Weightlifting for Weight Loss

One of my pet peeves is when girls tell me they don't lift weights because they don't want to look like this:

You will not become this without some medicinal help (aka steroids). Women just don't have the capacity to build muscle like that naturally. So no need to worry about that happening to you if you lift weights. This will never become your body unless you work extremely hard to achieve it. What you may achieve through lifting weights could be a body like this:

This is Jaime Eason a popular fitness model and trainer on bodybuilding.com. She advocates weight lifting and lifting a lot of weight. In order to have her lean and defined body she lifts some heavy weight. I've been following her 12 week program on bodybuilding.com and it is fabulous. There are some things I'd change about it in order to use time better and help recover your muscles. It's a great program nonetheless. 

Now if the visuals weren't convincing enough let me tell you a couple of facts. Weight lifting increases your metabolism. No food you eat will increase your metabolism. Sorry to burst any bubbles but you can not do that through diet. The way your metabolism is the calorie requirement that your body needs to function each day. Muscle mass uses the highest amount of calories. The more body mass and muscle mass you have the higher your metabolism will be. Since most people do not want to increase their body mass the only way to increase your metabolism is through increasing your muscle mass. We increase our muscle mass by lifting weights! Weightlifting burns about 9 calories a minute during the exercise but it continues to burn calories throughout the next 24 hours. It increases your body's need for energy during the time in which the muscle is repairing itself. 

So in summary weight lifting is good for weight loss because it will increase your metabolism, help you look like Jaime Eason, and still burn a ton of calories during your workout.  

For those of you ladies who are more concerned about your health, I have a few facts for you too. Exercise, such as weight lifting, lowers your blood pressure and helps you handle stress better. Any weight-bearing exercise has been shown to help lower your risk of osteoporosis. This is common as women age and can be very dangerous. Weight-bearing exercise like weight lifting helps to prevent bone loss and strengthen muscles. Muscle growth begins to slow and stop as we reach middle age. Many people see that they lose muscle mass at the same time. this also means their metabolism slows down. However most people continue to eat the way they have their whole life. These are common reason's for weight gain as you reach middle adulthood. By continuing to lift weights throughout this time you can maintain your muscle mass and your metabolism. Like they say, if you don't use it, you lose it. 

How to apply this to your life:

I recommend that all women incorporate weightlifting into their routine. I'd recommend at least 3 days a week that focuses on weight lifting. There are several resources you can use to begin a program. ACE has an exercise library by muscle group. their explanations are very thorough and  have pictures. Bodybuilding.com also has an exercise library by muscle group. Both of these databases have rating systems to tell you which moves are good for beginners, intermediates, and advanced populations. If you are interested in weight loss I recommend lifting weights first (to help build muscle and get that post-workout calorie consumption) followed by a session of cardio. This will help you burn a lot of calories and gain the lean defined body you desire.

Happy lifting! :)

Ice Cream

Personally eating healthy doesn't mean making huge sacrifices. I love food and refuse to eat bland food because it's healthy. I think healthy eating just means you need to be more creative. Pinterest is a wonderful resource to spark my creativity. It was there I found this awesome recipe for healthy ice cream. Here's a recipe for ice cream that's easy to make and healthy.

What you will need:
Food processor
Freezer
Bananas

Flavoring options:

cocoa powder

peanut butter

raspberries

strawberries

chocolate chips

oreos

 (if you don't get too crazy then even the higher calorie options are fine. All things in moderation, right?)

Recipe:

First take some bananas and slice them place them in plastic sandwich bags and put them in the freezer.

Once they are frozen place the bananas, and toppings in your food processor on grind until the bananas become a creamy texture.

Scoop into a bowl and enjoy!

this ice cream can be refrozen and saved for a later time but it will take a couple minutes to thaw into that creamy soft serve texture.

This is the link to the actual page I found this on. http://userealbutter.com/2010/08/12/single-ingredient-ice-cream-recipe/

4 myths debunked

I was reading in my consumer health text book today and found this nugget of information. I feel like a lot of people fall prey to some common health myths that I'd like to clear up right now.

1. Most people who take vitamin supplements don't need them.
2. Vitamins do not make people more energetic, more muscular, or less stressed.
3. "Organically grown" foods are neither safer nor more nutritious than conventionally produced foods
4. No prescription pill can produce rapid or permanent weight loss.

This information is meant for normal healthy individuals. There are some cases where individuals do need vitamin supplements because of vitamin deficiencies. Your doctor will test for those if you are feeling fatigued or sick and in those cases they may help those individuals feel more energetic. From reading this textbook and my prior classes I've come to the conclusion that vitamins are simply a waste of your money unless a doctor tells you to take them.

Reference:
London, William M., Robert S. Baratz, and Manfred Kroger. "Consumer Health Issues." Consumer Health: A Guide to Intelligent Decisions. By Stephen Barrett. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. 7. Print.

Fifteen tips to Fight the freshman 15 on a budget

College is a time when many of us first have the opportunity to be on our own and make our own decisions. This is also a time where healthy habits seem to slide by as we pack of the famous freshman fifteen. Here are fifteen  budget friendly tips to avoid gaining the freshman fifteen.

Know what and how much you are eating. Find out the nutritional info for the foods being served in the cafeteria if you have a meal plan. Pay attention to how many calories are in that bag of Ramen noodles. Be aware of the fat in your food. Fat in your food is directly stored as fat in your body. Your body has unlimited storage for fat. It seems unfair but it is because fat is not the primary form of fuel for your body. An easy way to help guide your eating habits is by counting calories. Low calorie foods such as fruits and vegetables are healthier for you than french fries. Calories are very important to weight loss and weight maintenance.  Going over your recommended caloric intake as little as 100 kcals a day for a year can cause you to gain a pound. That's only an extra one of those 100 calorie snack packs a day.  Find out how many calories you should be eating at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/supertracker-tools/supertracker.html. Sign up for a free profile to help individualize the advice found here.

Use the campus gym. They are typically free for full time students or at a reduced price to part time students. It's convient to wrok out in a place that is located where you spend most of your time and is free. I found that it was easy to stop by the gym after class each day. It helped relieve some stress and kept me on an exercise schedule.

Try a personal trainer. At the University I attended they offered free personal training to faculty and students as well as nutrition counseling. Take advantage of all the free services available to you to help you build healthy habits now. Personal trainers make things easy for people who don't enjoy working out, are overwhelmed, don't know where to start, or need some external motivation. Also college is the best time of your life. Don't you want to also be in the best shape of your life? It definitely helps your dating life.

Sign up for a class that forces you to exercise. If you have a deadline or a set schedule the chances of your attendance increases. If you attend classes that make you move, like a dance, weight lifting, flexibility, or basketball class you will move. Find out what interests you.

Walk or bike to campus. Walking to campus rather than taking the bus or your car will save you gas, looking for parking, and will help trim you down. It's an excellent for of cardiovascular exercise to carry a heavy backpack to campus with you.

Take a nutrition of health and wellness class. Nothing combats obesity by learning what it can do to you and how to fight it. The more informed you are about an issue the easier it is for you to know how to deal with it. I was required to take many such classes as these for my major and it seemed as though i was being graded on how I ate or exercised every semester. A good grade is a great motivation to get you on the right path to your weight loss goals.

Sign up for an intramural team. It will force you to exercise and meet lots of people who enjoy the same things you do. You will have maybe a practice once or twice a week with a game during the week as well. That could total 3 days a week where you are being physically active and having fun.

Utilize your friends. Make them be your workout buddy or find one. Working out or eating healthy is more enjoyable when you have someone who has the same goals you do. That way when one starts to slack off the other one will help to keep them motivated. If your friends are not fitness fans try starting a dance party. Dancing is a great way to burn some calories and have fun.

Don't waste money on energy bars  or protein supplements. Protein supplements can be expensive and often don't taste very good. Drink a glass of low fat chocolate milk instead. For one it tastes better, has a high amount of carbohydrate and complete proteins to replenish your body's stores after a workout. Save money by ditching the energy bar and eat and egg sandwich or 4 low fat fig newton bars. When else would you be told to drink chocolate milk and eat some cookies after a workout.

Make Plans! Set a time each day to exercise that you will not allow other things to interfere with. Plan out how many calories you will be eating that day. Plan healthy snacks to bring with you to class and study sessions.

Get adequate amounts of sleep. According to a recent study examining the relationship between sleep and body composition, women who had the shortest sleep durations(first quartile) had the highest average adiposity measures. Simply stated women who slept less were seen to have higher percentages of body fat than women who slept moderate to long (2nd-4th quartile) amounts. Plus it's easier to work out when you aren't tired and you don't have to snack on as many sugary foods to keep you awake in class.

Sign up for a race, game, or competition. If you sign up with a friend even better. Having a deadline to your goals or something tangible to work for helps keep motivation up. Staring at a picture of a model with the body you want may motivate you for a little while but having a deadline on anything will increase the likely hood that it will happen.

Don't eat out often. This does not mean that if you want to stay in shape you are never allowed to eat at a restaurant again. However do not make a habit of eating out. Your waistline and wallet will thank you for following this simple rule. Eating food you have not prepared yourself often means you are unaware of the calorie content, nutritional information, and spending more than you would to make it yourself. When trying to eat healthy it can be difficult to know how many calories are in your meal when eating out. A dinner salad can easily reach 1000 calories. For many people that's half of their caloric requirement for the whole day.

Drink water. Avoid spending a ton of money on sodas and other beverages which can have 300 calories  or more without  satiating your need for food. Drinking that many calories can cause you to go over your recommended caloric intake. See tip number for a refresher on why excess calories is bad. A study conducted in Westminster and East London showed that regardless of previous coursework abilities when students drank water in their examinations they scored an average 5% higher than those without water. Dr. Pawson from the University of East London says that drinking water may have an effect on thinking functions that leads to improved exam performance.

Meditate. Decrease you stress levels in a healthy way. Chronic stress can increase the levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in your body. Cortisol has a negative effect on body composition. Cortisol is associated with increased abdominal fat, and increased craving for sugary and fattening comfort foods.

Motivation Tips

When beginning to workout or trying to become active and get in shape motivation to get you to the gym is one of the most important things. If you aren't motivated you aren't going to work out. Here's some fun tips.

To make cardio more fun:
Attention Book lovers

Bring a new book you have dying to read.  Only read when you are doing your cardio exercise. For example, if you are a hunger games fan, only allow yourself to read the hunger games while working out. Think about it, if you were only able to read the hunger games at the gym it'd be pretty much guaranteed that you'll make to the gym each day right? If you really like the book, you'll go to the gym and you won't be thinking about how much you hate to exercise or how tired you are. If you are like me and can't stop reading once you've started, keep the book in your gym bag and in your car. That way you won't be tempted to cheat with this one.
  
Moving Pictures

Watch Hulu or Netflix on your super cool iPhone or smartphone while you are on the bike or elliptical. I haven't tried this on the treadmill, but highly recommend for an exercise bike or elliptical.

Get a buddy.
Get a friend who will make you work, but make it enjoyable. MY freshman year of college my roommate and some of our guy friends did P90X religiously. This was because we had a group of 4-6 people working out with us everyday. It's hard to slack on a workout when the people who you enjoy spending your time with can only spend that time with you working out. Peer pressure can be good in certain situations.

Here's a great workout for people blessed enough to have a cardio machine in their home or access to a gym with tv's you can control while exercising.
TV SHOW HIIT Cardio
Watch your favorite movie or show on tv. Go for a solid hour. Use commercial breaks as to incorporate High intensity interval training into your workout. You are going to use commercials to make you work so no skipping channels for this workout. (No cheating allowed) For every 2 commercials up the incline or intensity to get your heart rate up to 80% of your maximal heart rate. (You maximal heart rate= 220- your age, if you have had a doctor tell you to not go above a certain heart rate listen to them first.)Then take the third commercial to a jog and rev it back up to 80% of you maximum heart rate for the next two commercials. Continue this pattern until your show returns. While watching your show try to keep your heart rate around 65- 70% of your maximum heart rate. This can easily be done at a gym or in your home.

Buddy Barbell Pull Downs

Here's another bicep post. This exercise will kill your arms and help build strength. This exercise is an eccentric workout so you will feel some soreness in the following day or two. Eccentric movement are also one of the most effective ways to build strength.

Buddy Barbell Pull Downs
This exercise requires a barbell, preacher bench, and a partner. (The picture to the left can be used as a reference if you have no idea what a preacher bench is)
I recommend simply using the barbell without weights for this exercise and doing a set of 3 at the end of your workout.

1. Holding the barbell, sit on the preacher bench with your arms resting with palms facing up (pronated) on the preacher bench. The preacher bench is used to isolate the bicep muscles in this exercise. Have your partner stand facing you as you bring the barbell up to the top of a curl position where the barbell is at the same level as your shoulders.

2. At this point have your partner place their hands on the barbell palms facing the floor. They are now going to pull down and provide resistance as you pull up trying to keep the barbell at your shoulders. Your partner should end up pulling hard enough to slowly cause you to fully extend your arms. If your partner can pull your arms down in  a couple of seconds, it is too much resistance. If this doesn't make you feel like you are using all of the strength you possibly can manage, you aren't doing it right. Your partner should provide enough resistance to slowly straighten out your arm but you have to work to try and stop them. Once they have brought your hands all the way down take 60 sec rest. That's set 1.

Cascade bicep curls

Here's an amazing bicep workout introduced to me by one of the other trainer's I work with. First pick a weight that you could lift between 5-8 times. Do 5 reps of those. Put those weights back on the rack grab a weight 5 lbs lower. Do 10 reps of those. Put those weight back and grab weights 10 lbs lower than your first weight. Do 15 reps of those. Pick up weights 5 lbs lower than your previous weights. Do 20reps. That's one set. Enjoy the results :)

myplate.gov recipes!

If you are interested in healthy low calorie recipes check out myplate.gov THey all look so yummy and only require ingredients you can pick up at any grocery store. No trips to a health food store necessary.
Click on the link below
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/healthy-eating-tips/sample-menus-recipes/Recipes.pdf

Egg Pasta Toss

So this is one of my favorite dishes introduced to me by my lovely friend Colleen. She's vegetarian and so she has to be creative with her food. I took the recipe and healthified it. Here it is!

Egg Pasta Toss

2 medium eggs 

1 serving (2 oz) of whole wheat linguine or spaghetti pasta. (I used Barilla.)

1/3 of a tomato diced

2tbs of canola or olive oil

a sprinkle of parmesean cheese 

a dash of red pepper flakes

a pinch of salt

First bring a small sauce pan filled with water 1/2 way  to a boil. Cook pasta according to directions. 

While past is cooking crack open eggs use a small cup and scramble yolks. This is also a good time to dice the tomatoes. 

Once noodles are soft remove from heat strain noodles. Keep them there in the colander for just a little while.

Place oil in the sauce pan pour Egg and noodles into the oil. Stir eggs and noodles until egg is completely cooked, Remove from heat. Top with tomatoes, red pepper, and a pinch of salt.
Enjoy!

Nutritional Info (w/o cheese)- 340 kcals, 84 kcals from fat, 15 g of protein, 8 g of fiber

Healthy summer grilling

My husband and I like to grill and we've been experimenting. Here's a few of the things we've tried that are healthier than the typical hot dogs and burgers.


Fish
its pretty easy (and very delicious) to grill fish.  This works best with tilapia.  My favorite kind involve lime juice a light brush of olive oil, dill, basil, and some salt and pepper to taste. place that on the grill cook until the fish is flaky and cooked all the way through.
 Asparagus
put asparaugs in a plastic bag pour in just enough olive oil to lightly coat all the asparagus. squirt in some lime juice. spinkle parmesean cheese, salt, and pepper. place on grill. remove when asparaugus and soft in the middle.
Green Onions
place green onions on grill remove when limp.
Grilled pineapple
take some canned pineapple slices,  remove from juice and put in a plastic sandwich bag with lemon juice and 1tbs of sugar. skae and place on the grill. 
Grilled whole wheat bread
put some low calorie or fat free butter or maragrine sprinkle with garlic powder and basil toast on grill.

tips for cutting calories but not taste

- check your dressings and sauces. I've learned from experimentation that fat free salad dressing doesn't taste any different from regular salad dressing. The difference is that I'm only adding 20 or 30 calories to my salad rather than 120. It's a big difference when you eat a lot of salad. It's also important to try and use low calorie marinades. I like to use lime or lemon juice with a variety of spices to keep my marinades low in calories.

- use fruit or veggies more often. today i wanted something sweet for lunch but I didn't want to eat a whole bunch of calories. Solution: 2 tbsp of peanut butter with 1/2 tsp of dark chocolate shavings sprinkled on top then i sliced up a banana and dipped it in the peanut butter chocolate mix. It was delicious and less calories than a typical desert or peanut butter sandwich. Are you craving something salty? try some carrots or cucumbers dipped in homemade ranch dip. (if you use fat free greek yogurt instead of sour cream you can cut down on calories and still enjoy the taste)

- drink water. soda and other drinks have a lot of calories. I think a bottle of root beer is around 340 calories last time I checked. That's bad. Too give some perspective, it's more calories than most of my lunches and you don't even eat anything. If you are trying to limit your calorie intake to a certain number you don't want to waste calories on something that won't keep you full.

these are just a few simple suggestions. What works for you?

healthy snack ideas

fruit salad ( kiwis, strawberries, clementines, cantaloupe, grapes, and bananas that's a winning combo right there)

Sliced cucumbers drizzled in lime juice and a dash of salt. (taste like pickles)

3 cups of air popped popcorn

sliced apples with peanut butter

yogurt and granola on top

oatmeal made with water cinnamon and 2 tsp of brown sugar

sugar snap peas

2 slices of whole wheat toast and a chopped boiled egg

1/ 4 cup of fat free greek yogurt with ranch dip seasoning and carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, and cauliflower to dip

frozen banana slices

1 yogurt placed in the freezer for frozen yogurt

3/4 cup of dry cereal (chocolate covered cheerios) = 100 calories and they are delicious

Arm workout

I'm starting to get in to weight lifting mostly because it's embarrassing anytime I have to exhibit my lack of arm strength, especially my triceps. I'm hoping that if I keep working I may have some nicely toned arms by the end of the summer. Here's what my workout has been, right now it's focused on building strength endurance, which means lighter weight and higher reps.
The first 3 are my letter sets. basically picture the letter in you mind and you raise the weight in that shape. it's not hard and you can find other letters that work for you. I don't suggest something crazy like G or B. non curvy letters are acceptable. :)
V's 3 sets of 10-12 reps
I's  3 sets of 8 reps
T's 3 sets of 10
start with 5 lbs you don't want to go heavier than 10 lbs if you're like me. Remember the contracting muscle, your deltoids, are fairly small so be nice to them. To make this more of a workout go at a 1-3-3 tempo, in other words lift in one second-  hold for 3- and lower slowly in 3.
alternating arm curls 3 sets of 12 reps find a comfortable weight
bench press machine 3 sets of 10
rows 2 sets of 15 on each side

Preparation

Kneel over side of bench by placing knee and hand of supporting arm on bench. Position foot of opposite leg slightly back to side. Grasp dumbbell from floor.

Execution

Pull dumbbell to up to side until it makes contact with ribs or until upper arm is just beyond horizontal. Return until arm is extended and shoulder is stretched downward. Repeat and continue with opposite arm.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/DBBentOverRow.html

triceps extensions- 3 sets of 8 

Step 1

Starting Position: Stand in a split-stance position holding a dumbbell with both hands wrapped around the dumbbell handle. Brace your torso by contracting your abdominal/core muscles. Pull your shoulder blades down and back. Your head and neck should be aligned with your spine.
Maintain these engagements throughout the exercise.

Step 2

Upward Phase: Exhale. Slowly press the dumbbell overhead. Straighten your elbows until your arms are vertical to the floor. You elbows are pointing forward and are straight but not locked. The dumbbell should be positioned directly over your head with your palms facing upwards and the dumbbell hanging vertically from your palms. Maintain your balance. Do not change the position of your head, torso, upper arms, wrists or feet.

Step 3

Downward Phase: Inhale. Bend your elbows in a slow and controlled manner, lowering the dumbbell behind your head. Do not allow the upper arms to move. Continue to bend the elbows to a 90 degree bend or until your upper arms begin to move backward. Do not make contact with the back of your head. Do not change the position of your head, torso, upper arms, wrists or feet. Slowly straighten the elbows and return to start position. Repeat.

Attempt to keep your upper arms vertical to the floor throughout the exercise and your elbows shoulder-width apart.

http://www.acefitness.org/exerciselibrary/exercises.aspx?bodypart=2

I do this 2-3 times a week and I can already see a difference in my arms. I'd say I've been at this for about 3 weeks. Happy exercising!

Eating healthy can taste good

Italian salad
2 cups of lettuce
diced tomatoes
chopped snap peas
sliced carrots
sliced cucumbers
1 tsp of parmesean cheese
2 tsp of fat free italian dressing

pair it with some 2 cups of sliced strawberries, kiwis, and clementine oranges.
this will give you at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables and it's only like 250 calories if my math is right.

Are you really hungry?

            It's a week night, it's been a long day and your watching some TV, relaxing from your stressful day. You suddenly want something sweet and chocolate. You see the chocolate cake sitting on your counter. You want it but you feel like you shouldn't. These feelings haven't stopped you before though. Before you grab a piece of that chocolate cake (or the entire cake) ask yourself, are you really hungry?
             In a society that has an abundance of food we tend to center our lives around food. It present when we celebrate, grieve, and when we give service. This is not a bad thing. What is bad is when we do not understand hunger. We are blessed to have food at our disposal when others go to bed hungry. Hunger is virtually unknown to many people. For the first time in history the number of overweight people globally exceeds the 1.02 billion people who are undernourished and hungry. (Foss, 2011) People confuse boredom and desire for food with hunger. They are different. Learn to ask yourself am I hungry enough to eat an apple(or some type of healthy/ less desirable food)? If you answer is yes, then eat the apple. If no, then do not eat a thing you're not actually hungry.
             I recently did a research paper on the relationship between stress and weight gain. I found that psychological stress can lead to overall weight gain by stimulating an increase in consumption of high fat and sweet foods. This is what we know as stress or emotional eating. Some individuals are more susceptible to stress eating than others. One study suggested that this was due to an inability to differentiate “hunger cues from emotional arousal.” People more prone to stress-related eating were less able to cope with the stress. One study illustrated that people with higher waist- hip ratio subjects were “characterized by poorer coping skills.” (Moyer, 1994) These people seemed to indicate a more helpless reaction to stress. Individuals prone to stress eating are more likely to regain weight after successful weight loss than their non-emotional eater counterparts (Moyer, 1994).
          Don't freak out though. Stress will not make you gain weight if you learn to deal with it. I found a recent study illustrating that mindfulness training (a program involving yoga stretches, body scan, sitting meditation, loving kindness, and forgiveness) was "successful in increasing awareness and responsiveness, reducing anxiety and eating in response to external cues (such as: emotions or seeing food), and tended to reduce eating in response to emotions.” (Daubenmier, 2011)  Mindful practices may improve the ability of people to cope with stress without using comfort food to manage stress. Mindful practices help in the reduction of stress eating which helps promote a better distribution of body fat over time. Results showed that participants who received mindfulness training stabilized their weight among those who were obese. Obese subjects who did not receive mindfulness training gained an average of 3.74 pounds (Daubenmier, 2011). This study shows that stress related eating does have a detrimental effect on weight and that it can be controlled through learning more effective coping techniques than through food.
             My overall message to those of you looking to reach or maintain a healthy weight is to learn to distinguish when and why you are eating. Look to see if you can find a pattern in when you indulge in unhealthy foods. If you can identify why you are eating those foods at that time, you can find a way to stop it. Try some yoga, take a walk, or work on a new hobby if you find it's because of stress or boredom. Being healthy is about being aware of your body.

Works Cited:
Foss, Brynjar, and Sindre M. Drystad. "Stress in Obesity: Cause or Consequence?"
Medical Hypotheses 77.1 (2011): 7-10. Print.

Jennifer Daubenmier, Jean Kristeller, Frederick M. Hecht, et al., “Mindfulness
Intervention for Stress Eating to Reduce Cortisol and Abdominal Fat among Overweight
and Obese Women: An Exploratory Randomized Controlled Study,” Journal of Obesity,
vol. 2011, Article ID 651936, 13 pages, 2011. doi:10.1155/2011/651936

Moyer, A. E., C. M. Grilo, N. Cummings, L. M. Larson, and M. Rebuffé-scrive. "Stress-
induced Cortisol Response and Fat Distribution in Women." Obesity Research 2.3
(1994): 255-62. Print.

why i wouldn't go on the paleo/ caveman diet

A diet should be three things in order to be a good weight loss/ weight maintenance plan. It should be healthy, sustainable, and effective. I am going to use that criteria to examine the caveman style diet craze that I've been hearing so much about.

Benefits:

-get rid of simple carbs (processed foods). These are often high in calories, fat, sugar, and salt.

- reduce dairy intake. This is not bad because it reduces your fat and sugar intake. Dairy products are higher in saturated fat (the bad kind of fat) and low fat dairy products have a lot of sugar. By eliminating or reducing dairy products you are reducing a lot of calories from your diet. 

- eat fruits and veggies. This is always a good thing.

- eat until you are full. This is a good guide IF you eat slowly to allow the hormone signals reach you brain to tell you that you are full. Satiety is triggered in the brain hormonally and takes 20 minutes to reach your brain. If you eat to fast then you will end up eating past the point of satiety.

Negatives:

-reduces dairy. this could be bad for your calcium levels if you don't make sure to compensate by eating lots of vegetables that have calcium. 

- gets rid of grains. Whole grains are complex carbohydrates which means they are high in fiber. Fiber is very good! It helps you feel full and your body doesn't use it for fuel. This means that fiber is a free food. When foods are high in fiber you consume less calories due to it's magical ability to move the food through your digestive tract faster. Faster movement means less time for your body to absorbs calories. (You may worry that you would be deprived of nutrients this way but don't worry. With the amount of food we eat in a typical American diet it is very rare for a person to not get enough nutrients.)

Also fiber binds with low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol which is the bad cholesterol. Reductions in total and LDL cholesterol in women with higher fiber intakes. (Mumford, 2010) Whole grains increase HDL cholesterol levels which is a good thing. Fiber's effect on your cholesterol does wonderful things for your heart. I wouldn't want to give that up. 

Whole grains are higher in calories than fruits and vegetables so I could see maybe that is why they eliminated grains from the diet.Most foods are going to be higher calories than fruits and vegetables. I think that the fiber content and the health benefits from eating whole grains make it a food group you do not want to cut back on. 

- focuses on eating a lot of meat- bad, red meats and animal sources of food are high in saturated fat which is very bad for you. High cholesterol is about the fat you eat . A diet high in saturated fats will increase you risk for hypertension, and cardiovascular Diseases. "Red meat consumption is associated with an increased risk of total, CVD, and cancer mortality. Substitution of other healthy protein sources for red meat is associated with a lower mortality risk." (Pan et. al., 2012) Fish is a good choice when eating large amounts of meats due to its omega 3's.

- its premise is that a high fat, high protein, low carb diet will make you lose weight. It may be effective in the short term. I assume it's becoming popular because people are seeing results in the short term. I would like to explain that this premise is not sustainable, healthy, or effective in the long term. The way our body utilizes the 3 macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, and protein) is key to understanding why this isn't a good idea. When we eat carbs our body has very little storage space for them so all the carbs we eat are basically just used for energy. You do store some in the form of glycogen but it's very little compared to our body's fat storing capability. Protein is not really used for fuel, it's used for amino acids and different proteins the body uses for structure and function. Fat is not typically used for fuel unless we have depleted our carbohydrates sources. So the fat we eat typically goes straight to our adipose cells (where we store fat in our body). A high fat diet equals high fat deposits in our bodies. The reason this diet works for people is because your body has to use your fat stores in order to fuel your body. Sounds good right? Well with the high fat diet you are just supplementing you fat stores whenever you eat. So after a while I imagine you would plateau or begin to gain weight again.

-this caveman diet teaches poor hunger management. http://www.cavemanpower.com/food/caveman_power_diet_stage_two.html Starving yourself is not a good idea. It leads to more binge eating. In stages 1 and 2 you are basically starving yourself all day and binging at night. "Among adolescent girls... who practiced the most extreme weight control behaviors like reducing their meal frequency and/or starvation... were more engaged in binge eating." (Akkermann, 2011)

-My husband (who is forever scarred by his microbiology class) would like to point out eating with your hands can lead to you eating a lot of bacteria. Which could mean you could become violently ill. My advice is to wash and sanitize your hands if you decide to do this.

My overall review:

If you don't eat healthy this could be a way to ease yourself in. The foods they avoid eating could be a good starting place for people who need to cut out refined and processed foods. I personally would not do it and especially not for a long period of time. I love my heart and want it to work for a long time. I know there are healthier ways to drop some pounds. I especially would not follow the eating plan outlined in the three stages.

My recommendation for healthy, sustainable, and effective weight loss:

 focus on plant based food. grains, fruits, veggies all are very good for you and have wonderful health benefits while they are also lower calories. 

if you eat meat, eat it sparingly. As meat intake increases, risk of heart disease increases. Meat increases risk of stomach, colon, blood and lymph cancer as well. 

eat slowly. You need to allow time for your brain to recognize you aren't hungry anymore.

drink water.  Water has no calories which is perfect when someone is trying to reduce their calories. 
exercise. You will increase the gap between the calories you spend and the calories you take in. Plus you already know its good for you.

Works Cited
Akkermann, Kirsti, Kelli Hiio, Inga Villa, and Jaanus Harro. "Food Restriction Leads to Binge Eating Dependent upon the Effect of the Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor Val66Met Polymorphism." Psychiatry Research 185.1-2 (2010): 39-43. 30 Jan. 2011. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://sfx.lib.byu.edu/sfxlcl3?ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info:ofi/enc:UTF-8&ctx_tim=2012-05-16T18%3A57%3A17IST&url_ver=Z39.88-2004&url_ctx_fmt=infofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rfr_id=info:sid/primo.exlibrisgroup.com:primo3-Article-medline&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Food%20restriction%20leads%20to%20binge%20eating%20dependent%20upon%20the%20effect%20of%20the%20brain-derived%20neurotrophic%20factor%20Val66Met%20polymorphism.&rft.jtitle=Psychiatry%20research&rft.btitle=&rft.aulast=Akkermann&rft.auinit=&rft.auinit1=&rft.auinitm=&rft.ausuffix=&rft.au=Akkermann%2C%20Kirsti&rft.aucorp=&rft.date=20110130&rft.volume=185&rft.issue=1-2&rft.part=&rft.quarter=&rft.ssn=&rft.spage=39&rft.epage=&rft.pages=39-43&rft.artnum=&rft.issn=0165-1781&rft.eissn=&rft.isbn=&rft.sici=&rft.coden=&rft_id=info:doi/&rft.object_id=&rft_dat=%3Cmedline%3E20537407%3C/medline%3E&rft.eisbn=&rft.pub=&rft.place=&rft.date=20110130&rft.edition=&rft_id=>. 

Mumford, Sunni L., Enrique F. Schisterman, and Anna Maria Seiga- Riz. "Effect of Dietary Fiber Intake on 

Lipoprotein Cholesterol Levels Independent of Estradiol in Healthy Premenopausal Women." American Journal of Epidemiology 173.2 (2010): 145-46. HBLL. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/173/2/145.full>.

Pan, An, Qi Sun, Adam Bernstein, and et. al. "Red Meat Consumption and Mortality Results From 2 Prospective Cohort Studies." Archives of Internal Medicine 172.9 (2012): 555-63. Print.