Safe Pre-Popped Popcorn for Losing Weight

For most of us, living a lifestyle without being able to enjoy popcorn would not be fun. In fact, a lifestyle with no popcorn is a DIET! But let’s face reality: popcorn is not particularly health food and it can easily derail weight loss! What are the problems with popcorn and are there any options? Let’s start with the problems.

Problem #1: Microwave popcorns can be loaded with fat.

Fat is not evil, but many microwaveable popcorns over sixty percent of the calories can be coming from the fat. Plus, the fat combined with the higher carbohydrates inherently in popcorn can lead to driving out the Fat Truck resulting in fat storage.

Problem #2: Popcorn is not very satiating

This doesn’t automatically eliminate popcorn from a weight loss lifestyle, (Whew!), but you need to know that you are not going to get a long-last sense of fullness from the popped corn kernels. Popcorn has very little protein, which helps with satiation, so it won’t provide you with long term satisfaction.

Click Here for Your Free Popcorn Download

Problem #3: Popcorn can be high in sodium

Popcorn itself is not inherently high in sodium, but due to the toppings some popcorn products may be much higher in sodium than others.

Despite these potential problems with popcorn, you can still enjoy them as part of a weight loss lifestyle for a couple good reasons. Here are a few good reasons to enjoy the right popcorns guilt-free:

Guilty Free #1: Popcorn can be low in calories

There are two-sides to the weight-loss coin: 1) Calories and 2) How the calories are processed. Depending on how the popcorn is prepared, it can be a low calorie food. Good popcorns are not loaded with extra calories due to fat.

Guilty Free #2: Popcorn is higher in fiber

Popcorn is not a high fiber food compared to broccoli, but it does have dietary fiber. This slows down the digestion of the popcorn resulting in a lower impact on blood sugar. Popcorn does contain a good amount of carbohydrates in the form of starch, but the fiber helps to keep the impact low. Popcorn is not a high protein food, but it does contain some protein also resulting in a lower impact on blood sugar. 

In this download, we are examining our top pre-popped popcorn pics (we will provide our top picks of the microwaved versions in the near future). There are many versions of popcorn on the market and it can be confusing to know which ones are the best. For that reason, we created a handy little guide ranking popcorns based on the following criteria per serving:

• ·         Calories
• ·         The ratio of fat to calories
• ·         Impact Carbohydrates to Protein Ratio

We’ve also included a couple suggested additions to your popcorn snack which will result in longer satiation and great fat burn all while keeping calories in a snack range.

Click Here for Your Free Popcorn Download

5 Reasons Why Keeping a Food Journal Will Help You Lose Weight

Knowing something is a useful tool for losing weight and actually using that tool are two different things.  We have all heard that keeping a food journal is helpful for weight loss, but we just don’t want to take the time and effort to do it.  Also, we don’t see any point in writing down what we eat.  We tell ourselves, “I know what I’m eating!  What’s the point of a food journal?”  Here are 5 reasons why keeping a food journal will help you lose weight. 

#1: Keeping a food journal keeps you stay honest

(Only when you keep an honest journal!)

When you write down everything you are eating, you won’t get to the end of the day and think to yourself “I’ve been eating healthy” when you actually have been eating a lot of junk.  For example, it will show you that you ate 50 M&M’s and not just the 5 or 6 that you remember at the end of the day.

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#2: Journaling Protects You

There will be some things you won’t eat because you do not want to write it down.  It sounds silly but it is true.  If we know we will have to write down that we ate 3 pieces of cake, it can actually keep us from eating the cake!  This is especially effective if you know that someone else is going to be looking at your journal.

#3: Journaling Exposes Patterns

Journaling helps you to see patterns and situations when you tend to eat bad food or go on a food binge.  You might see that every time you have a weekly meeting at work, you go for the doughnuts that some kind soul decided helps make these stressful meetings a little more bearable.  You will know what makes you stress eat and situations where junk food will be available and work out strategies to be prepared for them or avoid them.

#4: Journaling Helps You See Gaps in Your Nutrition

Journaling shows you if you are missing some key nutrients.  You may see that some days you are not eating enough protein or maybe not including enough vegetables.  It can also help you track if you are drinking enough water. You can also start to make the connection between missing nutrients and binge eating later in the evening.  Believe it or not, some people find out through journaling that they are actually not eating enough and are causing a starvation response in their body!  (I promise I am not making this up.  I have seen it happen.)

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#5: Journaling Shows You the Link Between Success and Failure

Journaling helps you to link your food with your weight loss successes and failures.  You can look at a week where you hit your target weight loss goals and see what you ate to make that work.  Also, you can see patterns that happen in weeks when you gained weight and avoid those patterns.  For example, you might realize that when you eat dinner after 8 pm several times in one week, you tend to gain weight no matter how healthy the meal was.  (This is one I realized through journaling.)

Now that you understand that keeping a food journal is not just for punishing yourself when you get off track but can be a useful weapon in your weight loss arsenal, it is time to start journaling!  Let us know about your weight loss success and how keeping a food journal has helped and motivated you on your weight loss journey.  Happy journaling!

Enjoying Ice Cream While Losing Weight? YES!

Let me be honest, I could not live a weight loss lifestyle if I could not enjoy ice cream! I am not talking about an occasional scoop of ice cream one time a month. I am talking about the reality that I could eat ice cream every day and still be losing weight!

Diets often demand that you deprive yourself of those foods which give you pleasure. The first three letters of “Diet” spell “DIE” because the idea of a diet is you have eat things you don’t like or you can not enjoy food that brings you pleasure like ice cream. For that reason, so many people lose weight on a diet, but they cannot sustain that weight loss because the diet is not practical, sustainable or, at worst, not healthy.

We have research common ice creams which you can find in your grocery store. We have rated these ice creams in terms of the best impact carb to protein ratios and calories per serving. We have also included recommended portion sizes.

Click Here for Your Free Ice Cream Download

One question you may have is: How do they make these ice creams taste good without the fat storage effects of regular ice cream? In the case of most of these ice creams, they sweeten the products with sugar alcohol. Sugar alcohol is an organic compound derived from sugars. The reason sugar alcohols are better than sugar is they have less effect on your blood sugar level and don’t cause a rapid blood sugar spike leading to fat storage. You can tell if a product uses sugar alcohols by looking for ingredients with the “itol” ending. In some cases, excessive consumption of sugar may result in gastric distress. Most of the ice creams use the sugar alcohols Sorbitol, Maltitol or Erythritol.

Another way many of these ice creams are sweetened is with sucralose-which commercially known as Splenda^©. Unlike sugar alcohols, sucralose has no dietary energy because the majority of it is not digested by the body; hence it passes through the body.  Sucralose has been subjected to extensive short-term and long-term studies in both animals and humans and has been shown be safe and is approved for use in over 100 countries. However, if you are concerned about the consumption of artificial sweeteners, there are a couple ice cream options for you which do not use artificial sweeteners like Sucralose.

Please note that simply eating these ice creams are not the key to weight loss. Effective, long-term, sustainable weight loss is a lifestyle of healthy choices throughout the day. However, it is good to know that those choices can include ice cream!

Click Here for Your Free Ice Cream Download

4 Tips to Motivate you to Start Losing Weight

We have all been there.  You look in the mirror and see the muffin top or the spare tire around your
waist or maybe you went to your doctor and your blood pressure or cholesterol was elevated.  You decide you need to start living a healthier lifestyle and you are going to start next week or after the holidays.

We have a huge buffet of excuses to choose.  You may not like this, but the big ugly truth is that there is NEVER a perfect, convenient time to start getting healthy and losing weight.  But wait!  Don’t throw in the towel and scarf down the pizza because here are some tips to help you get started on your weight loss journey right now!

Tip 1:  Decide WHY you want to lose weight.

You must have a clear reason why you want to lose the weight and get healthier.  Do you want to lower your cholesterol?  Do you want to have more energy?  Do you want to have confidence to participate family photos?  Whatever your reason is, it must be clear to you and you need to WRITE IT DOWN.  You can put it on your mirror, your refrigerator, your closet door or wherever you will see it every day. 

Tip 2:  Turn OFF the negativity.

Stop telling yourself, “I can’t do this” or “my metabolism is just slow” or “I just can’t eat any of the good stuff anymore”.  Get out of your woes me mentality and realize that we can’t eat whatever we want, be sedentary and expect to be at a healthy weight and feel full of energy.  Replace your negative thoughts with positive ones such as, “I CAN do this” or “If I exercise and build some muscle my metabolism will speed up” or “I have so many options of great tasting food I can eat”.

Tip 3:  Set up a REWARD system.

Set up some short term goals and some long term goals and then reward yourself when you reach them.  Be sure that you are not using food as a reward.  Pick something you like and reward yourself with that.  You can reward yourself with a massage, a new outfit, an afternoon with a good friend, or playing with your dog.  It doesn’t have to cost anything just something that makes you smile and feel good and that you enjoy.

Tip 4:  Keep it FRESH and FUN!

Try new recipes, experiment with new spices, keep it exciting.  Try a new way of exercising.  If you have been walking, maybe go for a bike ride or go for a swim.  It is easy to get in a rut and everything from what you eat to your activities just become a chore.

Now you have the tools you need to get started on a healthier lifestyle.  Please leave us a comment and let us know if you are ready to start using these tips today!

Join us for our next live, interactive workshop!

(Free workbook download)

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Meal Options at Wendy's that Won't Hurt Your Weight Loss

Several years ago, before I lost my weight, I loved to stop at Wendy's and get a double cheeseburger, medium fry, small frosty and a diet coke! According to Wendy's website, that meal was as follows:

Item	Calories	Fat	Carbs	Protein
Dave's Double	790	51g	35g	48g
Medium Fries	420	19g	56g	6g
Small Frosty	340	9g	56g	9g
Total	1,550	79g (e.g., 711 calories/fat)	147g (e.g., 588 calories/carbs)	63g (e.g., 252 calories/protein)

I was in a major fat storage mode after eating that one meal.

Click Here to Download Your Wendy's Cheat Sheet

Many people argue that fast food should be avoid, but for most of us (me included) sometimes we have to stop at a fast food restaurant. However, eating at a fast food restaurant does not have to mean weight gain (nor does it mean you can eat only salads). 

I have combed through the menu at Wendy's looking for items that won't result in fat storage. Knowledge is power and knowing some basic "go to" foods at your favorite fast food restaurants can help you beat the Diet Demon. (See my other blog on ideas at McDonald's for more information and tips on eating fast food.)

Use this pocket guide as a tool to enable yourself to make better choices at Wendy's. Of course, your other meals also have to be great fat-burners. At Achieve Weight Loss we educate you how to make your food work for you.

Click Here to Download Your Wendy's Cheat Sheet

Weight Loss and Milk + Free Download

Years prior to losing my weight, I made a switch to skim milk because I thought it was healthier for me. After all, it was fat free and if I could eliminate as much fat as possible from my diet, I'd start losing the weight. However, switching to skim milk did not solve my problems with an increasing waist line.

In this brief article, I want to share why milk can be a real problem for those losing weight and I want you to know that there are solutions.

CLICK HERE for our MILK Recommendations

From a weight loss perspective, milk can be a real problem. Consider these concerns:

1. Milk contains natural sugar (Lactose). Fortunately, milk does not contain added sugar, but one cup of milk contains 14 grams of sugar. Although it is argued that Lactose does not cause the same degree of insulin response as glucose, the reality is that milk does cause an insulin response in the body. Since insulin (we call it the "Fat Truck") is the main fat storage hormone in your body, you can be putting yourself in a fat storage mode-even with skim milk! Fortunately, there are better alternatives!

2. Milk is not calorie free. Since fat is the most calorie dense of the macronutrients (fat, protein and carbohydrates), removing the fat (e.g., skim milk) results in lower calories. However, one cup of skim milk still has about 90 calories. While that is not horrible, their are better alternatives.

3. Milk is often paired with cereal. This is a big problem because most cereals are loaded with sugar and starch. When you add the additional sugars from the milk to the cereal's sugars, the Fat Truck is in full swing-even if the cereal has whole grains and protein!

What about Almond milk?

Almond milk is great in some aspects:

• Low Calorie
• Lactose free
• Lower fat (less than 3 grams of fat in most brands)
• Very low carb

However, from a fat-burning perspective, most almond milks have little or no fire power (e.g., protein). I do not recommend using most almond milks in cereal. They may be used as a base for protein drinks and in recipes (provided the milk is not being used as a source of protein in the recipe). The good news is that there is now an almond milk which does work with cereals and I do recommend! Check out the free download to learn more.

CLICK HERE for our MILK Recommendations

Milk and Weight Loss?

Can you drink milk and lose weight ? Yes! However, you need to be careful because the Diet Demon lurks in the milk isle. Here are some milk and milk-like products you need to avoid in weight loss mode because they can easily put you into a fat storage mode:

1. Rice Milk
2. Coconut Milk
3. Skim Milk
4. Sweetened "Almond" Milk

Conclusion

Since I started my weight loss journey in 2011, many new and better milks have come on the market. These milks work great in a sustainable weight loss lifestyle. In addition, they range from organic, plant-based to cow's milk so you can choose the type of milk based on your preference. Bottom line, a sustainable weight loss lifestyle can include milk!

Straight Talk about Weight Loss + Evaluation Tool Download

In January many are going to be looking to lose holiday weight. I know the feeling. At one time I had lost over 10 lbs on a weight loss program. I was excited about my progress until the holidays hit. The weight gain started with Thanksgiving, continued with various Christmas parties and Christmas day events; it continued with New Year's celebrations and then my birthday. Before I knew it, I had gained back my 10 lbs and then some. I was deflated and frustrated with myself. I was ready to quit.

Of course, weight loss companies, fitness trainers and supplement companies know that there are hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people who feel the way I did after the holidays and they are ready for you. Honestly, my company, Achieve Weight Loss, is also in that mix of those who are anticipating the new year.

As you evaluate what to do to help you lose the holiday weight, let me give you a few questions to use to help you determine what is best for you.

1. Can I Sustain this Way of Life?
There are plenty of weight loss programs from which you can choose from and be successful in doing. Every weight loss program, product, fitness trainer, etc. has corresponding success stories and Achieve Weight Loss is no different.

The question you must ask yourself is: Can I live on this product, supplement, program, routine, etc. for the rest of my life? Yes, all those various options will result in weight loss-some will produce rapid weight loss, others will produce slower weight loss, but at the end of the day, you have determine if this is a way you can live for the rest of your life.

CLICK HERE to Download Your Evaluation Tool 

2. Is this Healthy?

Many diets deprive you of a macro nutrient in order to produce rapid weight loss. You will lose weight (often quickly on these programs) but at the expense of your long-term health. In many cases you will experience significant muscle loss as part of your weight loss. When it comes to programs based on a product, you need to evaluate the side effects of these products. Note also, that weight loss supplements and dietary products are not required to seek FDA approved. With that in mind, be sure to check out the background of the companies which manufacture these products. Some are legitimate while others are not. Click Here to read more.

3. Is this Affordable?
The price range for weight loss programs varies. Programs with pre-packaged foods, supplements, etc. cost several hundreds of dollars a month. In addition, you have to make additional purchases to supplement the pre-packaged foods. Supplement based programs also cost several hundreds of dollars and they too also require additional purchases as part of their diet. 

You will lose weight on these programs! Ask yourself this question: Can I afford to do this long-term. Realistic, sustainable and healthy weight loss is about 10 lbs a month. So if you want to lost 40 lbs you may be on the program for 3-4 months. Look at the program long term. For example: How much will losing that 40 lbs cost you on _________ program? 

4. Is this Educating Me?
Education is power! You will lose weight on whatever weight loss program or fitness regiment you choose. The questions you must ask are: 

1. Am I learning anything?
2. Is what I am learning applicable in the real world?
3. Am I being equipped to make my own choices outside of this program? 

Whichever program you choose is up to you, but make sure it is a program that educates you about food in your grocery store and not just about their products. 

5. Does these People Care about Me?
Weight loss is a multi-billion dollar business. Unfortunately, many companies are driven by one thing: profit. To be honest, companies have to make a profit to stay in business: Achieve Weight Loss has to make a profit to stay in business; we have to pay bills and eat too! 

Businesses have to make a profit! So, how do you determine if profit is the main motivator or simply the result of the company's motivation. Here are a few questions to ask in making that determination: 

1. Is the company's weight loss program built only on a product?
2. Does the company provide value beyond their product or program?
3. Is the company willing to work with you (e.g., are their flexible?)
4. Does the company offer a refund policy?
5. What are others saying about the company?
6. Is the company constantly pushing you to purchase their product?
7. Is this program endorsed by medical professionals and, if it is, are these local medical professionals who have experienced the program or are these paid endorsements?
8. Does the company set you up for success beyond their program or product? 

Hopefully, this article has provided you with some effective ways to make informed decisions. Whichever route you choose is up to you. To help you guide you in your decision, I have included a free Evaluation Tool you can print off. Use this cheat sheet as you are researching various programs for losing weight. 

I want you to succeed in your weight loss! So, I have included links at the bottom of this article to some of most popular weight loss programs in the country. Use your Evaluation Tool as you go through their website to determine which program is right for you. 

CLICK HERE to Download Your Evaluation Tool

Achieve Weight Loss

Weight Watchers
HMR Diet
Biggest Loser Diet
Jenny Craig
Dash Diet
TLC Diet
Ornish Diet

Have a Healthy Day!

Jim