5 ways you’re sabotaging your weight-loss resolutions

WaPo ^ | 01/01/2016 | Jennifer Van Allen

[BenLurkin]

You do too much too soon

Many people try to overhaul their diets while simultaneously logging monster workout sessions at a pace that’s unsustainable. "People get all excited about counting calories, they overexercise and undereat, and it ends up being too much restriction," says exercise physiologist Jenny Hadfield, founder of coachjenny.com. "Three weeks after they start, they can’t manage it, and the scale tips the other way." Without adequate fueling, workouts become a waste of time; with no energy to push their bodies faster, harder and longer, people can’t make substantial fitness gains.

And the body rebels, Hadfield says. "When we drastically reduce calorie consumption and combine that with higher levels of exercise, the body adapts by lowering our metabolic rates." So you may drop pounds at first, but eventually you regain the weight, and then some. And there's new evidence that excess restriction messes with the body’s hunger mechanism

You overcompensate for calorie burn

Many people find that the more they exercise, the more they eat, either because the increased activity makes them hungrier or because they feel entitled to a donut after a tough workout. In a study published in the May 2014 issue of Marketing Letters, people who were told a two-kilometer walk was exercise ate 35 percent more chocolate pudding afterward than those who thought the same stroll was a "scenic walk." And it takes only minutes to eat back the calories burned on a 30-minute run. To avoid this, before your workout, prepare a post-workout snack that you can grab when you return — say some fat-free Greek yogurt and a piece of fruit, or some rice cakes with peanut butter.

[Pollster1]

No. We’re removing a petty tyrant from our lives in just over one year. Thank God!

[blueyon]

Happy Belated Birthday

[blueyon]

Which is what type of exercise routine?

[PROCON]

Which is what type of exercise routine?

For cardio and aerobic:

stair climbing

For strength:

push-ups and sit-ups

Pretty simple

[goodwithagun]

Keep up the good work! I also went vegan in July and using the low carb and weight training method, only vegan, lost weight. The only reason I’m vegan is due to a cancer issue that I’ve chosen to deal with nutritionally instead of medically. It’s a long story, but other than that you can’t go wrong with the low carb, weight training method. It works and it works quickly, and immediate results are very motivating! The weight loss commercials are on almost nonstop now and I just shake my head. Cardio and hour a day, seven days a week with calorie restrictions? Dear God, no!

[Farmer Dean]

Our local Aldi’s has that brand of cheese in 4 different varieties.Really good stuff.

[sheana]

I eat the cream on top Brown Cow for dessert. Good stuff.

[A_perfect_lady]

Vegan low carb?? I didn’t know there was such a thing! Tell me more?

[SamAdams76]

Yes, they are easy to make. Get a bunch of brussels sprouts. Slice the brownish end off and discard. Then cut each sprout in half and in a bowl, mix with a little kosher salt, olive oil, a tablespoon or so of melted butter, pepper, bacon bits (real bacon) and garlic (you can use powder or minced) and toss around until they are coated in oil. Then toss them onto a cookie sheet lined with tin foil and bake for 30-40 minutes at 400 degree. Toss them around a little after about 15 minutes in oven. You will know they are done when they start getting a little blackened, like in the picture below.

Even better if you have access to a grill. In that case, wrap the brussels sprouts in tin foil but no need to melt the butter. Let the butter melt into the sprouts on the grill.

[goodwithagun]

It’s basically soy-free, wheat free vegan. I limit starchy veggies like potatoes, for example. For lunch today we had Greek salad: lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, a few slivers of red onion and “feta”. The feta was boiled raw cashews that I crushed and marinated in the Greek dressing. The dressing was oregano, olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. No croutons! For supper I’m making a mushroom stew that is thickened with soaked and puréed cashews, with just a little bit of corn starch. It’s basically a beef stew but with mushrooms and mushroom stock instead of beef. I won’t add potatoes either. It was challenging at first, but I’m getting better at it.

[A_perfect_lady]

Do you ever feel weak or lightheaded? I do without meat, but I don’t know if that’s my low blood pressure or the lack of meat.

[MV=PY]

Thanks! I picked some up today and will give it a whirl tonight.

Trying them in the past I could take ‘em or leave ‘em. But with garlic, bacon and butter...

[CottonBall]

Butter in coffee?

[goodwithagun]

Sometimes, so I’ll drink a protein shake. I have one that’s made from pea and pumpkin protein. My husband went vegetarian to support me. He uses whey protien for body building and we can’t afford the vegan stuff for him, lol! So he just doesn’t eat meat. Our kids still do, though. In fact, a few weeks ago we butchered and processed a deer for them. Organic and grassfed!

[Jane Long]

It takes a bit of getting used to :)

I mix well, with fork or frother. I alternate between the butter and heavy cream. Yum. Keeps you focused/not hungry for much of the day (with regular breakfast of eggs/turkey bacon or protein shake, in addition).