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Getting Back On Track With Your Weight Loss

When it comes to weight loss, "tomorrow" is the most dangerous word in the English language. If you're serious about losing weight, and not seeing the results you'd like, it's time to stop living the way you've been living. The price you pay is very high for the cheap thrill that food gives you. In the end, it might even cost you your health. How you're living today directly affects your tomorrow. So, what will you do differently?

I receive emails seeking advice, all too often, from people with a habit of doing a week or two of strict, metabolic boosting eating and then falling off the weight loss wagon into a pile of cookies or store-bought protein bars. They want to know what they can do to stick to the plan, or should they even try. The first thing I tell them is the reason most people fall is that they think they need to be perfect with their eating. It's important to understand that perfection does not exist. 

Most of us fall because we become too legalistic about our diets. Rather, our diets should be treated as a habit of making better choices, requiring us to decide what our actions will be. This makes us responsible for our actions, and the outcomes.

You know the old saying; "If you keep doing what you've always done you'll just keep getting the same results. To expect anything different is the very definition of insanity." Quite honestly, there is a lot of insanity surrounding the foods that will keep you from reaching your goals. 

Have you ever told yourself; "I'll just have a little"? Sorry to say it, but that little bit is what's stopping you from reaching your goals. 

It's at these very times to remind yourself that perfection does not exist. Focus on daily progress, not daily perfection. You have more control than you think when it comes to making food choices. But if you keep falling off the wagon, it's possible you may need a few tools to help keep you on track.

These tools make losing weight faster and easier because they:

• Help kill hunger and cravings that cause you to fall off-plan
• Boost metabolism by 25 percent, so you burn more calories all day long, even while asleep. This is especially important when you decide to go off-plan because it will help keep you from gaining weight.
• Block cortisol (stress hormones) levels from rising, which helps prevent weight gain in the belly, hips, and thighs. Blocking cortisol is more important than you think. Stress causes your body to produce excess cortisol levels, and the only way to melt belly fat is by reducing these levels. It's not an easy job and the very reason you need to attack belly fat with a 1, 2, 3 punch.

STEP #1: BOOST METABOLISM AND BLOCK CORTISOL LEVELS

STEP #3: AVOID THE AFTERNOON ENERGY CRASH TO ESCAPE CRAVINGS BEFORE THEY BEGIN

Should you find yourself unable to suppress the urge to eat junk food, adopt the 80/20 rule. You're already following it; you just don't know it. 

For the most part, you're eating your favorite foods every couple of weeks — it's inevitable. It's going to happen, and you should expect it. So, the best solution is to plan it ahead of time. If you plan for it ahead of time, you can cheat and still lose weight. Have a little pep talk with yourself. Sit down and tell yourself to try the 80/20 plan. 

On the Advanced Metabolic Boosting Meal Plan, you can eat on plan 80 percent of the time and go off the plan 20 percent of the time and still lose weight. That's the beauty of this plan. In fact, this is the only plan that takes into consideration that you live in the real world, you're human, and that you cheat once in a while.

Planning in advance when you cheat also puts you in control of the binge vs. the binge controlling you. It also changes how you emotionally respond to a binge—no guilt, because it's all a part of your weight loss plan. You'll accept the situation, not struggle in vain against it. You'll eat less and know exactly what to eat, and how much. The scale will go up slightly, but you'll be back on track in no time. 

Although there are physiological consequences to binging on junk food, I'd wager that most of the damage comes from the stress we inflict on ourselves—the internal fight and refusal, which only causes us to binge more. The refusal to accept the inevitable situation, combined with the guilt and shame you're piling on yourself for losing that fight.

Here's what the 80/20 plan get you: Acceptance! You learn to accept things you cannot change. You're no longer fighting a battle you most likely cannot win. 

I can't think of anything harder or more stressful than struggling with food. I've struggled with it my entire life until I learned about the 80/20 rule. 

You can live guilt-free. Guilt about eating junk food can actually cause you to gain weight and depress your immune system. By making a plan to "go off" for a meal as an occasional (1–2 times weekly) deviation from your regular schedule, rather than betraying your body, you remove the guilt. Make a plan, if you plan on losing.

I would encourage you to read this article I wrote previously about how to cheat and still lose weight to keep your metabolism in full swing, and how if you don't, it can alter the physiological effect it has on you. 

As Kelly Clarkson says in her song: "Think Before You Cheat" so you don't hurt your health or destroy a month's worth of dieting. Most of the time it's not worth it anyway. 

So, eat happily, just don't' forget to boost first! 

The New Way To Lose Weight If You Have Hypothyroidism

It's estimated that 11 million adults and children have hypothyroidism. Two out of every three people with hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid gland) may not know they have the disease.

Why are so many people getting the disease? This is something the medical community can't agree, but lots of people who struggle with weight loss think that if they simply take a thyroid pill they will lose weight. This couldn't be further from the truth. The fact is that as we age, most of us will experience our thyroids slowing down simply because of age.

Combine this thyroid-slowing issue with the fact that we lose muscle every year (which is estimated at 1–2 percent per year after age 50) and that we eat more and exercise less due to fatigue, and you've got the perfect weight gain storm. There are very simple effortless steps anyone can do to lose weight, even if you have hypothyroidism.

The fact is if you want to lose weight you're going to have to do things differently after you turn 40. If you're willing to make a few adjustments, you're sure to succeed at losing weight.

The Facts: 

Taking prescribed thyroid medication will treat the symptoms but it doesn’t cure hypothyroidism. There isn’t a cure, but you’ll feel some relief from the medications help. Taking prescribed thyroid medication will improve health but it won’t necessarily help you lose weight or make it any easier. Until you understand how your metabolism works, you might not ever lose that weight. Diet is 90 percent of your weight loss success. Not just any diet will do when it comes to losing weight when you have a sluggish thyroid. In fact, the wrong diet can make you gain weight.

Unfortunately, an underactive thyroid almost always means constipation and weight gain. Being constipated masks your weight loss and makes you feel bloated and uncomfortable. This usually causes you to eat for comfort, which is counterproductive when it comes to losing weight. To combat this, it’s critical that you eat thermogenic vegetables that not only promote weight loss and regularity but boost your metabolism — exactly what we hypothyroid gals need.

Limit your intake of “goitrogens”, which are compounds found naturally in some foods that make it difficult for the thyroid gland to create hormones. Foods that are high in goitrogens include cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and products made with soy.

High in metabolic boosting proteins, but low in high-fat proteins? The solution is to eat more white fish. Eat with this in mind if you’re trying to lose weight: ”The lighter and whiter the fish the faster your metabolism will be."

While proteins from chicken, or better yet turkey breast, serve as important building blocks for our hormones, they can also be higher in fat than our hypothyroid metabolisms can handle. When trying to lose weight choose proteins that boost weight loss versus block it. Try to eat more white fish such as scrod, cod, halibut, and flounder versus higher fat fish that are higher in mercury. Fish is also higher in iodine, which is great for the metabolism. Often, iodine deficiency can be what brings on the hypothyroidism in the first place. Don’t like fish? Try tuna burgers. Even fish haters love them.

Spot on when it comes to healthy fats. If you eat too much, you’ll gain weight. Healthy fats are often found in plant oils and certain seeds, but if your metabolism is slow, you may want to eat these foods with caution. Fat is also high in calories, and it’s the excess calories that cause us to gain weight, not the fact that our thyroid is low.

That being said, healthy fats in the right amounts can help promote and protect thyroid gland function. You’ll want to keep your fat grams to 15–20 grams per day, and choose from good sources such as salmon that’s rich in Omega 3, and a small amount of olive oil.

It’s better to add a Pure Omega 3 Supplement to your diet instead of trying to get your needs met through diet. Often, we overeat on these fats (avocado is a fat, but it’s also one of the worst foods when it comes to weight loss) so supplementing tends to be a better choice when it comes to losing weight with hypothyroidism.

High in vitamin D, but not from dairy. Supplements are a better source. Studies have shown that vitamin D deficiency is associated with the severity of hypothyroidism. If you’re not losing weight, your vitamin D levels may be to blame. To ease the symptoms of hypothyroidism, increase your intake of vitamin D through supplements such as LynFit D3 Boost and make sure to include sources such as salmon or other fatty fish.

Selenium-rich — LynFit Daily Power Shot. Increased selenium intake has also shown promise when it comes to the synthesis of thyroid hormones according to recent studies. Some good sources of selenium, are Brazil nuts (be careful they pack a high-calorie and high-fat punch) and various fish such as tuna, or halibut. Supplements are also a great way to guarantee your body gets the selenium it needs to keep your metabolism and thyroid running at optimal levels. You can find the right amount (100mcg of selenium that is 143 percent of your recommended daily allowance in the LynFit Daily Power Shot) in a colloidal liquid making it easier for your body to absorb.

Pumped up with prebiotics. The only thing that’s better than probiotics is prebiotics. Probiotics are important for keeping your gut bacteria at healthy levels (low gut bacteria affects every aspect of your health, including hypothyroidism). The one thing that’s even better is prebiotics. They help control blood sugar and have been known to affect our ability to burn fat and make it harder to store fat, something we hypothyroid girls need more of.

Normal levels of bacteria protect our bodies against invaders, undigested food, toxins, and parasites. When good and bad bacteria get out of balance, you may experience fluctuations in your thyroid activity and your immune system. LynFit Lean Bars are a great source of prebiotic fiber. So is LynFit's new Chocolate Sauce. Both are sweetened with prebiotic fiber. They sure beat kefir or sauerkraut or worse, kombucha tea.

What about your workout you ask? Or How should you work out if you have hypothyroidism? If you’re hypothyroid, and you’re trying to lose weight, your workout needs to have specific requirements just like your diet does to be successful. If you have been trying to lose weight and have hypothyroidism, your workout needs to address these issues without hurting your current condition. Not all workouts are created equal when it comes to losing weight. Iin fact, most of them are the opposite of what you need.

In order for you to lose weight your hypothyroidism workout plan needs to be daily cardio workouts. By walking or doing more cardio workouts, you’ll help boost your serotonin levels, which are typically low in people with under-active thyroids. That is why we struggle with depression. Serotonin is a brain chemical that affects your mood, appetite, and your sleep cycle. I suggest “core walking," which is a good form of walking that includes your core. You get a whole body workout, and you don’t need tons of energy to get it done. As you know hypothyroid types tend to be exhausted all the time, so high energy aerobic workouts almost always get blown off. Walk daily for 30–45 minutes at a moderate pace.

Boost your metabolism with the right kind of strength training workout. It’s important to build muscle and strength (don’t worry you won’t get bulky) when trying to lose weight. After all, it’s the muscle that helps you burn fat and lose weight easier due to its metabolic boosting effects. But not all workouts are created equal when it comes to weight loss. Metabolic booting workouts are “the best” if you’re trying to lose weight, especially if you have hypothyroidism. Want to transform your body fast? Swap out your current routine and start doing metabolic boosting workouts three times weekly. You’ll see results within the first week.

Sleeping lean should be a part of your workout routine. Hypothyroidism takes a toll on your energy levels, so nothing is more important than establishing a regular sleep routine. To recharge your body so you can perform your workouts and stick to your hypothyroid diet, you’ll need to aim for 7–9 hours of sleep every day. If you’re having trouble sleeping, and most of us woman over 40 do, consider using LynFit Lean Sleep to help you fall asleep and stay asleep. LynFit Lean Sleep contains melatonin rather than the harmful metabolism slowing sleep aids.

For more information on thermogenic eating for hypothyroidism, refer to The Metabolism Solution by Lisa Lynn.