Why Can't I Lose Weight? 26 Ways Your Diet Is Sabotaging Your Weight Loss (2 page)
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Authors: Susan J Campbell
BOOK: Why Can't I Lose Weight? 26 Ways Your Diet Is Sabotaging Your Weight Loss
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If you’ve made no diet changes and think that the exercise you’re doing will compensate, you’d be wrong. There’s little chance that you can out exercise a bad diet, even with the best fat loss workouts.
Even then, chances are extremely high that you're not doing your workouts the right way for fat loss, but that's something I will address in the companion to this guide.
Action step:
Commit to making at least 3 changes to your diet from the list of diet sabotages/action steps I discuss on the following pages.
Commit to making at least 3 changes to your diet from the list of diet sabotages/action steps I discuss on the following pages.
I told you before I wasn’t going to tell you to simply "drink more water" because more water, in and of itself, is not going to make you lose weight. Granted, water is important for a lot of valid reasons.
But the reason you’re still overweight isn't because you don't drink enough water, it could be because you drink too many sugary calories.
Check out the calories and carb/sugar counts on the following popular beverages:
- Starbucks tall java chip Frappachino - 320 cals, 67g carbs
- Starbucks tall hot chocolate with whipped cream - 290 cals, 40g carbs
- 1, 20 oz bottle of Cola - 250 cals, 69g carbs
- 1, 32 oz bottle of Gatorade - 200 cals, 56g carbs
- 1, 10 oz serving of OJ - 140 cals, 32.9g carbs
The calories are bad enough in these drinks but check out the ridiculous amounts of carbs (aka, sugar) in them. The carbs in these drinks alone are more than you should be eating in one single day if you want to lose weight. I generally recommend a daily carb count around 30 grams if you really want to lose weight, so one of these drinks per day alone will sabotage your weight loss.
If you start to swap out some of these drinks with water, you will save yourself from further weight gain and maybe even begin to lose again.
Action step:
Swap in water, green tea, or other 0 calorie, 0 sugar beverages, for any sugary drinks you regularly consume.
Swap in water, green tea, or other 0 calorie, 0 sugar beverages, for any sugary drinks you regularly consume.
High fructose corn syrup, you know, the stuff that the commercials (paid for by the corn farming industry) say is “fine for you” and is “just like sugar”, is making you fat and preventing you from losing weight.
The worst part is it’s being used by food manufactures in seemingly everything that needs to be sweetened. Bottom line - it’s a super-cheap sugar substitute made from corn that companies can use and keep manufacturing costs down (at the expense of your health and waistline).
Wait, no, the worst part is that HFCS causes you to have extreme sweet cravings that almost guarantees you will gain weight.
By the way, saying something is “just like sugar” isn’t exactly a complement either.
Action step:
Start reading food and beverage (soda) labels and looking for foods you consume containing high fructose corn syrup. Avoid those foods and beverages.
Start reading food and beverage (soda) labels and looking for foods you consume containing high fructose corn syrup. Avoid those foods and beverages.
All artificial sweeteners are chemicals - chemicals that are toxic in your body. And no, Splenda, or any other sweetener that claims to be, is NOT natural.
Did you know Splenda contains
chlorine
?
chlorine
?
That’s right, the stuff you add to your pools to kill bacteria. When you use Splenda, the chlorine actually kills off the good bacteria in your gut resulting in all kinds of wonderful issues. Most notably, it suppresses your immune system, which lives mostly in your gut.
Splenda can also cause acid reflux, skin problems, sugar cravings, and the inability to lose weight.
Still want to use it?
Action step:
Eliminate the use of all artificial sweeteners, including Splenda.
Eliminate the use of all artificial sweeteners, including Splenda.
Synthetic trans fats (aka partially hydrogenated oil) are in foods containing partially hydrogenated oils. Consumption of trans fats leads to chronic systemic inflammation, which is step #1 on the road to obesity and disease.
Trans fats are found in foods such as french fries, margarine, coffee creamer, cake, cookies, pies, french fries, fried food, and many pre-packaged foods.
Action step:
Eliminate the consumption of any foods containing trans fats and partially hydrogenated oils. Read labels to see where they lurk.
Eliminate the consumption of any foods containing trans fats and partially hydrogenated oils. Read labels to see where they lurk.
Vegetable oils are comprised primarily of omega 6 fatty acids, which, like trans fats, are highly inflammatory, again leading to obesity and disease.
Found in most processed and pre-packaged foods,
soybean
oil
and
corn oil
are probably the biggest offenders.
soybean
oil
and
corn oil
are probably the biggest offenders.
Action step:
Read labels and avoid any foods containing soybean, corn, canola, safflower and sunflower oils. Use olive, coconut, macadamia nut, avocado oils, or grass fed butter to cook with.
Read labels and avoid any foods containing soybean, corn, canola, safflower and sunflower oils. Use olive, coconut, macadamia nut, avocado oils, or grass fed butter to cook with.
Pasta, bread, muffins, bagels, etc, all drive up your blood glucose, insulin, and inflammation levels, all of which will prevent you from losing weight.
These types of carbs contain gluten, an anti-nutrient found in wheat products that is another culprit behind the inflammation and inability to lose weight.
Between the blood sugar increase and the gluten, these foods should be avoided at all times.
If you’d like to read more about the affects of carbs on your weight and how to use a low carb diet to your weight loss advantage, I wrote about it in a previous guide called,
Low Carb Diet Strategies You Don’t Know About
, and you can grab it from Amazon by clicking the link below:
Low Carb Diet Strategies You Don’t Know About
, and you can grab it from Amazon by clicking the link below:
Action step:
Eliminate refined carbs from your diet as much as possible.
Eliminate refined carbs from your diet as much as possible.
No good can come from the fat free and low fat fads.
Fat is absolutely a necessary component to proper health, as well as optimal weight.
Like any other nutrient, there are good fats (avocado, egg yolks from pastured chickens, grass fed butter and meat, macadamia nuts, olives and olive oil) and bad fats, two of which (trans fats and vegetable oils) we already discussed.
Fat is responsible for building cholesterol and hormones in your body, forming cell membranes, and if your metabolism is running properly, should be your body’s main source of energy.
Not to mention, foods that contain good fats taste amazing and fill you up quickly satisfying your cravings.
Action step:
Once you have drastically reduced the levels of refined carbs from your diet, start incorporating healthy fats daily.
Once you have drastically reduced the levels of refined carbs from your diet, start incorporating healthy fats daily.
When you jump on the “low carb”, “fat free”, or “gluten free” bandwagon you have a tendency to gravitate towards pre-packaged and prepared foods labelled as such.
Take, for example, a gluten free product. Yes, they took the gluten out, which is absolutely wonderful.
However, when they do that, the food product loses its characteristic texture and something has to be added back in to do a similar job.
In this case, substances such as potato or corn starches are added back in. These products are highly insulinogenic, meaning they will shoot your blood sugar through the roof.
That’s definitely not what you want when you’re trying to lose weight.
Same goes for low carb and fat free foods.
Action step:
Eliminate “low carb”, “gluten free” and “fat free” packaged foods from your diet.
Eliminate “low carb”, “gluten free” and “fat free” packaged foods from your diet.
Processed and pre-packaged food is full of chemicals, artificial ingredients, and preservatives that act as toxins in your body.
A few of them we have already discussed, such as trans fats, artificial sweeteners, and vegetable oils.
Others, such as monosodium glutamate, corn syrup, corn starch, artificial coloring, propylene glycol, and sugar alcohols are among various ingredients used in processed food that are harmful to your body as well detrimental to your waistline.
Action step:
Consume only food containing one single ingredient, aka: whole food. For example, apple, cucumber, cream, shrimp, sweet potato, spinach, etc.
Sabotage #12: You Drink Too Much BeerConsume only food containing one single ingredient, aka: whole food. For example, apple, cucumber, cream, shrimp, sweet potato, spinach, etc.
I know this one isn’t going to win me any friends, but beer is made from malted barley, which does contain carbs and gluten.
So not only will you be increasing your blood sugar levels, and therefore the potential for weight gain, as a result of the carbs, you will also be causing systemic inflammation from the gluten.
Knock back a few of these every night like my fiancé, Scott, does and you’ll not only ruin your chances of weight loss but you may even pack on the pounds. Lucky for Scott he has a very physical job and the beer hasn’t given him a pooch - yet!
Action step:
Cut down on or completely eliminate beer from your diet. If you must drink alcohol switch to low sugar hard liquors and wines.
Sabotage #13: You Consume Food & Beverages Out of Plastic ContainersCut down on or completely eliminate beer from your diet. If you must drink alcohol switch to low sugar hard liquors and wines.
Plastic contains something called xenoestrogens which are substances that imitate the hormone, estrogen. Xenoestrogens are part of compunds such as PCBs and BPA, which you’ve probably heard a great deal about at this point.
For example, BPA is used in the manufacturing of cans, water bottles, and plastic food containers. Our food and water, just by being in contact with these things, can carry traces of xenoestrogen into our body.
Once they are in our body they act like estrogen. The more and more we consume, the greater the level of estrogen that builds up in our bodies.
This, by the way, will happen in both men (think moobs and acne) and women (think cycle irregularity, greater fat storage, and age spots).
Xenoestrogens can also be found in many cosmetic products as well.
Action step:
Do not eat food out of cans or plastic containers, or drink water out of plastic bottles. Buy a BPA free water bottle and fill it with filtered water from your tap. Store food in glass storage containers. Read labels on cosmetics and stop using any containing xenoestrogens.
Do not eat food out of cans or plastic containers, or drink water out of plastic bottles. Buy a BPA free water bottle and fill it with filtered water from your tap. Store food in glass storage containers. Read labels on cosmetics and stop using any containing xenoestrogens.
I noted earlier that you should be following some form of a low carb diet, in that you should eliminate breads, pastas, bagels, and flours from your diet.
If you do choose to eat starchy or refined carbs during the day you’re most likely not eating them at the most appropriate time, when your body is primed to burn excess glucose.
That time is about one hour
after
you exercise. The cells of our body are much more efficient at clearing the glucose from the bloodstream, thereby not leaving excess to be stored as fat.
after
you exercise. The cells of our body are much more efficient at clearing the glucose from the bloodstream, thereby not leaving excess to be stored as fat.
Action step:
If you choose to eat starchy or refined carbs plan to eat them about 1 hour after exercise when the body is primed to use the glucose instead of store it as fat.
If you choose to eat starchy or refined carbs plan to eat them about 1 hour after exercise when the body is primed to use the glucose instead of store it as fat.
You’re most likely eating your food all willy-nilly. If you eat pizza, burgers, or pancakes with maple syrup this will be true for you.
There are several ways to combine your food macronutrients during any normal meal. As you'll see below, the combination that you use will either be optimal for fat storage or fat burning.
- Protein + Fat = Great Fat Burning
- Protein + Carbs = Good Fat Burning
- Fat + Carbs = Great Fat Storage
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