Weight Loss Blunders To Avoid During Your Weight Loss Journey

Lets face it, there are times on your weight loss journey when progress can come to a halt. Days or weeks can go by without you seeing movement on the scale, and it can get downright frustrating. After working with thousands of clients, I've noticed certain patterns that can cause this weight loss stoppage.

Here are 3 of them.

Eating more than you need

Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and other diet systems have one undeniable benefit to them they define for the average person how large an actual serving is. Most of us underestimate the volume of food we eat (and consequently, underestimate the number of calories we consume in a day).

By fixing in your head what a serving size or portion of food looks like, we can better estimate (and consequently, evaluate and calibrate) the amount of food we eat at each meal. Keep in mind, when it comes to weight loss, you need to take in less calories than you burn each day.

Two good rules of thumb:

A portion of meat (3 oz.) is the size of a deck of cards.
A portion of carbohydrates (1 cup) is the size of a tennis ball.

Please remember to fill up on non-starchy vegetables, they are full of nutrients, have very little impact on blood sugar, and contain little in the way of calories.

Not eating frequently enough

It is a social custom to eat three square meals in a day. While this may do for social purposes, for weight loss, you will want to aim for more frequent feedings. It is recommended that you consume a minimum of 5-6 small meals each day. By doing so, your body gets the signal that food is abundant, and there is no need to conserve energy.

Additionally, frequent feedings maximize your metabolism, as your body is constantly busy, burning calories by digesting your meals. By not letting too much time pass between meals, you stabilize blood sugar levels since they never really get the chance to drop. By keeping your blood sugar stable, your hunger levels are minimized, decreasing the chances that you will be tempted to overeat at your next meal.

Choosing to drink your calories instead of eating them

This is a very common problem among those attempting weight loss, due to the abundance of unhealthy diet smoothies, protein concoctions, and weight loss shakes. There are 2 factors to keep in mind when relying on these liquid meal replacements.

First, many of the liquid diet shakes on the market and all fruit smoothies have an abundance of sugar in them. This causes an immediate surge in energy followed by a huge crash due to the release of insulin to control the blood sugar rise. This dramatic shift in blood hormone levels (particularly insulin levels) is something you want to avoid, both for health reasons and for weight loss.

Secondly, most weight loss shakes are devoid of fiber. Fiber is one of your most precious allies when you are dieting. It helps you feel full and blunts the rise in insulin levels when all that sugar hits your bloodstream. While fruit smoothies do contain some of the fiber from the pulp of the fruit, a better strategy would be to eat the actual fruits contained in the smoothie.

Lastly, the amount of calories that can be concentrated into a shake or smoothie is far greater than the equivalent volume of actual food.  A 16 oz fruit smoothie may contain as many as 600 calories, and will not fill you up all that much! On the other hand, eating 600 calories of fruit will prove to be much more than the typical person can manage in a single sitting.

Think about it- when making major dietary changes, you want to get the most out of your calories. But remember not all Meal Replacement Shakes are bad, to learn more about meal replacement shakes, and how utilizing the right one for your weight loss needs can help you CLICK HERE, to read more.

Dwight Obey, Independent AdvoCare Distributor

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Top Foods To Help Promote Great Health And Weight Management In Kids

Have you ever wondered what foods should you feed your kids to help promote great health and weight management?


Here is my list of the top 7 healthiest foods to feed your kid and why I believe they are so healthy:


Oatmeal: A fabulous breakfast food, full of B vitamins, iron, zinc and calcium. Old-fashioned oatmeal offers plenty of carbohydrate for quick energy and high fiber.  Add berries and honey to make it a delicious perfect food for those fast-paced school day mornings!

Yogurt: Kick your child's dairy consumption up a notch and include yogurt on the menu. A great source of calcium, yogurt is easier to digest than regular milk, and the cultures (check the label to make sure they're in there!) are very beneficial to good colon health. Watch it on the sugar content though.  A great idea is to buy plain yogurt and sweeten it yourself with fresh fruit!

Broccoli: It is one of the best vegetables for anyone, especially growing kids.  It has loads of calcium, potassium, beta-carotene and a wide variety of the B vitamins.  If your child is not a fan of plain vegetables include broccoli in a casserole or put a little shredded cheese on top to add flavor.

Protein: One size does not fit all when it comes to protein. The fact is that growing kids need protein to keep growing. How you're going to give it to them can vary widely, according to your preferences. Good choices include legumes, beans (combined with a grain to make a complete protein), soy products like tofu, eggs or lean meat, fish or poultry.

Whole Grains: The best nutrition is found in whole grains. Brown rice and whole wheat bread are a quantum leap over their white counterparts and offer necessary fiber, minerals and vitamins.

Nut Butters: Peanut butter and other nut butters are great fast and easy foods for kids. Kids need fat (it's a good fat if it doesn't have hydrogenated oils mixed in it) and they need the protein.  Try spreading almond or sunflower seed butter on crackers, toast or celery sticks for a quick and nutritious snack.

Fresh Fruit: My personal choice would be cantaloupe in the melon department. Vitamin C, beta-carotene, bits and pieces of B vitamins and a trace of minerals and calcium fill every juicy bite. Any in season fresh fruit is sure to be packed with healthy goodness!

There you have it....7 of the top healthiest foods that I feel you can feed your kid to promote weight management and why I believe they are so healthy!

Dwight Obey, Independent AdvoCare Distributor

This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.

Why Losing Weight Was No Longer An Issue I could Overlook - My AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge Review

I heard it constantly, it's something we all either hear about, or read about daily. Obesity is the second leading cause of death after smoking. It is associated with an increased mortality rate of all ages including children. Losing weight though commercialized is still to your benefit if you carry more weight than you should.

Obesity and overweight are terms often used interchangeably. However, technically they refer to two different states.

Being overweight technically means excess body mass. This includes all the body tissues. Obesity on the other hand refers explicitly to excess body fat e.g. a professional heavy weight body builder is overweight because of excess muscles but is not obese.

Being Obese at age 53, is what really concerned me. Losing weight was no longer an issue that I could afford to procrastinate with, and probably a good health scare was in order, had I not finally taken action.

I decided to list several reasons why losing weight was important, and why I needed to get moving. I wanted to list reasons besides family, and love ones.

Although wanting to lose weight, not only for yourself, but those you love as well is huge, and normally ranks at the top of everyone's list.

I wanted to use reasons, that would cause me to most likely not be around much longer for those I loved because of complications, that may be caused by other issues due to being obese. Yes I wanted to scare myself into losing weight, by finally facing reality square in the face. The thought of not attending my kids graduations, or giving away my daughters hand in marriage really scared me.

Honestly, and truthfully the whole thought of death from being overweight scared me, and I became driven by the fact that I had a reason to exist, and more importantly, a reason to live a long healthier life.

Reason #1 to lose weight

Diabetes:  It is well known that 80 -90% of type-two-diabetes patients are overweight. Diabetes is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., as well as the leading cause of adult blindness in the world. One of the direct causes of obesity is eating wrong foods. Some of these wrong foods include high glycemic foods. High glycemic foods are energy dense foods that quickly increase the level of blood glucose in your body after been eaten. This results to the body reserving the unnecessarily high glucose/energy into fat. This makes losing weight very difficult.

Releasing a hormone called insulin does this. Type-Two-diabetes occurs because the body cannot produce enough insulin to remove the excess blood glucose and store it as body fat. This will occur after straining insulin production for some time. And that is how you end up being fat and diabetic.

Reason #2 to lose weight

Stroke:  Obesity is associated with arteriosclerosis, the build up of fatty deposits in the arteries through out your body. This makes them narrow slowing blood flow and among other things increases risk of the blood clotting.

Arteries at risk include those supplying blood to the brain. If clotting occurs due to narrowed artery, it blocks blood supply to an area of the brain resulting in a possible stroke. Losing weight reduces this risk.

Reason #3 to lose weight

Cancer:  The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates between 25% - 33% of cancer patients world wide are overweight and suffers from physical inactivity. Body fat evidently promotes higher levels of insulin production and excess estrogen, a hormone. Both insulin and estrogen accelerate cell division.

As research has indicated, the faster cells duplicate the more they increase chances of a cancerous cell developing. The situation is further complicated as the rapid cell division caused by the excess hormones lead also to rapid cell reproduction of the one cancerous cell, hence cancer starts to develop actively.

 In addition fat cells tend to keep carcinogenic,  cancer-causing agents, trapped in the body which increases the chances of developing cancer.

Types of cancers you might be at high risk for due to obesity include:

• Breast cancer- affecting the breast possibly in both men and women. 
• Colorectal cancer- affecting colon and rectum. 
• Prostrate cancer- affecting the prostrate gland in men. 
• Endometrial cancer- affecting the uterus. 
• Esophageal cancer- affecting the esophagus. 
• Renal cell cancer, the cancer of the kidney, etc.

Reason #4 to lose weight

Respiratory problems: Obesity causes lungs to become smaller in size and chest walls to become heavier to lift during the process of breathing in. The most common respiratory problem is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition where by an individual stops breathing for some time while asleep. A soft tissue in the throat collapses around the air way probably due to weight, blocking it.

For the severely obese sleep apnea may get more complicated with hypoventilation. Hypoventilation is accumulation of toxic levels of carbon dioxide (the gas we breathe out) in the blood, due to inadequate breathing. Losing weight would be the only permanent safe and healthy solution to sleep apnea.

Reason #5 to lose weight

Urinary Incontinence:  This is involuntary release of urine. Being overweight can contribute to urinary incontinence. A heavy abdomen due to body fat deposit may cause valve of urinary bladder to be weakened. The weight also exerts pressure on the urinary bladder, trying to push urine out.

This results to leakage of urine when coughing, sneezing or laughing. This is because of a slight relaxation of the bladder valve that normally will not result to leakage. It can even result to bed wetting at night. This particular problem can be a very effective motivator to lose weight.

Reason #6 to lose weight

Varicose veins: Also known as Venous Stratis Disease. The leg and thigh muscles assist the heart in blood circulation just like most large muscles in the body. They are involved in pumping blood against gravity back to the heart with the help of valves that close to avoid a backward flow.

Pressure as a result of a large abdomen may increase the work load on the valves eventually causing damage. Damaged valves then allow for blood to back up, due to gravity, causing high pressure in these veins leading to swelling, thickening of skin and skin ulcers.

Reason #7 to lose weight

High Blood Pressure:  The BMI (Body Mass Index) and age together are the strongest indicator of risk of hypertension or high blood pressure. At least a third of hypertension is related to obesity.

Reason #8 to lose weight

Other Diseases: Other diseases which MAY occur as a result of being overweight include;

• Gout 
• Coronary heart disease 
• Lower back pains 
• Osteoarthritis 
• Rheumatoid Arthritis 
• Gall stones 
• Neural tube defect, 
• Prenatal mortality, 
• Maternal hypertension,
• Gestational diabetes etc. 
• Impaired immune response 
• Liver disease 
• Pancreatitis 
• Bad body smell 
• Depression 

Research shows that even modest weight loss of even 10 pound for the overweight significantly reduces the risk of developing these diseases. Weight loss is in fact a challenge taken by many every year.

Unfortunately many fail in this healthy endeavor. And all because of one thing; they lack proper information on effective weight loss, which is what we at 1st N Weight Loss hope to provide.

Dwight Obey, Independent AdvoCare Distributor


This article is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is not to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice or any doctors recommendation. Prior to beginning any weight loss program, individuals must consult a physician for proper diagnosis and/or treatment.