Nutrition-Main Factor To Weight Loss

The argument over whether nutrition or exercise is the main factor to losing weight has been debated for decades. The best conclusion I've heard about the topic is here. Through exercise alone it would take us hours of hard exercises to burn off our caloric intake.


Both, nutrition and exercise, are important to losing and maintaining weight, but nutrition is the key. If one is obese, it may be hard or dangerous to get up and start exercising. Exercise tones your outside while keeping things moving on the inside such as circulation and digestion, to name a couple.


The key factor that worked for me was to adjust my eating habits and eating healthier more satisfying foods. I needed to reprogram my body when it came to nutrition. Although I eat healthy, I reserve a couple of days when I'm allowed to have what I call "junk" foods. The key to doing the latter and making it work is to make sure you return to healthy regiment the next day.


A key to nutrition and weight loss is to begin the day with protein as the main source of your food. Yogurt with hemp seeds give you a quick 25 grams of protein. Protein is energy and takes longer to digest and keeps you fuller longer.


I pace my meals between 2 or 3 hours apart, they are smaller more filling meals. On days I workout, I usually have an egg after my workout. Mid morning is usually fruit of some kind and maybe some sort of vegetable. For lunch, I usually have an animal or vegetable or both protein source. My mid afternoon food is a source of whole wheat  such as pasta, quinoa, etc.


My final meal of the day is usually a salad or vegetable, and sometimes some cheese and whole wheat crackers. Of course there are exceptions to this schedule as things may change to add variety or because I occasionally indulge!


One little known secret to weight loss is that you have to let your food digest before you go to sleep. So I eat nothing at least 3 hours before going to sleep.


If you eat the right foods you will find that your energy level will increase and exercising will enter the weight loss equation naturally. Eat slowly and don't eat until your full, because once you feel full, you have actually over eaten.


Another thing I learned to do is cook my own meals and make even food that I find not very tasty, into a mouth watering meal. Avocados, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, etc., which I once couldn't stomach, I now eat in abundance. You have to experiment and find a way to make food tasty and healthy for yourself without using store bought dressings, syrups and other things that turn healthy into a dietary nightmare.

For The Health Of Money

I was torn by whether to write this post here or in my financial blog. This is about how staying healthy can help out your wallet's health, too. Here are ways to get healthy on the cheap. According to the article, the one thing exercise can't fix is weight loss. I have been saying that for years, because your caloric intake on food is what will help you lose weight. Exercise will help you tone up. I started seeing weight loss when I finally started eating healthier.


To those who don't understand the implication of that statement, it means that your eating habits determine your weight. I always worked out throughout my life. Weight loss wasn't easily achieved no matter what I did. Once I started eating healthier, over time I lost 85 pounds!


Although I believe that paying for a gym membership keeps me motivated, I hope to save the $150 a year membership. That is relatively cheap as far as memberships go, and I do get my moneys worth. I'm hoping to start using Isometric training into my routine and eventually wean myself off the gym. More information here.


Of course there are other ways to get your exercise without a gym. More ideas for no gym workouts just keep on coming. The bottom line is that whether or not you belong to a gym, as long as you are exercising, you are doing your overall health a lot of good. With good health comes less illnesses, less doctor's visits, longevity, well being, etc., all that help out your finances.

Muscle Nutrition

One of the main goals in being healthy is to build, sustain and maintain muscle. We all know how essential exercise is to accomplish this. But what about when it comes to muscle nutrition, are we eating the right foods to reach our goals. Although protein may be the main nutrient to muscle health, it isn't the only one!




There are many articles about muscle nutrition. Here, here, and I could go on. Foods that contain creatine are a big muscle booster. Don't forget the amino acids.


There are plenty of muscle foods out there, so I came up with my own top of the picks that I eat daily, but especially when I work out. In no particular order: poultry, turkey, sea food, ground beef especially bison, goat, lamb, venison. These are my animal choices. Asparagus, watermelon, nuts, seeds, leafy greens, avocado, eggs, brussel sprouts, beans, beets, potatoes, lentils, quinoa, oatmeal, and I can come up with even more.


As we age, we need to maintain our muscle and nutrition is a big help.

The Brain Diet

Science is finally getting with the times and perhaps the secret to fighting off Alzheimer's and Dementia may be in our diet. The determining factor may be to maintain an ideal weight, which can also ward off diabetes and heart disease. It seems that if you combine the Mediterranean and DASH diets may lead to the MIND diet.


What this says is that your overall weight is what will determine your overall health. I've been an advocate that eating the right foods, along with exercise and sleep, will maintain your weight naturally. This is why I believe that if you adopt an overall healthy lifestyle, the foods that benefit you will come naturally without a specific diet.

Nutrition Journal

When it comes to healthy nutrition you can consult a dietician or doctor, or you can see what works to reach your goals. Your nutrition could be based on the easiest diet or even a top rated diet, but when it comes to nutrition, people aren't getting healthier. We need to go back to basics and eat healthy by having a variety of foods.




Diet myths that we adhere to are probably what is keeping us from our success. If we change our habits, we might see a change.


It's a shame when after a long belief that your food is healthy, imagine finding out that it's not. I have always limited my dairy intake, especially when it comes to milk. Our poultry is being fed antibiotics, thus making us resistant to antibiotics. The other information is right on, too.





Brain Preservation Diet


Best food combos for weight loss

Fitness Resources

The results are in and weights are more effective than cardio when it comes to stomach fat. My personal opinion is that weights should be in all exercise routines throughout our lifetime, even if we have to drop some of the weight we lift as we get older.


Walker Tracker is a program that can help you track your steps and develop a walking program. It also lets you join challenges to motivate yourself. Both for businesses and individuals.


Hot Cal allows you to track your fitness and calorie progress. It uses interactive charts and graphs.


HeiaHeia is a fun way to keep fit by tracking your progress and getting encouragement from your friends.


FitnessSyncer synchronizes all your fitness apps in one place. It also offers its own notebook to cover data that isn't covered in your apps.


FitLink is a fitness community with a variety of resources along with the help of likeminded individuals.


Ask The Trainer has exercise videos, a fitness library and nutrition information.


Your one stop fitness portal should be ABC-Of-Fitness. Other sites with fitness resources to help you get motivated to exercise are The Daily Burn, Workouts For You, and iTRAIN.

Staying Motivated To Exercise

If you made a resolution to get in shape, my hope for you is to stay motivated and reach for that goal. The benefits you get from  exercise may surprise you. Still too many people have the good intention to exercise, but begin to lose it at some point. Some sign up for a gym membership and others buy their own equipment. Both eventually start to gather dust.


Usually what happens is that you do too much from the start. You know you overdid it, if you are sore and no longer look forward to exercising. Fitness is a skill and it takes knowledge and motivation.


If you want my opinion, I'd say save your money, for the most part, until you are sure you can stay motivated. Gyms are hopping with people signing a contract for a 1-3 year membership, that will prove costly to get out of before the term. See about monthly contracts that may be a few dollars more, but will save you in the long run. Always make sure you can have at least one complimentary workout, before committing to anything.


Home equipment can be costly, but save you from a gym membership in the long run. The problem with home gyms is that they take away the motivation to the point that you start procrastinating and end up not using the equipment.


If you haven't thought about it, think kettlebells for strength and core. A pull up bar will tone the arms and the back. Both are inexpensive and very effective. Climb stairs, buy or rent a bike, walk, run, jog, do yoga, pushups, etc., any activity counts as long as you stay motivated. Start slow and take one baby step at a time. 


Make sure you consult your doctor before starting any new exercise program.


In closing, don't stop trying even if you lose your motivation for whatever reason.