Suddenly there’s all this talk about New Year’s resolutions and how to make ‘em stick.
Whenever that subject comes up, I recall my friend Laura who’d fallen off the low carb bandwagon time and again.
It was about 6 years ago when I noticed she started wearing more baggy clothes.
We used to enjoy shopping for clothes we wanted to wear. Then at some point we just stopped talking about the latest looks.
Every few months Laura would drop the takeaways and get serious…
From shakes and meal-replacement bars to the extreme ‘nothing but cabbage soup’ to other plans that ask you to monitor every single mouthful.
Over the years Laura tried every kind of strict meal plan to no avail.
For some reason her journey back to healthy weight felt like throwing a bucket of water in the ocean.
Her mom blamed Laura’s constant evening snacking. (The family-size bag of chips and chunky chocolate bar).
I think it’s something else.
You see, like most of us, Laura was busy at work and hardly made time to eat properly.
So anytime she got on another eating plan that handed her a ‘naught list’… (that basically felt like “time to give up all my favorite foods”)… she’d tell me the obvious.
“Helen, I have enough willpower to make it through one day. Just one day!”
And what did that do?
Open the door for more bad habits.
Like going until lunchtime before eating!
In a moment I’ll share a handful of tips that got Laura all excited to make 2021 her year.
None of these require sweating through countless t-shirts at the gym.
And for anyone with a big sweet tooth, there’s one tip that feels like having ‘dessert every night’ without falling off the low carb bandwagon.
There’s no better time to quit feeling at the mercy of food and instead start looking forward to wearing glam dresses, strappy tops and outfits you’ve been hanging onto for years.
Common Mistake #1
Nobody likes feeling bloated and I’m no different.
There’s a reason I started skipping salty sauces like barbecue, steak or teriyaki. It triggers the body to retain water (in all the wrong places!)
What else?
Chances are you’re already wise enough to be avoiding fizzy drinks. If that doesn’t fix it then watch out for these gas-causing offenders:
- Cabbage
- Turnips
- Kale
- And Broccoli, just to name a few.
Turns out our body can run into a hard time digesting all that fiber if we’re not used to eating a lot of raw veggies. Good intentions turned bad (bloating!).
There’s two things you can do.
First, you can try removing one food at a time to spot the offender.
Secondly, cooking loosens up the cell walls of plants. This in turn makes it easy to digest.
But don’t go boiling your veggies until the water turns green – because you’ll end up pouring all that vitamin goodness down the drain. Instead steam or boil in as little water as possible. [1,2,3]
And while we’re on the topic of water, allow me to remind you of a common blunder…
Common Mistake #2
Next time you’re tempted to reach out for sugar-free ‘light’ drink flip to the label and if it has any of these then put it back:
- Sorbitol
- Mannitol
- Xylitol
Some flavored water bottles have some these lurking too. [4]
These ingredients trigger bloating in some people [5]. Researchers at the University of Melbourne, Australia uncovered one more side effect.
After testing 23 soft drinks and sports drinks they concluded that most beverages erode teeth by 30 to 50% [6]
Yikes! Damaging our pearly whites.
Here’s one more thing I wasn’t expecting out of these researchers.
If you ever find yourself sipping on an acidic drink like a soda don’t go brushing your teeth. What! Really. Instead they suggested chewing sugarless gum because… the extra saliva flow neutralizes the acid. Go figure!
There’s a reason some of us reach for a ‘light’ soda. That’s why, in a moment I’ll share with you my favorite way to satisfy my sweet-tooth cravings (minus the carbs).
But first, let me tell you how Laura reminded me of an old Mental Shift I’d almost forgotten.
Common Mistake #3
Every January she’d get excited, it’s a fresh start and she wanted to make the most of it.
So what she’d end up doing is… she’d pre-pay for a 3 months worth of fitness classes.
Is that another mistake?
While I admire Laura’s commitment, I asked her to STOP.
Why?
Because she’d tried the same thing two years in a row with nothing to show for.
I knew Laura wasted so many years on false starts.
I also knew that deep down Laura wanted to get back to body bliss (the joy of clothes fitting better).
“Laura, do you simply want it or absolutely have to have it?” I asked, trying to figure if it was another half-hearted affair.
You see, for some odd reason a lot of people making New Year’s health resolutions imagine it’s going to be a magic carpet ride and… fail to prepare for setbacks.
Can you spot this common setback that used to throw Laura’s efforts into a spiral?
- It’s been a stressful day
- You’re tempted by that chocolate bar. Maybe not. Maybe just a bite.
- A friend, maybe even your partner or that voice in your head suggests, “You’ve done great. Go on, you deserve it”
- You take a bite. You give in, you take a second bite.
- All of a sudden that, ‘what the heck’ effect kicks in
Did you spot the offender?
...
..
Stress eating.
You’re not alone.
Turns out 39% of American adults overeat (or go for unhealthy food choices) because of stress. What’s worse, nearly half of those who stress eat report feeling guilty and feeling bad about their bodies [7,8]
What all this means is after giving in to junk food we end up feeling more stressed. Which in turn feeds the cycle of stress eating.
It might take me another article to properly cover comfort eating, but for now..
...what are the simplest ways to press the breaks before the wheels fall off the bus:
-
Before reaching for a snack have a glass of water. Sounds like common sense until we realize that most of us often confuse hunger and thirst. [9.10,11] Need one more reason?
A study of 9,528 adults found a strong link between those who were inadequately hydrated and having a higher BMI. [12]
- You may have heard it before, "eating lunch in France is a two hour affair." Turns out fast eaters finish last because… it takes some 20-30 minutes for that meal to trigger hormones that tell us we’re full. [13]
- Swap carby snacks for protein. Instead of ice cream make it bacon or chicken wings with blue cheese.
But do high-protein snacks really make us feel full for longer?
Researchers at the University of Missouri had to find out.
In the study, 15 women randomly consumed snacks that had low (5g protein), medium (14g protein), or high protein (24g protein).
To measure the impact on appetite, they had the volunteers request dinner whenever they desired to eat after the snack. [14,15]
“Snacking, regardless of protein content, led to reduced hunger and increased fullness”
While snacking beat not snacking at all, there was another startling insight.
Those who had high protein snacks (24g protein) felt fuller for longer.
Not just mere minutes, we’re talking at least 2 hours more compared to those who had the low protein option (5g protein).
Now I get it, after a few days snacking on bacon or eggs it can get as exciting as a visit to the dentist.
It used to happen to me.
Even Laura had a hard time taming her chip monster:
“Some evenings I’d walk into the kitchen after a long day. I’m worn out. I turn left and spot my son happily munching on a big bag of cheddar chips. Those chips keep calling my name. C’mon just one bite Lauren?”
For the longest of time I didn’t know what to suggest because most chip brands pack some 20 grams of carb.
(How can we stay on track? How can you treat yourself when just one bag, one treat uses up all your precious carbs!)
Until recently I couldn’t imagine devouring a full bag of cheese puffs that’s only 1g carb, crunchy and 100% cheesy goodness.
Well, that changed last June.
That’s when a light bulb went off as I witnessed these guilt-free cheddar and fiery hot cheese puffs sell out in just 10 days.
Best part, each bag is packed with 13g protein. Talk about fast and filling.
👉 Click Here To Check Availability 👈
-Helen Guo
P.S. Before I forget, promised to share one tip that feels like having ‘dessert every night’ without falling off the low carb bandwagon.
I was recently reminded of this as I came across Lisa’s comment:
As I’ll soon explain, it didn’t take long for Lisa to figure:
There’s zero need to ‘Fight Off Cravings’ when you can simply pop open another Keto cereal and satisfy that Sweet Tooth every evening, night or whenever.
It has all the crunch minus the carbs.
Really, just 1g net carb and sugar-free too.
Now, here’s the part that surprised me after 200,000 men and women switched to this new guilt-free snack.
For the longest of time, I thought I was the odd one out.
I thought I was the only one eating it straight out’a the bag anytime I got a case of midnight munchies.
Turns out I wasn’t alone. Nearly half of our members do the same thing too:
Rest assured these aren’t some granola combination disguised as cereal (or worse, pork rinds). This cereal actually has the crunch you remember.
Better yet, remember all those carby carbs in traditional cereal?
(We’re talking some 22g net carbs. Yikes!)
Well, all that nasty stuff went POOF! And got replaced with high quality protein.
Each bag isn’t just one teeny tiny gram of net carb, it’s also packed with 16g protein too.
Is it any wonder that it’s sold out 4 times already?
Isn’t it time to quit using willpower to ‘hush hunger’ and instead Tear through an entire bag of crunchy sweetness guilt-free?
👉 You can go here now to see which flavors are still available.
References:
[1] Dallas, M. E., & Sohrabi, F. (2013, August 1). Top Gas-Producing Foods | Everyday Health. EverydayHealth.Com. https://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/gas-and-bloating/top-gas-producing-foods/
[2] Belching, gas and bloating: Tips for reducing them. (2020a, February 13). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gas-and-gas-pains/in-depth/gas-and-gas-pains/art-20044739
[3] Krieger, E. (n.d.). The Right Way to Cook Vegetables. Finecooking.Com. https://finecooking.com/article/the-right-way-to-cook-vegetables
[4] Kogler, C. (2016, February 29). These 4 Flavored Waters Aren’t as Healthy as They Seem. The Daily Meal. https://www.thedailymeal.com/healthy-eating/these-4-flavored-waters-arent-healthy-they-seem
[5] Belching, gas and bloating: Tips for reducing them. (2020a, February 13). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gas-and-gas-pains/in-depth/gas-and-gas-pains/art-20044739
[6] Werner, A. (2015, November 30). RESEARCHERS FIND SOME SUGAR-FREE DRINKS CAN ALSO DAMAGE TEETH. Orthodonticproductsonline.Com. https://orthodonticproductsonline.com/industry-news/research/researchers-find-sugar-free-drinks-can-also-damage-teeth/
[7] stress and eating. (2013). Apa.Org. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/eating
[8] Ducharme, J. (2018a, July 31). Here’s Why You Stress Eat — And How to Stop Doing It. Time. https://time.com/5347612/how-to-stop-stress-eating/
[9] Ducharme, J. (2018, July 31). Here’s Why You Stress Eat — And How to Stop Doing It. Time. https://time.com/5347612/how-to-stop-stress-eating/
[10] Oaklander, M. (2016, July 12). Weight Loss and Water Consumption Appear to Be Linked. Time. https://time.com/4403276/drink-water-hydration-weight-loss/
[11,12] Chang, T. (2016, July 1). Inadequate Hydration, BMI, and Obesity Among US Adults: NHANES 2009–2012. Annals of Family Medicine. https://www.annfammed.org/content/14/4/320#ref-8
[13] Bays M.D, J. C. (2009, March 21). Mindful Eating: The French Paradox. Psychologytoday.Com. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mindful-eating/200903/mindful-eating-the-french-paradox
[14] Girdwain, J. (2013, December 12). 4 Ways to Outsmart Your Stomach. Men’s Health. https://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/a19533588/outsmart-your-stomach/
[15] Douglas, S. M., Ortinau, L. C., Hoertel, H. A., & Leidy, H. J. (2012, September 25). Low, moderate, or high protein yogurt snacks on appetite control and subsequent eating in healthy women. Appetite - Journal - Elsevier. https://gettingfit.com/protein-and-appetite.pdf
