We have all done this before!  Gone on a diet.  I have been on many, more than I care to mention.  Here is the process:

1. Go on a diet.
2. Lose weight.
3. Go off the diet.
4. Gain all weight back (sometimes even more).

Then, the following year you try a different diet.  Then, the year after that the next diet du jour.

There is a saying:

in·san·i·ty is doing the same thing and expecting different results.

You may be ready to take a new approach this year and end the madness.

All diets are based on the EXACT same principle:

If you eat less calories than you use, then you will lose weight (the old ‘calories in’ vs. ‘calories out’ theory).

The reason diets will NEVER work for permanent weight loss is that this principle is flawed. 

The theory of ‘calories in’ vs. ‘calories out’ does not address WHY your body takes in more calories than it uses.

Think of it like the thermostat in your home. Say your thermostat was set to 100 degrees. You like your home to be at 70 degrees. Going on a diet would be like opening all your doors and windows to make it cooler in your home.  The problem is that your thermostat in your home will continue to crank the heat on and will NOT shut off until it reaches that 100 degree point. A much faster, more efficient approach to getting your house to 70 degrees is to turn down the thermostat to 70 degrees.

It is the same thing in your body. If you manually reduce your weight by going on a diet, rather than addressing the reasons you are taking in more calories, you will never keep it off long term.

The crazy thing about diets is, you can lose weight on a diet, but when you go off the diet (for whatever reason) and then gain the weight back,

…you blame yourself and NOT the principles behind the”diet”!

When I was on a diet, here are the things I felt:

1. They are no fun – I hated not being able to eat what I wanted.
2. It is too much work – I was always having to think about what I could eat.
3. You’re hungry all the time – I was always hungry and not satisfied.
4. It will make you grumpy – because I was hungry it made me grumpy!
5. You will have to give up the things you love – I hated giving up the things I loved and craved!
6. You will gain all the weight back – I always gained the weight back again – so what was the point.

To achieve permanent weight loss, you need to determine and address the reasons why your body has more body fat than you would like.

Whether you like it or not, there is a reason behind it.  If it was strictly because you eat too much,  then a diet would work and we would all be the exact weight we wanted.  But that is not working –  there is something else going on that needs to be addressed.

It could be the types of foods you are eating (which may sound obvious, but a better question is WHY you are eating those things). It could be food addictions. It could be psychological reasons or it could be genetic reasons.

The bottom line is that your body is maintaining a certain weight for a reason and you have to figure out what it is.  Half the battle is figuring it out what it is. Once you have done that, then you can make a plan to address the reasons.

No matter what the reason, at the end of the day, the answer is simple and has always been the same (and the same for everyone):

Eat a whole foods diet

The problem with this solution is that it is very difficult to transition from what you are eating today to eating a “whole foods diet”. Many of us don’t even really know what that means. And, it is not something you do overnight.

You have to ALSO address the reasons that your body is not gravitating to the “whole foods diet” naturally and it is gravitating to what you are currently eating.  If you do not do this, then “eating a whole food diet” is just another diet program.

The bad news is there is a lot to learn. The good news is that  it is not hard to make this change.

I wish I could give you the all the answers in a 700-word blog post, but there is a bit more to it then that. I have created a 30 min video explaining in more detail the reasons “Why Diets Don’t Work” for long-term weight loss and if you are truly interested in learning why take the time to watch that video.

If you are currently on a diet, dig deep and ask yourself the following question:

Is this diet right for me?  Will it give me the long-term results I want?

If the answer is no, then I would STOP the diet and try something totally different.

Here are some steps to get you started:

1. Discover the problem – Why does my body have extra body fat?  Ask yourself this question. Deep down you know the answer! If it was your job to  design the diet for a professional athlete or super model or for someone who just wanted to lose weight in a healthy way – what would it be? Is this what you are eating?  If not, ask yourself WHY you are not eating that way. (Deep down you have the answer to this, too!)
2. Focus on the problem – Once you have an idea of why you are not eating the way you think you should, start figuring out how to address those issues.   You may have said, “Well I crave that particular food or drink (whatever it is)” or “I am addicted to it” or “I don’t like vegetables” or “I don’t have the time to eat healthy” or…whatever it is. Everyone is different and will have different reasons. But once you have identified it, spend your time researching ways to eliminate those problems! Work on adjusting the thermostat, not just opening the windows.

As always, I would love to help you create a customized program and work with you side-by-side to resolve these concerns and fast-track your success. Please feel free to contact me directly anytime.

If you’re like most, you’re already starting to think about what you’re going to get yourself back on track for the new year. Now that all of the holiday parties are behind us, this is the time to make a fresh start. Right?

Lets focus on how you would like to feel next year at this time.

• What changes would you like to see in your body?

• What kept you from achieving that this year?

The most common mistake I see out there is that so many of us are still under the impression that the secret to being fit and healthy is to ‘eat less and exercise more‘.

We think it’s all up to us. Just eat right, exercise, and voila – you will be healthy and fit. Right? Wrong. (Sorry!)  If I can offer you one bit of advice this year, it’s this:

“Eat less. Exercise more.” is a myth. It doesn’t work. Not for you. Not for me. Not for any of my clients.

Too many of my clients spend too much time beating themselves up – feeling guilty because they ‘know what they should do, but they just don’t do it’.

They try to make healthy choices. They try to exercise like they know they should. They get short bursts of success – then it falls apart. And, then they feel guilty so they give up. Next thing you know, it’s the end of the year and they are back to square one – or worse.

This is totally normal. It happens to all of us.  But, here’s a little secret… It’s not your fault. The reason that strategy isn’t working for you is because it doesn’t work for hardly anyone.

Here’s why:

The whole calorie in vs. calorie out thing does not compute.

For example, I take a pretty intense workout class and on a good day I burn about 400 calories (give or take). I can walk into Starbucks after class and with just one beverage or one blueberry oat bar, I can completely negate my calorie burn. How much time would I really have to spend in the gym to get ahead of that game?

Another way to think of it is this. Does your body process 100 calories of Christmas cookie, the same way it processes 100 calories of raw vegetables?

Of course, not. Your body has to process and filter that cookie – much of which is completely useless to the body (and is therefore stored as fat). Whereas the 100 calories of raw vegetables gets transformed into nutrients that the body uses to improve your stamina, energy and immune system (completely utilized).

The bad news? You will never work off that cookie at the gym. It’s not possible. The good news? You can stop with the whole diet/exercise thing. There’s a better way. Unfortunately, it’s not a great business model because it actually works.

Most businesses are formed off of creating and addressing chronic problems – self perpetuating problems and solutions. Buy, use, refill, repeat. You don’t have to be part of that cycle – not when it comes to your health.

In the weeks ahead, you’re going to receive all kinds of marketing and messages from gyms, diet programs, and cleanses…all promising to be your solution to the perfect body in 2013.  It’s a great business model – because it doesn’t quite work.

But, the reason it doesn’t work is not because you’re a failure. It doesn’t work because it’s a temporary solution. It’s a self-perpetuating solution….designed to help you get results, but only while doing that program. The second you cut back on that workout or eat one extra goodie, you undo your progress.

That is no way to live.  Here’s the thing you must do if you want to be more fit and healthy in 2013.

Stop setting yourself up with a strategy that doesn’t work and then feeling bad that you weren’t able to make it work.

Like they say – the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.

Stop the insanity this year. Instead of signing up for a new diet program or a new gym membership that will last for a month or two and then just make you feel more guilty – use that energy to try a completely new approach.

• Eat more whole foods

• Load your body up on nutrients

• Learn about where your food comes from & how your body works

• Get yourself set up on a fully customized program – of foods you love, that make you feel good and that you enjoy

• Stop exercising to burn calories & start exercising for the joy of movement

• Get results that last the rest of your life & that get better year after year

Challenge your assumptions. When we see someone who is fit and healthy, we quickly assume that person has amazing discipline monitoring their food and following their exercise program.

But, the truth is – when you see someone who is truly fit and healthy, what they have discovered is that willpower, diet and exercise are not the secret.

The secret to being fit and healthy is to ignore all of the marketing and messaging out there and instead, learn to listen to your own body.

What is your body telling you? What is it asking for? What will you give it this year? What help do you need?

Over the next few weeks, every time you see an ad, flyer or promotion for a gym or a diet program, stop for a moment, close your eyes and listen to your body. What is it truly asking you for? Are you ready to answer?

Make 2013 the last time you have “lose weight”, or “get fit”, or “eat healthy” on your list of resolutions.

If you would like to learn more how I removed those items from my list, read my full story here.

Added sugar is always the very first thing I discuss with my clients.   Many of my clients see dramatic results by just paying more attention to how much “added sugar” is in the “foods” they are consuming on a daily basis.

Below is a great infographic created by Online Nursing Programs.   It demonstrate just how much “added sugar” we are consuming and some of the problems associated with that increase in consumption.   Also check out the short video that does a very nice job describing the some of the problems of too much sugar in our bodies.

Infographic created by: Online Nursing Programs

Okay, it seems clear that we are consuming too much “added sugar”, but what’s the big deal?   Here is a very simple short video that should bring things home for you.

The bad news is many people are addicted to sugar.  The good news is that in a short amount of time the addiction can be addressed and the symptoms will start to reverse.  But it is not as easy as just cutting it out.  There is some reprogramming of the brain that needs to be done in conjunction with slowly cutting back.

If you want to learn even more details on sugar, I would recommend reading my post called:  The Skinny on Weight Loss.  If you want to learn more about how to reduce sugar in your diet, just drop me a note I would be happy to chat with you about it or you can check out my Permanent Weight Loss Program.

The holidays always bring a mixed bag of emotions. We love them because it is a time to celebrate and be with friends and family. But the holidays also come with a lot of guilt around food and worrying about the weight gain from all of the holiday goodies that are everywhere.

Why is it so hard to control ourselves when it comes to these goodies?

Here’s a little known secret. That ‘lack of control’ you feel every time you give in to one of those holiday goodies is NOT because you are weak and have no will power. Certain foods (sugar and simple carbs are two big ones) have addictive attributes. That’s part of it. But, even after we have removed what I call the “physical addiction” to certain foods, what is left behind is what I call a “residual addiction” to food. Namely a habit (or craving).  And, these show up a lot during the holidays.

Every habit (or craving) has 3 parts: a trigger, a behavior and a reward.  The trigger could be a physical addiction, which leads you to a certain behavior. Maybe you’re craving sugar, so you grab the first cookie you see. You can also have emotional triggers. Like whenever you have a bad day, you grab a pint of ice cream on the way home. Even the time of day can trigger a behavior – say your morning coffee. And, of course, the holidays can be a trigger for all kinds of eating or drinking habits.

The trick is to begin to recognize your triggers, behaviors and rewards so you can begin to replace them with new ones that support the lifestyle you want.

The holidays provide a perfect opportunity to reshape your cravings. Here’s a perfect exercise to practice this month that will help you conquer those holiday cravings once and for all.

Awareness – When you have an urge to eat something bad, ask yourself – “Why do I want this?”  Is it because my body needs the fuel and nutrients or is it because of a habit that has been created in my brain?  At this point, you have a decision to make. You can eat the item or you can chose to not eat it. Being aware of why we are eating something is the first step.

Recode your brain – If you consciously choose to eat the item, that’s okay. You now have an opportunity to recode your brain. About 20 minutes after you’ve eaten it, ask yourself how your body feels. Not your head…your body. Your brain will say “Woohoo that was great,” but your body will be telling you something much different. Maybe it feels bloated or sluggish. This practice will help you learn to listen to your body, which actually is a stronger drive than your mind – once you learn to listen to it.

For the next 4 weeks, repeat these 2 steps every time you find yourself in a situation with food – good and bad.  It’s a powerful habit and after doing this for 4 weeks, you will find yourself starting the new year with a habit that will eventually recode your bad eating habits forever. Try it!

I was driving home from dropping my youngest daughter off at school one morning and I was listening to a morning show on the radio.  It was a new station, but I recognized the people on the show. They have been on the radio for a while here in San Diego.  They happened to be talking about losing weight, so instead of changing stations to look for some actual music (which is not an easy thing to find during drive time), I decided to hang tight and listen.

I was inspired, but mostly saddened by the person’s story.  This guy had lost over 100 pounds. He did it on Medifast, I think.  To lose over 100 pounds is a huge accomplishment and it should be celebrated and applauded!  The sad part was that he was putting the weight back on at an alarming rate – this was the sad part.  He was talking about how he was going to go back onto the program to lose the weight again.

I was saddened by this is because this is what we all have done (or do).  We go on a “diet” and we lose weight, then over time, we gain it all back. Sometimes we even gain more weight than what we started with.  The reason his story made me so sad is I can see what is going to happen next.  He will go back on the “diet” and then he will lose some weight again, but as soon as he goes off the diet, he is going to gain it all back.  This is a vicious cycle that anyone that “diets” is experiencing and they will never get off of the cycle unless they address the root cause.

This is not a bash on Medifast. This is a bash on ALL “diets” and the concept of “dieting” in general.  The reason diets DO help you lose weight is because they restrict calories and/or the types of foods that make us fat in the first place.  Anyone can lose weight on a “diet”.   But losing weight is not what we really want, what we really want to KEEP THE WEIGHT OFF!  That is the key and most “diets” do not address this issue.

If your approach to losing weight is a “diet” (does not matter which one) and exercise, then you will never KEEP the weight off (unless you are always on that “diet” and exercise program).  Over the long haul, it is not easy (if not impossible) to say on a “diet” indefinitely.  Plus, who wants to be on a diet the rest of their life?

Don’t get me wrong here. Proper nutrition and exercise are key, but until you address why your body is forcing you to make more poor choices (and less good ones), you will always be fighting an uphill battle.

It is funny, in my nutrition courses, they taught us about food and how our body processes it and all the biochemical reactions that take place when we eat food.  They were very clear on what food is good for our bodies, which ones are bad and why.  But they never taught me why my body could not make the right choices or why it was always a struggle to eat the way I ‘should’.   This is something I had to learn on my own out in the real world through trial and error on my own body, working with clients, and a lot of self study.

I was on the diet roller coaster for most of my adult life.  What I’ve learned is that there are biological reasons for body fat. It does serve a function, but the amount of body fat we carry as a society is not healthy.  The reasons our bodies want to carry extra weight are varied and unique to the individual.

These are the steps I take with all my clients now:

1) Nutrition –  The very first step is to get your nutrition in order.  Add the good & reduce the bad.  I was over-fed and under-nourished (most of us are).  Start introducing some of the nutrition our bodies are starved for and slowly start flushing the toxins out of the body.  As you go through this process, you will need to determine the right nutrition for your body.  We are all different and there is no one size fits all nutrition plan.  By getting rid of the bad stuff and adding the good stuff, you can start listening to your body and begin to determine what is right for you.

2) Education – The more you know about food & nutrition and how it works in your body, the easier it is for you to make different decisions.  The more I can fill my clients’ heads with nutrition information, the better equipped they will be to make the better choices.  This really is a critical piece that is often left out.

3) Stress & Mindset – Understanding why our bodies want to be fat and why we make certain decisions (in regards to food and exercise) is the first step in permanent weight loss.  This is a trickier one to nail down. It could be stress, dehydration, nutrient deficiency, childhood trauma, toxins, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, medications…the list goes on and on.  As you can see, this will take some investigation, but once you find out what the cause is, it could mean the end of a life-long struggle with weight (like I had).

4) Reprogramming – Once you understand why your body wants to be fat and how it drives you to be fat, then you can work with your body to reprogram yourself to naturally and effortlessly make the healthiest choices for your body that will help you maintain the lean body you desire.  This is the cornerstone – to obtain permanent weight loss, the reprogramming of old habits and the creation of new ones is critical.  Reprogramming is not imagining that your chocolate frozen yogurt is a pile of dog dung (although that does work for some people).  It is more about using your knowledge of food and nutrition to understand your cravings and then reprogram your cravings so you crave the good things more and the bad things less.

5) Exercise – For weight loss, exercise is about 20% of the equation. 80% of your efforts should revolve around what you put in your mouth.  Having said that, there is a certain type of exercise that does help you lose weight – it is NOT hours on the treadmill. (If your goal is weight loss that kind of exercise is a waste of your time.)  Interval training is key to any weight loss program.  There’s a reason for this that I can explain in a future article. The important thing to remember is that exercise is important for health and will help with overall weight loss, but NOT because of “burning calories”.  If “burning calories” is your reason for exercising, then you are fighting an uphill battle that you will lose over the long haul.

Once you start feeding your body nutrients dense foods,  flush out the bad things, understand (at the core of your being) how food works in your body, understand why your body wants to store fat, how it drives you to store fat, you can then work with your body to reprogram yourself to eat what you want, always be satisfied, healthy, sleep great, and have a ton of energy.  But most important, you will be once and for all be off the “diet” roller coaster.

To find out more about how I made this change you can read  my story here. Make this the year you lose the weight once and for all.

Right now, I am on vacation in Cancun, Mexico.  We did not take a vacation last year. So this year we are taking 2 weeks off to get refueled and focused.  We decided to NOT stay in the Hotel Zone with all the craziness it has to offer.  Instead, we found a nice condo with a great resort style pool in Puerto Juarez.  It is a very nice and relaxing place. We do our own shopping (where the locals do). We have to lug our water in 5 gallon jugs across the busy street.  We cook most of our own food and the guards and staff here don’t speak any English.

Now, Karen (my wife) knows Spanish and you’d think living in San Diego, I would know some Spanish, but I don’t.  I mean, I know the basics, like “muchas gracias”, “buenos días” and “una cerveza, por favor” and that is about the extent of it right there. During our stay, Karen is leaving for a business meeting for 3 days and I will be here at the condo on my own for a few days.   So yesterday I was sitting by the pool staring at my feet and started to think about all of the things I would need to get taken care of before my translator leaves for a few days and how I would communicate.

During the day as I was walking around, I started noticing signs around the grounds. One of the signs at the pool has a picture of a guy smashing his head in the bottom of the a shallow pool. I gather that means ‘no diving’. The sign at the bathrooms with a picture of the man and woman help ensure I don’t walk into the wrong bathroom.  There are lots of signs for what to do in case of fire or earthquake, or where to enter/or not enter,  and so on.

The point here  is that pictures are the universal language. And, with my limited Spanish, I would be quite lost here without them.

What this lesson in language reminded me of is how pictures help with our weight loss goals. When we try to communicate to our bodies, we have to create clear pictures because our bodies do not understand English (or Spanish). The universal language is pictures.

One of the things that I did during my weight loss journey and what I do with my clients is was what I call visioning.  There are a couple of ways this can be done.  What I did during my journey was created a vision board.  On my vision board, I had very specific images of what I wanted my body to be like.  At the time, I had no clue why this worked. It was just something we did.  But the more research I do into this topic, the more I have come to realize often times, we don’t realize that we are not communicating to our body in a way it understands. We are trying to force it to change, but we aren’t providing a clear picture of what we want it to be like.

In the case of  my Cancun example, we are telling our bodies in English what we want our body to be like (I want to be thin, muscular, fit…), but our bodies only understand Spanish.

Riding home in the cab from our trip to the Hotel Zone a couple days ago, Karen told our taxi cab driver the name of our condo and asked if he knew where that was.  He said, “oh, sí” – but as we got closer and closer to the condo, the cab was not slowing down. Ass we flew by the entrance to the condo, Karen had to repeat the name and tell the taxi driver to stop.  Now, if we had held up a picture of the condo that had the name in huge letters across the arch of the entrance (like it does), he would have known exactly where to go without question.  The cab driver wants to get us to our destination, he just needs to know exactly where you want to go.  Just like the cab driver, our body want to get us to where we want to go, it just has to know specifically where that is.

Using visioning techniques to communicate with your body and to tell it exactly where you want to go is a key thing that is very helpful in any weight loss or fitness goal you may have.  This is one of the tools that will help you more quickly get from Point A to Point B.  To learn more about my journey and other shortcuts, you can read my full story.

How are you using pictures to guide your body to your picture perfect weight?

The other day, I was driving down Palomar Airport Road and this guy pulls up next to me at the light in a brand new convertible Infiniti (I think). I looked over and smiled. I just knew what would happen next. He was just one of those really slick, flashy looking types of guy. And, sure enough, as the light turned green, he was off! Dang, that car sure was fast!

I have a convertible, too, but I tend not too drive fast (for multiple reasons). Anyway, I was on my merry way driving  the speed limit, enjoying the sunshine, fresh air, nice music, and the day.

The funniest thing almost always happens in these situations (you can tell I have been in this situation many times).  About a half mile down the road, as I approached a major intersection, I see the guy in the Infiniti at the red light waiting. As I approach the red light, it turns green.  I do not even have to use my brakes. I just cruise on by Mr. Flashy Pants without even slowing down.

I am no civil engineer, but I have learned from 30 years of driving (and paying attention) that traffic lights are normalizing.  Meaning, if you are trying to get somewhere in a hurry and you have to drive through a series of traffic lights, it rarely matters how fast you drive between lights.  At the end of the day, you are going to get to your destination in generally the same amount of time.  I have actually learned this through lots of little tests and experiments.

You are probably wondering what in the world this has to do with weight loss. That is a great question.  Looking back on my weight loss journey, it was not a fast-track to my ultimate goal.  I went through a series of plateaus with my weight.  It was not a straight down shot and it did not happen overnight.

I think when we start a weight loss program, we tend to be like Mr. Flashy Pants. We want to get there now!  We are in a hurry and do what we can to get to the finish line.  Many times, we get so frustrated with the pace of our progress, we tend to give up and never even reach our goal.  I see this every January 1. So many people start the year out great, then they fizzle come February 1.

The bottom line is this.  Your weight gain probably did not occur overnight, it happened over time.  The weight is not going to come off overnight either.  You need to give your body time to adjust on the way down, just as it did on the way up.  Plateaus are part of the process.  You can reach your goal either way, whether you choose to be the hare or the tortoise.  The slow consistent approach is often boo-hooed, but many times in the end, when we try to fast track it, we end up just giving up and never even finishing the race at all.

Bottomline: Take your time and do it right. You will get to your destination as long as you keep driving. No need to speed, to put yourself in danger, or to show off. Use those plateaus (traffic lights) in your favor. They are there for a reason.

Are you ready to finish the race once and for all?   I would be happy to help you with your journey, you can read more about my journey and how I can help you here.

I know what you are thinking, I have gone off the deep end, right?  Orange juice has to be one of the healthiest drinks on the planet earth, right? After all, it is “all natural”…just made from fresh squeezed oranges, no preservatives or anything like that, right?

Well, that is exactly what I used to think.  If you have read any of my articles or blog posts, you know my feeling on sugar’s role in diet and weight loss.  The very first thing I help my clients understand is how sugar changes their biochemistry and will make it virtually impossible to maintain weight loss for any period of time.

If this is new information to you, I would stop reading this right now and read my post on “The Skinny on Weight Loss”, this sums it up nicely.  Don’t worry, me and all my millions of readers (give or take millions of readers), will wait for you right here. The link will open up in a new window and you can come right back here where you left off.  I will stop typing and just wait for you to get done.Go ahead, really, we will wait!

OK great, see, I told you I would wait for you.  Now that we are all on the same page on sugar, let’s summarize the recommended amount of sugar by the American Heart Association (this was from another post called, “Is Sugar Making Us Sick”):

A statement by the AHA on Aug 24, 2009 was to reduce “added sugar” in our diet to NO MORE than 100 calories (or 6 teaspoons)  for women and 150 calories (or about 9 teaspoons) for men. That is NO MORE than 25 grams for women and 37.5 grams for men.

Hey, I don’t make the rules up, I just follow them.  So, what does this mean and what does that have to do with orange juice making us fat?  The reason I bring up the AHA ‘not to exceed’ numbers is that it gives us a benchmark to measure our sugar intake against.  The AHA real concern is the sugar load on the liver (more specifically the fructose load – FYI sugar is basically half glucose and half fructose) and the effects it has on our health (mainly heart related diseases, but weight gain is also effected).  So, this is a good number to use when looking at our sugar intake.

One more thing you should keep in mind.  The fructose load is what we are looking at here.  Our liver does not really care if it comes from table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, honey, agave or even fruits.  It is all the same to the liver.  The key is the fructose load. So let’s look at some numbers.  Here is a nice chart from the Harvard School of Public health called, “How Sweet Is It” that shows graphically how much sugar is in certain drinks.

You will notice that Orange Juice has 10 teaspoons of sugar and a good old Coke or Pepsi also has 10 teaspoons of sugar.  Orange juice has the same amount of sugar as a soda does!   Now having said that, there are other things in orange juice that are good for us that are NOT in the soda.  So, do not get me wrong here, this is not a bash against orange juice or any juice for that matter.   There are plenty of good things in orange juice. What we are talking about here is strictly related to weight loss and management.

If we stop and look at the numbers here, at 10 teaspoons of sugar (regardless if you are a man or woman), you have already exceeded the AHA limit on sugar for the day and you have not even left the house yet.  And, my guess is, you are going to be consuming more sugar in your day than just that glass of orange juice.

The problem I have with orange juice when it comes to weight loss is the total sugar load on the body.  When you juice an orange, you remove things in the orange that slow the absorption of the sugar into the body, namely the fiber.  Plus, you are increasing the total amount of sugar you are consuming by concentrating a large quantity of oranges into a smaller package.

From the sugar perspective, your liver just knows it is getting hit with a quick load of sugar (i.e. fructose) and it reacts in the same way, regardless of whether it came from a coke or orange juice.  Either one is a problem when looking for permanent weight loss.

So, bottomline, if you are looking to drop a few pounds, drop the OJ and just eat the whole orange.

One of my most popular blog posts was back in March of 2011.  It was called, “the effects of diet soda (and regular soda) on your body“.  I had no idea it would be such a popular topic for people. But, I guess when you think about the amount of marketing dollars spent to sell soda and diet soda, it is not surprising at all that we have a problem with it.

Today, soda has become somewhat of a public enemy – being pointed to as an underlying cause of the obesity epidemic and then, of course, its potential connections to diabetes, stroke, cancer, heart disease, tooth decay, kidney stones, liver problems and premature aging.

If you’re one of the millions of Americans still drinking soda and you’re watching Bloomberg try to limit the sale of soda in NYC or you’re watching how the big soda companies are diversifying their product line (i.e. PepsiCo’s recent move into the yogurt industry), you may be starting to wonder if maybe there is some truth to all of these health concerns.

Most of us know at some level that soda isn’t good for us. But, we’re just not convinced that it’s bad…at least not bad enough that we should be concerned about it.

That’s where I was at several years ago. For most of my life, I had a daily soda habit. As a kid, it was regular soda and then as I grew up and started dealing with weight issues, I moved into the diet soda camp. Even as I began to make health a focus in my life, my daily diet soda fix was one of those habits I just didn’t want to give up. It was easy to justify that my one, little can of Diet Pepsi wasn’t going to kill me. After all, it had zero calories – it was an empty food, right?

How bad could it be?

Okay, let’s talk about that for a bit.

First, soda drinkers can be broken up into two camps: Regular and Diet. For the sake of this article, I’m addressing both. I was in the Diet camp for over 20 years!  (The funny thing about it is, no matter which camp you are in, you cannot understand how the other side can drink that stuff.  When I was a Regular soda drinker, I could not stand Diet soda and when I was a Diet soda drinker I could not stand Regular.  It all goes back to what you are used to and your body’s sensitivities to something over time. Today, I can’t stand the taste of either one. They just taste nasty to me.)

Regular Soda

As a nutritionist, my number one problem with regular soda is the amount of sugar in it.  If you are not already familiar with how sugar changes your body’s biochemistry and the negative health effects, then I would stop reading this right now and click on my post called, “The Skinny on Weight Loss“. Go ahead, I will wait right here for you and stop writing until you get back.

Okay, so now you are up to speed about how the overload of fructose on the liver causes a host of health issues and how sugar can be addictive.

My second biggest issue is that there are zero health benefits from drinking regular soda.  What I mean by this is that our bodies need a certain amount of nutrition from our foods. We only have so many calories to get the nutrition we need into our bodies.  The amount of discretionary calories we have to work with is minimal, particularly if you are working to lose weight or stay or become healthy. Drinking regular soda uses up a good chunk of our daily calories and gives us nothing in return – no nutritional benefit whatsoever.

The last issue is the concoction of chemicals within soda.  These add no benefit to our health and just give our body additional wear and tear to process and deal with these chemicals that we are not really designed to consume. In addition, there is the genetically modified corn used to make soda.  The long-term effects of GMO’s is another big unknown in my book.

The good news is that I think the soda companies see the writing on the wall. With all the information on health effects and the obesity epidemic, I can see them working on diversifying into more “healthy products” – like yogurt companies.  (I am so curious to see how long before they muck up those products as well.)

Diet Soda

So, now let’s look at the other team. Diet soda is not much better.  Even though diet soda doesn’t have all of the calories and harmful health effects as a regular soda does, it does have its own set of issues. The main issue is the artificial sweetener.  The long-term use of artificial sweeteners on our health is unknown. In addition, there are many studies out there that claim diet soda tricks the body into gaining weight.  The idea is that when our body eats something sweet without the accompanying caloric load, it confuses our metabolism and causes us to eat more.

Similar to regular soda, the other ingredients in diet soda, like artificial coloring and preservatives, are things that our body is not equipped to process and we’re discovering these things are linked to all kinds of health problems. When you think about it, having a daily dose of chemicals in your system puts your body in a chronic state of stress having to process these unnatural substances.

Bottomline

I’m pretty sure I don’t have to tell you how bad soda is. You can ‘google’ away and find reason after reason why you should stop drinking it.  The real question is not should I stop, but HOW?

So, let’s spend some time talking about how to stop.

The good news is that it’s not that hard. And, once you stop, you won’t miss it. You just need to give yourself enough time, a good strategy and some support.

First, find your motivation. For me, it was learning about diet soda’s link to heart disease. That alone was reason enough for me to stop cold turkey. There are a million reasons to quit drinking soda – weight loss, improved health, saving money, impact on the environment. Pick one that motivates you.

Next, understand your addiction. Even if you feel confident you can just stop drinking soda, it’s trickier than you think. There is a physical chemical addiction that goes on in your body from being repeatedly exposed to these chemicals.  The only way to break the addiction is to get it out of your system for a period of time.

Finally, analyze your habit. Beyond the addiction, the second and probably even more powerful reason why it is such a challenge to stop drinking soda is the habit of drinking it. The initial physical chemical addiction to the soda triggers us to create habits around our soda drinking.  When I was addicted, my soda habit was time triggered.  My body wanted a diet soda somewhere between 10-11 am, with lunch, and then in the afternoon between 2-3 pm. These times of day were my triggers for my habit. Habits are hard to break – even harder than a physical addiction in most cases.

Habits have 3 parts – the trigger, the action, and the reward.  My diet soda became my ‘reward’ for different phases of my day.  Once I got through my morning, I would drink a Diet Pepsi as a break – a reward for working hard all morning and as a kick-start to get me through to my next break – lunch. Once I understood my habit and triggers, I could begin to replace the actions and reward so I could successfully break my soda habit permanently.

How to Stop

So, if you’re ready to tackle your soda habit once and for all so you can experience improved health and weight, here are some steps that will help you get there.

1. Get soda out of your system.

The best way to do this is to commit to a period of time with no soda. This allows your body to flush the chemicals out of your system and to remove the physical addiction. Participate in our 21-day Soda Free Challenge or find a friend who will commit with you to stop drinking soda for at least 21 days. The benefit of this is two-part: 1) You will prove to yourself you don’t need it and 2) You will find that after you get it out of your system, it simply doesn’t taste as good when you go back to it. I remember after I quit drinking my daily diet soda, I tasted it again after a month or two and it tasted nasty. I couldn’t believe that it ever tasted good to me. For the first time, I tasted it for what it was – a concoction of chemicals.

2.  Replace your habit.

Even after you get the physical addiction out of the way, you are still going to have to deal with those triggers.  For me, I had to figure out how to deal with my habit of having a soda at 10 am. I could stop drinking the soda, but I couldn’t stop that trigger of wanting a soda at 10 am.  I had to find a replacement so I could still experience the ‘reward’ of sitting with my beverage mid-morning. Try drinking iced tea, iced coffee, or sparkling water with a squeeze of lime. If you are dependent on caffeine from your soda, having tea or coffee will help you avoid the caffeine crash.

3. Identify your reward. 

The first three days will be the hardest, but if you can make it through those first few days, it will get easier with each passing day. Find ways to reward yourself for abstaining, especially during those first few days. Maybe your reward is a break with your new beverage. Or maybe there is something else that will motivate you. Just make sure you find a healthy reward for yourself.

4. Get support.

Find some support. It always helps to have a friend ‘suffering’ along with you. Grab a buddy and do it together. That way you have someone to keep you motivated and on track.

5. Join my 21-Day Soda Free Challenge

Give yourself 21 days without soda. See how you feel. See if you can break the habit. Join this 21-day challenge and we’ll provide you with some motivation and support that will keep you going. A little friendly competition never hurt. Our daily check-ins and tips will help keep you going, while helping you replace your soda habit with a healthier option.

Are you ready? What have you got to lose? (Other than a bad habit?) Let’s do it together. Join us here and take the Soda Free Challenge. And, encourage your friends to join you. You just might find it’s easier than you thought.