The Biggest Loser TV is so American ... and gives us valuable lessons.

Firstly, here's a link to the science study I talk about which followed 14 of The Biggest Loser participants.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/6-years-after-the-biggest-loser-metabolism-is-slower-and-weight-is-back-up/

What lessons can we learn?

1. 13/14 participants gained back significant amounts of the weight they lost
2. 4 participants gained back more weight
3. The average metabolism at the start of the show was 2600 BMR and by the end of the show the average BMR was 2000. 6 years later average BMR was 1900.

Lesson? While it may be popular and even mainstream to try really hard to lose weight ...

Trying super hard just isn't sustainable.

An approach focusing on habits and What You're Eating (instead of How Much) is better, in my humble biased opinion :)

What do you think about The Biggest Loser TV show?

Do I fasted last Sunday ... here's my experience and a lesson

Lesson: Play around, experiment, and test health advice out for yourself. Including the health advice I give you!

Experience: Overall good. Had dinner on Saturday and then didn't eat Sunday until late, when I got hungry late in the evening.

I also learned something important for the next time I fast. Next time I fast I will eat breakfast and then not eat for 24 hours.

What health advice have you recently tested on yourself?

So what the heck - fat can be good or bad?

Yes!

Here are my personal 5 favorite types of Good Fat that I eat every day.

1. Nuts
2. Full fat Greek Yogurt
3. Avocados
4. Olive Oil
5. Eggs

These fats keep me full in between meals and give me a nice satisfied feeling in my belly after I eat them.

What are your favorite good fats?

ere's the process to switch out bad habits for good ones.

Please note this takes practice!

1. Identify meaning of emotional signals
2. Identify reward of bad habit
3. Substitute self-care behavior for bad habit and make sure it gives you the same rewards.

Now, please also bring an attitude of learning to this process.

When you start, you won't be certain as to what your negative emotional signals are trying to tell you. Also, your self-care skills will be relatively weak so the rewards will be less satisfying than the bad habit.

When you do succumb to your bad habit, do so mindfully. Don't disconnect. Don't beat yourself up. Try to enjoy the experience actually.

Afterwards reflect more about what lead to the situation, what could have been done differently, and what you learned.

How do you beat bad habits?

What are healthy fats to eat? Why are fats perhaps the most important part of your eating?

1. Healthy fats that I eat daily: olive oil, avocado, nuts, eggs, fish/chicken/sausage, full fat yogurt

2. Why are fats important: fats keep you full. When you eat fats and get full, you have less of an urge to graze and snack on food.

Now obviously some fats can be bad ... so key is finding those healthy fats :)

They really are a game changer!

What are your healthy fats you enjoy?

For more info, visit https://eatingenlightenment.com

Ever wonder what to eat when craving sweets EVERY day after work? Even after dinner?

These 3 meals should help you reduce these unstoppable cravings by I would say 50%.

However, this 'quick' trick will only see such great results for people who are under eating during the day.

Results may vary :)

(this doesn't account for vegetarian, gluten, and other eating conditions)

1. Bacon/eggs or full fat greek yogurt w/ berries
2. Big salad, light dressing (preferably olive oil based), avocados, nuts, chicken on top
3. Another meat, some carbs like sweet potatoes or brown rice, and more veggies

Why does this work wonders?

You aren't starving! And you are filling your body up with foods that will sustain you.

This won't solve the entire problem of sugar cravings and binge eating. But it's a solid foundation to get started on.

For more info, visit https://eatingenlightenment.com

There's a famous book about the Power of Habits, by Charles Duhigg.

In this video I take his research and apply so you can learn how to change your eating habits.

Here's the 10,000 foot big picture:

You keep the 'Cue' and the 'Reward' the same but substitute the 'Routine'

And then you practice (this is my step).

So the steps are:

1. Identify routine
2. Identify rewards
3. Identify cues
4. Practice substituting routines

Let me know your thoughts or questions, or where you disagree.

For more info, check out https://eatingenlightenment.com

Have you ever wondered about the conflicting scientific health information about there?

"Eat 6 meals a day," research says. But then another study says, "No, only 3 meals per day!"

"Eat breakfast." says one. "No skip breakfast and do intermittent fasting instead!" says another.

What gives? Each study is backed by 'science' so how can there be such conflict?

In this video I describe 3 ways how the food industry influences nutrition and health:

1. Financial Incentives to sell product for profits to please shareholders
2. Sponsoring of 'scientific' research which facilitates making dubious claims to support sales of food products
3. Outright deceptive marketing

For more info about the Eating Enlightenment movement and company, check out https://eatingenlightenment.com

Are you confused by hunger? Do you hear conflicting messages like ...

Fasting is good? But on the otherhand ...

Letting yourself get too hungry will set you up for a binge eating attack?

Both perspectives make sense! How can you cut through the noise and understand how to behave properly?

In this post I reveal the 'Hunger Skills Pyramid'.

I outline why:

1. Hunger skills like fasting are more difficult
2. Why difficult hunger skills should only be attempted after mastering more basic hunger skills
3. How to master fundamental hunger skills like sensing your hunger

For more information, visit https://eatingenlightenment.com

What does it mean when you crave sweets?

And how can you stop craving sweets?

In this post I detail my journey on how I greatly reduced my marijuana cravings ...

By allowing myself to smoke weed, whenever I wanted.

It sounds crazy. But it actually works.

The key is to realize that when you normally consume sweets, you are in a state of mind of either guilt, shame, deprivation, disconnection, mindless eating, or stress.

If you could just eat the sweets without being in one of these negative states of mind, then you would realize that sweets don't actually taste good!

I've done the same thing with marijuana.

For years I've struggled with marijuana, sometimes calling myself dependent upon weed.

Yet now, after trying every sort of restriction available, I've finally stumbled onto a real strategy that works.

And this strategy equally applies to craving sweets as well.

Visit https://eatingenlightenment.com for more info.