Weight loss seems so simple.

Eat less, exercise more.  Right?  When you’re trying to lose weight permanently, all you have to do is eat less an exercise more, right?  WRONG!

Ask any of the 50 million individuals who are attempting to lose weight each year and they will tell you it is not that easy. 

It’s not just changing what you eat and exercising.  Sure, those play a role with permanent weight loss, but they’re just 2 pieces to the weight loss puzzle.

In reality, it feels like battle.

After all, you are tackling the 10 year daily visit to the vending machine, the 20 year snacking while watching TV habit and the real doozy, the "dinner is not complete unless I eat something sweet" conviction.

To kick those bad habits that "prevent" you from eating fewer calories and making permanent change, than you need to be prepared to understand and change your behaviors.

These 5 Tips for Permanent Weight Loss will help you get to on (or stay on) track!
 

Know yourself

First, understand your motivation. Why do you want to lose weight permanently?  If you do not have a reason that is truly meaningful to you, than you will have an impossible road to climb. People who attempt weight loss because they feel they should, but aren’t invested, won’t be able to make the necessary permanent change in behavior. If you can’t identify a reason, brainstorm.  Write down every possible reason why you want to lose weight, set it aside for a day or so. When you return to the list, write down why that reason is important to you (what will it do for you specifically). When you’ve identified your top 3 and you feel strongly about them, it’s time to get started. If you still struggle, put the list away and return every couple of days, adding answers and revisiting old ones until you have identified your reason WHY.

Motivate yourself

Once you have identified the very specific reason as to why, hang onto it.  Make visible reminders. The reminders could be pictures of yourself, your kids, a swimsuit model hung in the kitchen, bathroom, etc., or the reminder may be a pair of pants you would like to fit into. When you are feeling like giving up, try on the pants. Notice how they fit, where they are still tight, where they have gotten bigger. Now imagine what it will be like to fit into them again. Take an index card and write one sentence summarizing your motivation. Carry the card with you. When you don’t want to go to the gym, read the card several times. Tell yourself tomorrow if you feel like not exercising, you’ll give in – but for today you will stick with it. The next time the scenario comes up, play the same game with yourself. Identify your motivation for giving up. Is going home and sitting on the couch, watching TV, or going to the mall really worth it? 

Is THAT going to help you achieve permanent weight loss? 

Coach yourself

We are our own worst enemy.  Despite working hard at changing our behaviors and making efforts to make it happen, we subtly tell ourselves things like "I hope I can do this", "I’ve been good, I deserve to take a day off", or "I blew it today, I might as well write today off and start fresh tomorrow."

The problem with these thoughts is they are all negative.  Scratch the word "hope" from your vocabularly … indicates uncertainty and that some element is not within your control. Remember permanent weight loss is possible.  Direct your thoughts positively and keep your motivation in sight.

Reframe your mind

Put exercise and eating well in the same perspective as the rest of your life. 

A lot of people think of exercise as something extra in their lives; something that happens when they have the time.

If exercise is never a priority, you will always identify things that bump it off the to-do list. Instead, make exercise part of your life.

We all have things we have to do each day — go to work, pay the pills, do the laundry, etc.  We do these tasks because if we don’t there is a price to pay. Treat exercise as though it’s obligatory.  Plan your exercise as just something else that needs to happen — daily.

Celebrate you!

Do you give your best to your job, your family, and your friends but never devote anything worthwhile to yourself?

Use these behavior changes as an opportunity to put yourself first.  Remind yourself you are taking steps toward a healthier, leaner you. If you do not see changes in your body or on the scale immediately, be patient.  Weight loss will happen when you are committed to your goal … and permanent weight loss will happen when you remain committed to your goal.

Xylitol (Malitol, and anything else ending in "…ol")

These sweeteners are known as sugar alcohols.  Xylitol is found naturally in a few foods, like beets and corn.  It is also used to as a sweetener in many low sugar, "low carb" items … sugar free gums and many "energy bars" come to mind, but also some beverages and other products as well.

So what’s the deal?  Is THIS the best sweetener that’s out there?

Xxylitol does have a few calories (about half that of sugar).  It’s almost as sweet as sugar and is only partially absorbed by the body.  Most packages suggest you can substitute for half the sugar in a recipe if using it as a replacement.

There are some solid data suggesting xylitol prevents bacteria from causing plaque to stick to teeth (hence its use in gums).  On the downside, too much of this stuff will make you a very unpleasant dinner guest as you’re running to the bathroom.  Remember, it’s not digested well by the body — good for calorie control, bad for, well, causing gas, bloating, and diarrhea.  Not sure those few extra calorie "savings" are worth it — just eat a little less to save the calories!

This last negative effect shouldn’t be an issue if you’re chewing some sugar free gum, but be careful eating too many "sugar free" type bars or other products, as they may have a pretty good amount of this stuff.

Whey Low

This one is a new kid on the block.  Many may not have even heard of it.

Basically it’s a unique combination of different naturally occurring sugars — fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar), and lactose (milk sugar).

While that doesn’t sound that "special" — the unique combination of sugars is supposed to make them interfere with each other so they’re not fully absorbed, meaning less calories, but the same sweetness.  

It can be used as a sugar substitute in cooking since its flavor and texture are so similar; the problem is it’s a bit more difficult to find.

Whole Foods and similar stores often carry it.  Let’s see if it makes it a little more mainstream …

…to my knowledge, there’s no research using Whey Low vs. other sweeteners, but the concept is good.  I like "real" ingredients vs. the artificial stuff.

So that’s a wrap on the sweeteners — from sugar to xylitol and most in between!!! 

Take home points?  Eat real foods and if you can’t pronounce the name, keep it on the shelf!

This year non caloric sweeteners started popping up on store shelves everywhere… and these are made from an extract of Stevia rebaudiana.

So what’s the deal with Stevia — is IT the answer to shedding body fat healthfully?

Is it a safe alternative to Splenda and Equal?

OF COURSE — it’s natural!  

Hope you didn’t fall for that, did you? 

There a lot of "natural" herbs that we should probably stay away from.

Let’s find out the truth.

Stevia is a relatively new comer in terms of popularity, even though it’s been used for 100’s of years.  It’s exploded in the last few years as consumers are looking for a "natural" calorie free alternative to artificial sweeteners.

Stevia fits that bill.  Stevia’s real name is Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) and it is an herb native to Paraguay and Brazil.  

But, while it has been used for 100’s of year now, it has always been labeled a "dietary supplement" since it didn’t have the OK from the FDA as a food ingredient.

There were some concerns with Stevia after early studies suggested there may be some concern with its use with fertility and reproductive development and even genetic mutations!  Lo and behold, more recent data submitted to the FDA regarding the safety of a Stevia extract, known as Reb A, granted this particular extract GRAS status (generally recognized as safe).  This was in December 2008/

However, the FDA still maintained the position about calling Stevia at dietary supplement with this statement "Reb A is different than whole leaf stevia or other stevia extracts, which can only be sold as dietary supplements."  They continued "Nobody has provided the FDA with evidence that whole-leaf stevia is safe."

In fact, one consumer advocacy group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) stands by their position that Reb A GRAS status was granted too early, suggesting not enough supportive safety data is available.

As usual, there are of course two sides to each story.  Let’s look at the pros and cons of this ingredient.

Pros:

• Stevia is about 250-300 times sweeter than sugar
• Stevia is stable to heat, making it safe for cooking
• Stevia is calorie free
• Stevia doesn’t promote dental caries like sugar

Cons:

• It has a bitter taste that some may not enjoy, also making it difficult to include in large quantities (in baking, for example).
• It’s more expensive than most other sweeteners
• Data is mixed here – some show DNA damage with high doses of stevia intake, others show no effect at all.

From what we know now, the FDA considers Reb A safe…

If searching for this in the store, look for either "Truvia" and "PureVia" — the consumer names for the Stevia extract.

Or, you can maybe find a stevia plant, like I did, at our local farmers market. 

What do you think?  Is Stevia the next big thing in terms of sugar replacements?

The question was sure to come up …

… what about calorie free sweeteners?  Stevia, sucralose, and the rest of the bunch?

Are they a better option than calorie containing sugar options when trying to lose weight and burn belly fat?

Let’s delve into them a bit and discuss some of the realities and myths with calorie free sweeteners.

First, when I say "artificial sweetener" what am I talking about?  There are a bunch, but the most commonly used are Acesulfame potassium (Ace-K), Sucralose, Saccharin,  and Aspartame.  And then there’s this "new" guy on the scene, Stevia (it’s not artificial, but it IS a sweetener).

And each of the artificial sweeteners has an "acceptable daily intake" (ADI) — meaning according to the FDA, you should not consume MORE than the amounts listed below per day.

• Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal) = 18-19 cans of diet cola
• Saccharin (Sweet ‘N Low) = 9 to 12 packets
• Acesulfame K (Sunett, Sweet One) = 30-32 cans diet lemon-lime soda
• Sucralose (Splenda) = 6 cans diet cola

Fair enough?  Now depending on who you talk to, or what you read, you’ll hear all different opinions — "I only use sucralose, because xxxx" or "stevia is natural, so I use that…"

If you look at the values above, you may notice that according to the ADIs, the max for Splenda is just 6 cans of diet cola/day, whereas Equal is 18-19 cans.  Does that mean Splenda is more of a concern than Equal?  It might.

But as a side note, if you’re drinking THAT many diet colas/day, your diet needs an overhaul as there are absolutely zero positive qualities to diet colas (or any diet soda for that matter).

Let’s cover a few of these in more detail.  

Sucralose (Splenda):

While this one has received safety approval from the FDA, it’s surely not without controversy.  Picking sides with this is like jumping in to the Health Care Reform debate!

But I’m ready to go for it.

First, the upside of Sucralose:

• it has virtually no aftertaste
• it’s stable when heated so you can cook and bake with it
• it’s stable at different acidities (pHs) so it can be added to things like lemon juice without affecting its sweetness
• it has a proven track record of safety in many research studies.

Cons:

• anecdotally (meaning personal stories) have tied intake to migraine headaches
• may affect healthy bacteria in the gut, according to animal data
• it may cause weight gain? 

This last one is a bit more controversial.  In a nutshell, one study using rats fed them different quantities of sucralose.  At the end of the 24 week study, the rats consuming sucralose gained weight compared to the ones that didn’t take any in.

Weird.  Zero calories, how can it cause dangerous belly fat to creep up on us?

I will say at this time I’m not impressed with the data showing artificial sweeteners cause us to gain belly fat … I clearly need to see more research to support this theory. The thought was that while artificial sweeteners themselves don’t have calories, they "trick" the body into craving more sweet foods…

…voila, belly fat and overall weight gain is through the roof.  

It’s correlation data, but if I remember anything from statistics, it’s that correlation doesn’t mean causation.  In a nutshell, the correlation that those who used diet soda weighed more doesn’t mean the diet soda itself caused them to gain weight.  More research clearly needs to expore this.  Keep in mind, also, that the doses used in this particular study were very high if we tried to extrapolate these findings to humans.  At this point I just don’t buy into that conclusions of this data and am surely calling for more.  

Again, another red flag for me here is that the "maximum" recommendation is 6 cans of diet cola — for some, that’s a ton, but for others, that’s breakfast.  Regulate your intake!

Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal):

You’ve seen the little pink packets … pink packets of poison, according to some.  Like the others, this has the stamp of approval from the FDA.  But opponents of this suggest it causes migraines, causes cancer,brain tumors, and evil belly fat.

Like the others, the research is mixed — some studies show a negative effect, others show a positive effect.  

I hate to give the "more research is necessary" answer, but, well, it’s the best answer to give.

I talked about my feelings on the weight gain and artificial sweeteners with sucralose.

As for cancer — it’s a hard one to pin down.  These data are all done in animals, usually given very high doses, to see what happens.  

For some reason the review boards look very unfavorably at loading up humans with artificial sweeteners and seeing if they cause cancer; therefore, we’re reliant on animal data.  But even if there is that chance, that concerns me … stamp of approval or not!

Like I mentioned in the last article about sugar, and specifically high fructose corn syrup, I don’t like the idea of artificial … I don’t want artificial ingredients in my body and try to limit them as much as possible.  I do that by knowing what I’m eating, being able to pronounce all ingredients, and eating foods as close to the earth as possible. 

With that said, I AM supportive of making the transition to calorie free drinks if someone is a regular soft drink (or juice, or sweetened tea) drinker …

…For example, a former client started our relationship with regular stops at 7-11 for Big Gulps, where regular coke was his product of choice.  Several times a day — he drank 3,000 calories EACH day in soda alone.

Would he benefit from switching to diet soda?  For sure!  And he did, greatly. 

And overtime I got him to drink less and less diet soda as well, as 1 case each day of that is surely not great for you.

But as a whole, sweeteners aren’t my favorite.  

I also have yet to find one without an off flavor.  Call my crazy, but I want to eat a food that, well, tastes like food — not have some bitter aftertaste that’s CLOSE to being real, but not quite there.

I’d personally rather have a REAL sweetener, infrequently.  Moderation.  That’s a very unsexy word in marketing and the media, but it’s true. 

You want a cookie? 

Eat a cookie — occasionally. 

Is a fat free, sugar free, calorie free flavored chocolate chunk piece of cardboard REALLY going to help out your desire for a cookie? 

Not a chance. 

Eat the real thing, on occasion, then get over it.  Fair enough?

Eating real foods is what will help you live as healthfully as possible, burn belly fat, and look and feel great!

Let me know your thoughts — at least 25 comments on this post and I’ll be back tomorrow to talk about Stevia. 

There are over 30 names for sugar…

…turbinado sugar, raw sugar, agave syrup, fruit paste, raw honey, malt syrup and many more.

Of course we have our organic sugars too.  Are these any better if we’re trying to lose weight?  Ray from train2befit asked a question on the blog about the healthiest sugar options.

Is there such a thing?  A "healthy" sugar?

Clearly, when burning belly fat is a goal, sugar (all forms) need to take a back seat.  But let’s put a few of these under the microscope to see if there’s a best of the worst.  Afterall, with teens eating nearly 100 lbs of sugar per person, per year, we have some headway to make.  It should be no surprise that research shows belly fat has skyrocketed in this age group.

But adults aren’t much behind.  And the obesity epidemic we’re facing around the world is a tell tale sign that we’re overfed, yet undernourished. 

Let’s get to the good stuff.

First, just because something is organic, doesn’t mean it’s healthy.  Organic sugar isn’t a magical health food like it’s often considered.  It increases belly fat just like plain old table sugar.

Let’s cover a few of the most commonly questioned poisins in the fight against belly fat.

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

This one was invented in the 1970’s.  It’s in nearly every food and beverage in the super market — from breads to ketchup, fruit juice to cereals.  Some have claimed it’s caused obesity saying, this one sweetener is preventing us from losing belly fat permanently.  Interestingly, its use has skyrocketed the same way the obesity epidemic has over the last few decades.  And research has suggested there is a correlation.  This caused a negative spiral of media ads pointing the finger at this one ingredient.

And the Corn Refiners Association fought back.  They created commercials saying that HFCS is no worse than sugar.  What they didn’t say is both are junk, why eat them at all?

My first "problem’ with HFCS is that it was "invented."  I don’t want to eat anything that was "invented." I want to eat foods as close to the ground as possible.  You can avoid HFCS, just like you can avoid other sugars.  Sure, it is metabolized a bit differently than sugar, but you know what, the foods that are loaded with HFCS are junk — regardless of the form of sugar.  Soda = junk.  Fruit juice cocktails = junk. Popsicles = junk.  If you buy organic options of these same foods, they’re all junk and will prevent you from losing belly fat, put a halt to losing fat from your hips and thighs, or getting into your skinny jeans.  

Agave Syrup

This natural sweetener recently became popular.  Agave nectar is produced from a plant and is popular in organic markets and with vegans.  It is touted for its low glycemic index, meaning it won’t cause much of a spike in blood sugar.  But no studies are available showing how it compares to other sugars in terms of blood sugar control.  It is primarily made up of fructose, which is in fact lower on the glycemic index.  One important note – if you try this, look for USDA-certified organic products. Most agave comes from Mexico and there have been issues with recalls because of excessive pesticides in the products. 

Raw Honey

Often sold at Farmer’s Markets, supporters of this sweetener love that it’s not processed.  Me too.  And because it’s not processed, it IS higher in a few nutrients (mainly B vitamins).  With that said, honey wouldn’t be my first choice for getting in any vitamins and minerals.  I DO like that you can use less of it than table sugar because teaspoon for teaspoon, it’s sweeter.  There’s also some very interesting data showing eating local honey may reduce allergies, it can be used as an anticeptic, and much more.  (NOTE: I don’t recommend pouring it on an open wound).

But in the end, will too much honey prevent you from getting the body of your dreams and slashing belly fat?  Sure, it’s still empty calories when you compare it side by side with fruit, for example (which also is high in a form of sugar, but nothing I’d worry about).

Where does that leave us?

All sugars have relatively the same number of calories per gram.

Organic sugars will still prevent you from losing belly fat.  Non organic sugars will prevent you from losing belly fat. 

If you are going to use a sweetener, opt for local honey and use it sparingly.  Still, the best way to eat foods is in their natural state — fruit is sweet, enjoy that as dessert.  Grill it to bring out the sweetness.  Add balsamic vinegar to a pan and heat it up to create a calorie free "syrup" that’s great with fruit. Avoid foods with ingredients that have been "invented" — the closer to the ground they are, the better off you will be.

In the end, burn belly fat by eating foods with few ingredients and training right.

What do you think?  Leave your thoughts in the comment section.