If you’re looking to lose a few pounds and would like to hear my ideas about how I feel you can best lose weight while eating a whole foods diet, here you go: Twelve minutes of podcast in which I share my ramblings thoughts on this subject. I discuss questions like…can you eat a high fat diet and still lose weight or maintain a healthy weight? What do I recommend cutting out of your diet if you want to lose weight?
I’d say, hey…grab a brownie and sit down while you listen to this podcast…but that may sort of contradict a thing or two that I share this time. So…how about a walk on the treadmill while you crank up the volume on this one? You’ll get twelve minutes of exercise while you listen…what do ya say?
I can’t seem to bring anything up from the link- do I have to have a special program?
I think what we have is Windows Media Player. When I click on the link, it automatically opens and begins to play. Not working for you, huh?
Yeah, it was my computer- it worked about an hour later. :-)
Good tips- I’ve found that portion control is the best way for me!
Great podcast, Laura!! Thanks!!!
I’m right there, trying to lose baby weight! I just weaned my 1 yo, and have about 10 pounds “left.” Your thoughts were great. I think I would echo especially the eating fruits and veggies. I am, ideally, trying to eat 1-2 servings of fruits and veggies for every 1 serving of something else (carbs, protein, fats). In the summer, this means smoothies, and in the winter, it means veggie-based soups (and salads all the time). I often make a week’s worth of soups at a time for convenience, and chop up everything I’d need to throw a salad together quickly at one time too. This “rule” keeps me full and helps with my portion control!!
I also agree with the exercise… but is there anything more difficult than exercising with babies??? I am trying to talk my husband into a treadmill right now, but otherwise it’s videos for me. Packing my 2 yo and 1 yo in the jogger is such an ordeal it never happens!
I’ve done my favorite videos so much that I don’t have to listen to them any more, so I can just watch the video while I exercise and listen to podcasts from my computer. Another way I make doing my videos a treat is by having another mom, whose kids are in school, come over after lunch and do a video with us. We talk the whole time! I have 3 kids at home (7, 5 & 2) because I homeschool but I can take advantage of other moms’ flexibility when their kids are in school. The videos may get old, but they’re cheap and fast because there’s no loading/travel time!
I’ve fallen in love with Turbo Jam DVDs. I can do them while my 8 month old sleeps in the morning and my 2 year old jumps around with me. I am concerned about the way they dress and will probably not show them to him much longer. However, it is an AWESOME work out and is fun. That way I look forward to the exercise I get!
I started gradually eating more natural, wholesome foods this summer and I’ve lost 20 lbs! (unfortunately, I have a LOT farther to go) Hopefully the activity of spring/summer/fall will help too cuz winter is such a low activity time for me.
Way to go!
I stumbled across your blog a few weeks ago and love it! We’ve made some big changes, and so far all the recipes we’ve tried have been wonderful!
I’m also trying to lose the baby weight from my seven month old (and probably some left from my five year old and four year old as well…ha!).
You mentioned in your podcast to cut back on even the natural sugars. All the breads, soft pretzels, tortillas, etc. have honey in them, and a lot of the breakfast and lunch menu ideas use these. How drastically do you think I should cut these back?
Thanks for your help!
Well, since bread, soft pretzels, etc. just has a small amount in them (compared to cookies and such) I wouldn’t worry about those as much as far as sugar intake goes. However, since they’re grains, they’re carbs which turn to sugar eventually. Overall, I’d not focus too much on eating breads, but instead focus on the fruits and veggies, quality meats and dairy…with just a few bread products here and there.
And if you’re eating good, whole foods, I wouldn’t focus as much on “how much” you should eat or not eat…but simply on stopping when you’re full and making sure your diet is well balanced.
Hope that helps!
I was able to lose 15 stubborn pounds over the summer by STOPPING counting calories and only letting nutritious calories (with minimal sweets- even healthy ones) cross my lips. It was wonderful! Unfortunately it all came back plus a little this fall. For me I have found that stress and sleep levels also greatly impact my ability to lose and/or keep weight off. Over the summer there is just less stress overall (I am a teacher and this year changed grade levels which has majorly upped my amount of stress). I am also making more sweets than before (although ones with healthier sugars). I find that when I am stressed I cannot get as much out of my workouts (even though I workout almost every day). I’m hoping once the weather turns I can start running outside again and that will help motivate me. I ran five 5K races last fall and have never felt better than I did then, so I’m hoping I can get that feeling back, and not fall into the weight gain trap that I do each autumn. (I also believe I have the seasonal affective disorder and just go into depression w/out the sun, so praise the Lord that our sun time each day is lengthening!)
I have recently done a version of the Maker’s Diet and lost weight pretty quickly by cutting out all sugar and grains. It makes a big difference and makes you feel really good as well.
I was doing the Plan-D eating plan a while ago and it was working well, but somewhere along the way I stopped following it as much. I recently started again, your website helped alot because it all is the same ideas and great recipes. Her book is nice because it explains alot of the science behind eating whole foods and why rapadura sugar and coconut oil is so much better for your body. Which helped a lot when trying to convience my husband that everything that they said about lowfat dieting is not the best way to go.
Love your advice! I wanted to add that I’ve been reading a lot lately about how pesticides and chemicals make their way up the food chain. Saw it recommended that if you are interested in eating an organic diet but can’t afford to go 100% organic, that starting with these sources can be even more beneficial than just eating organic fruits and veggies.
Also we have been trying a grain/sugar free diet and have noticed amazing benefits to our health. When we cheat we also notice immediate side effects! It’s hard sometimes to beat those sugar cravings. I wanted to share something I’ve found to be very helpful: tea with carob listed as one of the ingredients. In tea it imparts it’s flavor without the calories and it’s natural! I particularly like the apple cinnamon tea to calm my powerful sweet tooth!
Both of my children have a severe dairy allergy… I have found healthy alternatives for most items except BUTTER. Right now the best I have found is “Bestlife” which has no Partially Hydrogenated Oils. Do you have a suggestion of something to use in baking that isn’t butter?
I think I’d try to use Coconut Oil as a substitute. Coconut Oil works well for baking, and is very healthy!
Good luck with all of this…I think having to cut out dairy would be super tough!
Thank you for the suggestion — Coconut is actually something I have
been wanting to try out. I do have one more question for you that
is opposite of what this podcast is about. My son is extremely thin
and continues to lose weight. He sees his doctor about once a month
to keep tabs on him, but do you have any healthy ways to PACK on the
weight? I’m sure he would eat a bowl of candy if placed in front of
him, but that’s not an option in my book.
Thank you
My friend and I both had to take dairy, gluten, and eggs out of our children’s diets recently. She didn’t increase his meat intake and he lost weight. I’ve significantly increased my childrens’ meat intake and they have maintained their weight and not felt hungry. I think root vegetables are a good way to put wieght on. I’ve had a hard time finding enough good fat, though, because I can’t get them to eat avacados or olives, and nuts are also on our allergy list. They need a lot of fat to feel good, and that’s harder (and less tasty!) without dairy! I hope these ideas from our allergy experience help!
Yikes, that’s a tough one since healthy fats don’t tend to create extra pounds!! I agree with Ami regarding eating lots of meat. I’d also add eggs -lots of eggs- if he can have them. Peanut butter and coconut oil and coconut milk and coconut yogurt…lots of calorie rich, nutrient rich foods. I certainly don’t envy your position. It would be so difficult to keep pounds on my kids too if I couldn’t feed them dairy!
Jozana,
You might also want to consider looking into Low Dose Allergen Therapy
(LDA). Our son had a severe dairy allergy and a wheat allergy. He
could not eat enough to keep his weight up and was always hungry. He
continued to struggle even while taking high quality vitamins and
probiotics. We started him on LDA and within 6 months his body was able
to tolerate regular dairy and wheat consumption. Within 12 months he
had gained 12 pounds! It has been 3 years now, and his weight continues
to climb. He started out getting treatment every two months. We have
slowly spread them out based on his symptoms, and he has now gone 10
months since his last treatment.
I’ve struggled with weight all my life. I had some success with Weight Watchers and other calorie-counting-type diets and exercise. However, it still was a constant struggle and I could not stay at a healthy weight. While trying to lose baby weight, I had major milk supply issues with my 1st and 2nd children which threatened to end breastfeeding, and had to supplement with formula as well. After having my 3rd child this past April, I began making HUGE changes in our diet. No processed foods, healthy fats, whole dairy, etc. (Everything you advocate on your site). I’ve lost my baby weight from the 3rd pregnancy (still have a ways to go to a healthy weight though), have SO much more energy to keep up with my 3 kids, and have not had ANY issues with milk supply. I also noticed that when I started eating healthy fats, my sugar cravings were drastically reduced–something I’ve struggled with terribly. I agree that getting away from sugar is key too. I’m incorporating more exercise in my week now. This has been easier to do because I have so much more energy from all the good food we’ve been eating!
“Shut Up!” Sorry, but this phrase actually came out of my mouth, out loud, after you just HAD to tell me to stop eating sugar :) Pehaps hearing it from you will make it stick…or maybe not, I have some Dove Chocolate hiding in the laundry room.
Seriously though, great podcast! I really do need to cut back on the sugar, I think the more I hear it, the closer I get to doing something about it, so this was definitley helpful.
Three years ago my husband and I lost over 20 pounds by simply cutting out sugar. We would allow ourselves one Dove dark chocolate a day for a sweet treat. I think Laura is right on – since we have been eating healthy (cream, butter, whole foods…) we have not gained any weight. We feel better an d have more energy. Good luck coming from a fellow sugar lover :)
Hi Laura. This was the first podcast I’ve ever listened too! It’s been 13 months since I’ve had my baby and I just now lost the 50 pounds I’d gained while pregnant. Slow and steady wins the race. However, my husband is very overweight and while I’ve been cooking with real food, it’s just taking a long time for him. He also is not very active and works at a computer about 9 hours a day. Even though he’s added exercise, he is just nowhere near as active as he should be. I will continue to decrease the “healthy” sugar in our lives but have done a pretty fair job of that so far.
It was worth listening to your podcast just to find out how to say “sucanant”. :)
Hi Laura! I’m in an unusual situation, because we eat a lot of food prepared by others much of the time. We are currently living with my husband’s parents and raising support to be full-time missionaries in Rwanda. My mother-in-law prefers to cook dinner about 5 days a week and when we aren’t at home we are traveling around staying with people while we raise support. People love to feed their guests well and though I love it, I don’t feel healthy. Do you have any suggestions on how to eat healthy when we are traveling and staying with other people?
Oh, this is very difficult! I think at this point you just need to trust God to sustain your health until you are able to cook for your family the way you prefer. YOu are in a position to be at the mercy of others and just be gracious. I guess I’d say really focus on the salads and veggies passed your way, pass on dessert if you feel it isn’t rude, exercise if you have time. Drink lots of water. There isn’t much you can do about what others are feeding you, and I’ve always felt like God will just take care of us when we’re in a situation that is beyond our control with food.
God bless you as you raise support for your missionary journey!
Thanks so much for the podcast; we’re in the process of making so many changes (thanks in part to your website!) and it’s been great. I’m in the same boat, trying to lose 30lbs of baby weight, and one thing I would add is the importance of sleep. My baby didn’t start sleeping through the night till he was a year (uggh!), but over the last few months, I’ve been forcing myself to drop everything and go to bed at a decent time. It helps so much with having energy the next day, and losing weight.
The hardest one for me is cutting out the sugar. I was raised on desserts after dinner and have done that with my own family. And I know that sugar is not good for you.. I am determined to do it though! Thank you!
I just listened to your podcast on losing weight. I am working on being healthier. I have been working on this for just over 2 months at this now and am down 30lbs. I have only been using myfitnesspal and choosing more whole foods for myself. I eat lots of fresh produce. With winter approaching am concerned about how that will effect my weight loss. I was considering doing a plan that had meal replacements like shaklee or shakeology until I saw this post. Now I think I should focus on real food. Thanks for the time and effort you put into this blog/site.
Just listened to your pod cast on losing weight. i am not looking to lose weight but I don’t understand the difference in healthy sugars and am wanting to switch to one of those. Is Sucanat, Rapadura and Morena all okay to use? Thanks. Nancy
I’m not familiar with Morena, but sucanat and rapadura are the same thing and good to use. However, I recommend cutting down any kind of sugar, even these better kinds, because sugar can really make a person hold onto extra weight.