Skyler Madison, Author at Nirvana Diet

The Role of Stress in Weight Gain

December 13, 2016 by Skyler Madison Leave a Comment

The Role of Stress in Weight Gain

We must look at the role of stress in weight gain to begin to understand and deal with the problem. Obesity and stress levels are both skyrocketing. 68% of adults are considered to be overweight or obese. Some say a whopping 97% of people who lose weight regain it. It is clear, the way we define diets is wrong. A recent article in the New York Times states “there is no single answer” The article did not mention stress, and we cannot stress enough the role stress plays in weight gain which has clearly risen to epidemic proportions. According to a research source, a study done in 2016 reported that 77% of people report regularly experiencing stress. A survey done by the American Psychological Association, 43% of people polled report using food to deal with stress. Stress can also lead to insomnia another big problem that can cause weight gain. Sleep deprivation interrupts the production of the hormones that stimulate hunger and satiation.

That is one of the reasons why The Nirvana Diet is so effective; it is designed to help you deal with the stress you experience in your life. If you have issues with your job, money, relationships, and or health, you are under stress. That is why you cannot just follow a diet; you must learn how to deal with the issues that underlie your eating and weight gain. Chronic stress not only makes you hungrier but also triggers the release of chemicals, adrenaline and cortisol, that increase insulin and cause you to feel wired, crave sugary unhealthy foods dis-enabling your willpower. We tend to call them unfortunately comfort foods, but they are really junk food. In summary, the more stress you have, the more cortisol gets produced, which leads to a bigger appetite for more junk food and more calories stored as fat.

Finally, obesity is one of the biggest causes of what is called a lifestyle induced illness. People who get these illnesses including so called psychiatric disorders are often given medications that cause weight gain. These medications are given to treat diabetes, seizure disorders, beta blockers, lower blood pressure and suppress the immune system. Dr. Stephen O’Rahailly, head of the department of clinical biochemistry at Cambridge University blames it on the genes we inherit. If that were the case, why is it that obesity began to skyrocket after the 1960’s? The latest research suggests that lifestyle changes can overcome much of the risk for which our DNA might be responsible. In other words, lifestyle changes are potentially more powerful, and healthier than relying on drugs. It is time to understand the role stress plays in weight gain and how lifestyle changes that reduce stress are critical.

That is why I created Creative Mindfulness. I recommend people address their stress before they even embark on a weight loss program. It is clear the problem has many roots; most importantly I found was the role of stress. That is why many of the proven antidotes to stress are part of this process that includes doing the right exercise, mindfulness, meditation, journaling and listening to guided hypnotic meditations that encourage you to adopt healthier habits.

Please let me know what your greatest challenge is about achieving a lifestyle change?

By Skyler Madison.

How to Boost Your Metabolism

December 9, 2016 by Skyler Madison Leave a Comment

How to Boost Your Metabolism

The best way to boost your metabolism is to change your body composition. This means to have more muscle and less fat. As we age, we lose muscle and it is replaced with fat. The average adult loses about 6.6 pounds of muscle a decade.

By age 65 the body has doubled its fat mass and lost half its muscle mass. This is a reason why many people gain weight. Since muscle is more metabolically active than fat, you either have eat less and less, excursive more or you gain weight. The best way to boost your metabolism is to engage in a progressive weight training program to prevent the decline in muscle. This should be done at a gym or preferably with a trainer.

Most trainers recommend doing three sets of an exercise with 8 to 12 repetitions until you cannot do more than the 12 repetitions but light enough so you can do at least 8. It is important to do the repetitions slowly count to 2 holding at the two of the contraction for 1 second. Lowering should be done to the count of 4.

The recommended exercise to boost metabolism is also to do aerobic exercise most days of the week (at least 5) and strength train for three days with a day off in between for recovery. You might also want to alternate between upper and lower body. For example do upper body on Monday and Friday and lower body on Wednesday. The following week you would do the opposite.

You can also boost your metabolism with the right aerobic exercise according to the latest research.

Muscle and aerobic exercise is what is what you need to burn fat and that means and boost your metabolism.

The best foods to boost your metabolism are: blueberries, turkey, spinach, salmon, and almonds and avocado.

Click here to check out The Nirvana Diet Course and jump start your weight loss goals, boost your metabolism and increase your motivation.

Click here to ask Skyler Madison about one on one coaching with a Nirvana Diet Coach.

Best Exercise for Losing Weight

November 29, 2016 by Skyler Madison 1 Comment

Best Exercise for Losing Weight

The problem when you are first embarking on a weight loss goal if you are not used to the best exercise for losing weight, it can make you hungrier.

Many studies have shown that if people start a new exercise program, their bodies begin to pump out much higher levels of the hormones that increase appetite. This reaction seems to be most pronounced if someone starts a new, moderate, aerobic exercise routine. However, recent research shows that if you do intense exercise that includes interval training, it may actually reduce your appetite.

So if we take up moderate jogging, swimming, walking or bike riding, for example, we will probably feel hungrier afterward, and often wind up consuming as many or more calories than we just expended. Let’s not forget that a moderate 30-minute walk burns only about 100 calories. We all know how easy it is to consume 100 calories.

What is the best exercise for losing weight? You need to identify how many calories you should consume to be at your ideal weight. An easy way to do that is to multiply your goal weight by 10. So if you want to weight 140 you need to ingest 1400 calories. But you also need to keep your carbohydrates down to below 75 or if you are very overweight, below 55, net of the fiber. Then you need to begin expending 10,000 calories a day from your daily movement and do moderate to intense interval exercise 2 to 3 times a week. I would also recommend including a weight program as a body that has more muscle will be more metabolically active than one that has more fat.

Now I know what you are thinking that is daunting. Well if you cannot do the exercise, the other choice is to change the food. That will be more effective than exercise alone for weight loss. That gets us to the next question of how to maintain the weight loss. You basically eat the same way and clock in your 10,000 steps. The extra high intensity is for weight loss not maintenance. If you want to eat more, you need to keep up with the high intensity too. Hope this makes sense.

Your Ticket to Healthy Living

April 7, 2016 by Skyler Madison Leave a Comment

One key to healthy living:

I cannot extol the virtues of turmeric enough! The healing powers of this powerful herb have been proven by countless research. Of the 6000+ studies referencing curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric. What is most interesting finding is that when turmeric is compared to conventional medicine its benefits equal that of many pharmaceutical medications.

In fact, a number of studies have even reported that using turmeric can be more advantageous than certain prescription drugs. I am happy to say I use not prescription drugs. We need to take responsibility for our health.

I personally use it in a drink every day that includes:

½ teaspoon of turmeric, ¼ teaspoon ginger, ½ lemon and ½ cup of water. The only problem with turmeric is finding a version that is absorbed by the body.
Turmeric has been proven to reduce or eliminate pain better than leading prescription medications. The reason is because it doesn’t just fight pain and inflammation, it does so much more. That’s why it is critical to healthy living.

Most researchers agree that the turmeric’s profound healing abilities can
be traced to its powerful anti-inflammatory action.

Full-spectrum turmeric (as opposed to an isolated curcumin extract) is especially effective because it operates by both mechanisms of anti-inflammatory action. What is unique about turmeric is that it combats inflammation through both of these mechanisms…. simultaneously! Its multi-pronged approach allows it to work wonders for aches, pains, and arthritis while boosting your immune system.

And because nearly all diseases and ailments can be traced back to inflammation and oxidative stress…turmeric becomes your best defense and protector.

But what I found was that not all forms of turmeric are created equal…

(It’s only absorbed if you DO this…)

Most of the turmeric supplements you see in stores come in the form of encapsulated powders. The truth is with turmeric powder you may be
getting very little actual benefit.

Because turmeric is hard to absorb, it must be formulated in a certain way allowing the body to absorb and utilize its entire spectrum of nutrients.

Otherwise it is not as effective… So here is My choice for healthy living…

Pura THRIVE Organic Turmeric Extract is an outstanding full-spectrum extract that’s formulated to be absorbed by the body and the liver.

This formulation takes all the amazing benefits that raw turmeric has to offer and presents it in a format that your body LOVES to consume and absorb.

You should really give this truly revolutionary product a try… you won’t believe how quickly you feel its effects. Once you do, you’ll wish you had heard about this sooner.

Weight loss tip: Why I am not losing weight

March 28, 2016 by Skyler Madison Leave a Comment

Weight loss tip: The hidden cause of unexplained weight gain may be poor liver function
Here is an important weight loss tip that I discovered. I have been working for over 15 years coaching people to lose weight and keep it off. I follow what I teach and never gain weight. Then suddenly a few extra pounds started to come on that I could not lose. That is when I discovered this.

There is a hidden often unrecognized reason people do not lose weight. It has to do with an important aspect of weight loss which is the liver and how well it is functioning. There are a lot of reasons why your liver may be sluggish and it is the body’s primary agent for metabolizing fat and the primary way the blood gets detoxified in the body. If the liver is not functioning well, which means the liver gets fatty, we can begin to pack on the pounds and have difficulty losing weight even if we are trying to.

There are many reasons why the liver may not be optimally functioning that include:

High fat diet primarily animal fat
Use of artificial sweeteners
Alcohol consumption that builds up over time
Use of prescription and over the counter medications

With this weight loss tip, you have nothing to lose except weight. By doing some easy things that can help rebuild and detoxify the liver and its important function in the body.

Here is what I tried and recommend:

A simple liver cleanse: ½ teaspoon turmeric, ¼ teaspoon ginger, ½ lemon and ½ cup water. This is excellent twice daily.
Juice down: beets, carrots, lemon, ginger cucumber and wheat grass or spirulina.
Take a supplement with milk thistle.

If you are working diligently at exercising and eating right but still struggle to lose weight have your liver function checked to shed light on this little-known weight loss tip that can really make a difference or try some of the remedies I mention. According to homeopathic medicine, poor liver function can also be a root cause of insomnia, waking up at 3am.

It is easier to follow healthy habits when your body is in good shape.