The BEST Vegetables For Fat Loss

The BEST Vegetables For Fat Loss

Just like all carbohydrates, fats and proteins are not created equal from a fat loss or nutrient density standpoint, the same is true for vegetables. Yup, some vegetables are far more healthy than others. There is a particular group of vegetables that are health and nutrient POWERHOUSES. They can facilitate fat loss, boost the immune system, balance hormones and much more. Which vegetables are these? Cruciferous vegetables.

Cruciferous vegetables should become a daily staple in your diet for health, longevity and fat loss. Seriously. Every day. They include veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts and bok choy. I routinely eat 3-5 cups of cruciferous vegetables every day and here are a few reasons why.

  • They are high in fiber
    Because they are a great source of fiber, they’ll help you stay fuller longer, curbing your hunger and reducing your cravings. They can also help to promote bowel regularity.
  • They are low calorie
    Eating 3-5 cups is no big deal because cruciferous veggies are so low calorie. You can enjoy them to your heart’s content, relying on them for snacks, meal fillers or to help satisfy your hunger and cravings without upsetting the caloric apple cart.
  • They are natural estrogen detoxifiers
    We’ve talked before about how there are good forms of estrogen and bad forms. When we have too much estrogen that can really impair our ability to burn fat (among other things). Compounds within cruciferous vegetables help to bind and eliminate the bad estrogens, bringing down your total estrogen load.
  • They help manage blood sugar and moderate insulin release
    Numerous clinical studies have shown that consuming cruciferous vegetables, likely in part due to their high fiber content, helps to reduce blood sugar and therefore manage the insulin response. This allows you to burn fat, as compared to having high blood sugar and elevated insulin, which prevents the ability to burn stored fat.
  • They are anti-inflammatory
    Consuming cruciferous vegetables reduces systemic inflammation. This not only reduces cortisol, a stress hormone that can slow fat loss, but it also protects your overall health. Systemic inflammation is the starting point for almost all chronic disease.
  • They reduce your risk for cancer
    Compounds in cruciferous vegetables known as glucosinolates break down into isothiocyanates and other protective compounds when you chew. Isothiocyanates have been shown in repeated studies to protect your cells from DNA damage, neutralize carcinogens, induce cell death in unhealthy (cancerous and precancerous) cells, and inhibit tumor formation.
  • Uh, they’re really yummy! ‘Nuf said.

Here are some of my absolute favorite cruciferous vegetable recipes, but I also love to enjoy them steamed or sautéed with a little coconut oil or bacon fat!

The Slim Palate’s Broccoli Soup

PaleOMG’s Mexican “Rice” Bowls with Cauliflower Rice 

Fed & Fit’s Detox Salad (featuring cabbage)

Nom Nom Paleo’s Brussels Sprouts and Bacon 

Play around with recipes until you find a way to eat these nutritional powerhouses that you absolutely love! Eating your veggies isn’t something to suffer through – it’s something to enjoy!!

The ONE Factor That Kept Me Fat

The ONE Factor That Kept Me Fat

When I look at pictures from when I weighed over 300 pounds I inevitably wonder how I let it happen. At some point along the upward journey why didn’t I stop and say, “Woah now, enough is enough”? Why did I just keep buying larger sizes without recognizing that things were out of control?

I had no accountability. I’m not talking about a counselor or trainer; I’m talking about the fact that I never allowed myself to see what was happening. I avoided scales like the plague. At times, I cancelled doctor’s appointments to avoid finding out how much I weighed. I never looked in the mirror. It’s true – the only mirror I would use was the small one on my car’s sun visor. I turned away when walking past the bathroom mirror or looked down when washing my hands in a public restroom. I rarely turned the lights on in the bathroom, especially when taking a shower. I was doing it because I was ashamed of how I looked but it had an unintended consequence – it allowed me to balloon to 300+ lbs without ever really noticing what was happening. I never wore fitted clothes. I wore baggy pants and shirts that allowed me to pack on the pounds without struggling to get dressed each day.

Accountability is key. It can take many forms but it’s completely essential whether you’re looking to start your weight loss journey or not. Accountability is necessary for me now as I reshape my body. It will be an important part of my process for the rest of my life.

When I first started my journey I stayed accountable by checking my weight, my measurements and by paying attention to how my clothes felt.  On their own, none of these are foolproof but together they always let me know if I was on the right track.

Now I stay accountable in a few different ways. I still pay attention to how my clothes feel and I’m always working towards fitting into something that’s currently a little snug. I also pay close attention to my hunger, energy and cravings. If any or all of these are out of whack I know I’ve got to make adjustments. Finally, and most difficult of all, I’ve stopped avoiding the mirror.  It’s still hard for me, especially after a cheat day. I don’t want to see the bloat or puffiness. I want to pretend it’s not there but I face it head on. Ignoring things that made me uncomfortable is how I got into this mess and I won’t behave that way anymore. I take pictures of myself every day. I pay attention to my body and how it’s changing. I leave the light on when I take a shower.

You know those days when you think “I better not even try those skinny jeans today, I overdid it this weekend”? Those are the days you need to wear those jeans the most. You know when you wait to go dress shopping thinking you’ll drop a couple pounds this week and shop after you’ve cut back? Don’t think that way. Face the music and do it today. Wear the pants, shop for the dress, take a good, long look in the mirror. When you don’t want to face it is when you NEED to face it. Avoiding for a day or a week turns into 2 days or 2 weeks and before you know it, you hardly recognize yourself. Accountability is a daily practice.

I get it. You don’t like the way you look. It can be painful to see the reflection of someone you don’t recognize and aren’t proud of. But avoiding it is only compounding the problem – it’s giving permission for you to continue making the choices that created that person you don’t like. Swallow your pride, accept that it’s going to hurt a little and start to face the music. If you don’t like what you see, it’s time to change. Force yourself to confront what you aren’t satisfied with. Open your eyes, stop trying to deceive yourself and create the person you want to be.

Gluten: Is It Stalling Your Fat Loss?

Gluten: Is It Stalling Your Fat Loss?

There’s lots being said about gluten these days, huh? It seems like most people are wondering if they should eliminate gluten or not and the grocery aisle of gluten-free products is growing by the second! But what IS gluten and who needs to be concerned about it?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barely, rye and other grains. Due to modern food processing, it’s also in most oat products. We tend to think of those foods as carbohydrates, and they are, but they also contain about 10-15% protein, most of which comes from gluten.

It is estimated that more than 1/3 of the population is sensitive to gluten and this sensitivity manifests in a number of different ways. You might experience headaches, acne, stomach discomfort, mood swings, bloating, joint pain, fatigue or menstrual irregularities. On the other hand, you might not notice any physical symptoms even though gluten may be triggering silent, symptomless inflammation throughout your body that might not produce symptoms for years!

Some people avoid gluten for health reasons. Others avoid gluten to accelerate their fat loss goals. Today I want to talk about some of the reasons you might want to consider eliminating gluten to help support your fat loss efforts. Here are a few ways gluten can seriously slow your progress:

  • Gluten may lead to or worsen insulin resistance
    Insulin resistance increases hunger, cravings and fat storage. Insulin is one of the most important hormones in the fat-loss process and it can either work for you or against you. Consuming gluten allows insulin to to fight against all your fat loss efforts.
  • Gluten encourages leptin reistance
    Leptin is the hormone responsible for letting your brain know when you’re full and don’t need to eat anymore. Gluten encourages your body to not be as responsive to the messages coming from leptin, which can lead to insatiable appetite and deafness to satiety signals. To successfully lose fat, your want your body to be VERY sensitive to leptin signals to keep hunger at bay and be able to easily feel satisfied after eating.
  • Gluten-containing foods cause blood sugar spikes
    Gluten-containing foods are generally high carbohydrate. This leads to rapid surges in blood sugar and associated insulin spikes. This causes the vicious cycle of carbohydrate cravings, energy crashes and fat storage. Stay far away from this cycle by avoiding these carbohydrate bombs.
  • Gluten triggers inflammation
    What does inflammation have to do with fat loss? It causes a stress response in your body. These stress hormones do NOT favor fat loss. Not only is inflammation a real concern as it relates to overall health, it also makes fat loss far more challenging.

Are you curious to know if you’re sensitive to gluten? The best way to find out is to commit to eliminating it from your diet for 7 days and see how your body responds. After 7 days, begin to re-introduce it slowly and note changes in your mood, energy, water retention, joint comfort, skin health, mental clarity and stomach comfort.

What can you eat if you want to eliminate gluten? A lot!

  • Eggs
  • Meat/Fish/Poultry/Game
  • Dairy
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Nuts/seeds
  • Fats/oils

A word of warning: if you want to lose fat, stay away from processed foods. I don’t care if they say “gluten free” – if it’s processed, you shouldn’t be eating it everyday. There is a ton of gluten free junk food out there…it’s still junk food, gluten free or not.

Want to learn a little more about gluten? Click here for a great overview of gluten and what it can do inside your body, whether you feel it or not!

For detailed information on carbohydrate strategies for fat loss including more on fruit, wheat, oats, gluten plus strategies for improving your carbohydrate tolerance, check out the comprehensive carbs & fat loss ecourse! Follow the link below and use the coupon code Primal10 to get lifetime access for only $69 (including troubleshooting help from me on demand!)
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The Duct Tape of the Human Body?

The Duct Tape of the Human Body?

Oh boy am I excited to write about this topic. I’m not sure why – it’s not something that has been a lifelong passion for me or anything – but when I started to learn more about it and realized how much of what I thought I knew was wrong, I knew I had to share it with you. I want to talk to you about cholesterol. That word has an unfairly negative connotation. It blows my mind that you can go to reputable sites from health institutions and the government and read so much about cholesterol that just is flat out wrong.

Cholesterol is a fat-like substance that is so critical to human health that every single cell within our bodies is equipped to produce it on its own. Our liver is designed to recycle it so we can get as much use out of it as possible. Cholesterol is used to make vitamin D, to make hormones, and to make neurotransmitters (such as serotonin, a primary regulator of mood). Cholesterol is required for the formation of synapses in your brain – allowing you to think, analyze and store information.

It’s no surprise that human breast milk is naturally high in cholesterol and even contains a special enzyme to make sure that infants absorb as much of it as possible.

Nora Gedgaudas, author of “Primal Body, Primal Mind” refers to cholesterol as the human body’s version of duct tape. I love that and think its spot on. Cholesterol is deployed in response to chronic stress, poor dietary choices, thyroid issues, injury or inflammation. Because of that, it’s often found “at the scene of the crime” in the case of arterial damage.

You see, when there is damage within our bodies, new cells are generated to help repair the damage. Cholesterol is a component of those new cells. In additional to that, cholesterol – that duct tape of the human body – is carried to the scene of the crime via its carrier, LDL, to help patch up the damage. Unfortunately, because of our generally poor dietary choices and chronic stress, we never stop initiating this damage. Chronically high carbohydrate consumption keeps our inflammatory response in overdrive. Chronic stress causes internal damage and our body never gets a break. But cholesterol keeps doing its job – getting deployed out to the scene of the crime to patch things up. Well of course, if you keep slapping on additional layers of duct tape it will pile up and yes, you guessed it, you start to see “clogged arteries”.

Since cholesterol is there, it gets the blame. How about we look at what’s causing the damage!? Cholesterol is a healing substance – why is it chronically needed for healing? Where’s the damage coming from and how do we make THAT stop? It’s like saying that since police are at the scene of every crime we need to focus on reducing the number of police so that there is less crime. Um, yeah, go ahead and try that.

Now, I want to make one more point about cholesterol from food sources. Yes, your body is capable of producing cholesterol on its own. However, it’s a very complex and inefficient process. When you consume cholesterol from food sources, your body is able to down regulate cholesterol production. There is a natural system of checks and balances in place because we were designed to consume cholesterol rich foods like eggs and animal proteins. However, when you dramatically cut cholesterol and saturated fats from your diet, your body sends its cholesterol production into overdrive because it can’t possible survive without ample cholesterol.

If you want to be healthy, if you want your body to function optimally, if you want your immune system to be strong, here’s my advice: eliminate the cause of the damage within your body. Cut out processed foods and wheat products. Focus on whole foods, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and high quality meat, poultry and seafood. Don’t think you’re doing yourself any favors by cutting your cholesterol intake or limiting your fat intake. The real culprit here is inflammation and the primary drivers of inflammation are poor food choices and chronic stress.

The Most Dangerous Time For Fat Loss

The Most Dangerous Time For Fat Loss

A few weeks ago I had a bad night. I went into it tired (which can always go very badly) and I got some news I didn’t want to hear. I immediately started crying. Had I been home, I probably would have gone to bed and that would have been the end of it.

I wasn’t at home. I was out of town. And there was cake. Tired + Tears + Cake…… It doesn’t get much more risky than that for me!

I started to convince myself to have the cake. “Seriously, who cares? You’re on vacation. It’s one night and you deserve a little break. Have a piece of cake and have a drink too! Oh, and remember that nutella in the cabinet? That would be amazing. You’re upset and this will take your mind off it. You’ve been so good for so long. Just take the night to forget all about this eating clean/primal/fat loss stuff. Enjoy yourself.”

I was so tempted. It wasn’t even a cake I really wanted. I wasn’t hungry. I was tired and emotional and that’s all it took to start arguing with myself “Who cares? It’s one night. And honestly, if you gained a couple pounds, what the hell. It’s no big deal.”

There was a time that I would have given in to the cake in a heartbeat. I’d have happily fallen for the argument and devoured a couple pieces. In fact, I probably wouldn’t have stopped there. I’d have walked up to the store and bought ice cream because, hey, if I’m gonna do it, let’s do it right, right?

But I didn’t have the cake. I engaged in the conversation with the part of me that was trying to argue “Who cares? Just do it!”.

I care. I’m not falling for that anymore. I’m not going to medicate myself with food. I’m not going to let my cravings be greater than my will. I’m not going to be the type of woman who gives in easily.

I reminded myself of what I’d feel like after eating the cake. I reminded myself that it probably wouldn’t even taste that great but I’d look in the mirror before bed and feel frustrated. I’d be irritated with myself and the sadness from earlier would be compounded with guilt. I’d wake up in the morning wondering why I gave in to my emotions and why I couldn’t recognize that it was merely a perfect storm of fatigue, emotion and opportunity.

I sat down at the table next to the cake with a bottle of water and reminded myself that I am stronger than every obstacle before me. Every good decision I make reinforces the woman I am becoming.

I had a good night.

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