Let’s face facts for a moment here: We live in a world where the focus every day is trying to shift back to a healthy lifestyle. With heart disease running rampant, obesity on the rise and diabetes taking over, people everywhere are learning the hard way just how important it is to stay healthy, stay fit and stay on top of their diets. This Web site itself is proof positive that people care, people want to learn and people want to help. That said, there’s a lot of advice floating around about the need for proper diets, new types of dieting, fad diets, crash diets and a whole slew of other diet-related things. There’s one question, however, that many doctors around the country are hoping you’re asking yourself: Are You Getting Enough Protein?
The reason this question needs to be asked, and the reason it’s such a tough one to answer, is that the answer is different for everyone. Based on your height, weight, activity level, age and health, the number could be vastly different between people who are otherwise remarkably similar. As a rule of thumb, the more you exercise, the more protein you’re going to need. But there are exceptions. Pregnant women, for instance, usually need more protein. The bottom line is many of us are not getting enough protein, and if we were, we’d quickly find out that the right amounts of the right kinds of protein can help curb appetite, improve weight loss and stave off chronic illnesses. Now, before you go out and start chewing on a fat steak, you should realize that it’s the right kind of proteins that make all the difference, and getting the right amounts.
For starters, why don’t you take the Protein Quiz? Simply enter your age, height and frame size. A second page will ask about your physical activity. Simply click to the next page for details about how many grams of protein you need each day to fuel your body to its optimal level. Not only that, there’s a helpful little protein calculator that gives you the protein amounts of common foods. Handy, no?
So, step right up and figure out if you’re getting what you need to stay properly fueled. Remember, research is pouring in that proves that healthy amounts of protein might just change everything in your healthy lifestyle. What do you have to lose . . . except that holiday weight?
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DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
This time last year, I weighed . . . well, let’s just call it a lot. This holiday season, however, I’m 74 pounds lighter. I guess you could say that I’ve lost an entire fourth grader from my body.
Did I try a fad diet? Did I read a book? Did I take diet pills?
No.
I stopped eating all the time, and I joined a gym. That’s it.
In other words, I used plain common sense, and it worked. I don’t know why it’s called “common sense” when it seems so UNcommon these days.
In the past, I’d tried all kinds of fad diets, but they never worked because I was working against them on a daily basis. I even tried diet pills, but all they did was mess up my diabetes, turn me into a speeding roadrunner (Beep Beep….) and scare my kids.
When I stepped onto those scales last fall, though, and saw that very large number, something woke up inside my head. I think it was my brain, and it said, “If you REALLY intend to lose that weight, you’ll have to help.”
I have an odd, ever-changing work schedule, and changing MY ways wasn’t going to be easy or fun, I thought. I was wrong.
I’m a snacker, so it really wasn’t difficult to start eating five or six tiny meals a day instead of three big ones plus the snacks.
Finding a 24/7 gym that had treadmills with book racks on them was easy, too. Yellow pages.
Now, three times a week, after my fourth or fifth small meal, I head on over to the gym, book in hand, and walk about six miles, reading all the way.
These two things – many tiny meals and a treadmill – have changed my life. I’ve dropped a lot of poundage, gone down EIGHT SIZES (counting by twos, but allow me some slack here) and I feel great. My diabetes medication has also been adjusted accordingly, and my doctors are quite pleased with my readings now.
Oh, and speaking of readings, I’ve not only dropped weight, sizes and meds, but I’ve also read more than 40 books cover-to-cover in the past year. The kind with no pictures.
Common sense. That’s all it took. And it’s sooo lovely to shop for clothes in the “regular” section of the store again!
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DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
I hope the last post was helpful. If you all have any questions or if something doesn’t make sense, please drop a comment on the blog and I will try to answer it to the best of my ability. So this week’s tip is…….
Tip #2 – Set a Weight Loss Goal
This week’s tip is kind of self explanatory, but surprisingly some people forget to do this before they begin their weight loss journey. Before any of us set a foot on the Ranch, the first thing we had to do was set a weight loss goal for ourselves. If you are familiar with the show, a goal of 50 pounds just isn’t going to cut it, so I set for myself a goal of at least 150 pounds weight loss. When those words first came out of my mouth, “Hi my name is Antoine Dove, and I want to lose a total of 150 pounds,” I laughed on the inside. I said to myself, “what in the heck am I thinking?” A total weight loss of 150 pounds is going to be extremely tough and seems impossible. However, setting a goal as high as 150 pounds pushed me even harder because I didn’t want to let myself down by not reaching my goal by the finale. Whenever I enter the gym that goal is always in the front of my mind and it gives me something to work toward.
So far I am only 23 pounds away from my goal, which is very exciting, but most importantly it’s rewarding to know I accomplished something that seemed impossible at first sight! It lets me know that nothing is impossible and I can do anything I put my mind to.
What is your goal for your weight loss journey? If you don’t have one, then let’s set one today.
When setting a goal, it’s important to remember:
- The goal must be something that seems unattainable. That way you will push yourself to get to it.
- Be sure to set a timeline on how long it’s going to take you to reach that goal. Don’t set a timeline of three years for 50 pounds weight loss. Make it challenging!! Maybe set a goal such as lose 50 pounds in one year or even try losing 50 pounds in 6-8 months.
- If you don’t have a target weight loss number, then try inches in waist, hips, chest etc. For example, maybe you want to drop 10 inches in your waist as opposed to losing 80 pounds in a year. This is OK also!!
- Most importantly, once the goal is set do not change it.
Remember this is your journey and YOU set the parameters. Don’t cheat yourself out of your full potential by sand bagging on your weight loss goal. You are STRONG. You are RELENTLESS. You will SUCCEED!! Thank you all for reading this post and hit me up if you have any questions.
Antoine Dove
Biggest Loser Season 8
“Believe in yourself. Trust the Process. Change forever.”
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DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
Standards are a funny thing. You either agree with them or figure out a reason why they don’t apply to you. I attended the United States Air Force Academy for my undergraduate degree and I remember dreading one particular standard every semester… Male cadets were required to complete seven pull-ups as part of our mandatory twice a year physical fitness test (PFT). Although I never failed to meet the standard, I would have to put in a ton of prep work and still struggle to pass every semester.
As a result, I loathed the test in general and pull-ups specifically. Failing this test meant 6 months of athletic probation which would inevitably translate to six months of embarrassment and confinement. So this was a high stress event for me twice a year that I took very seriously. But what’s funny is that the standard didn’t really motivate me in any constructive way. I actually hated it. To make matters worse, most of my classmates seemed to have no problem meeting and surpassing this particular minimum requirement.
So what was my problem? The only rational answer was the hundred or so reasons I could come up with as to why it was more difficult for me to meet the standard and how unfair it was for me to have to be accountable to it. As a result, I despise pull-ups to this day and have vowed to only maintain the ability to do one pull-up, in the event of a catastrophic emergency wherein I am required to pull my own body weight up in order to rescue myself from a dire predicament…
In short, I now have a life-long obsession against a particular standard because of the stress it caused me. Therefore the standard itself has been counterproductive to compelling me to want to achieve it.
Let’s follow that line of thinking with what has become a de facto health standard. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Body Mass Index (BMI) is a "reliable indicator of body fat ratio for people." It is an inexpensive way for clinicians and individuals to compare their status to that of the general population. That being said, when the BMI standard was raised in 1998, 25 million Americans became overweight overnight. Some of these individuals being professional athletes.
To be clear, I’m not here to attack the BMI. But with obesity rates climbing, you have to wonder: has a healthy BMI become unattainable for most Americans and therefore irrelevant?
Understanding both the benefits and shortcomings of the actual measurement… I think that this is a very important question. I’m not suggesting that standards be lowered because the calculations themselves were created based on actual health data. People within specific BMI ranges have a higher/lower likelihood of specific medical conditions. However, I think its important to ask whether or not the standard is motivating people in a positive or negative direction. When used as an individual guide, is BMI actually motivating people with weight problems to be healthy? Or is the opposite true?
Is the BMI standard that we use to measure our health actually keeping us from becoming a healthy society? Would love to get your take in the comments below.
@hallicious
photo by: sylvar
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DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.
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