The 6 Biggest Weight Loss Mistakes
by Dr. Stephen Chaney, PhD

While most of my material for "Health Tips From the Professor" comes from scientific journals, I do read the popular nutrition magazines as well. And every so often I find an article that is so useful, that I feel that I just have to bring it to your attention. The February issue of Environmental Nutrition had just such an article. It talked about the 6 most common eating mistakes that trip up almost everyone trying to lose weight. Here they are (with my comments, of course).

Mistake #1: Going too long without food. Many of the overweight people that I know skip breakfast and really eat very little until dinner time. They can't understand why they keep gaining weight when they are skipping all those meals early in the day. The problem is two-fold. You need that breakfast meal first thing in the morning to rev up your metabolism. In addition, the nagging hunger resulting from not eating early in the day leads to poor food choices latter on. Little known fact: 100% of people who have lost significant weight and kept it off 5 years or more eat breakfast!

Mistake #2: Banking Calories. You know the routine. You know that you've got big party coming up tomorrow, so you'll just eat a little less today to "even it out". That comes under the category of wishful thinking. The calories that you save today almost never equal the calories that you consume at the party. The key is to employ healthy eating strategies at the party: eat a little bit of high-protein, low-calorie food ahead of time so you don't go to the party hungry; consume alcohol sparingly - it has lots of calories and it revs up appetite; eat small portions. The bottom line is that those strategies work. Skipping meals beforehand so you can eat whatever you want at the party doesn't work. It's that simple!

Mistake #3: Skimping on protein. Protein is metabolized more slowly, which keeps those hunger pangs at bay. One study showed that people who started the day with two eggs consumed 300 calories less during the day than someone who started the day with a bagel suppplying the same calories as the eggs. Adequate protein also helps preserve muscle mass. Of course, when we talk about preserving muscle mass Cinch is the all time champion because of its added leucine.

Mistake #4: Drastically cutting calories. You can lose weight fast on a very low calorie diet, but you make yourself so miserable in the process that you are almost certain to go back to your old eating habits. In addition, the very low calorie diets almost always lead to a loss of muscle mass, which lowers metabolic rate and makes it almost inevitable that you will regain all of the lost weight - and then some. Experts tell us that slow and steady weight loss is best. They also tell us that it is important to follow a "diet" plan that you can stick with for the rest of your life. The Cinch Inch Loss Plan excells on both of those points. If you make those delicious protein shakes and healthy eating plans a permanent part of your life, you will not only loose the weight, you'll keep it off too. And, don't forget that the Cinch protein shakes help you preserve your muscle mass.

Mistake #5: Denying yourself treats. You will almost never succeed at giving up your favorite foods forever - so don't set yourself up for failure. If you've got a favorite snack just divide it up into reasonable severing size packets as soon as you bring it home. Enjoy your favorite foods, just enjoy them in moderation.

Mistake #6: Taking weekends off. The reasoning here is essentially the same as the advice not to "bank" calories in anticipation of that big party. The problem is that some people are very good during the week and then treat the weekend as one big party. If you overeat on Saturday and Sunday, you're overeating 29% of the time. It's almost impossible to make up for that by sensible eating during the rest of the week.

Well, there they are. Six common mistakes to avoid if you want to control your weight. Some of them are just common sense, but others may not be so obvious to the average dieter. Avoid these six deadly mistakes and make the Cinch Inch Loss Plan a part of your daily life. That's a winning combination for permanent weight loss.

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Shift Your Body Back Into Its
Alkaline Comfort Zone.

Here are ten simple dietary tips for shifting your body back into its alkaline comfort zone.

You can also take a look at our chart and the Acid-Alkaline Food Guide to see where some common foods fall on the acid-alkaline spectrum.

Eat more veggies and fruits. This is the most important step of all — even if you can get no further down the list than this, you can instantly make a huge difference to your bones. Plant foods contain abundant organic anions (negatively-charged “basic” particles) that combine with cations (positively-charged, or “acidic” particles) when metabolized, in turn reducing our net urinary acid load and naturally creating alkaline balance in the body. Again, keep in mind that the mineral deficits in our topsoil and water reduce the availability of minerals in the conventional food supply. If you want better bones, we suggest more than the standard “five-a-day” servings of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds — nine to ten is better. As an aside, our perspective on plant foods follows the adage that “fruits are cleansing, vegetables are building” — fruits definitely have a place in the diet, but if you want to build bone, we suggest you focus on the veggies!

Reduce soda intake, or eliminate it altogether. Clearly my example above should demonstrate why soda pop isn’t good for your bones. Aside from the overwhelming amounts of sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, aspartame, or other chemicals of little to no nutritive value that soda contains, its high phosphoric acid content requires your body to sacrifice a great deal of alkaline buffering salts so it can excrete the acid without damaging your urinary tract.

Replace refined carbs with tasty roasted roots, tubers, and gourds. Most grains are somewhat acid-forming — particularly when they are ground, bleached, and otherwise refined. Root, tuber, and gourd crops like sweet potatoes, yams, potatoes, parsnips, beets, carrots, squash and potatoes are super-rich in minerals that will alkalinize your blood, plus they’re loaded with antioxidants and vitamins. So instead of eating pasta, pizza, pastry, rice or bread, try substituting with root crops a few days a week. While they are higher on the glycemic index than many other vegetables, they are satisfying and again, micronutrient-rich.

Add fresh lemon and lime to your water. Though we typically think of citrus fruits as acidic, they’re highly alkalizing in the body (limes especially). This is due to the conversion of citric acid to citrates on digestion. Help balance your acid load by squeezing a wedge of fresh lemon or lime into your water bottle or glass throughout the day. For that matter, get into the habit of giving your cuisine a squirt just before serving: lime is delicious on papaya, melons, salads, Mexican and Asian dishes, and lemon juice can really make a soup, curry or fish dish sing!

Consider adding sea vegetables to your culinary repertoire. For some of you, I know this is “out of the question!” Others of you will have already adopted this practice at one point or another in your lives, or it may be part of your heritage. For others who are willing to try new things, why not experiment with packaged sea veggies available in the macrobiotics section of your health food store or Asian supermarket? Or, if you’re lucky enough to live near a pristine beach, forage around and harvest a sample or two of your own. Consider the fact that just a hundred years ago, much of the seaboard here in Eastern North America was actively engaged in the harvesting of sea vegetables. While delicious seaweed dishes are still regularly enjoyed throughout much of Asia, it wasn’t so long ago that many people on both sides of the Atlantic were also enjoying dulse, agar agar, and other mineral-rich seaweeds in soups, stews, and puddings (blanc mange).

Drink 64 ounces of high-mineral spring water daily. So often our public drinking supply has been processed, stripped of the health-enhancing minerals water naturally picks up from the earth as it percolates through the ground. Then it’s doctored with minerals like chlorine and fluoride which — despite conventional wisdom — are present at levels that many scientists feel are not healthy for teeth and bones. “Mineral waters” contain dissolved minerals and trace elements in widely varying amounts as they emerge from their sources in the ground. These include calcium, magnesium, and potassium salts, so it’s an easy way to replenish your alkaline reserves. Since our diets are for the most part high in sodium, I’d avoid the ones that contain sodium unless you’re living in a hot climate or working out and sweating a great deal. We like brands such as Essentia and Pellegrino, but many people develop an allegiance to this or that label, so I’d encourage you to sample a few and find your own favorites.

Reduce animal protein to 60 g or less per day. Animal proteins, which are high in the sulfur-containing amino acids cystine, cysteine, and methionine, are particularly acid-producing as your body metabolizes them. Protein is absolutely required for your bones and just about every other body tissue, but you can limit your animal protein sources (beef, chicken, pork, eggs, and dairy products) to 60 grams or less per day and upping plant-based protein sources. As recently as one or two generations ago people ate beans nearly every single day, sometimes at every meal, and in many places in the world legumes remain the number-one source of protein. Lentils in particular have a super alkalizing effect on the body compared to other protein sources, they cook more quickly than most other dried beans, they’re versatile, and they’re also more digestible for many people. Soy is another high-protein option you can try that’s high in calcium and good for the bones.

Add cinnamon, ginger, and other herbs and spices. Cinnamon is a wonderful alkalizing spice that you can add to just about anything. It’s great with sweet potatoes, apples, or sprinkled in hot tea. Ginger root is a great alkalizer and detoxifier that spices up many dishes and makes a tasty, warming winter tea. Experiment with your spice cabinet — herbs and spices don’t just make things taste better, in most cases they’re good for your health.

Monitor your urinary pH. Tracking your first morning urine pH (after at least 6 hours of sleep) is a simple and convenient way to keep track of how your nutritional changes are affecting your body. When this number is between 6.5 (slightly acidic) and 7.5 (slightly alkaline), it indicates that your overall cellular pH is likely where it should be — slightly alkaline. Results in an acid range can suggest that your bones are being depleted of minerals to offset the excess acid in your system. Super-sensitive and highly accurate, our own pH paper is designed specifically to test either saliva or urine. For specific details on my recommendations for measuring your pH, see our pH Kit page (http://www.womentowomen.com/products/betterbonesphtestkit.aspx).

Supplement your diet with a high-quality multivitamin–mineral complex. No matter how attentive we are to what we eat, where it’s grown or harvested, and how we dish it up, we just can’t always have a perfectly balanced diet. You still have lots of options when it comes to making up for that fact of life, one of which is the peace of mind a top-notch bone-healthy supplement provides, like the ones we offer in our Personal Program for Better Bones . These formulations are designed to enhance pH balance through an alkalizing nutrient base, plus they provide a potent dosage of the key nutrients required for deep bone nourishment. Should your pH stay low after several weeks of this, you may have a greater need for alkalizing mineral complexes — so feel free to contact us for help*.

*This post is an excerpt from http://www.womentowomen.com/bonehealth/alkaline-bones.aspx

Weathering Changes
Winner's Circle Network with Lou Tice
- 1/12/09 - "Weathering Challenges"

The economic news of the last couple of months
has been quite the challenge for a lot of people,
all over the world. Let's spend some time this week
talking about these challenges and what we can do,
as individuals and communities.

One of the traps we, as human beings, can get caught
in is looking at our economic and financial situations
as happening "to" us. We see things from an external
perspective, and believe we are powerless to do anything.
If you can visualize a leaf traveling at the mercy of the
wind, you get a pretty good picture of someone who sees
life happening "to" them. This is an external "locus of
control" and puts us in the mindset of a victim.

Now, what would happen if we changed our perspective
to one of an internal locus of control? What if we asked
ourselves the question, "What can I do 'for' me?" How
does that change the way we look at ourselves and our
abilities?

Well, for one thing, we take back control of our lives and
our decisions. It's like adding a rudder and a motor to
that leaf blowing in the wind, and plotting our own course
through the breeze. We give ourselves the power to
determine the direction in which we travel through
challenges. You are only a victim if you allow yourself
to be a victim.

The various forms of media are having a field-day
painting "the public" as victims of the economic
downturn. But keep in mind that "disaster" headlines
are meant to sell papers and magazines to keep
advertising dollars. Televised media is not just
reporting the news, but sometimes making the
news in order to get ratings and advertising dollars.

In these uncertain economic times, it is easy to fall
prey to the "bad news" constantly being reported in
the media. If you are wise, and I believe that all of us
have access to untapped wisdom stored in our minds,
you will be a skeptical listener and reader, and take
charge of your own decisions about your future.

Lou TiceThe Pacific Institutewww.thepacificinstitute.com