Eating Sensibly, Working Out and Still Not Achieving Your Goals?

Are you working hard in the gym 3 times a week, eating sensibly but still struggling to lose that weight or change your body shape?

Have you previously lost weight by starting to exercise and watching what you eat, only to continue gaining fat despite sticking to your programme?

If this sounds familiar, there are a couple of things you should take a closer look at?

1.The components of your exercise programme
2.What you are eating

Ensuring you have the right components in your exercise programme is vital ? it is very common to begin an exercise programme and start watching what you eat and find that you do lose weight. This is often because you are managing and manipulating the calorie deficit in your body and the immediate increased demands will cause you to lose weight initially as the body has to find the energy to meet the added demand. However in the long term you must ensure you maintain & even increase muscle mass in your body to keep your metabolism higher and not just increase the duration of exercise to try and burn more calories. For more information about the right combination of cardio and resistance training take a look at my article "The right combination for weight loss".

When it comes to nutrition, you're probably (and quite rightly) concerned with managing your calorie intake to lose weight or change your body shape. However, it is also worth taking a look at what your diet consists of as well as how much you are eating. And I don't just mean ensuring you are eating enough fruit & vegetables.

There are a number of foods that actually take more from your body than they provide ? I call these 'nutrient robbers'. By this I mean that the effort to digest, absorb, metabolise and eliminate such foods actually require more nutrients than they ultimately provide the body with.

If this is the case, what you are feeding your body depletes it of more than you give it and can cause your body to behave like you are actually on a diet, going into survival mode in order to cope with the demands of processing such foods.

In other words, your body will hang on to all the energy and nutrients it thinks it's going to need to process the foods it will be receiving ? in much the same way that it hangs onto energy (fat) & nutrients when you starve your body or go on a diet because it never knows when it will get adequate nutrition.

Some examples of nutrient robbers are:

? Fast foods & takeaways
? Fizzy drinks
? Sports Bars
? A large number of the whey protein shake mixes and protein powders
? Most canned foods, particularly canned fruits in syrup
? Anything cooked or prepared in a microwave
? 99 percent of all packaged foods. This includes any commercially processed grain products, such as pastas, breads (white is the worst) and cereal bars
? Most processed sandwich meats; many of them have both gluten and sugar added to them as fillers, plus the use of synthetic fillers.
? All packaged dessert foods, such as donuts, biscuits (unless made from organic whole-foods) and ice cream.

Therefore, if the majority of your diet consists of these foods, you will rapidly drop to the point at which you have calories, but inadequate nutrition in your body to process them, thus nutritionally you are starving.

In health & fitness terms, this is vital because your body needs all sorts of nutrients to function efficiently and effectively ? all the more so when you are working out three times a week.

Some examples of how nutrients can help your body cope with the demands of working out:
? Proteins help the muscles repair themselves more quickly
? Calcium is vital for normal muscle contractions
? Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant, which possibly helps reduce tissue damage
? Iron in haemoglobin is essential for carrying oxygen to the working muscles

So if you are nutritionally starving because your diet consists of mostly nutrient robbers, then your body will struggle to function efficiently and effectively even at rest, yet alone when you put it through an hour long workout 3 times a week.

Therefore if you are exercising regularly, watching what you eat but still not achieving your weight loss or body shaping goals, then take a look at what you're eating and make sure you're not starving yourself of vital nutrients.

Lea Woodward is a qualified personal trainer and director of activOne ltd in the UK. activOne provides personal training, diet & nutrition advice and massage therapy to private clients & corporate wellbeing services in the UK as well as virtual training to clients worldwide. Check out my website http://www.activone.co.uk

---

Take The Die out Of Dieting - Tips For Stress Free Weight Loss

Not so resolved on that "New Year's Resolution" to be... Read More

Want Power Before Will Power

The problem isn't that you don't have enough will power... Read More

Gastric Bypass Myth ? All Patients Stretch their Stomachs and Regain Weight

Have a conversation about gastric bypass surgery with just about... Read More

Snacking, Fear, Greed and the Gastric Bypass Tool

Do you remember nodding your head with understanding during your... Read More

Understanding Bariatric Surgery

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity... Read More

Weight Loss: Goal-Setting for Success

If you were going to travel to the other side... Read More

Play Ball To Get Fit

Chances are if you've stepped foot in a gym or... Read More

Weight Loss Information -- Setting Effective Goals

Weight loss information is often confusing and misleading. The more... Read More

5-Step Weight Loss Program for Permanent Weight Loss

Every Journey Worth Taking Begins with a Single StepHere are... Read More

Weight Loss Problems? Are You on the Path of Delusion, Depression, and Destruction?

Are you weighted down with delusion, depression and on the... Read More

Ephedra - Is It Safe And Effective?

Burn fat while you sleep! Eat whatever you want and... Read More

Three Steps to Achieving Your Health Goals

We all have aspects of health we want to improve.... Read More

The Key to Weight Loss: The INSIDE OUT Factor ? The #1 Mindset in Changing Your Weight Forever!

WHAT DOES BEING FIT REALLY MEAN?The "INSIDE-OUT" approach to fitness... Read More

Secrets Of Ephedra

For those of you who aren't familiar with ephedra let... Read More

What are the Benefits of the Low-carb Diet?

Are you one of those who hate dieting? Well, you... Read More

Fat Loss Exercise Strategies

How many calories you consume has a big impact on... Read More

Successful WLS Patients Make Right Their Nutritional Wellness

It seems there are two schools of behavior patients follow... Read More

Gastro-Physics And Dietary Anti-Matter

Do a little people-watching, next time you're in the grocery... Read More

America Health Watch

America loves fast food. Last year, consumers spent billions of... Read More

Lose Weight NOW! - The Truth or Consequences Diet?

If you knew when you were going to die, would... Read More

7 Part Plan To Beating Childhood Obesity

Everyone from politicians to parents is talking about fighting the... Read More

Mind, Body Weight Loss for life equals behavior change - The Acceptance Factor

Getting to the ROOT of the matter: If the plants... Read More

How to Lose Weight While Gardening

Have you ever dreaded the idea of pulling weeds, planting... Read More

After Gastric Bypass: Pass the Water, Hold the Ice

I just read this conventional diet tip ? and we've... Read More

Eat Fat to Burn Fat

For about 50 years now, Americans have been eating low... Read More

Why Do Athletes Use Ephedra?

You are probably familiar with the weight loss connection with... Read More

The Seven Secrets of Weight Loss

When embarking on a weight loss program people will almost... Read More

The Psychology of Weight Loss: Part 2 ? How are You Motivated?

New Years Resolutions do not work because you are really... Read More

Weight Loss Program: Do Your Expectations Sabotage Your Success?

When women talk about their biggest obstacles to successful weight... Read More

Diet & Weight Loss Tips: How To Stop Eating Junk Food By Finding Your Craving Hour

Even if you're not overweight, you still could have a... Read More

Is Body Mass Index or BMI a Real Measure of Obesity or is It Flawed?

Body Mass Index (bmi) A Misleading measure of ObesityMany professionals... Read More

Hoodia - An Elixir that Fights Obesity Part 1

Humanity is always in search of a wonder drug that... Read More

Spritz On Some Flavor!

Now that everything from a tan to pantyhose comes in... Read More