Logical Weight Loss

For me, the holidays are over (due to my brother going out of town for the holidays. This means yesterday I had the ham, the green beans, and yes, there were cookies.

With no surprise, when I stepped on the scale it went the wrong way. So I did a deep dive into my data in myfitnesspal.com (I've used Loseit! in the past and many others, they all do the same thing, I liked myfitnesspal, but use whatever works for you). In looking at the data I could CLEARLY see that when:

• I eat 2100 calories (or less) in a day
• Exercises (in any fashion) for an hour
• Drink between 64-80 oz of water
• Get seven hours of sleep

I lose weight. It is that simple. It's just not that easy.

So How to Restart?

Let's look at walking. You used to walk, and then you stopped. How would you start again? By taking that first step.

So for me, that means starting the day on my exercise bike, drinking 20 oz of water, getting in the shower and feeling like I was headed in the right direction.

Other things I might do in the future is listening to affirmations, and use something like the 5-minute journal, or some sort of gratitude practice (I also talk to God on a regular basis, but you do what do you).

You don't have to have letters in the sky, a band playing, a drum roll, you just start. You decide that you're not giving up.

It May Not Be Pretty or Prefect

When you restart, it may not be pretty or perfect, but it doesn't have to be pretty, it just has to be (in any form). You can do this.

Join the Logical Losers Support Group

See www.logicallosers.com (For as little as $1 month)

Get Paid For Walking with Step Bet

Step Bet is the sister to Diet Bet. With Step Bet you put in some money, and it reads the data from your fitness Tracker (Fitbit, Garmin, Apple Watch) and assigns you a goal. You have active days (a smaller goal) and a stretch goal. For me, my goals are 9922 steps for active days and 12, 222 for a stretch days. (Your goals will be different based on your previous days). In a week you have four active days, and two stretch days and one off day. Do that for six weeks and you get a portion of the pot. My current pot has 600 people with a pot of 24,000. If 75% of people fail that means 18,000 will be divided between 150 people with a net of $120 (minus a cut for step bet). If money motivates you this scenario would bring a 300% return on investment (as I put in $40).

The key (for me) is getting up a litter earlier, and at night getting my steps in before doing any other activities (or by watching TV while on a treadmill). The real challenge here is the six weeks of consistency.

Its available on iOs and Andorid (see www.stepbet.com )

Understanding Affirmations

I was reading the book Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle and it had one of the best descriptions of why and how they work.

In the book Tony states:

All day long you carry on a mental conversation with yourself. Psychologists estimate that we think up to 60,000 thoughts a day and that 98 percent of these thoughts are the same ones we had yesterday—most of them negative. In a year, that’s almost 22 million thoughts!

The basis for positive thinking and philosophies such as the law of attraction is that the subconscious is amenable to suggestion. People who say that positive thoughts and affirmations don’t work aren’t using them effectively or consistently, or they’re wishing for the positive while thinking about the negative.

This is me. I would try them for maybe three days. Mixed messages

If a captain gives an order such as “Go east,” then keeps changing his mind—“No, go west ... no, go north”—the ship would never get anywhere! This is also why most people get nowhere with their fitness, weight loss, or muscle-building endeavors. Ironically, the very statement “Positive thinking doesn’t work” is a negative suggestion guaranteeing that it won’t work!

Again, this is 100% me.

The conscious mind is a lot like the captain on the bridge of a ship. The captain sends a command to the engine room. The subconscious mind is like the people down in the engine room. No matter what orders come down from the bridge (conscious mind), the crew obeys, even if the orders are stupid ones that crash the ship into a rocky shore. The reason this happens is that the crew (the subconscious) can’t see where the ship is going; they are simply following orders.

Like the ship’s crew, your subconscious mind carries out every command it accepts from your conscious mind. Its sole purpose is to obey your orders, even if you give ones like “I’ll always be fat.” Frequent repetition of thoughts (mental orders) is one certain way to penetrate the subconscious mind. By constantly repeating negative commands such as “I can’t lose weight,” your subconscious will see to it that you never lose weight because that’s its job: to follow your every command literally and without question. If you program your mind with negative suggestions often enough, it will lead you right into cheating on your diet, skipping workouts, or some other form of self-sabotage.

Without a target, your subconscious simply steers you toward your dominant thoughts. The subconscious mind is always at work 24 hours a day, whether you direct it consciously or not.

Because of how your subconscious operates, it’s crucial to focus on what you want to achieve, not on what you want to avoid.

He mentions in the book that much like weight lifting you need to give affirmations 25-30 days to sink in. I've never been able to completely buy into Affirmations. To “affirm” something, by dictionary definition, means that you are declaring it to be true. When you say an affirmation over and over again, a couple of things happen. Your sub-conscience gets busy noticing ways to help you achieve your goals.

Because your brain is constantly looking for clues to filter your environment and guide your actions, it will pick up on any available influence.

This could mean all the subconscious fears and doubts you haven’t dealt with or even messages in your environment.

The reason you ne...

I am again inspired by the book Chasing Cupcakes. It's one of my favorite books. It had a really good part about setting expectations and pushing one when you want to quit.

July 4th Set My Back

There was pie and a 3 lb weight gain. I was like, "WHAY?!?" but there it was. This undid about two weeks worth of focusing on weight loss. All gone in one day. It seems weight loss is so hard.

Think of Weight Loss Like a Bank

How do you save money? One dollar at a time. There is an article that explains taking a penny that doubles every day or a million dollars now. You want to take the penny. (see article) .

You don't wake up some day and go "Wow, I'm rich." You've worked at it over time, and made good choices.

In the same way one workout does not make you fit. One healthy meal does not mean you're going to drop lbs tomorrow. You are putting deposits into the bank of fitness and over time with consistent deposits, that compound over time (improving your muscles which burn more calories) eventually you will wake up and go, "Hey who is that in the mirror?"

Don't Quit on a Bad Day

I heard this from three different sources this week, so I knew I had to include it in the podcast. Don't quit on a bad day (I heard this in the book Chasing Cupcakes as well as from a friend.)

Instead of quitting on a bad day, wait until a good day when you are in a better frame of mind (and also are less likely to quit).

Focus on your next choice, and make it a good one.

First Impression of the Lumen

There is a say you can't manage what you don't track. There is a device that can now measure your metabolism by analyzing your breath. It's called the Lumen.

I just started using it this week. I love how well it is put together and packaged. It's super easy to use, and the app (both android and iOs) walks you through using the device and explaining your results.

The device is based on proven science and by breathing into the device it measures if you're burning more carbs or fat.

I love how focused they are on delivering accurate data so you can make informed choices. I'm looking forward to using it going forward to see what I can learn. see www.logicalloss.com/lumen

What's the Deal With Maltodextrin?

So I noticed that in my new Advocate Spark (I love the grape) that it included Matlodextrin. Then I looked at their really yummy Chocolate protein drink. What did I find? You guessed it Maltodextrin. At first, I thought Advocare was trying to fool me (the box of Spark shows "Sugar-free." Then I looked at the awesome low priced Chocolate Wehy Protein from Equate (which is also delicious). What did I find? You guessed it Matlodextrin. Lastly, I pulled out some drinks from Slimgenics that I used to consume. There it was again. Maltodextrin.

So I asked, "Uncle Google" and here is what I found

If you’re trying to lose weight, you will want to avoid maltodextrin. It’s essentially a sweetener and a carbohydrate with no nutritional value, and it causes an increase in blood sugar. The levels of sugar in maltodextrin can lead to weight gain. - www.healthline.com

Maltodextrin is a food ingredient made from starch. It is used as a flavor carrier and to improve thickness, texture, body, and taste of food products. Maltodextrin is a polymer that consists of multiple units of glucose linked together in a linear fashion. Maltodextrin is commercially made starting with a simple starch and using the hydrolysis process. It is also a main ingredient in the brand-name sugar substitute Splenda

it is controversial as it is often made from corn, and most corn is genetically modified, this Maltodextrin is GMO based. There are no known GMO versions available. A controversy has started on the internet about maltodextrin causing a spike in blood sugar. But maltodextrin is seldom used by itself as a food, but rather as an ingredient in a food, thus this isn’t a serious concern. - Go Clean Label https://gocleanlabel.com/what-is-maltodextrin/

According to Livestrong.com

"The Center for Science in the Public Interest has recognized maltodextrin as safe and fructose as an additive to cut back on in the diet. Experts agree that sugar, no matter the form, should comprise no more than 10 percent of total caloric intake. Most Americans get double this recommendation." Source

For me, it just seems like every form of sugar isn't for you and this may show as a carb instead of sugar in your food tracking. It seems wherever they pull out sugar, they just replace it with a substitute.

21 Ways To Lose Weight

1. Forcast Your Meal, and eliminate the question, "What's for Dinner?"
2. Rein in your sweet tooth
3. Once a day eat a salad
4. Sit down when you eat
5. Find a workout buddy
6. Exercise even when you don't feel like it
7. Hope on a scale once a week
8. Get to bed at a decent hour
9. Rish, shine and eat
10. Don't rely on willpower
11. Track your steps, but watch your feed
12. Cut back on TV time
13. Double down on Produce
14. Reorganize your fridge
15. Watch the booze
16. Think: Fast, slow, repeat.
17. Stop sipping your calories
18. Make friends with free weights
19. Try a new exercise
20. Do lunch like the Japanese
21. Learn how to relax about food.

Become a Logical Loser

Keep the conversation going by being a patron (as little as $1 a month) and be part of our private Facebook group. Go to www.logicallosers.com