tight, but hey, i could wear it again.

This was 2 years after, still alittle round. 

2 years ago. about 52kg

And just this year 47kg. and staying there! hopefully.

Now that you know I have fought my demons, and I have struggled through weight problems, I hope you take me a pinch more seriously.

what i have discovered in the effort of living healthy, is that you need not only change your mindset, diet and work out. but you practically gotta change your whole environment. everything that surrounds you must remind you of your aim, your promise, and your new lifestyle.

Healthy living is nothing more than a change in your habits. put to thrash the old nasty ones that made you go bad, and highlight the ones that can bring about a positive change.

So for that, Today, I wanna tell you about Triggers!

what are these triggers?

they are the little objects in and around you that little demons use againts you, to lure you into your old dingy habits.

What you need to do is scan your home, workplace, car.. and whatever for these little traps.

for example,

1. a jar of sweets at the living room,
2. a packet of chips in your study room,
3. soft drinks in your fridge,
4. fast food stickers on your car,
5. tv shows about eating, food, 
6. fast food magnets on your fridge,
7. fast food call numbers in your phone...

all of those things and more can distract you from your healthy lifestyle change.

You need to encourage positive triggers in your environment.
Use triggers to your advantage!

you dont realise it but much of what you decide and do is influence by what you see and hear from your surroundings...

here are some suggestions.

1. put a bowl of fruits for snacks in place of cookies or candy jars
2. fill candy jars with roasted almonds or other healthy nuts. but beware, eat only a fistful per time
3. lots of water, easily accessible.
4. lots of fruits, vege, yogurt in your fridge
5. if you dislike or get bored of plain water, make an infused water with lemon, grapes or any fruits to impart flavor but little calories 
   
6. put your workout outfits in clear view everytime you open your closet.
7. keep your workout shoes easily visible to remind you to get going
8. keep you supplements close to where you should take them. like the dining table, so you remember to take them wif meals, next to your bed, so you take the ones for before sleep.
9. put up a poster or picture of something that inspires you. like a picture a of a buff body, or a picture of you before you got pregnant. put it on your fridge, so next time you wanna grab something sinful, you will b reminded of your goals.
   
10. make sure your home, room, car and surroundings smell nice. research shows that foul smell can deteriorate mood and health of a person
11. subscribe to channels and magazines that promote health.

and the list goes on....

you get the idea right?

In the effort to be healthy its not just a flip of the switch in your head. you gotta go and do the ground work. there has to be sacrifices and negotiations made.

My motivater was a simple dress. a dress which was made for me when i was 45kg. I said, i need to fit into that dress again, and only then I have been successful. 

I did it, I wore that dress again when i was 55kg. I wasn't one who worked out much. ration control and food choices where much of how i succeded. I wish i knew of shaklee weightloss products and stuff back then. surely it would have made my effforts much much easier.

So take the right steps towards being healthy today. Once you are used to the new habit, its effortless.

Pick the right supplements, make sure its safe, effective and green.

"Excercise not Key to tackling obesity" - BBC news uk

Well well well,

This is not something new. Like I've written so many times in my blog previously, to have a healthy body, you need to eat right!

News in BBC UK today says that exercise is not Key to tackling Obesity. This doesn't mean exercise is useless, what it means is, you can't eat all you want even if you exercise.

complete news in the link -CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEWS

This is a scary statement, and needs to be told with some emphasis on what it really means.

It says that in the war against obesity.... you need to eat right. The enemy is excess CARBOHYDRATES and SUGAR.

"An obese person does not need to do one iota of exercise to lose weight, they just need to eat less" Dr Aseem Malhotra, Cardiologist

They said while activity was a key part of staving off diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and dementia, its impact on obesity was minimal.

So you see, I haven't been singing a deaf tune all this while. I've always led you to the proper and right path to get a healthy body.

Eat right, control your calories. Diet is key to fighting obesity. 

So Join me today, pick the right supplements and diet plan for a safe and sure weightloss. Remember, its the eating thats the key. everything else is a help. If you dont fix your eating, you can run till your knees hurt and you wont shed a kilo.

Shaklee - Always safe, always works, always green

Just to add on... exercise is not bad.. not at all. its good and you should do it. but exercise alone will not help.

Why you are not losing weight despite starving!

Today I would like to share some basic knowledge on Insulin.

For those of you who suffer from diabetes that is beyond oral medication control, I am sure you are very familiar with the word and the need of insulin. For the rest of you, maybe you've seen it, maybe you've heard of it by chance or from formal education. There are of course some of you who might not know much if not anything about this very important substance.

I would like to share today on getting to know insulin, its main functions and how it can affect your diet and weight.

Ok, the boring basics. Insulin is an endocrine hormone secreted by the pancreas. It spikes in responds to high glucose (sugar) level in your blood. Glucagon is its opposite partner. when sugar lever drops... Glucagon spikes.

Insulin drives sugars into cells to be stored. and when insulin drops and glucagon spikes.. cells use up its glycogen reserves for energy.

But that is just the superficial part of it.

Actually Insulin plays and important role on the utilisation of our fuels for either storage or oxidation to produce energy. this includes glycogen, lipid and protein. Unsteady levels of insulin will cause derangements in the process of fuel utilization.

so lets break it down.

INSULIN AND CARBS

Carbohydrates will break down into glucose at the end of the day. Insulin in the key to allow sugar to pass through the cell door and get stored as glycogen. every cell needs insulin except for your brain,nerve cell and liver. But. Insulin stimulates the liver to bank in as much glycogen as it can.

This results in a drop in sugar in the blood. Hence, Insulin will decrease as well.
Decrease in insulin will trigger use of alternative energy. The liver will also start break down glycogen.

INSULIN AND FAT!

so you must be wondering. why then do i gain so much weight as fat.. even if I only eat food high in sugar and carbs?

Actually the liver can only saturate upto 5% of its mass with glycogen. Once saturated, guess what, it begins to churn glucose into fatty acids. This is then exported from the liver as lipoproteins. Lipoproteins (fat + proteins) will release free fatty acids in the body where it is needed. Mainly will be taken up by the Adipose(fat) cells. so there you go, there is the culprit after all.

What else does insulin do? It inhibits usage of alternative fuel. Alternative meaning anything other than glucose. Insulin signals glucose to be stored in Adipocyte (fat cells), converted to glycerol and with the fatty acid, insulin signals the fat cells to produce triglycerides. basically, producing more FAT!!!

So basically, Insulin in a fat sparing agent. Not only does it signal body to use our primary fuel source, sugar, but it signals accumulation of FAT. converting sugar.. into FAT!

bottom line, spikes of insulin is not what you want for your wightloss - fatloss ambition.

SO WHAT NOW?

well, it is obvious isnt it. keep your carbs and sugar intake low and steady and this will in turn produce a steady low level on insulin in your body.

This is why the Low carb, diet works. you can eat as much as you want provided it doesnt contain sugar or carbs in it. be aware of course, this diet can burden your kidneys in the long run.

If you must take carbs and sugar, take them on regular times each day, and take food with LOW GI. Glycemic index. These are foods that are digested slowly and hence release sugar not in a big pulse, but rather a constant slow ooze. avoiding the unnecessary insulin spike which will lead to the unwanted effects mentioned above.

Diet preparations, weight loss meal replacements or shakes are mainly rich in proteins and low in GI. This is for the sole purpose of getting your body to use its fat storage, the stuff you wanna lose. body isn't so clever when it comes to burning alternative fuel. It will tend to burn protein as well.

PRESERVE YOUR MUSCLE.

Why do shakes contain mainly protein? well, one, would be to make you feel full and curb the cravings. but more importantly it prevents muscle wasting. Muscles are the main fuel users. If you work out, you create a demand to burn more fuel and at the same time, build more muscle. Especially if you do strength training. cardio burns fat, pumping iron bulk up the engine.

HOW ABOUT MEALS?

if you are serious at losing those unwanted fats, then you have to be serious at keeping your food routine tight.

Eat same time each day. keep your diet LOW GI, and avoid as much carbs and sugar as you can. this include the healthy choices of delicious fruits. pick fruits with lots of fiber and low sugar. like apples, pears and watermelon. they make you feel full without the exccess of sugar and carbs.

drink plain water, throughout the day. to burn alternative fuel, your body needs more fluids.

CONGRATS AND GOOD LUCK!

If you made it this far and could digest more than half of the info than good for you. You now have the knowledge to change your body and health.

wether you use this knowledge to your advantage or not is beyond me. Your life, Your choice, Your happiness. succeed or fail its all you. no one else.

"do not stop when you are tired, stop when you are finished" I dunno who said that, i read it somewhere on fb. but it rings true you know.

TAKE HOME MESSAGE:

1. Have a strict meal routine. keep your insulin levels steady.
2. Eat food with low GI. spikes of insulin is your enemy
3. If you can't keep up with meal demands, get Meal replacements, diet shakes. they are easy and fast.
4. Exercise so that you dont waste muscle that help burn the fat. bulk up if you want to see faster results.
5. Avoid taking  sugar at all cost. they are your primary enemy!