Register Now!
Dec 27
9

New Year, New Goals! Making 2020 Your Healthiest Year Yet

By | blog | No Comments

Most of us make bold resolutions to kick off a new year, and many of them have to do with weight loss and healthy lifestyle changes – only to fall flat and break those resolutions shortly after the clock strikes midnight!  However, the yearly cycle of making diet and health resolutions, only to break them a few weeks later, can easily be avoided!

We can all agree that losing weight is one of the most popular resolutions to make for the New Year. So what’s stopping you from making this the year you’re ready and committed to making changes?  Having a weight loss resolution for the new year is a great start, but breaking in down into more attainable, “mini-resolutions” can help you be successful towards your goal, and that starts with making small changes as you kick off 2020.

At NJ Diet, we agree that there is no better time than the promise of a New Year to begin to take charge of your health & wellness. Our program is not only aimed at promoting healthy weight loss, but aims to improve your total wellness — where the side effect is weight loss, but the end result is better overall health and well being!  

Here are some great ideas you’ll feel good about all year long!

It’s A Journey, Not A Race

That long list of goals seems just as overwhelming as the resolution to “lose weight,” doesn’t it? Don’t worry–you don’t have to start doing everything tomorrow. Instead of fretting about changing bad habits to good ones overnight, spread your mini-resolutions throughout the year.

For each week, assign a few goals, and by the time the next week rolls around, you’ll be ready to add a new goal, such as trying a new, non-starchy vegetable, testing out a new spice on your meal, or engaging in physical activity at least twice a week. Because you took baby steps and reached smaller, specific goals through the year, not only will you likely lose weight, but you will look and feel your very best!

Make Mini-Resolutions

A great tip is to brainstorm and write down a list of measurable goals that will actually help your weight loss journey and help you conquer that weight loss resolution. The more specific the goal, the more attainable it is.  There are many things that may be a personal goal for YOU, and you alone.

Some example of mini-resolutions may be:

  • Commit to taking the stairs wherever possible
  • Sign up for a 5K in your city (even if your plan is just to walk!)
  • Commit to a 30-minutes a day devoted to exercising, at least three times a week
  • Clean out your kitchen and rid yourself of empty calories and unhealthy snacks
  • Commit to a weight loss program! Even if it’s just doing research on what program is right for you, now is the time to figure out how you would like to best approach your weight-loss journey.
  • Aim for at least 8 hours of sleep every night; and waking up at the same time each day
  • Instead of sitting on the coach scrolling through social media, watch your content on a stationary bike, treadmill or something similar!

Don’t Delay Your Goals

While it can be easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and continually put off your own goals towards a healthier you, there is no time like the present to start thinking about what you hope to achieve in the New Year.  In fact, putting off your goals could actually be causing you more stress. By simply taking a few moments to write out your plans — day by day, week by week — it’s easier to commit to accomplishing your tasks.

Treat Yourself In A Healthy Way

If you can give yourself a “reward” (something other than a food reward) after accomplishing a goal, then it will keep you motivated to keep on going!  Set a non-food reward for the end of each month; such as get a massage, buy new clothes, splurge on some exercise gear, and get excited about fitting into smaller, trendier sizes and styles. Another good tip is to use a chart to track each goal, so you can visualize and see yourself “checking off” all of your mini-resolutions.

Keep Active

One of the top New Year’s resolutions is to exercise more, which means gyms are typically packed for the first few months of the year.  However, there are easy ways to start just by “moving more.”  Start off with walking, an increase it to a bit more each day – you can work exercise into your schedule without sacrificing much time. Begin with a slow stroll, for just a few minutes a day; then gradually build up your time and pace to the recommended 150 weekly minutes at a moderate-intensity.  Walking helps manage your weight, strengthen your body, and boost your mood; do it regularly and research suggests you’re likely to live longer.

Other great tips for keeping active and staying on track with your diet during the holiday season:

  • Stick with a solid routine in order to stay motivated. Find a way that works for you to keep yourself motivated toward your weight loss goal.
  • Get moving and keep moving. You don’t need to join a gym now during the busy holiday season, but just doing something, each day, is a great start.  All that matters is you keep your body moving!
  • Find a group or a buddy who is working towards the same goal as you; just by having support from a friend, spouse or family member is key to long-term weight loss success.

Don’t Neglect Your Mental Health

“Getting healthy,” doesn’t only focus on physical health. You shouldn’t forget about your mental and emotional health, as they are equally important towards keeping your goals in check. It’s important to remember that your overall health is impacted by your emotions and mentality. When you have a positive mindset, it helps keep you motivated in all areas of your life.

One of the simplest and most effective ways to take care of mental health is to start meditating. Find a quiet spot, get in a comfortable position and focus all your attention on feeling and listening as you slowly inhale through your nostrils for a count of three, then exhale. Try placing your hand right below you navel so you can feel your belly rise and fall. Spending even a few minutes a day in meditation can help reduce stress and ease anxiety.

Increase Water Intake

Research has shown even mild dehydration can reduce your ability to concentrate, negatively affect your mood and decrease your energy. People who drink more water can help cut calories and reduce their consumption of saturated fat, sugar, sodium and cholesterol. Start tracking how much water you’re drinking each day. Water is critical to our health — and can even help with weight loss. In fact, studies show that drinking a 16 oz. bottle of water spikes your metabolic rate by 30 percent!   Take into account that you should drink more fluids if you are exercising.  In addition to water, tea and sparkling water are also good options. A great way to ensure you are drinking enough throughout the day is to get a reusable water bottle that you can have with you at all times, and refill it often!

Never Underestimate The Importance Of Sleep

Along with a well body and mind,  your body needs to rest in order to recharge and recover from the day’s events. A lack of sleep can add to a higher level of stress, as well. . Improving your sleep can also be helped by trying to avoid watching TV, hopping on your computer or scrolling through your phone right before bedtime.

Additionally, the most important sleep strategy is to stick to a schedule  – even on the weekends — by going to bed at the time every night and getting up at the same time every morning.  About a half hour before you plan to hit the sack, power off the laptop, put down the smart phone and get ready for bed. When you get into a regular sleep rhythm, you get better quality and more sound rest.

Work Towards Healthy Weight Loss

There are a number of ways to work toward healthy weight loss.  As we said earlier, setting realistic goals, getting the nutrition your body needs, and incorporating more exercise into your week is a great place to start, even during this busy holiday season! By making a healthy lifestyle a priority, the rest of the pieces — including weight loss — will fall into place.

 

* * * *

The upcoming New Year is an opportunity to rethink your unhealthy habits, and decide which ones are not best towards optimizing your wellness and overall health. By making small changes — such as focusing on eating more nutritious foods or finding activities you love — you can make your weight loss journey successful!

Starting the New Year off right will motivate you to keep on going when the tough winter months hits — so that rather than giving up on your New Year’s weight loss resolution, you’ll have the motivation to keep on going. The next time you think you can’t do it, think again. You can do it and the above tips can help you reach your goal and keep the weight gain at bay. We hope that these weight loss resolution tips will help you to build a foundation for a healthy, happy, and successful new year!

 

If you’re ready to start making healthy changes in your life and kick off your New Year right, NJ Diet can help! 

Every factor regulating metabolism, appetite, fat storage & fat burning is carefully energetically tested for success at NJ Diet. We use DNA Testing over 40 different factors are assessed genetically to make sure you keep it off and stay healthy.

Our program is not only aimed at promoting healthy weight loss, but aims to improve your total wellness — where the side effect is weight loss, but the end result is better overall health and well being.  

When you come in for your consultation, we will explain how our unique individualized system works to reduce hunger and feel healthier, and how our 4 component approach makes it possible to lose 20-40 lbs. or more of fat in only 40 days! We assess the many metabolic factors to genetically make sure you not only lose the weight, but ensures you keep it off and stay healthy for a lifetime. 

Attending the Initial Evaluation and Consultation is normally $99, but by registering on our website it will only cost $27!  We welcome the opportunity for you to have a consultation with us, so register online now!  

Dec 20
0

Weight Gain And Getting Older? How To Successfully Lose Weight As We Age

By | blog | No Comments

As we age, it may seem that eating “whatever we want” while maintaining a healthy weight becomes a thing of the past.  When we get older, our resting metabolic rate -which reflects your body’s needs at rest — drops about one to two percent every decade, which in turn affects how much we can eat without gaining excess weight. The bottom line is, none of us can eat anything and everything we may have previously enjoyed like we used to.  There’s a scientific reason why: As we get older, our bodies don’t respond the same way to weight loss efforts. The rate at which your body burns calories — called resting metabolic rate — reflects your body’s needs at rest. However, this rate drops about one to two percent every decade, thus making it easier to pack on the pounds as we age. However, there is no need to just ‘give up’ in despair!   In our new blog, NJ Diet discusses the topic of aging and weight gain, and will explain the ways to prevent the extra pounds from creeping up.  Getting older and maintaining a healthy weight doesn’t have to be as difficult as it sounds!

Why We Gain Weight As We Age

Studies have shown that as we age, we tend to gain weight to the tune of 1 to 2 pounds per year – and while that may not seem like much, over time it can lead to significant weight gain and, in some cases, obesity.  Everyone will not become overweight ‘just because they are aging,” because body weight is also influenced by your genetic makeup, physical activity, and your diet.
While there are some elements we can’t control, most of the weight gain that comes with aging can be avoided by controlling our diet, and engaging in daily exercise. Most people think that gaining weight and getting older go hand in hand, but the reason we gain weight isn’t just about getting older, it’s about how our habits change. Many of us gain weight because we:
  • Become more sedentary
  • Don’t lift weights to maintain muscle mass
  • Eat more calories even as metabolism slows down

Additionally, both men and women undergo changes in hormone levels as part of aging that help explain why middle age causes significant weight gain in most adults.

  • For women, menopause (occurring most often between ages 45 and 55) causes a significant drop in estrogen that can cause weight gain in your belly.  Weight gain can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes.
  • In men, the significant drop in testosterone as they age (which gradually declines around age 40) causes issues with regulating fat distribution and loss of muscle strength and mass.  The decline in testosterone can make the body less effective at burning calories.

According to the CDC, when you hit your 30s, you start losing muscle mass, which can greatly affect how well your body burns calories. In this decade, both men and women start losing muscle mass at the rate of three to five percent per decade. In our 40 and 50s, some weight gain may seem to be unavoidable.  Hormones—or their absence—may play a role, but middle-age weight gain can be attributed to diminishing muscle mass, and also that you may not be as active as you’ve gotten older.  Since muscle helps boost your metabolism and as it disappears, your ability to burn calories slows. In our 60s, there may be some promising news!  Studies show that age-related weight gain slows down and plateaus by the time you’re in your 60s.   However, the issue may remain that you need to lose the pounds you’ve gained over your 30s, 40s, and 50s!   Weight loss is one thing that doesn’t get easier with age, and those in their 60s may find it’s tougher to shed fat. Your body doesn’t need as many calories as it used to, you need to be more active.  But aging may have caused pain issues that is hindering daily exercise, so you may not be as active as you should be.

How To Maintain A Healthy Weight At Any Age

It is not impossible to lose weight as we age.  By increasing exercise, focusing on strength training, you will burn calories.  Additionally, focusing on healthy foods such as daily servings of veggies, dairy, fruits and nuts and lean proteins is a great way to start. Sleeping less than six hours or more than eight hours a night were also linked to middle-age weight gain, so getting enough sleep is vital to maintaining a healthy weight.

At any age, we often spend way too much sitting—we sit at work, we sit when we watch TV or on the computer. The main reason for muscle loss, which lowers metabolism, is that we aren’t active enough! Being active will help strengthen your muscles and increase bone density while maintaining a higher metabolism.  Here are some other tips:
  • Eat Healthy: Keeping track of your calories and sticking with healthy eating at least most of the time can help you avoid too much weight gain as you get older. The most important aspect of managing your weight always starts with your diet.
  • Cardio Exercise: Choose activities such as swimming, walking or cycling, and aim for exercise at least 3 days a week. Gradually add time each week until you can do 30 minutes of continuous activity.
  • Weight Lifting: Strength training is an important part of your exercise program, helping to build muscle and strength while also working on important areas like balance, stability, and flexibility – all things that tend to decline with age.
  • Set Realistic Goals: It takes longer to lose weight as we age, so just aim for incorporating regular workouts and eating as healthy as possible. You may not see results immediately, but in time your hard work will pay off.
  • Keep Hydrated: It’s easy to confuse the sensation of thirst for hunger. Staying hydrated with water increases metabolism and helps to keep your diet on track.
  • Reduce Stress: For many people, stress leads to stress eating.  Finding ways to relax is important towards maintaining overall health. Try a  yoga class or short five-minute meditations throughout the day.
  • Get Enough Sleep: You’ll be less active during the day and will burn fewer calories as a result of not getting a good night’s sleep. Aim for seven and nine hours of sleep per night for optimal health results.
 

** Before getting started with any program, it is important to consult with your doctor, especially if you’re on any medications or have any pain.

* * *

The good news is while getting older is inevitable, older adults these days look younger than ever!  We have learned how to take care of ourselves with exercise and a healthy diet, which leads to more active and healthy older adults.  We may not be the same weight we were as a teenager, but we can be strong, fit and healthy no matter how old we get. By simply eating better and making exercise a priority, you can boost your metabolism, so age really is “just a number!”

  NJ Diet utilizes DNA testing to determine your ideal diet and workout plan. Using blood work, hair and saliva sample, patients typically lose 20-50 pounds in only 40 days. In addition, you will see that dieting is only one component of our program. Our program is also a detoxification and hormone balancing program – where the side effect is weight loss, but the end result is better overall health and well being.

We welcome the opportunity for you to have a consultation at NJ Diet.

A consultation is normally $99, but by registering on our website it will only cost $27! 

Our program is not only aimed at promoting healthy weight loss, but aims to improve your total wellness. Each of our client’s specific needs for vitamins and supplements are assessed, plus many more metabolic factors are genetically tested to make sure you succeed on our program — not just for temporary weight loss, but to maintain good health for life!  

Nov 15
2

The Surprising Ways Sleep Deprivation Can Affect Your Weight And Health

By | blog | No Comments

Sleep deprivation can be a health concern, and can put you at risk for a multitude of diseases. Hypertension, diabetes, depression, heart attacks and strokes are just a few of the likely risks of sleep insufficiency, and can also greatly affect your weight and overall wellness.

According to a study done by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one third of Americans get fewer than seven hours of sleep a night, which is classified as a “public health problem.”

If you’re getting less than the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night, you are sleep deprived.  In turn, your weight, and overall health, can be greatly affected!  When you’re short on sleep, you may rely too heavily on caffeinated beverages, you might be tempted to skip exercise since you are too tired, you may opt to eat unhealthy foods, and then in turn will have problems falling asleep due to lack of exercise and healthy eating.

Experts agree that getting enough shut-eye is as important to health, well-being, and your weight as are diet and exercise. In our new blog below, NJ Diet shares the ways that sleep deprivation can affect your diet and wellness, and provides tips on how to help make sleeping a priority in your daily life!

The Health Consequences Of Sleep Deprivation

Depression/Moodiness

Research suggests that the risk of developing depression is highest amongst those suffering from sleep insomnia. When we have a terrible night’s sleep, we’re irritable, short tempered and grumpy.  So consistently lacking the necessary amount of sleep can lead to bigger issues, including clinical depression. Getting a good night’s sleep can make you happy, calm and ready to take on the day.

Cognitive Dysfunction

The CDC says 49.2 million Americans report having trouble concentrating and 38 million have trouble remembering things. These sleep-related difficulties are cognitive dysfunction.  Sleep deprivation risks go beyond being forgetful, however.  Cognitive dysfunction can be dangerous, especially for those in hight-risk careers and even when we drive.  Drowsy driving is the underlying cause of 40,000 injuries and 1,550 fatalities each year, so a lack of sleep really can be a matter of life and death.

Compromised Immune System

Cold and flu season is here, and a weak immune system can make for a bad winter.  Research has shown a direct link between a weakened immune system and sleep deprivation. Short-term loss of sleep had a direct and significant impact on immune system functioning, and it was found that sleep loss even increases inflammation.

High Blood Pressure

Hypertension and sleep deprivation very often exist simultaneously. But why? The Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research explains that sleep allows us to regulate stress hormones efficiently. Basically, our modern, sleep-deprived lifestyle leaves our stress systems in over drive. Long periods of rest give bodies the time they need to reset.

Cardiovascular Disease

Sleep is essential for a healthy heart, those who get fewer than six hours of sleep per night were at higher risk for heart disease, according to The National Sleep Foundation. Not only do age, weight, smoking and a sedentary lifestyle contribute to cardiovascular disease, sleep deprivation puts you at a higher risk.  Make sleep a priority towards taking care of your heart health.

Obesity

A lack of sleep is a huge contributing factor towards struggling to lose weight.  Sleepiness leads to a decrease in motivation to diet and exercise, and leptin levels fall with too little sleep, promoting an increase in appetite.

Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes occurs when the body is no longer able to regulate glucose (sugar).  Studies have shown that not getting enough sleep presents the glucose and endocrine characteristics of a diabetic. Researcher also shows that sleep deprivation affects hormone levels and specifically the body’s ability to regulate glucose.

Cancer

When the body’s biological clock is disrupted, we may be at an increased risk of certain cancers. For those who work nighttime shifts, the disruption of our body’s natural circadian rhythm (also known as our sleep-wake cycle) greatly affected health issues. Whenever possible, switching shifts in a clockwise direction can help to develop healthier sleep habits.

Why A Lack Of Sleep Can Affect Your Weight

Skimping on sleep dulls activity in the brain’s frontal lobe, the focus of decision-making and impulse control.  When you don’t have the mental clarity to make good decisions, you may overindulge and make bad choices – especially when it comes to your diet.  While you might be able to avoid food cravings when you’re well-rested, your sleep-deprived brain may have trouble saying no to over-indulging.

Studies found that when people were starved of sleep, late-night snacking increased, and they were more likely to choose high-carb snacks.  In fact,  sleep-deprived participants chose snacks with twice as much fat as those who slept at least 8 hours.

Sleep And Metabolism

Most people need between 7 and 9 hours each night, and your body will react negatively if you do not consistently get a good night’s sleep.  When you don’t get enough sleep, your body triggers a cortisol spike. This stress hormone signals your body to conserve energy to fuel your waking hours, and you’re more apt to hang on to fat.

Researchers find that when dieters cut back on sleep, the amount of weight they lose drop significantly – even though their calories may stay equal!  They felt hungrier and less satisfied after meals, and their energy is depleted.  From a physical standpoint, your body’s ability to process insulin — a hormone needed to change sugar, starches, and other food into energy — becomes erratic.  When your body doesn’t respond properly to insulin, it cannot properly process fats-  so it ends up storing them (thus causing weight gain)

Tips For A Good Night’s Sleep

Today more than ever we find sleeping to be increasingly difficult and inconsistent.  The reason being is due in large part to the increase of “screen time” on whole.  Our computers, TVs, cell phones, tablets all lure us into staying up longer, and causing major sleep disruptions.

But these tips can aid in helping you get a better night’s sleep —

  • Shut down your computer, cell phone, and TV at least an hour before you going to bed.
  • Save your bedroom for sleep only.   Put electronic devices in a different room and consider removing the TV from bedrooms.
  • Bedtime rituals work for children, so why not as adults?  Take a warm bath, meditate, or read to help transition into sleep mode.
  • Stick to a schedule, waking up and retiring at the same times every day — including weekends
  • Watch what – and when- you eat.   Avoid eating heavy meals and alcohol close to bedtime, which may cause heartburn and make it hard to fall asleep.  Restrict consumption of soda, tea, coffee, and chocolate, as caffeine can stay in your system for 5 to 6 hours.
  • Darkness cues your body to release the natural sleep hormone melatonin, while light suppresses it. So turn out the lights!

* * *

NJ Diet is here to help you lose weight and get healthier! Every factor regulating metabolism, appetite, fat storage & fat burning is carefully energetically tested for success. Using DNA Testing over 40 different factors are assessed genetically. We help you not only keep the fat off, but to stay healthy. 

Our program is not only aimed at promoting healthy weight loss, but aims to improve your total wellness — where the side effect is weight loss, but the end result is better overall health and well being! 

At your initial evaluation and consultation at NJ Diet, we will explain how many metabolic factors are assessed to genetically make sure you not only lose the weight, but ensures you keep it off and stay healthy for a lifetime.

Attending the Initial Evaluation and Consultation is normally $99, but by registering on our website it will only cost $27!

We welcome the opportunity for you to have a consultation with us, so register online now!

Nov 08
0

The Mental Blocks To Overcome For Successful Weight Loss And Wellness

By | blog | No Comments

Losing weight is as much a mental battle as it is a physical one, and letting emotions affect your eating habits will not provide you with the long-term success you desire. For successful weight loss and wellness, we need to make sure our bodies and minds work together, which means overcoming some common mental blocks on your weight loss journey.

Luckily, you can overcome many of the most common mental obstacles that may be hurting your weight loss success, and in turn start to see more positive results!

In our new blog, NJ Diet shares how to mentally prepare yourself when embarking on a weight loss program, and how to identify and overcome the obstacles that you may face along the way.

 Becoming Mentally Ready To Lose Weight

Identify Your “Emotional Eating” Triggers

Stress eating can trigger your brain, making you think you need to eat when you’re feeling highly emotional, upset or overwhelmed. To avoid beginning this harmful cycle, you need to identify what causes your stress or emotional eating and how to stop it before it starts. When you are feeling stressed, try to acknowledge these moments and use a distraction other than overeating.  You can keep a journal to track what triggers your stress and write down the positive coping methods that work for you—such as walking, reading, or engaging in any hobby. If you’re into yoga, you can quickly overcome one of the toughest mental obstacles by practicing this healthy, natural way to reduce your stress.

Recognize How Stress Leads To Overeating

Today our lives are hectic and demanding, making it almost impossible to not feel stressed at some point during the day.  Unfortunately, stress not only triggers overeating, it also can makes our food taste better.  When we eat something delicious, an opioid release is triggered in the brain, making us want to eat more. Stress can trigger this same opioid release, causing compulsive overeating if not identified.   In addition, cortisol — the hormone our body releases when we’re stressed — can be responsible for improving the way our food tastes and increasing feelings of satisfaction we get from stress-related eating.

Thus, stress can make it more difficult to lose weight.  While a stressful event may reduce your appetite in the short term due to the release of an appetite-suppressing hormone, if stress is consistent and cortisol kicks in, your appetite will increase.  Similarly, stress may also encourage your body to store more fat. Research has shown that even among those without weight issues, high levels of stress and cortisol are linked to abdominal fat, which may increase your risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Acknowledge How Your Mind Affects Your Health

Because stress can have far-reaching impacts on your health and well-being, it’s important to understand what those impacts are—and how you can help minimize them. Some people may recover from stress quickly, while others may find themselves overwhelmed by it.  Inevitably, stress can take a toll on your body and mind.

If you are constantly affected by a stressful lifestyle, you may begin to experience physical symptoms, such as headaches, muscle aches and digestive issues; or psychological ones, including anger and sadness.  Moreover, chronic stress could seriously affect your health by causing problems with your heart, immunity, and digestive issues.

Tips On Conquering Your Mental Blocks When Dieting

Sometimes just the very thought of being on a diet just seems overwhelming. You might feel as though you don’t have the motivation or will power to lose weight, but really what keeps you from diet success is what is already in your head.

When it comes to losing weight, your biggest issue may just be that you don’t know how to make a healthy lifestyle work for you. Crash diets, counting calories and intense fitness regimens may be temporary fixes to a long-term solution and can lead to a series of mental obstacles to overcome. If you want to really lose weight and keep it off, you need to create a foundation for your healthy eating and fitness habits with a support system to maintain them in the long run.

Tip 1: Think Before You Eat

One of the main reasons that diets fail is because people approach weight loss the wrong way. Work hard at setting small, realistic goals instead of big, sweeping ones.   If you enter into dieting by thinking it’s all or nothing, you’re more likely to fail and ultimately fall off the wagon.

Small decisions and exchanges are what ultimate lead to weight loss.  Making changes day by day, not looking too far ahead and celebrating small victories make a huge difference in tackling this lifelong commitment to better health and wellness.

Tip 2: Recognizing Your Mental Blocks

The biggest mental obstacle dieters face is giving up on themselves. Many people who need to lose weight lack the confidence needed to success, and don’t believe they really can do it.  However, once they change their way of thinking and find a plan and routine they can stick with, they realize they can have long-term success!

Individuals who begin a weight-loss plan for the wrong reasons are usually not as successful as those who are doing it for the right reasons – better health, wellness and personal accomplishment.  Slow and steady wins the weight-loss race, and if you can find and stay on a program that works for your lifestyle, you can achieve amazing results.

Tip 3:  Finding a Healthy Mindset

Trying to lose weight before making the permanent lifestyle changes necessary to accomplish my goals will never work.  When you make the decision to get serious about weight loss, you will realize that working towards a healthier lifestyle is not only beneficial for your body, but for your mind and emotional state, as well.

The trigger that makes you realize you don’t lose weight through a diet, but through a lifestyle change, is different for everyone. Drastic dieting can be a vicious cycle that leaves people angry, depressed, frustrated, and finally just giving up. But if you learn a healthy way to approach weight loss, both mentally and physically, you can ultimately find success.

Overcoming The Mental Obstacles Affecting Weight Loss

Defeating Boredom

Boredom is an issue for many of us, and can cause us to give up on healthy eating and fitness goals before we even start. Whether you’re bored with the types of healthy foods you’re eating, or you find that your workouts aren’t your cup of tea, you may not be able to sustain anything long enough to see weight loss results. Boredom can cause the need to escape with food and increase snacking, specifically with unhealthy yet exciting foods that are high in fat and carbs. This leads to creating yet another one of these mental obstacles.

While boredom often triggers the desire to snack—but remember, it doesn’t necessarily have to be unhealthy foods. If you find yourself bored and about to binge, make it something interesting and healthy.

In addition, be sure to switch up your exercise style. Try alternating between running, weight training, or yoga just to keep things interesting. Changing up your workouts will also help you strengthen different muscles to increase your overall results and avoid weight loss plateaus.

“Afraid” Of Being Hungry While Dieting

You don’t have to drastically reduce your food intake to lose weight. In fact, you’re better off not depriving yourself or you might end up binging a few weeks into a weight-loss program.

The best way to feel full and lose weight is to fill up on a healthy combination of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and lean protein.  While carbs will give you energy, you may experience a “crash” soon after because you don’t have any protein and fiber to slow down digestion. In this case, keep non-starchy veggies on hand, like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and squash, and add spices to make them more delicious and interesting. Not only are they filled with loads of nutrition, including vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients, the fiber and water will help fill you up.

Stop Believing Healthy Food Doesn’t Taste Good

Nutritious food doesn’t need to taste dull, plain or flavorless.  Do some reading and research in order to learn how healthy cooking can include experimenting with some new recipes.  You don’t need to deep-fry foods, or load them up with salt or sugar. As you discover new recipes and try new things, you’ll find healthy foods that you enjoy – even ones that don’t seem appealing right now

Worrying It’s Too Expensive To Lose Weight

You may like the benefits of an organic diet, but it’s not essential for good health or weight loss.  When embarking on a healthy eating plan, try to buy what is in-season, and remember that frozen vegetables and fruit are usually as nutritious as fresh produce. Those who are on a budget may want to incorporate more vegetarian- and plant-based protein while limiting more expensive items, like meat, and add in healthy salads whenever possible.

Losing weight can be cost-effective if you want it to be, and simple things such as not going out to dinner as often and drinking less wine will assist in keeping your new lifestyle affordable.  Even more importantly, staying fit and healthy can save you money in the long run, as you will avoid many health-related expenses down the road!

Believing Exercise Is Too Hard

If you consider your workout a chore, then you’re doing the wrong workout. Finding a fun activity is really crucial if you want to stick with it long enough to lose the weight and keep it off.

Simply experiment with other types of workouts until you find a good fit.  You don’t need to hit a gym or become a runner to get in a good cardio workout.  Things such as dance classes, martial arts, cycling, hiking, kick-boxing or yoga are all great options!

Feeling Like You Don’t Have Enough Time

It may be easier to order takeout or hit a restaurant than it is to make something healthy from scratch, but cooking healthy meals doesn’t have to take up all of your free time.   Salads can be your ‘main course’ and don’t even require any cooking at all.

A great suggestion is to take time over the weekend to plan out your meals for the following week.  Stock up on ingredients, and chop up some veggies and protein so you’ll always have healthy options on hand.

It’s also important to make time for working out.  Scheduling a time in your day like you would any important meeting or appointment can help you do that.  If you’re really short on time, make sure you’re getting the most out of your workout by choosing one that is designed to yield major results quickly.

Lacking Overall Diet Motivation

Maybe you aren’t even motivated to try to lose weight, or you have hit a plateau and feel the loss of motivation because you’ve stopped seeing results. If you feel lazy or unmotivated to lose weight, you’re unlikely to get up and work out, or eat well-balanced meals.  Successful weight maintenance is strongly associated with personal motivation and the ability to enact coping strategies to combat the risk factors of gaining weight, such as binge eating due to stress.

While support from friends or family can help you find motivation, but ultimately lies within yourself. Working on creating specific and attainable goals, which are more focused and likely to be achieved because they are tailored to your specific lifestyle.

Conquering Your Fear Of Failure

If you’ve tried to lose weight in the past and failed, there is no need to beat yourself up for it.  Reviewing your habits and thinking about what went right, and try not to make any harsh judgments.  Sometimes it’s a matter of finding the right eating and exercise routine that will give you the successful results that you couldn’t achieve in the past.

The goal is to eventually have the mental clarity and motivation that enables you to stop feeling guilty, and instead focus on moving forward!

 

* * *

As you can see from the above, mental obstacles are made to be overcome!  So add these solutions to your weight-loss toolbox and watch those pounds drop off– but most of all, don’t be hard on your body OR your mind!

 

 

NJ Diet is here to help you lose weight and get healthier! Every factor regulating metabolism, appetite, fat storage & fat burning is carefully energetically tested for success. Using DNA Testing over 40 different factors are assessed genetically. We help you not only keep the fat off, but to stay healthy. 

Our program is not only aimed at promoting healthy weight loss, but aims to improve your total wellness — where the side effect is weight loss, but the end result is better overall health and well being! 

At your initial evaluation and consultation at NJ Diet, we will explain how many metabolic factors are assessed to genetically make sure you not only lose the weight, but ensures you keep it off and stay healthy for a lifetime. 

Attending the Initial Evaluation and Consultation is normally $99, but by registering on our website it will only cost $27!

We welcome the opportunity for you to have a consultation with us, so register online now!

 

 

 

Oct 25
1

Not Losing Weight? The Surprising Reasons Your Scale May Not Be Budging

By | blog | No Comments

When you begin a weight loss journey, it’s often easy to build motivation as the pounds initially start to drop off.  But when your weight loss slows down, the question ”why can’t I lose weight ” is one frequently asked.

Moving past a weight loss plateau usually requires a combination of efforts, and sometimes individuals cannot lose weight due to some surprising ‘diet mistakes’ — which can actually lead to weight gain!

Luckily, plateaus are very common and it IS possible to get past them and get the scale moving down again!  In our article below, NJ Diet shares some of the most common reasons your scale may not be budging, and how you can keep your motivation going when it comes to weight loss success!

Reasons You May Not Be Dropping Pounds

Elimination Of Entire Food Groups

Swearing off entire food groups — like no grains, meat, or carbs for example —  can work for many people initially, because when you restrict your intake of specific foods, you are naturally going to restrict your intake in general — which in turn, leads to weight loss.

However, what people often forget is that by eliminating specific food groups, they are also eliminating the nutrients that go along with those food groups — such as the fiber in grains or the vitamins and minerals in fruit.

Cutting out too many specific food groups often isn’t sustainable, so you’re more likely to give up and gain any weight back you may have lost. Cutting out foods like sugar, alcohol, and carbs can also make you feel so deprived that you won’t be able to control those natural cravings, forcing you to overindulge. You’ll end up consuming way more calories than you would normally, which can make the scale numbers go up. Elimination of food groups is not how you sustainably lose weight, and may in fact it sets you up for failure.  When you put a food group as ‘off limits’ and never allow yourself to have it, you’re more likely to inevitably overeat it !

Restricting Calories Drastically

Reducing your daily calorie intake drastically can sound like the easiest way of losing weight, and while a calorie deficit is vital weight loss, you cannot go too low.  When you reduce calories too severely, your body will send signals to conserve calories, and in turn this slows down your metabolism.

Eating too little- for too long – not only constantly making you feel hungry and irritable, it can send signals to your body to conserve calories which lowers your metabolism, making weight loss nearly impossible. Never eat below your resting metabolic rate (the calories your body burns at rest) for a long period of time, as it can actually put your body into starvation mode! Eating well-balanced meals and snacks, with an emphasis on protein, healthy fats, and fiber.

Get Enough Sleep

Getting proper rest can improve every aspect of your life — including the number on the scale. Research shows that sleep deprivation can lead to weight gain!  Sleep is essential, both for mental acuity and to help your body recover from working out, but it can be hard to get enough good sleep. Besides making time for that 7-8 hours of shuteye, ensure you’re getting quality sleep by evaluating your sleep environment and looking at your habits for things that could be decreasing sleep quality.

Take Care Of Mental Health

Mental health can affect you in many ways, including your diet and weight.  Anxiety and stress can change your hormones, and if you are experiencing depression it can cause someone to withdraw from others and not take care of themselves.  These mental health factor have huge impact and can cause problems if you are trying to lose weight

Evaluate how you can address any mental health issues you may be experiencing by seeing your doctor or seeking out a therapist, Doing what is best for your mental health will in turn lead to physical results, as well.

Know When To See Your Physician

In some cases, underlying conditions that your doctor can treat or help you manage may be the reason why you’re not losing weight. Keep a food diary and bring it to your doctor to see if they have any insight into why you aren’t able to drop the pounds.  Your doctor should look at your full medical history and evaluate any prescription medications you’re taking, which can also be affecting your weight loss, such as antibiotics or antidepressants.

Binging At Night

When dieting, we often restrict and eat very little during the day, but then later in the evening, starvation kicks in and a binge occurs. Not eating enough during the day makes you overly hungry and then you overeat at night. which defeats the whole purpose of being on a weight loss plan!  It is important to eat regularly and spread out your calories wisely, this way you won’t end up going over your daily calorie intake in one sitting.

Eating Too Many “Diet” Foods

Just because a food is listed as “low-fat,” “no sugar,” or “diet” doesn’t necessarily make the product healthy! While you may lose weight initially, “diet” foods tend to be more expensive and inevitably our body doesn’t recognize them as food.  In fact, if you replace whole foods with artificial ‘diet’ items, it can lead to increased inflammation in your intestines and other issues throughout your body. For instance, “fat-free” foods are often high in sugar or salt to replace flavor, and “sugar-free” foods contain chemicals, so your body actually feels more hungry since you’re not giving it the nutrition it craves. This means eating these foods can actually cause weight gain, so they’re best avoided.

Choosing A Sustainable Eating Plan

As we stated above, cutting down drastically on calories, cutting out food groups, and setting strict rules about when you can eat is impossible to stick to long term.   A sustainable way of eating is one that finds ways to slowly reduce calories without feeling deprived. Eating more veggies, fruits, and other whole foods, and don’t limit your favorite foods entirely; instead come up with healthier ways of preparing them and incorporating them into a balanced diet.

How To Break Through A Plateau

Exercise

Yes, you can lose weight on a diet plan without exercising — however, exercise not only accelerates weight loss, it’s good for you!  Try walking, biking or simply climbing several flights of stairs a few times each day.  And if you already enjoying working out, merely increase the duration and/or intensity of your normal exercise program.  An exercise class, new sport, or even a personal trainer can help you break through a weight loss plateau.

Increase Your Protein

Choosing higher, lean Proteins are a great way to rev up your weight loss.  A protein serving can range from seven to 17 grams so incorporate things like lean beef, chicken, pork and seafood.  There are many ways to eat natural food and increase your protein intake, and in turn feel fuller and see results with weight loss.

Stay Hydrated!

We’ve all heard how important H2O is when it comes to shedding pounds. It helps to suppress appetite, so you’re less likely to overeat. But that’s not all: When you’re dehydrated, your kidneys can’t function properly, so the body turns to the liver for additional support. Because the liver is working so hard, more of the fat you consume is stored, rather than burned off.

Stop Weighing Yourself

Weight fluctuates day-to-day due to changes in the weight of bone, fluid, muscle and fat. When you’re dieting and exercising regularly, these factors are changing all the time.  It is recommended that you weight yourself only 1x a week to get a real feel for how your body is reacting to your weight loss plan .  In addition, take measurements weekly since you may be losing inches even if the scale says you’re not losing any weight.

Track Your Food

You may think you are eating the correct portion sizes, but sometimes it is easy to lose track of how much you are consuming on any average day.  By weighing food, controlling portions carefully and tracking everything that goes in our mouth, you can help break through a plateau. By consistently recording what you eat in a journal or fitness/weight loss tracker or app, you will often see better weight loss success results.

* * *

There is no one “good” or “bad” way to diet — just that  moderation is key! Learn to incorporate all foods into your balanced diet, and as long as you use some of the tips posted above, you will achieve results!

It’s important to remember that every person’s body loses weight at a different pace; some lose weight at a more rapid rate, others slower, but it really doesn’t make a difference as long as the weight is coming off!  Most importantly, concentrating on becoming healthier and your overall wellness is key — and in turn, weight loss will happen.  Keep the emphasis on healthy habits—eating properly with portion control and exercising, and the scale will show some results!

The NJ Diet program is a specialized program utilizes DNA testing to determine your ideal diet and workout plan, taking into account your eating behavior. We use personalized genetic testing can also used by any of your health care providers to help make critical decisions regarding your health. 

We welcome the opportunity for you to have a consultation at NJ Diet!

A consultation is normally $99, but by registering on our website it will only cost $27!  

Our program is not only aimed at promoting healthy weight loss, but aims to improve your total wellness. Each of our client’s specific needs for vitamins and supplements are assessed, plus many more metabolic factors are genetically tested to make sure you succeed on our program — not just for temporary weight loss, but to maintain good health for life!