If you want to get serious about fat loss there are two components that you need to address:  Eating Clean and Eating Enough.  The beauty of eating clean – eliminating simple carbohydrates (sugar, white flour and corn syrup) and excess fat from your diet – is that you can actually eat MORE and MORE OFTEN.  Without all those calories that take your body on a rollercoaster ride of energy peaks and lows, you can get full on foods that satisfy your energy needs and make you feel full longer.  Studies also show that people that keep a FOOD LOG consistently lose significantly more weight than those who do not.  Portion control is also a key element for success.   If you are still hungry when you finish your plate, drink a glass of water with lemon.  If you are still hungry, eat more vegetables and/or immediately brush your teeth or pop a piece of sugar-free gum in your mouth.  Skipping meals, master cleanses and low carb diets rob your body of muscle (not fat) and play havoc with your metabolism.  Most people gain that weight right back when they resume their normal eating habits.  Follow this advice for long term results:

How Many Calories Do You Need?

Use this Mayo Clinic Caloric Needs Calculator to find out how many calories your body needs to function at your activity level:  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598

This is how many calories you should eat to maintain your weight.  If you want to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you eat, so shoot for at least 500 calories burned through exercise per day.  A 3500 calorie deficit per week will result in 1 lb of fat loss per week.  If you want to lose 2 lbs per week, reduce your calories by 500 per day and burn 500 per day with exercise.  Weight loss faster than 2 lbs per week is not considered within the safe range and should be supervised by a qualified health practitioner.

You can use a Heart Monitor with a calories-burned feature to keep track of your exercise, or estimate using the Mayo Clinic Caloric Expenditure Chart: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/SM00109

(Download Printable Food Log) http://www.caloriescount.org/onlinediary.html

To calculate calories from grams use the following formulas:  4 calories per gram of carbohydrate and protein, 9 calories per gram of fat.

Recommended online weight loss applications

http://www.loseit.com/

http://www.livestrong.com/myplate/

  Portion Control Guide (Download)

It is very important to stay hydrated for weight loss and sports performance.  Muscle is your metabolically active tissue and is composed of 75% water.  Dehydration compromises muscle’s ability to function, affecting metabolism and therefore, caloric burn, energy and strength.  Aim to drink 3 liters or more of water per day.  If you feel flat or tired, drink water.  When you feel hungry, drink water before you eat.  Keep water within reach at all times possible.  Proper hydration is also critical for good sweating which serves to regulate body temperature during exercise, and flushing of toxins from skin and organs, as well as replacement of fluids lost during exercise.  The body is generally dehydrated in the morning after sleep (water is lost during respiration and other metabolic functions).  Coffee and other caffeinated drinks are diuretic and can contribute to further dehydration if sufficient water is not consumed throughout the day.

Many adults, and increasingly adolescents, are suffering from the effects of a diet over-emphasizing highly processed foods and fat.  While fried and fatty foods may be obvious culprits responsible for weight gain, there is a hidden enemy:  the simple carbohydrate.  This category includes sugar, corn syrup and white flour.  These easily digestible starches cause the blood sugar to rise sharply, overloading the body’s ability to process it as energy and resulting in increased insulin secretion, inconsistent energy levels and fat storage.  Over time, these demands can actually result in insulin resistance, overweight and obesity, and even diabetes.  A clean diet relies on eating low-fat (or beneficial fat) foods in their most natural state:  whole grains (whole wheat breads and pastas), oats, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, sprouted grains), fresh vegetables and fruit, lean meats and dairy.

A guide to determining the “complexity” of a carbohydrate is called The Glycemic Index of Foods.  It uses the principle of comparing a carbohydrate’s ability to raise blood sugar with that of Glucose, which is rated at 100.  The lower the food’s GI rating, the better it is at delivering it’s sugars to the body at a consistent level, rather than all at once.  Try to keep your carbohydrates in the Low (1-49) to Medium (50-69) categories.  If you do eat a High GI food, eat it in combination with low GI foods to decrease its blood-sugar-elevating effect.  For example, if you must eat chocolate cake, eat it after a healthy dinner of salmon, broccoli and a sweet potato.  Watch for high GI fruit like watermelon and grapes.  Apples, oranges, pears, strawberries and blueberries are high in fiber and give up their sugar more slowly.  Likewise, avoid fruit juices on an empty stomach due to the concentrated sugar and lack of fiber.

Download a PDF version of The Glycemic Index of Foods

Other Recommended Reading on Glycemic Index and recipes:  “The New Glucose Revolution”  by J Brand-Miller PhD, T.M.S.Wolever MD,PhD, S. Colagiuri MD, K Foster-Powell Mnutr.&Diet.

Breakfast is imperative to optimizing metabolism.  Without it, the body perceives that it is in a prolonged state of fasting which actually results in the “protection,” OR EVEN STORAGE OF MORE fat.  After a good night’s sleep during which the body’s metabolic rate slows down, the body needs a breakfast of complex carbohydrates, and/or protein to turn the metabolism up.  This results in physical energy and a sharp mind.  Try to limit your caffeine as you are getting used to early eating.  It can blunt appetite and you will be more likely to notice the effects of the nice, smooth energy delivery you have until it is time for your morning snack.  If you really can’t eat solid food first thing in the morning, drink a meal replacement shake.  Sip it as you get ready for work or bring it along in the car and finish it before you start your work day.

Oatmeal with lowfat milk, fruit and honey or stevia

Scrambled egg-whites (with spinach, tomato, onion, mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus, etc) and Ezekiel sprouted grain bread toast, with light spread

Nonfat yogurt with fruit, sweetened with honey or stevia

Ezekiel Toast with almond butter and raw honey

Lowfat, low-sugar granola and yogurt

Meal replacement shake (ready-made or powder)

Whey protein blended breakfast shake (whey protein, lowfat milk, quick oats, berries or banana, stevia)

Yogurt fruit smoothie (yogurt, honey, berries, powdered green superfoods)

Oatmeal-egg white pancakes with berries and sugar-free syrup

Ezekiel French toast with sugar-free syrup, turkey bacon

Poached eggs on Ezekiel toast with tomato, arugula and shaved parmesan cheese, sweet potatoes and onions fried in nonstick olive oil cooking spray

Nonfat, unsweetened yogurt with your own added thawed frozen berries and stevia

Apple slices with 2 tablespoons of almond butter

Kashi TLC Snack Crackers w/hummus

Sweet potato or yam slices baked with seasoning (Mrs. Dash, pumpkin pie spice, light salt and pepper)

Brown rice cakes and an apple or orange

Salad + a protein (salmon, chicken, beef, tofu) and lowfat salad dressing + fruit for dessert

Turkey, Tuna or Lean Meat Sandwich on whole wheat bread with lettuce, tomato and avocado instead of cheese, low fat mayo or mustard

Smoked Salmon with lowfat cream cheese, tomato, onion, capers and Ezekiel Toast

Chicken or bean chili w/ whole wheat roll or brown rice or quinoa

Whole wheat pasta with low fat, low sugar tomato sauce and shaved parmesan cheese

Afternoon Snacks (Lower Carbs and watching your fats closely)

Hard boiled eggs – eat only the whites with Mrs. Dash Seasoning, or pepper and little salt

Lowfat or nonfat cottage cheese with salsa and Kashi TLC crackers

8-10 raw almonds and Low Sodium V-8 Juice with Tabasco and lemon

Low-carb protein bar (Protein Plus, MetRx, Atkins Advantage)

Whey protein shake

Black bean dip with toasted Ezekiel Sprouted Grain Tortillas

Fish, chicken, lean beef or vegetarian protein

Brown rice, quinoa, sweet potato or yam, whole grain pasta

As many vegetables as you want

Edamame in the shell (buy frozen, unsalted)

Nonfat cottage cheese with seasoning or ½ apple or pear

Whey or egg protein shake

Nonfat yogurt chocolate mousse (nonfat yogurt, Hershey’s Cocoa Powder, vanilla extract, stevia)

Scrambled egg whites with lowfat or fat-free sour cream and salmon caviar or masago

Sashimi and Miso Soup with Tofu

Egg-white poppers with Sciracha - seasoned egg whites poured in an ice cube tray sprayed with Olive Oil Pam and microwaved until firm