I am still in Orange County at a fitness conference called Fitness Business Summit.
This morning I will be going on stage and sharing some of my experience and knowledge on how to help hundreds of thousands of people around the world with your blog, newsletter and videos to well over 500 fitness professionals.
Can’t wait!
One other person that will be on stage with me is Shawna Kaminski.
If you missed her article on on How to Have Visible Abs Over the Age of 50, make sure to read it.
Today, I have a continuation of that article and Shawna highlights the WORST Food to Eat for Breakfast, down below.
Take care.
Rick Kaselj, MS
P.S. – Shawna talks about the food in question #3 below.
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Rick Kaselj: What do you think the number one mistake people make that sabotage their weight loss?
Shawna Kaminski: The number one mistake people make to sabotage weight loss is INCONSISTENT effort. If people apply small dietary and lifestyle changes CONSISTENTLY over time then BIG physical changes happen. When people ‘diet hard’ and then completely fall off the nutritional wagon, it sets them up for a messed up metabolism and poor relationship with food. Fat loss is a marathon and not a sprint, it takes slow and steady progress to meet your fat loss goals and maintain them.
Rick Kaselj: What food do people eat which people think is healthy but takes away from their fat loss?
Shawna Kaminski: Anything that’s labeled as ‘diet‘ food is probably one that should be avoided. It means that it’s likely highly processed and full of junk.
The BEST ‘diet’ food is wholesome and natural foods that have five ingredients or less, ingredients that you can pronounce, and things that are fresh (like fruits and veggies) and organic meats.
Our grandparents had a much healthier diet since most things were less processed and natural. When choosing the best foods to eat, eating those that are as close to what Mother Nature intended is the goal.
Rick Kaselj: We ran into each other in Tampa, Florida when we were at the Biotrust Partners Appreciation Weekend and we got chatting about yogurt. You were kind of shocked about the yogurt you got.
Maybe you can explain how different yogurts can affect your weight loss?
Shawna Kaminski: Yogurt is one of those foods that marketers have a field day with. It’s REALLY important to READ LABELS very carefully.
Greek yogurt, unflavored with no added fruits or sugar is the best. Do NOT be fooled by words like ‘Greek style’ or ‘honey flavored’ this often means sugars have been added and protein content is less.
Rick Kaselj: What is your favorite healthy snack?
Shawna Kaminski: My favorite healthy snack is Greek yogurt with berries, walnuts and chia seeds. Sometimes I’ll add a tablespoon of Biotrust protein powder or a sprinkle of Truvia or stevia to sweeten it up. Yum!
Rick Kaselj: I have never heard of Truvia and know about stevia. What makes these better than other sweeteners?
Shawna Kaminski: Truvia is a brand of stevia. It’s a natural sweetener with no additives. It’s a great alternative to aspartame or sucralose and other artificial sweeteners. Stevia (or Truvia) is a sweetener that doesn’t increase blood sugar the way sugar does and it’s not intensely sweet the way artificial sweeteners are.
When you ‘eat sweet’ you ‘crave sweet’ so it’s best to keep artificial sweeteners out of your diet. In addition, they’re up to 600 times sweeter than sugar and can really do a number on your taste buds (as well as your body). It’s hard to enjoy the natural sweetness of fruits when you’re accustomed to the intense sweetness that these artificial sweeteners provide.
Rick Kaselj: So, what is so bad about having your blood sugar skyrocket?
Shawna Kaminski: You can’t lose fat in the presence of insulin. When you eat carbohydrates, your body responds by dumping insulin into your blood to lower the resulting blood sugar. By keeping blood sugar levels steady, you won’t get a surge of insulin and it will be easier for your body to oxidize fat as an energy source.
Rick Kaselj: What is the best thing that someone can do to keep the on their fitness and diet program?
Shawna Kaminski: Not getting social support or not getting the right social support.
Studies show that social support is one of the biggest factors to increase fat loss success. Being accountable to others for what you eat is a surprisingly effective fat loss tool. This is why I’ve included the social network with the 21 Day Challenge Diet program. Beta testers said that having the support of the group was the BEST part of the whole process and was the missing link in their other fat loss efforts. When the going got tough, they’d check into the group for encouragement and motivation. Those that were a little competitive used the energy of the group to spur them on to greater success. It’s win-win when like-minded people gather together to create a powerful fat loss community.
With most programs you buy, you get the knowledge but not the support, feedback and the help from the creator of the program.
Rick Kaselj: Why is this called ‘Challenge Diet’? I don’t want more of a challenge where my diet is concerned.
Shawna Kaminski: Actually, the name is a bit of a misnomer. The challenge is NOT in the nutrition plan at all. The challenge involves MOVEMENT! If you want to look sexy and you don’t want to be a skinnier version of your former fat self, you need to MOVE in order to transform your body.
The 21 Day Challenge Diet challenges you to get off the couch daily. But don’t panic! I have you covered with daily email messages of motivation, inspiration and workouts. You’ll be challenged to keep moving with short invigorating workouts, no matter what your fitness level is.
Rick Kaselj: Why is this a 21 day diet plan?
Shawna Kaminski: Typically it takes 21 days to form a habit. Beta testers found that this was a good amount of time to get great results as well as form new eating habits.
Also getting results fast is really motivating. According to a recent study done by the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, researchers found that dieters who saw the least amount of results in the beginning of their study were the ones who dropped out of the study fastest. This means that when you see fast fat loss results, you end up sticking to the program for a longer period of time, which in turn yields more results. This shows us that choosing the right diet and workout program is especially important when trying to lose weight. Get weight off fast, stick to it, and keep the weight off. Yackobovitch-Gavan M., Steinberg D.M., Endevelt R., Benyamini Y. (2014) Factors associated with dropout in a group weight-loss programme: a longitudinal investigation. J Hum Nutr Diet.
Rick Kaselj: Some may say, “I’ve lost weight before, will all my weight come back after 21 days”, what do you say to them?
Shawna Kaminski: Beta testers found that they DID NOT gain their weight back after the initial 21 days. They were able to increase their calories and continue to lose pounds and inches. This is because they had adopted a better way of eating, an active lifestyle and they had more meal plans to support them.
Rick Kaselj: What about those that are gluten intolerant, will this plan work for them?
Shawna Kaminski: This is a plan is ‘mostly’ gluten free, so it will be easy for you to eliminate what little gluten choices are within it.
Rick Kaselj: For those that are vegetarian, will this plan work for them?
Shawna Kaminski: Unless you can replace the protein options with vegetarian protein options, this plan is NOT suitable for vegetarians. Stay tuned for a vegetarian Challenge Diet 2.0 coming out soon.
Rick Kaselj: I like to be told EXACTLY what to eat, the mix and match plan makes me nervous. What can I do?
Shawna Kaminski: In order to truly embrace the nutritional changes required to lose and maintain fat loss, you need to understand WHY you’re eating a certain way. I want to support you by providing a ‘done for you’ plan, but I like to have you make some choices as this replicates real life more closely.
You don’t want to live your life on a ‘diet’. You want to learn how to make your own choices. Having said this, if you want a ‘read it and eat it’ style plan, you can easily do this by following the meal plans sequentially. Hopefully from there you’ll learn to ‘mix it up’ as the plan was intended.
Rick Kaselj: One more scenario for you. I know you travel a lot. You are out of town and the only eating option you have is a mall food court. You got KFC, McDonalds, Chinese Food and Taco Bell. What do you eat and what do you make sure you avoid?
Shawna Kaminski: Rick, this happens all the time and I’m going to give you an answer that people may not like. I usually PACK snacks with me so that I don’t have to face the food court. There is rarely an option that is perfect in such a scenario so I almost always have some almonds or an apple, protein powder or a protein bar for such a situation. But, if I were unprepared, and this can happen, I’d likely choose a McDonald’s salad with grilled chicken. I’m not sure if KFC or Taco Bell has a salad option with grilled meat, but if they did, I’d consider those options.
I’d go EASY on any dressing and I’d be careful of cheese and any croutons or crackers added in. My motto is ‘fail to plan and plan to fail’, nutrition is all about thinking ahead. You know you’re going to be hungry and need to eat, throw something in your bag or pocket to help yourself out.
Rick Kaselj: Where can people get more details on the Challenge Diet?
Shawna Kaminski: If you are looking for a program to help you reach your fat loss goes that is intensive but supportive, then check out Challenge Diet, here.
Rick Kaselj, MS