The Mozart diet?

I recently started reading a biography of Mozart. And to my surprise, I found a mention of a diet in it. In a letter that Mozart wrote to his mother in 1770. He's been traveling with his father, his sister and this other man.

"I myself have had the privilege of luncing with this saint, who on this occasion drank a whole decanter and finished up with a full glass of very strong wine, two big slices of melon, some peaches and pears for dessert, five cups of coffee, a whole plate of cloves, and two full dishes of milk and lemon. I suppose he might be following some sort of diet, but I doubt it, for it would be too much; and anyway he eats like this at every meal and what's more, stokes himself up with several snacks the afternoon as well."

Mozart: His life and music. by Jeremy Siepmann

Your year-end summary

As 2009 comes to the end, it is time to look back on your accomplishements. If you made resolutions last January, how did you do? How far did you get with your goal of getting back in shape? What obstacles did you meet? What did you do to get over those? What did you learn about yourself? What habit will you drop or maintain?

If you achieved your goal, congratulations. If not, you still have another 15 days to get closer to your goal. It is never too late to look after yourself. You don't need to wait for the new year. If you need to scarp the old plan and start with a clean slate, do it now. I know it is hard. But the challenging times make the rest of the year easier.

Super-sneaky Weights loss secrets

My wife’s Cosmo just came in. And I had a peek at it. There was an article called “Super-sneaky Weights loss secrets.” That got me curious. I’ve heard of weight loss secrets before but not super snaky ones. So here are a few secrets I found in there.

End your workout with protein.
This one I really like. They suggest you eat a snack that includes protein if you feel hungry after a workout. And this is the part I agree with “People overestimate the number of calories burned while exercising…” And they usually reward themselves with food that has more calories. It kind of defeats the purpose.

Drink after dinner coffee
This one I’ve never heard. But it could be a way to change the dessert habit. They say to drink decaf coffee after dinner. By doing this, your body will gradually stop craving sugar at the end of a meal.

Give your guy the first bite
How about this one? They tell readers to give their guy the first bite, so that they have less to eat. Well ladies, just make sure you eat enough. We don’t enjoy having dinner with someone that eats like a bird. And if you don’t get enough calories you won’t be much fun to be with.

All that sneaky secret stuff means nothing. If you don’t look after your bodies need, you will struggle with your weight. Listen to your body and see how certain foods make you feel. If you do it right, you will not fall prey to cravings. From that, create your eating plan and build health from the ground up. Do it first for your health and everything will fall in place. If you post a comment on this blog, I’ll email you a free report on how to maximize fat loss using food and physical activity.

Cosmopolitan, November 2009

Anti-aging whey protein

This one is not just for bodybuilders. Yes it is a protein supplement and it is not to increase your caloric intake. Its purpose is to minimize the damaging affects that oxidation can have on your tissues. For that reason it is kind of an anti-aging protein. For more info, click on this link.
http://tinyurl.com/y8orcj7

Keep it simple

Lately have been ranting about the fact that many people need equipment to exercise. And from what I see at the gym, they don’t use it properly. They walk on a treadmill and read a magazine. I never understood how they could do that withourt falling off. Anyway, my point is all you need to get it shape is your motivation and desire to change. When you have that, the rest is secondary. A great exercise plan performed poorly will bring you dispionting results. And a so-so program done with intensity will get you where you want.

So the equipment does not guarantee the results. Yes it may bring convenience but it is not the guarantee it promises. At the beginning, your body weight can be all you need. Did you know that you use 75% of your body weight when you do a push-up? So stop delaying the beginning of your exercise routine. Get going.

We were made to move

I just started reading "The stress of life" by Hans Selye. He is a pioneer in the research on stress and its effects. The main point is that we cannot live without a certain level of stress

He also confirmed one of my beliefs: That we were made to move. He writes "As we have so often said, living beings are constructed for work and if they have no outlet for their pent-up energy, they must make extreme efforts at adaptation... "

So choose the good stress over the bad. This is one more way to show you that physical activity is vital to your health.

Do you have a disaster breakfast?

How many of you have a coffee and muffin for breakfast? Do you think this is healthy? Well most muffins are loaded with carbs. And by now you should know what this does to your insulin response. And on top of it, did you know that caffeine will spike that insulin level? It’s kind of a double whammy. If you are a true carb person you may get away with it. But for most of us, that combination is a highway to the love handles.

Add protein to your breakfast. It will slow down digestion and it will not get to your fat cells as fast. Moreover, it will keep you full for longer.

Is there anything harder than losing weight?

For a lot of North Americans, it seems to be the hardest thing. And I assist a lot of my clients through that process. But if you ask people that have lost weight, they may tell you that it was harder to keep it off.

Sadly you hear that story often. An individual loses 20, 30 pounds only to gain it all back and then some. What happenned here? How can a person who had the discipline to lose the weight just gain it back?

They did not use a systme that was right for them. To borrow a term coined to our economy, it was not sustainable. I know someone who lost 70 lbs 2 years ago. He found a plan that worked for him and he is happy following it ti this day. Yes he cheats from time to time. But he gets right back on track.

Keeping the weight off is going to be hard if you don't use an approach that is not sustainable for you. Most crash diets fit into that category. Spend some time to find the right eating plan and do it for your health first. The rest will follow.

3 things you need before your start an exercise program

Before you get started on any exercise plans, follow these steps:

1. Reason or goal

You need to know the reason why you are doing this. What do you want to achieve? Why is it important to you?

2. An appointment
Set up the days and times that you will dedicate to exercise. Plan it in advance.Otherwise you will never find time for it.

3. Motivation/support
It can come from family members and friends. Or a group of people that are on the same journey.

Find your weight loss plan.

Lately I've been reading "The metabolic Typing diet" by William Wolcott and Trish Fahey. It is one of the first diet books that suggests different eating strategies.

More weight loss wisdom

Avoid snack foods with the “OH” sound in the name. Doritos, Fritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Hostess Ho Hos, etc. – Donna David

Never eat something that is pretending to be something else; e.g, no “textured vegetable protein” or veggie burgers (fake meat), no artificial sweeteners, no margarine (fake butter), no “low fat” sour cream, no turkey bacon, no “chocolate-flavour sauce” that doesn’t contain chocolate, no “quorn.” If I want something that tastes like meat or butter, I would rather have the real thing than some chemical concoction pretending to be healthful. – Sonya Legg

Weight loss or entertainment?

I ask myself that question sometimes. What do people want more: a weight loss workout or an entertaining one? I was reading an article in the paper the other day. I was about another one of those miracle machines. It makes you feel great, gives you a great burn, and you’ll look like a movie star soon. It looks like every body is after the next machine. They want the new piece of equipment that will be the answer to their bulging mid section. A machine that would make them look fantastic with no effort. A machine that does the exercise for you.

I used to have this client that wanted to do new exercises every workout. Because she was easily bored. Well, first I’m not here to entertain you. And second, how can we progress if you are always learning a move?

Well wake up and smell the sweat. That is not how it works. First, find a routine that you like. And second, learn how to perform the exercises properly. And third, perform them as hard as you can. That is how you will get your body to change. And if you want to be entertained, go catch a movie after your workout.

Weight loss quotes.

Here are a few quotes that I found in the New York Times magazine.

After spending some time with people with eating disorders, I came up with this rule: “Don’t create rules for eating if their only purpose is to help you feel more in control.” I try to eat healthfully, but if there’s a choice between eating ice cream and spending all day obsessing about eating ice cream, I’m going to eat ice cream! – Laura Usher

If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you are not hungry. – Emma Foot

It’s better to pay the grocer than the doctor. – John Forti

Different strokes for different folks

When it comes to weight loss programs, we are not the same. There's no one size fits all solution. Unfortunately, most weight loss system and diet books try to do that. And as it works for some individuals, we see their newly skinny bodies in before and after pictures. Great marketing approach that helps racking in the money.

We never hear about the ones that had a hard time. Or did not have any success. One of my clients got herself sick after trying a diet plan that worked for one of her friends. So spend some time in finding what brings you the best overall health benefits. Plan for the long haul, not for a quick fix.

I don’t feel like working out

Man, these days I really don’t want to do it. I drag my butt around and come up with excuses not to workout. Then I start blaming the lack of light, blah, blah, blah. And then I think of the people that read this blog for motivation. And sometime I feel like a fraud. But you know what, it can happen to any of us. The important thing is just to get going again. Just find time for a short workout. That’s what I did. I exercised for 20 min. I felt pretty god. I was happy to have done it and to have taken action out of my slump. And my hamstrings were sore.

So if you fall off the horse, don’t dwell on it. Just keep your focus on what you want to achieve and get back at it.

Fat is not fattening

If you look for it, the evidence that low fat diets don’t really work is there. A review article that was published in 2002 could not relate dietary fat intake and weight gain. It looks like once again we are being misled to think that we should be afraid of fat and delve into carbs. You need to find the balance that works for you. The right proportions of protein, fat and carbohydrates will keep you slim and full of energy.
See “What is your metabolic type?” posted on October 5, 200

Diet pop is no help

I was reading a Kevin Trudeau book the other day. He was reporting results of a study that looks into the effects of diet pop. Does it really help to lose weight? Well, he used two groups of kids. The first one drank diet pop and the second one kept on drinking regular pop. What do you think the results were? The diet pop kids got fatter and the regular pop ones stayed the same. Maybe it is time you re-think your choice. Pop is crap but if you will drink it, stay with the real stuff.

Easy strategy for weight loss

I was surprised by this article in the New York Times magazine. The article was on calorie restriction diets. And what caught my attention was the fact that people tend to eat the same weight of food every day. The problem is that some days we eat more calorie dense foods.

So if you want to lose weight, focus on foods that bring a lot of nutrition but low calories. An example is an apple, low calories for the weight. Conversely, alcohol has a lot of calories with little nutrition.

Thus make the bulk of your food, high nutrition and low calories. Dr. Phil calls it high yield foods. Looks like fruits and vegetables win the comparison again. Non of the low fat crap allowed.

Listen to your body

Yes, listen to it. It’s talking to you. And it does so every minute of every day. It communicates to you what is going on inside. Your body doesn’t use words. It communicates with emotions, feelings and sensations. But don’t worry, this won’t be a “feelings” article.

My point is, your body tells you if something is going wrong. We are the idiots that ignore the message. As an example, notice how you feel after a meal. Does it give you a boost or does it make you feel sleepy? If you feel sleepy, that meal had the wrong foods or proportions for you. Food is our source of energy. It should not leave you feeling sluggish. Unless you eat foods that are wrong for you..

So, 1-2 hours after a meal, notice how you feel and learn from the message your body is sending you.

The dirty secret of weight machines

It kills me when I see an obese person that is trying to lose weight, on a biceps curl machine. It is a waste of time. It is such a small muscle and burn few calories. Moreover, machines do not help you wit h posture or core strength. Thus you need to use a lot of them to cover your whole body. And machines work your muscles in isolation which never happens in real life.

Invest your workout time in exercises that use as many muscles as you can. And learn a variety of bodyweight exercises. If you can’t perform a chin up, what the hell are you doing on a biceps curl machine?