Breaking the Diet Cycle

Hello!  Welcome to my blog!  That is me in the photo above.  :)  In September 2013, I began a journey of clean eating, daily 30 minute workouts and also began incorporating Shakeology as my breakfast each morning.  We are now more than 18 months later and I am still going strong!  After a lifelong struggle to lose weight, what has been different with this approach?  Why am I convinced that I would never go back to the way things used to be?  That is the topic of today's blog entry!  

I recently heard a description of the "Diet Cycle" and it really resonated with the way that I used to do things!  The Recommended Daily Allowance of Calories for many of us is somewhere around 2,000.  So if we want to lose weight, we are going to have to create some sort of calorie deficit by eating less and also burning off x amount of calories through exercise.  We have ALL had those Mondays where THIS IS THE DAY that we are going to "do better".  It is a novel pursuit.  We begin to eat less and try to make more healthy choices.  We become more active.  After 5-7 days we can see some progress and we are really excited!  By 10-14 days it all begins to catch up with us.  We are just plain TIRED.  We are asking our bodies to do more with less.  We have hit a nutrient deficit and this comes across as cravings.  We may become irritable and grouchy.  The cravings escalate and as we give in to a few of them, we may go overboard and then wind up feeling guilty.  

Through our best intentions and quite a bit of solid effort, we are sabotaging ourselves by pushing ourselves into a state of being nutrient deficient.  Signs of this are cravings, mental fog, irritability and feeling sluggish.  Can anyone relate??

Even when eating whole foods and making balanced nutrition choices, the JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that an individual would have to eat an average of 27,575 calories per day (NOT a typo!) in order to become 100% sufficient in all 27 essential micronutrients based on recommended daily intake guidelines.  You can check out the research article here.  According to the study, when we are deficient in these areas, we find an 80.8% increase in the likelihood of becoming overweight or obese and is scientifically linked to a higher risk of other dangerous and debilitating diseases, including resistance to infection, birth defects, cancer, cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

Forget the 27,000+ calories!  What about when we truly do need to lose weight and so we are cutting our usual calorie intake while doing more?  How do we keep our overall health on track while also not falling into the cravings, mental fog, irritability and sluggishness of being nutrient deficient?  When I first began my own journey of life change towards better health, I was constantly BLOWN AWAY by how it really was not as hard as I had expected.  It was much easier AND incredibly more effective than anything that I had ever tried before in my life!  WHY!!?!?!?!?!  Shakeology.  Really and truly.  This meal replacement is so easy.  It is a whole food and you can think of it as "dry juicing".  I get all of my vitamins and it is the equivalent of 5 plates of a very healthy salad.  But all for just 160 calories!  Here is a link to a chart which shows more of what is in Shakeology and why??  Shakeology meets my basic nutrition needs for that meal while also SUPER-CHARGING my body.  Shakeology is not like a triple espresso where you feel an instant zing.  It works at the cellular level and takes 4-5 days of being in our system to really prime our digestion.  Then suddenly we have this shift where things just come together.  I found that I could feel better, my energy went way up, my cravings nearly disappeared and my body repaired more quickly from my workouts.  Here is a favorite article which explains "why" all of this works so well.  

Weight loss is not the end goal itself.  Weight loss is a by-product of proper nutrition.  Shakeology is NOT a protein shake.  It is NOT a weight loss shake.  We are nutrient deficient much of the time, even when eating whole foods.  Shakeology is a nutrient dense meal replacement that is seriously a game-changer.  I found that I was naturally eating less, I felt significantly better, my energy went way up and I began to shed the weight.  My migraines disappeared and for the first time in my life my menstrual cycle quickly became regular and has stayed that way!  

When looking at meal replacement shakes, you want to make sure that you are avoiding soy.  Soy is a cheap filler.  It interrupts digestion and lowers our immune system.  Avoid artificial sweeteners.  There are so many studies which show that they actually stimulate our appetite and increase insulin production in our body.  You also want to steer clear of artificial flavors.  After some time of eating clean, our taste-buds will be retrained to where we are truly able to appreciate natural flavors like never before!  

Shakeology is full of super-foods!  In short, super-foods strengthen our immune system.  They repair our GI system so that digestion improves and we are able to absorb nutrients.  This also promotes regularity in that department!  Super-foods reduce chronic inflammation and that is crazy-important!  Inflammation destroys cells and leaves us at risk for all sorts of disease.  I know of so many people who used to deal with painful inflammation-related conditions and they are significantly reduced and sometimes even wiped out through the use of Shakeology!  Many chronic diseases are preventable or at least slowed with better food choices and exercise.  Would we rather be on the back end of disease while medicating ourselves to manage our symptoms or would we like to be on the front end of wellness, feeling our best??  Easy choice, right?

A conclusion of the study referenced/linked above - "It is the conclusion of this researcher that an individual following a popular diet plan using food alone, has a high likelihood of becoming micronutrient deficient, a condition shown to be scientifically linked to a higher risk of dangerous and debilitating diseases including cancer, osteoporosis, heart disease, birth defects and overweight/obesity. Based on this study's findings, the belief that a healthy, balanced diet can consistently deliver, to a typical dieter, all of the essential vitamins and minerals they need, through whole food alone, is in dire need of revision. It would appear that supplementation should be considered as a viable, low cost method to achieve micronutrient sufficiency and reduce the risk for some of today's most prevalent and devastating health conditions and diseases."

Just this past week, Beachboy released the Shakeology Super Sampler!  With this option, you can try all six of our Shakeology flavors when they arrive at your doorstep all one box!  In our regular formula, we have Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry and Greenberry.  Our Vegan formula does not use whey protein and thus is dairy-free.  Vegan is available in Chocolate and Tropical Strawberry.  If you are curious to learn more or would like to give Shakeology a try, this could be an excellent option for you!  Check out my site for more details on Shakeology and how so many people have found better health through this nutrition game-changer!

 

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