BACKGROUND

The weight loss plateau is every dieter’s nightmare. Seeing your weight struck at a particular number for weeks together can be highly demoralizing. But fear not! Follow these simple tips from the wight loss louis ville plans at  https://weightlosslouisvilleky.com/ to kick start your weight loss again.

RE-EVALUATE YOUR CALORIE INTAKE AND EXPENDITURE

The amount of calories required to maintain your body is directly proportional to your current weight. As your body weight comes down, your Resting Metabolic Rate also comes down. You have to be aware of this fact and re-evaluate the amount of calories required to maintain your body weight. I would suggest that you do this calculation every time you loose 5 Kgs. Similarly as you thin down, your energy expenditure for the same amount of exercise also comes down. You probably need to lower your intake or bump up your exercise in order to kick start your weight loss again.

VARY YOUR WORKOUTS

As you continue doing a particular type of exercise, your body adapts and becomes more efficient. Thus, the calorie expenditure of your body while running the same kilometer is going to be lesser than what it was 4 weeks ago. In order to not stall weight loss, you must constantly surprise your body. Do not do the same exercise day in and day out. Add variety. If you have been running so far, get on the saddle and pedal away a few miles. Or hit the pool and go for a swim. How about lifting some weights? A well designed exercise program concentrates on the entire body. Not only does this reduce boredom, but it also ensures that your whole body is exercised as opposed to only certain muscle groups.

VARY YOUR DIET

Are you eating the same things day in and day out? Variety is the spice of life. Been skimping on fruits and vegetables? Time to add them back to your diet. Dump all junk food. Personally, I have found that going low-carb for a few days kick starts weight loss when struck in a plateau.

AVOID GETTING INTO STARVATION MODE

Sometimes a very huge calorie deficit can lead to your body getting into a starvation mode, where in your body slows down its metabolizing making weight loss extremely difficult. Such a state is unhealthy which you do not want to get into. A rule of thumb is that about 1200 calories is the bare minimum intake for any adult. If you have been eating much less than 1200 calories per day, increase your calorie intake for a few does so that your metabolism “resets” to its normal state. Don’t worry about any weight gain. Even if it happens, it will only be temporary. After a few days of increased calorie intake, aim to introduce a calorie deficit again through a combination of diet and exercise and see your weight melt away.

USE TECHNOLOGY

Today, technology is on our side when it comes to weight loss. Use technology to accurately measure your calorie intake and expenditure and leave nothing to guess work. My blog on tools for weight loss points out the various technological aids available today.

BACKGROUND

The food that we eat consists of macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients. Macro-nutrients are required by our body in large quantities while micro-nutrients are required only in minuscule quantities. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats make up the macro-nutrients while vitamins and minerals make up micro-nutrients. Dietary fat has always been under attack, with every other food in the super market competing for your attention by claiming to be “99% fat free” or “low in fat”. However, is this vilification of dietary fat justified? Many scientists argue that it is the carbohydrates in the diet that makes us fat and not the fat we intake.

HUMAN DIET OVER THE AGES

Over millions of years of human evolution through the ages, humans have predominantly been hunter gatherers, hunting and gathering their food. Specifically, human diet did not include the following:

• Grains
• Sugar or High Fructose Corn Syrup
• Processed food
• Bread
• Anything “white”
• etc.

The basic premise of Low Carbohydrate High Fat (LCHF) diets is that human diet over the ages have never consisted of carbohydrates and other processed foods. Humans have traditionally consumed only fat and protein in large quantities. The obesity epidemic is primarily due the consumption of carbohydrates, especially highly processed carbohydrates.

LOW CARB, HIGH FAT (LCHF)

LCHF diets aim to reduce carbohydrate consumption to less than 50 grams per day. The body would derive its energy primarily from fats. You might ask, but what about “balanced diet”? Shouldn’t I take a proportionate amount of carbohydrates too? Well, as you might be aware, there are essential fats that our body cannot produce and must be ingested via our diet. Similarly there are essential amino acids, the body’s only source of which is through the food we eat. But are there any essential carbohydrates? None that I have heard of. One could conclude that carbohydrates are therefore, non-essential for our body.

WHAT TO EAT?

Anything rich in fat / protein: meats, milk, cheese, butter, avocados, non-starchy vegetables, nuts. Eat all you can. Although weight loss is calorie-in-calorie-out, if you lower your carbohydrate intake and increase your fat and protein intake, you would feel more satiated and would less likely overeat.

WHAT TO AVOID?

Any food high in carbohydrates: wheat, sugar, rice, bread, pasta, potatoes etc.

NUTRITIONAL KETOSIS

Once you are about 2-3 weeks into low-carb-high-fat diet, your body would start producing ketones which your body use as the source of energy as opposed to a state of glycosis where your body relies on glucose for energy. You can measure your blood ketone levels using home blood meters to know if you are in a state of nutritional ketosis. Blood ketone levels above 0.5 millimolar are generally considered to be in a state of ketosis.

SIDE-EFFECTS

Initial side effects usually experienced by dieters include dizzyness, head ache, nausea etc. last the first two weeks. Your body is adapting from using carbohydrates as its primary source of fuel to burning fat. The side effects usually go away after a couple of weeks. Beginners are usually adviced to increase their salt content during the initial few weeks in order to minimise the side effects.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

LCHF diets have been a bit controversial, especially for athletes who also train regularly and depend on carbohydrates to fuel their workouts. The jury is divided when it comes to LCHF for athletes. However, for an average individual who engages in exercise only for fitness purposes, LCHF as a lifestyle can be very beneficial. The following resources are highly recommended for additional information and research:
DietDoctor.com - A LCHF blog
Wheat Belly – A book by Dr. William Davis which lists the evils of wheat
The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living – A book by Dr. Phinney and Dr. Volek on low carbohydrate diets as a lifestyle

Running has always been one of the most efficient ways to burn calories. Running is also one of the cheapest ways to get started with exercising. You don’t need to invest in a gym-membership or buy a fancy bicycle to get started. All you need is a (cheap) pair of running shoes and a place to run.

GETTING STARTED

Anyone can run. Even if you haven’t exercised since childhood. Even if you cannot run continuously for 30 seconds even. All it takes is about 9 weeks for you to get from a “couch state” to running continuously for 5 Kms. It might sound hard to believe, but it is possible. I followed the plan that I am going to describe and got from a couch-potato state to completing my first 10K race within a span of about three months.

SIGN UP FOR A RACE

I have always found that I am more motivated when I have a goal in sight. You may be sufficiently motivated, but for most of us if there is a time-bound goal to achieve, we are more likely to stick to our training plan. With this in mind, I would urge you to look out for a 5K or a 10K race roughly three to four months from now. Sign up right now, even before you start training. You would then have a target in sight and you know that you have to work hard in order to finish the race.

A little motivation

COUCH TO 5K PROGRAM

Nine weeks, three workouts a week for 30 minutes each. That’s what it takes to get you from the “couch” to running non-stop for 30 minutes. Here is a description of the plan week by week. You should do all the “running” described below at a very slow pace. A rule of the thumb is that if you are not able to have a conversation while “running” then you are going too fast. Always remember to stick to a “conversational pace” while following this plan.

WEEK 1

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) 60 secs run followed by 90 secs walk. Repeat 8 times for a total time of 20 minutes.
3) Five minutes cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 2

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) 90 secs run followed by 2 minutes walk. Repeat 6 times.
3) Five minutes cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 3

1) Five minute warm up walk.
Do two repetitions of steps 2-3:
2) Run 90 secs. Walk 90 secs.
3) Run 180 secs. Walk 180 secs
4) Five minute cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 4

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 180 secs. Walk 90 secs.
3) Run 5 minutes. Walk 150 secs.
4) Run 3 minutes. Walk 90 secs.
5) Run 5 minutes.
6) Five minute cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 5

Workout 1:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
Do two repetitions of step 2:
2) Run 5 minutes. Walk 3 minutes.
3) Run 5 minutes.
4) Five minute cool down walk.

Workout 2:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 8 minutes.
3) Walk 5 minutes.
4) Run 8 minutes.
5) Five minute cool down walk.

Workout 3:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 20 minutes.
3) Five minute cool down walk.

WEEK 6

Workout 1:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 5 minutes. Walk 3 minutes.
3) Run 8 minutes. Walk 3 minutes.
4) Run 5 minutes.
5) Five minute cool down walk.

Workout 2:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 10 minutes.
3) Walk 3 minutes.
4) Run 10 minutes.
5) Five minute cool down walk.

Workout 3:
1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 22 minutes.
3) Five minute cool down walk.

WEEK 7

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 25 minutes.
3) Five minute cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 8

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 28 minutes.
3) Five minute cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

WEEK 9

1) Five minute warm up walk.
2) Run 30 minutes.
3) Five minute cool down walk.

Repeat the same workout 3 times during the week as per your convenience.

SMARTPHONE APPS

There are numerous smartphone apps that help you keep track of your workouts while you are training for your race and following the Couch to 5K program. Some of them are C25K specific like the C25K trainer (Andriod, Apple) while others are general purpose workout trackers such as Runkeeper (Andriod, Apple) and Endomondo (Android, Apple).

Good luck with your training!

BACKGROUND

You cannot manage what you do not measure.

Thankfully, technology is on our side, and today numerous gadgets and tools aid us to keep us on track while we embark the weight loss journey. I list the most vital of these in this post.

CALORIE TRACKING

Our body is like an engine. It uses calories for fuel to do work. Any excess fuel is stored as fat. If there is a fuel deficit, the fat stored in our body is burnt and we loose weight. While this presents an overly simplistic picture of the whole process, you get the general drift. Weight loss occurs when there is a calorie deficit. Your intake must be lesser than your expenditure. Sounds simple enough? It is, but you must keep track of your calorie intake/expenditure with reasonable accuracy. If you rely solely on guesswork, more likely than not, you would end up disappointed.

Fortunately, calorie tracking is in your fingertips these days. Literally. There are many apps that help you keep track of calorie tracking. All you need is a kitchen scale and a smart phone or a tablet. Apps like MyFitnessPal has a huge database of food and their nutrition information. All you need to do is to enter the serving sizes of the food you consume and the app keeps track of your calorie intake. Enter your exercise details and your energy expenditure is tracked too.

MyFitnessPa

WEIGHING SCALE

While this may seem obvious, I would recommend that you get a scale which also measures body fat percentage. Body fat analysers send a small electric current through your body (don’t worry, you wont feel a thing) and estimates your body bat by measuring the impedance. Note that this just an estimate and there are numerous question marks over the accuracy of body fat estimated by these scales. However, these scales are convenient, inexpensive and are good enough to give you a ball-park idea of how much body fat you have. Serious athletes should go for advanced body fat analysis techniques such as a DEXA scan or under water weighing. You can get a basic body fat analyser that just displays your weight, body fat percentage, and maybe a few other pieces of information such as this one or get a fancy one which syncs via wifi / bluetooth such as the one form Withings or from Fitbit.

Basic body fat analyser

ACTIVITY TRACKERS

An activity tracker is a wearable device that typically keeps track of the following:

• Daily steps walked (pedometer function)
• Floors climbed (using a barometer)
• Distance walked (estimate based on steps, stride length)
• Sleep pattern (Yes, you wear the device even while sleeping)
• Daily calorie expenditure
• Other parameters such as heart rate, perspiration etc.

An activity tracker keeps you motivated by urging you towards achieving your goals (10,000 steps a day, 2500 calories expenditure etc) and usually has several visual motivators to help you keep track of how far you still have to go. In addition, almost all of these sync to your smartphone and have dedicated apps and websites which display fancy graphs. Today, the market is flooded with activity trackers. Popular ones include Fitbit, Withings Pulse, Garmin Vivofit etc.

Activity Trackers

HEART RATE MONITORS

While activity trackers provide an estimate of your overall daily energy expenditure, a heart rate monitor estimates (with a greater degree of accuracy) your energy expenditure during exercise. In addition, heart rate monitors, as their name implies, measure your heart rate continuously during exercise. This also gives an indication of your fitness levels, with improvement in your overall fitness, you are able to perform the same exercise at the same intensity at a lower heart rate. Some heart rate monitors also talk to gym equipment such as treadmills and elliptical trainers and you are able to see your heart rate on the machine’s display while exercising. Polar is a manufacturer of heart rate monitors with many models available.

Heart rate monitor

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

All these gadgets can be a bit intimidating at first, but every one of these is a worthwhile investment. To start off, you can just get a kitchen scale and use the MyFitnessPal app to do calorie tracking. Once you start to add more technology into the mix, you can keep track of additional parameters and ensure that you are progressing towards your goals.

Additionally, most of these gadgets have social features allowing you to loose weight with friends, and have friendly competitions, making weight loss fun. Also, most of these gadgets talk to each other, presenting you with an overall picture of your fitness.

Good luck!