thenaturalone’s BodyBlog

I meet so people that are battling with their own bodies to lose weight and remain unsuccessful. Most them will say that they are doing everything right but they just can’t get any meaningful results. While so many people who are trying to lose weight think they are doing the right things, are they really? Here are a few reasons that people aren’t losing weight as they feel they should.

1. Carbohydrates are too high. Alot people I meet think they are doing a good job keeping their carbs low when in reality they are consuming alot of hidden sugar carbohydrates. People really buy into these food and snack companies that promote so called healthy foods and snacks. Beware! Some examples are alot of cerials, crackers, yogurt, chips and cookies and even breads that are advertised as being a healthy addition to the diet when in fact they are loaded with simple sugars. Daily consumption of these types of food will make weight loss very tough. Nearly all cold cerials are loaded with excessive simple sugars. The only ones that are worth eating are the original all bran and fiber one. Be sure to read lables of these products and check out the sugar content. Some of the yogurts out there will have a sugar content that is comparable to a king sized candy bar! Chips and crackers and cookies should just be off limits all together, none of them will support a weight loss diet. And no it doesn’t matter if they are baked they’re not good for you. Again take a look at the ingredients and nutritional information. 

2. Carbohydrates are too low. When carbs are cut back too far it creates higher levels adrenaline and cortisol in the body which will work against fat loss. I’d say never go under 60 grams in a day. Just try and make sure they come from low glycemic sources such as green veggies and unrefined grains.

3. Water retention. Taking too much sodium and not drinking enough water to flush that sodium out will make you retain water and bloat. Try not to get too carried away with the salt shaker!

4. Your body could be in a transitional stage. Your body will sometimes go through a period of adjustment just like a thermostat, your body could be resetting it’s internal temperature to catch up with amounts and types of fuel it’s getting. This will sometimes happen to me when I begin a lower calorie weight loss diet. Sometimes I will actually gain a few pounds the first couple weeks until my body resets it’s thermostat and then at which point I begin shedding fat.

5. Are you overeating? Too many calories beyond the maintainance and growth needs of the body will make us gain weight. Try to increase the amount of nutrients while decreasing the amount of calories consumed. Stick with nutrient dense foods and make every calorie count.

6. Are you undereating? Yes that’s right, too few calories will through your body into a metabolic meltdown in which your metabolism will come to a screaching halt. This is the bodies way of protecting itself from starvation. Try eating 5-6 small nutrient dense meals per day to prevent this. Some of the fatest people I’ve ever met eat just ounce per day!

7. Your not being consistant with your training? Both weight training and cardio! Weight training because it will keep more fat off your body in the long term because as you add muscle your metabolic rate increases. This happens because muscle is active tissue, it burns calories 24/7. Your muscle is your metabolism! Just like an engine in a vehicle. The bigger the engine the more fuel that is burned. The bigger the muscle, the more fat that is burned. Cardio training will burn fat and calories on very short term basis but effectively when done with consistancy.

8. Do you have food intolerances? Many people have problems being able to digest or they are allergic to wheat, milk, sugar, peanuts, soy, eggs, and corn. Some other offenders are artificial sweeteners, especially aspartame (Equal), citric acid which is in soda, alcohol, and glycerine which is found in alot of protein bars. Eliminate the suspected food for a couple weeks and see what happens.

9. Are you taking medications? Many meds can interfere with weight loss, especially anabolic steroids or other steroid medications like predisone is one of the worst. There are many other types of Rx drugs that can cause weight gain. If your taking any medications check with your pharmacist or doctor.

10. Are you eating enough protein? If your protein intake is too low then your body will break down it’s own muscle protein which means your metabolism will slow down. Remember, your muscle is your metabolism!

Take these things into consideration if you are currently losing the battle to lose weight and try to make the necessary adjustments and see if your progress improves. Best of luck!

What a standard that has been set in the world of  bodybuilding! By that, I’m talking about the standard that has been set by the bodybuilding magazine industry that  has literaly created the bodybuilding profession and made it what it is from right around the year 1965 up till now. Over the duration of this booming bodybuilding magazine industry millions apon millions of readers have put complete faith into everything that is printed in  these magazines and followed all the information they provide as a blue print on how to build the perfect body. Where does this lead all these inspiring bodybuilders to be. Well first clue, just look around. How many Jay Cutler or Ronnie Coleman look alikes do see combing the streets? Or lets lower the scale and ask how many Dave Draper or Larry Scott look alikes do see out and about? Well, if your like me, the answer is 0! Or if you have seen any of these look alikes it would far and very few between. Why would this be? Well, with all that vast knowledge of the pro bodybuilders printed in all these magazines telling all of us what workout to follow and what supplements to take you think there would be alot more amazing physiques walking among us. The answer to this is very simple. All these magazines are full of crap! The fact is that these magazines have abandoned the needs of normal people wanting to build muscle and lose bodyfat and have invested  strictly in pro bodybuilders and pro competitions that are dominated by very heavy drug use! These magazines are huge frauds and have done enormous disservice to the sport and also all the consumers who purchase these magazines. They print workouts that will never work for an average person or drug free bodybuilder because with out heavy steroid use there’s no possible way you could recover fast enough to get anything meaningful out of these workouts. Then you’ll also find page after page of fraudulant advertising by supplement companies that have heavily juiced bodybuilders endorsing them, claiming to use these supplement and suggesting that you might be able to see similar results as what they do if you would only buy all the supplements that they say they’re using. I think it’s very sad to see the bodybuilding industry become what it is. Unfortunately people will continue to read these magazines, believe what they read and follow the advice thats given. This will result in countless injuries, wasted money and great deal of disappointment. For those who are aware of the drug use and want to take that route and try to reach pro status, well the success would be very short term and the consequences could be devastating later on down the road. It’s also worth mentioning that I ounce spoke to an IFBB Pro bodybuildier who told me that  his drug bill which included steroids, growth hormones, insulin, and diuretics ended up costing around $200,000. per year. He explained to me that this was about the average cost that a pro bodybuilder would spend in 1 year on drugs. Take this into consideration the next time you read about the workouts and the supplements that the pro bodybuilders in the muscle magazines use. I will say that I have to give the Magazine Planet Muscle some credit for providing some good information on bodybuilding for those who choose to do it the natural way. They do still feature some drug laden pro bodybuilders but at least they’re making some attempt to cater to the needs of normal people and natural bodybuilders.