Los Angeles Personal Trainer Lends Advice On the Top 12 Ways to Lose Weight in 2011 - Part 1 of 2

Jan. 15, 2011 - PRLog -- Brentwood based holistic nutritionist, Monika Tarkowska-Carter, believes even just making small changes in your daily habits can dish out big results.  Find out the best ways to make you lighter, leaner, healthier, and less deprived.  This is part one of a two part particle
1. Stop dieting and start eating.  
Start off the New Year with the right foot forward and take the advice of professional nutritionist Monika Tarkowska-Carter by straying away from all those pesky fad-diets out there.  “Diets don’t work and you know it. It’s time to start eating healthy for life. No more deprivation. No more starvation. If you don’t get this basic truth right you will always fail because you will never learn how to maintain a proper way of eating,” asserts Carter.
2. Start eating REAL food. Stop eating CRAP (conventional, refined, additives, preservatives), junk and other denatured foods as well as sugar.
If you don’t know what’s in it, it’s probably not good for you.  The more refined food is the more nutrients have been processed out.  Our bodies need nutrient rich foods to sustain us, and you won’t get this from CRAP. “If you haven’t done this yet now is the time to switch to natural foods the way Nature intended them to be: fresh, organic, unprocessed and whole. Your taste buds will thank you. You will be more satisfied therefore less inclined to cheat. Your waistline will thank you – your body will not have to struggle processing and detoxifying all the chemicals, hormones, antibiotics and other foreign substances instead of actually digesting and absorbing the food. You will absorb nutrients better: the better nourished your body is the easier time it has burning body fat. Your body cannot tell you what it’s missing in terms of specific nutrients but it will communicate this by asking you to eat more. Food cravings are most often caused by nutrient deficiencies or extreme blood sugar fluctuations,” asserts Tarkowska-Carter.  
3. Eat regular healthy meals and snacks every 3-4 hours.
The worst thing you can do is skip meals. After 3 or so hours your body will read lack of food as an anticipation of starvation and start storing fat. Tarkowska-Carter reiterates that “there are a lucky few who can eat 2 meals a day and be slim but most people cannot. Eating regular small meals will keep your blood sugar even which is one of the most important factors in preventing you from overeating. It will curb your sugar cravings (or any cravings for that matter) and give you more will power to choose healthy foods instead and not overeat. It will keep your metabolic rate up making sure your body is burning calories instead of storing them.”
4. Eat BALANCED meals. Don’t follow other people’s diets. What’s balanced for someone else may not work for you.
No meal is healthy if it contains just protein or carbs (just fat would be rather difficult). Too much protein or too many carbs in a meal can cause a variety of reactions: too fast a drop in blood sugar leading to hunger and cravings, fatigue, headaches, dizziness, etc.  Tarkowska-Carter suggest that “Ideally, try to find out what your metabolic type is (http://www.metabolictyping.com/) and experiment a little to figure out what ratios make you feel and function at your best. It may take some time but if you’re still confused about balanced meals it will be very helpful. In any case, your meal should always have all 3 components: a good source of protein, good whole carbohydrates and some healthy fats.”
5. Increase your intake of vegetables and fruits and decrease the intake of starches which are very calorie dense (unless you’re an endurance athlete).
This one is usually a no brainer, but the truth is, very few people actually go about incorporating more fruits and vegetables into their diet on a regular basis.  “You can also substitute starchy vegetables and legumes for grains if you feel better with a little more carbohydrates,” adds Tarkowska-Carter.  
Part two in this series will reveal seven additional approaches towards a leaner, healthier you. For more on the subject visit http://www.fitness-science.net or call  310-471-6786.

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Monika Tarkowska-Carter has nineteen years of experience as a personal trainer/nutritional counselor working with clients of all ages and needs. She holds the following professional Certifications:
* American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) - Personal Trainer
* National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) - Personal Trainer
* National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) - Personal Trainer
* American Council on Exercise (ACE) - Personal Trainer
* American Council on Exercise (ACE) - Lifestyle and Weight Management Coach
* UCLA Extension Certificate in Fitness Instruction
* C.H.E.K. Institute - Holistic Lifestyle Coach, Level 2

To learn more about Monika or to hire her as a personal trainer, nutrition counselor or holistic lifestyle coach, visit her website at http://www.Fitness-Science.net"

There is also a great blog full of additional information on holistic lifestyle issues at http://www.fitness-science.blogspot.com