An Intro Into Fat Loss. It's not what you think...

On paper, losing weight is easy. To be quite honest, there’s enough literature that can be found in books and the Internet that can show you how to lose weight. There’s no secret to it.

The reason why it seems like there’s a new revolutionary diet that comes out every year is that people have learned to re-package and market diets that have existed for years and found ways to make it seem new again.

I’ve been around clients that haven’t reached their goals because of the factors that prevent them from starting their journey to weight loss. Let’s be real, whether you do Paleo, Keto, Intermittent Fasting or go Vegan, you’re bound to lose weight if you manage it the right way.

The reason why people can’t lose weight is that they can’t start and if they do start, they abandon the plan.

This blog post isn’t meant to give you the magic foods or help you bio-hack your way to weight loss. This post is meant to help you simply start something. I too find myself in a rut with regard to training and nutrition, but when I find myself in this rut I come back to this starting point and execute from here.

Step 1: Forget about the haters. People will talk and judge, but remember that the people talking have no influence on your metabolism. “They don’t want you to win…” **Dj Khaled Voice**.

Want to go Paleo for a month? Do it and get excited about it.  Who cares if the cool kids eat regular pizza? You eat that cauliflower crust pizza recipe that you found and you enjoy it! Get motivated and stay motivated.

Step 2: Start. Just start somewhere. I remember when I lost a bunch of weight; I did it blindly with salads and juicing. Was there a more sustainable way of losing weight?

Absolutely, but I didn’t paralyze myself with information to a point where I never got started. I started, lost weight, then became more informed about the process and modified as I went along.

Step 3: Surround yourself around people who want you to succeed. There’s a saying that you’re the average of the 5 people you hang out with the most. Be around people you can train and have a post-workout sushi burrito with.

Step 4: Dance every single night for 30 days. Don’t dance? That’s cool. Check Step 5.

Step 5: The same routine will give you the same results. Change your routine and alter your results. Get out of your current comfort zone and make a new one. My starting point is the morning routine.

Start the day off on a good note and set the tone for the day. For example, I’ve been doing apple cider vinegar in a glass of water upon waking. If gives me the mentality that I’ve started the day off on a winning note.

Just start.

Can Carbs at Night Improve Sleep Quality? Will It Make me Fat?

I recently made an Instagram post where I mentioned that when people experience weight loss from eliminating dense carbs, it’s usually from a restriction of overall calories rather than just the carbs alone. I feel like I’ve been the defender of carbs lately and today’s post will only support this further. If you haven't checked out my previous take on carb intake, check it out here.

I almost feel entitled to speak on carbohydrates because I’ve experienced first hand what carb restriction can do to someone. I’ll cut right to the chase and say that carbohydrates are important to someone especially when training and can have some great beneficial effects on sleep. If you take that statement alone from this post then I’d be happy.

If you’re interested to know why carbohydrates can particularly help sleep quality, then keep reading.

I really only have two reasons why carbs can be beneficial to share today…

1.     Increased carbohydrate intake increases insulin secretion. When this happens, the body uptakes all other neutral amino acids except for tryptophan. Instead, tryptophan concentration is increased in the bloodstream instead of going into muscle cells allowing more of it to cross the blood brain barrier. Tryptophan is a precursor for serotonin, which is converted to melatonin (our sleep hormone).

2.     Blood sugar dips too low at night causing an increase in cortisol, which impairs overall sleep. The hormone cortisol has some important functions in our body, but it carries a bad reputation because of its tendency to be high in unhealthy populations. In this case, cortisol will cause the body to secrete its own glucose because its dipped at night, which can disrupt sleep quality.

Did I just justify your evening carb cravings? If you’re concerned about weight gain as a result of eating carbs at night, don’t be. As long as calories are distributed evenly throughout the day, there should be no issue with having some carbs at night.

Stay tuned for the #upgradedmacrosproject