The secret to long-term weight loss

The secret to long-term weight loss is doing the same healthy things over and over again.

Have you noticed that some people who have a personal trainer and consistently workout do not look any look different?

That’s because it’s what we do between exercise that really makes the difference. That being said 70% of weight loss comes from changes in diet.

There are three "ingredients" to weight loss.

1. Eating right (or Diet)
2. Exercising
3. Consistency

The third ingredient: Consistency is easily the most important, and the most difficult to accomplish. It takes accountability and a measured pace.

There’s a huge difference between knowing what to do, and actually doing it.

Diet:
The right diet will can help anyone lose weight for a few weeks. The problem with most diets is that they a) become boring b) are seen as temporary c) don’t actually change your habits and behaviors. We view a diet as something we will do until we reach our goal—and then quit, and go back to “old ways”. Most people never stick to their diets.

Instead of talking about your "diet", start talking about it as a way of life. The best “diets” are the ones you can truly stick with. It has to be a way of life, otherwise, you’re going to revert back to your old ways, and regain the weight.

Ultimately, the key to this is changing your relationship with food. If the only thing we’re changing is the food we’re eating from one “diet” to the next, we’re not going to change for the long term. If you have trouble sticking to a diet and/or exercise plan, it may because of an unknown fear related to losing weight—people are often as afraid of success as they are of failure.

Exercise:
One of the biggest problems with exercise is "binging and purging." (Note: This has nothing to do with food, bulimia, or anorexia.) As an example, "John" will decide he needs to lose 15 pounds before his wedding. He buys a gym membership and starts working out every day for 2 hours (binging).

By the end of the first week, he is completely exhausted. He decides to take a day off to recuperate and that day turns into a week (purging). When John feels sufficiently guilty, he will goes back to the gym and repeats the process. Again, like your diet, it has to be sustainable. But keep in mind: no one gains weight from not exercising. People gain weight from overeating.

Why do so many people struggle with their weight?

Consistency:
People aren’t staying consistent with their diet and/or exercise.

It’s all about consistency. It's easy to start a diet, but it’s very hard to stick with it. Same for exercise.

The real key to losing weight is not a magic diet, pill or exercise contraption. Rather, the key is finding ways to be consistent with diet and exercise. 

Remember, there's a huge difference between knowing what to do, and actually doing it.

The Top 7 lean Muscle-building Foods

1. Eggs

Eggs have been vilified for years as artery-clogging foods. But further research into the role of dietary cholesterol Opens a New Window. and heart disease shows that for most people, the two are not linked. Eggs have since returned to the spotlight as a health food, especially for building serious muscle. The cholesterol found in eggs yolks serves at the scaffolding for steroid hormones, and the ½ a gram of leucine in each egg is like throwing gasoline on your muscle-building fire.

2. Nuts

Nuts are a must for any guy struggling to put on muscle weight. 1 ounce of cashew or almonds contains 150-170 high quality calories. Nuts are the perfect blend of protein, fats, and fiber, allowing you to get the extra calories you need without having them pad your waistline. Nuts are also extremely portable, making them the perfect thing to snack on during the day if you need to increase your calorie intake.

3. Protein Shake

A protein and carbohydrate recovery shake should be the cornerstone of your muscle-building program. Drinking a shake consisting of protein and carbohydrates before your workout sets the stage for optimal muscle growth and nutrient usage. Research from several universities shows that this power nutrition combination puts the brakes on excess muscle breakdown, jacks up protein synthesis, rapidly refills stores of muscle energy, increases blood flow to your muscles, up-regulates creatine transport, and improves your body’s ability to process and use carbohydrates for hours following your workout.

4. Full-Fat Cottage Cheese

Cottage cheese’s muscle-building powers come from two different components. Cottage cheese contains a high proportion of casein, the slow-digesting dairy protein. When you eat casein, your blood amino acid levels rise slowly and stay elevated for longer than if you would have eaten whey (the other dairy protein). Cottage cheese also contains live cultures—also known as good bacteria—that will help you break down and absorb all the nutrients you need to get bigger and stronger.

5. Chickpeas

Chickpeas should be your anytime carb source of choice. If you are having trouble getting big and staying lean, replace some of the rice and grain in your diet with chickpeas. This versatile bean contains 45 grams of slow-acting carbs per cup along with 12 grams of fiber.

6. Lean Beef

For decades, beef has remained at the top of the list of best muscle-building foods—and for good reason! Beef contains a muscle-building combination of protein like essential amino acids, B-vitamins, and creatine Opens a New Window. . Beef also contains a mixture of saturated fat, which can support healthy testosterone levels, and monounsaturated fat, for heart heath. As an added benefit, people who eat more red meat report feeling lower levels of anxiety and stress, according to research from the University of Melbourne.

7. Rotisserie Chicken

Rotisserie chicken should be your emergency muscle food. Available at almost all supermarkets, rotisserie chickens provide you with readily available ready-to-eat high quality protein in a delicious package. Have one or two breasts, or mix and match light and dark meat—whichever fits your diet.

Hope you like it :-).

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