Are you eating enough to loose weight?

You've been exercising.  You have been eating with discipline; no junk foods, watching your portions.  Low-fat, low-sugar, low-carb, low-everything.  Still the scale is NOT moving, not in the direction you want it to.  It's a paradox, eating more to weigh less.  You've heard of starvation mode.  You've heard of overtraining.  Now you're just confused.  How do you manage nutrition, fitness and weight loss?

Firstly, see food as fuel for your body.  To burn calories effectively your body needs to know there will be a consistent ready supply.  Not all calories are bad and not all fats are bad, it's knowing how many and what kind that are key.  Secondly, drink water.  Lots of water.  You should be consuming aproximately eight 8 oz glasses of water a day, more if you are exerting yourself or it is excessively warm where you are.  (Are you biking for exercise?  Know that moving air will dehydrate you quickly and you'll need more water!)  How do you track this?  How do I know what calories are in every thing I eat?

There are several tools you can use to help you find balance.

Journaling what you eat is key to tracking your calories; In and Out.  Even one bite has some calories in it.  You should be eating 5 small meals a day; 3 meals and at least 2 snacks.  Eat every 2 to 3 hours.  Planning what you will eat during the day is important to managing your calories.  Some meals may break your calorie goal for the day in a certain combination but not in others.  For this I keep a small note book (it's with me all the time) and MyFitnessPal.  It's free to join.  I invite you to find me there, my screen name is "kashubian".

Don't diet alone.  You've heard the saying "misery loves company"?  That's true with success, too.  Find a friend or family member that you can use for motivation, support and accountability.  This is where journaling can help again.   If you don't have someone you can talk to about your diet you can join me and my friends on facebook.  I built a community where I can blog my daily successes, and sometimes failures: the fitter Fitter.  Join me   We all have tough days, getting over it is the key to sticking to your guns.  Remember, it's a Lifestyle Change, NOT a diet.  Diets end, lifestyle changes are dynamic, ever changing and a living breathing thing.  Always evolving.

Nutritionals are your friend.  My day starts with Shakeology for breakfast, the smartest calories I consume every day.  At only 140 calories per scoop and with a Glycemic Index of only 24 (an apple varies from 33 to 44) I can't go wrong.  Recipes abound so that it doesn't need to taste the same every day.  Snacks on the go, meal replacements or a good breakfast to form the base for your day, that is my Shakeology.  I keep a couple P90X protein bars in my purse for when I'm out and about, 3 hours have passed and the tummy is growling.  They come in a variety of flavors and I get the variety pack because I can't decide on a favorite: Chocolate Peanutbutter, Wildberry Yogurt or Cafe Mocha...hmmm?  Yep, variety pack it is, then I don't need to choose.  Post workout I am in love with P90X Results and Recovery Formula.  It dramatically reduces post workout muscle soreness by feeding those muscles what they need to recover and build so I'm ready to hit it hard the next day.  And don't forget a good multivitamin.  Activit is one of the only multivitamins I've been able to tolerate without stomach upset.  You can find more information on these by following the links.

For more information on proper caloric intake and overtraining, visit this link to read a full article.