Frequently Asked Questions...

Lately, I've been getting a ton of questions about what exactly I'm doing to get healthier. People want to know how often I work out, what miracle pill I'm taking to lose all this weight...?

So here is a post for you guys - answers to your burning questions about what has worked for me.

My number one question is what are you doing to look so great? I'm incorporating several elements into my journey to health.
          The first element is the PRISM Weight Loss Program - it's a Christian-oriented program that according to the website, "[is] based on the belief that people with weight problems and poor eating behaviors can be restored to emotionally whole, right-weighted individuals. Through the use of seven key principles, we desire to give everyone the ability to become the person they were created to be. Any program can help you lose weight, but most leave you unprepared to continue after weight loss. You must learn to accept and identify with the "TRUE YOU," the person you were created to be. PRISM® focuses on transforming your attitude about food, the activity of eating, and most important, your attitude about you! This attitude transformation will produce the right actions to support the person you were created to be!"
          The second element I incorporate is care of the paleolithic diet, also known as the "caveman diet." As I truck along, I keep finding more and more foods that I do not tolerate well - namely caffeine, refined sugars, gluten, grains, etc. According to Wikipedia, the paleo diet "is based on the premise that human genetics have scarcely changed since the dawn of agriculture, and modern humans are genetically adapted to the diet of their Paleolithic ancestors. Therefore an ideal diet for human health and well-being is one that resembles this ancestral diet" and "consists mainly of fish, grass-fed pasture raised meats, eggs, vegetables, fruit, fungi, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products, potatoes, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils." I am absolutely in love with the recipes from Danielle Walker at Against All Grain - they're easy and delicious.
          The third element I throw in my healthy journey cocktail is 'clean eating,' but more specifically The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno.

One of the second most frequently asked questions I get is, how much weight have you lost? Since January 2013, I've lost (to November 17, 2013) 84 lbs.

What is your goal weight? I don't have a 'goal' weight. For all of my adult life, I've been obese. I don't know what the ideal weight for my body would be. My initial goal when I started this journey (back in Jan 2013), was to lose 100 lbs. Since I started at 280 lbs, losing 100 lbs seems like a very attainable and realistic goal. Once I hit 180 lbs, I will be re-evaluating - where to go from there. I think that I could probably lose another 20-40 lbs to put be between 140 and 160 lbs, and I think that would be a healthy weight for me, if you take into consideration factors like my body type, the build of my bones, my genetics, my height, and my level of activity. I loosely base my goals on what the Body Mass Index (BMI) recommends for someone of my height, but I don't place huge emphasis on making sure that the BMI is happy with my weight:height ratio, as it hasn't proven to be the most accurate tool to determine your right weight.

What exercise/physical activity do you do to maximize your weight loss? I don't. I believe that achieving health for your body is primarily a function of the type of food, and the quantity of food you put into your body. It is followed by physical activity. I don't work out frequently, in fact, right now, I'm not really 'active' at all. My weight loss has primarily been a function of the type and quantity of food I choose to consume. That's not to say I don't think that physical activity is important, but I don't think that it's the be-all-end-all for you to lose weight. I love going to the gym and working out, but it's not how I achieve weight loss. When I was consistently going to the gym back in the summer, I was attending 3-4x/week, where I'd do 30 minutes of cardio, and then 50-60 minutes of strength training.

Do you count calories and/or food journal? Yes, I do - I've used MyFitnessPal.com for a couple of years now and I absolutely love it. It's an incredibly user-friendly website, as well as app, and has a large database and it's easy for you to add your own recipes and foods. I firmly believe in the accountability of recording everything I eat throughout the day. It allows me to look back on the day and see what sort of things were better or worse for me, and I can look at my nutritional stats from the day and see if I got enough protein and fibre, or if I took in too much sodium. I also firmly believe in calorie counting - I maintain 1200-1300 calories per day, and very occasionally go over. Usually this happens on weekends or nights when we go over to someone else's house for supper. It's harder to control what you're going to eat and what your portions will be, but I do my best.

What foods do you eat most? What foods have you cut out? The following list is what you'll find in my fridge/kitchen on a typical day: bananas, apples, pomegranates, natural peanut butter, spaghetti squash, light mozzarella cheese, frozen chicken breasts, coconut oil, Mrs. Dash Southwestern Chipotle seasoning, plain rice cakes, sweet potatoes, lettuce, carrots, and frozen broccoli florets. As part of PRISM, I am required to cut out all refined sugars and white flours. In the first phase, I'm not allowed to eat any breads, crackers, chips, deep-fried foods, desserts, foods with refined sugars, potatoes (and sweet potatoes), or alcohol. As you progress through the phases, you gain back whole wheat sandwich bread, whole wheat pitas and tortillas, as well as whole wheat hamburger/hot dog buns. I'm eagerly waiting for the second phase, when I get back sugar-free frozen desserts (like Chapman's Lactose-Free and Sugar-Free Ice Cream... om nom nom) a max of once a day, 3x/week. However, I have permanently cut gluten and grains out of my diet, as well as refined sugars.

How many glasses of water a day do you drink? I drink anywhere between 12 and 18 cups of water a day. I am never without my trusty Contigo water bottles (from Costco), or my $5 plastic tumblers from WalMart. Each holds 3 cups of water, which makes measuring and logging easy.

Do you take any vitamins? Do you take any supplements that are helping you lose weight? The only vitamins/supplements I take are a B50 timed-release capsule and Align (a probiotic supplement to help with my digestive health). I do not take any other pills or supplements to aid in my weight loss journey. I believe that weight loss is something that you have to completely commit to and you must do a total overhaul of your life in order to create a lifestyle that will promote and maintain weight loss.

Do you recommend any commercial weight loss products for success? I have only tried Visalus' Body by Vi protein powder, and I didn't experience significant success with the mix. The product itself tasted great, but I couldn't force myself to replace one meal (let alone 2 meals a day) with a shake. It didn't work for me, but I've heard amazing success stories from other people who've tried it. I personally think that you need to do the work yourself instead of relying on a product to do the work for you. You packed the weight on in the first place (whether intentionally or accidentally), and you have to work to get it off. The weight you would lose on commercial products like shakes and pills will not be permanent, because you'll have to take them forever to maintain the loss. It would be great to rely on a quick and easy fix for losing weight, but in the end, it won't last. Work on your life - and see the changes happen before your eyes.

How can I lose excess weight from my stomach? My arms? My thighs? The short answer here is that you can't. You cannot spot "treat" weight from specific areas of your body. If you are truly burning and losing excess fat, your body will burn it from wherever it wants. In the beginning I lost a lot of weight around my wrists, calves and waist. I still carry a lot of weight in my arms, thighs and middle - unfortunately, fat loss cannot be targeted with certain exercises or diets. You can tone and build muscle and target these areas that way, but you won't burn off the fat clinging there with site-specific exercises. Work on maintaining a healthier lifestyle and the fat will start coming off, maybe in areas you weren't wanting it to come off of, but by working at it, you'll eventually lose the fat from your problem areas when your body runs out of other fat stores to burn. Be persistent!

So there you have it! Some of my most frequently asked questions... I hope this helps answer some of your burning questions. I know there may be more questions, and I'm more than happy to answer them. Just fire me an email or stop me in person and we'll chat :)