Podcast

Debunking Common Weight Loss Myths

January 17, 2023January 12, 2023 Rachel KingLeave a comment

SHOW NOTES: Episode 30

If you have known me for a while, you have probably heard me share about how my husband and I love to watch crime shows, particularly Criminal Minds (we’ve been watching the series since the world shut down in 2020 – life with a toddler, right?!). There is something so fascinating about watching them debunk certain theories and get down to the real truth of the matter. So I thought it would be fun to do that on the show – debunk some common weight loss myths and share the facts with you instead.

There is SO MUCH misinformation floating around on the internet, and much of it has been proven that it doesn’t work or has yet to be proven at all, so it’s really understandable why you may get overwhelmed, frustrated, and ready to call it quits before you even get started.

Let’s take a few of these common myths and debunk them: once and for all.

All calories are equal: All calories are indeed units of energy. That’s what a calorie is. BUT this does not mean that all calorie sources have equal effects on your weight and weight loss. For example, calories from protein are different from calories from carbs or fats.
Supplements will help you lose weight: The weight loss industry is completely saturated with juices cleanses, magic diet pills, fat burner pills, weight loss wraps, detoxes, and the list goes on and on and on. There are a few vitamins I do recommend to my clients, but as far as actual weight loss supplements go, very rarely will you find one that is truly effective.
Carbs cause weight gain: Most of the food that God gave us that grows in a garden, on a tree, etc (beans, potatoes, fruit, grains, vegetables) are classified as carbohydrates. These types of carbs given to us by God are incredibly healthy and shouldn’t be taken out of our diets. God gave them to us for a reason.
Fat makes you fat: As with anything, eating fat in the proper portion is good for you: it’s essential actually for optimal brain and heart health. Your body needs fat.
Eat less, move more: You can only keep this up so long – it eventually gets too restrictive to maintain. It works initially, but soon your body’s metabolic rate will slow down and your weight will begin to increase.

These are the BIG ones I see when I talk to clients and potential clients. Weight loss doesn’t have to be as complicated as it’s made out to be – it can actually be really simple. If you’d like to have a conversation about how to make it simple for YOU, fill out the application on my site and let’s have a conversation! Most of all, I want you to be well equipped on your health journey and know WHY you do the things you do.

I hope you enjoyed this episode! If so, please leave me a rating or review and connect with me on Instagram: @rachelmeigsking

In this episode, I cover:

Common weight loss myths
Weight loss facts to implement to see results

LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED IN TODAY’S EPISODE:

Interested in joining Feel Wonderful In Your Skin? Schedule a call here
Carbs do not cause weight gain and fat does not make you fat! Listen to my previous episodes covering these topics for more details!
Connect with me on Instagram: @rachelmeigsking
Are you looking to improve your relationship with food and end the yo-yo, constant dieting, and make the changes you need while being able to fully live your life? Let’s talk more! Submit this form and let’s chat!
Want healthy lifestyle tips and encouragement? Join me over in my free Facebook community: Heart, Soul, Mind, & Body Wellness

MORE ABOUT FEED YOURSELF: HEALTHY HABITS FOR THE MIND, BODY, & SOUL PODCAST:

Feed Yourself: Healthy Habits for the Mind, Body, & Soul is all about learning the key components of overall health based on Biblical principles. When most people think about getting in shape and becoming “healthy”, they immediately think about their physical health: losing weight, making exercise a priority, possessing flexibility and endurance, and remaining disease free. But Scripture makes it clear that physical wellness is not the only area that impacts health. In order to be TRULY healthy, we have to focus on four areas: spiritual health, emotional health, mental health, and physical health.

This podcast dives deep into the tools and head knowledge you will need in order to create lasting results, but it also looks at the element that truly ties it all together – the heart knowledge that incorporates faith in God in this area of our lives and how to apply it when things get tough (and they will!).

I wanted to create a space to let you know you are never alone on this journey. Through years of experience in doing everything the WRONG way, I am here to share my journey of getting healthy from the inside out – ditching the restriction and diet culture and truly learning to treat my body as the temple God intended it to be.

Grab a cup of coffee and join me as I discuss healthy habits to incorporate in your daily life to propel you forward and FEED YOURSELF on your journey to health in all areas: mind, body, and soul!

Until I Saw It With My Own Eyes…

April 13, 2017April 13, 2017 Rachel KingLeave a comment

I am a certified nutrition coach, so OF COURSE I know that dangers of artificial sweetener. I have studied about all of the negative side effects they bring, the downsides to using them, the long-term effects…but I guess deep-down that I never really believed all of the hype.

Not until I saw it with my own eyes.

Years ago, I was a chronic Splenda user. I used three packs of it in a single cup of coffee. Yes, THREE. Slowly, I weaned myself down to two packs. Then I started mixing Stevia in with the Splenda until I had finally transitioned to using Stevia alone. It has been years since I have bought Splenda or used it in my house.

This past weekend, I traveled to Tulsa for a business conference. I had to fly, so I was very limited on what I could bring with me. I remembered to pack a water bottle, meal replacement shake packets, protein bars…but I forgot the stevia. For five days, I had to resort to using Splenda again. No big deal, right?

WRONG.

Almost instantly, I had severe bloating and just felt “off.” This is no surprise since Splenda reduces the healthy bacteria in your gut by up to 50%. It also increases the amount of pH in your intestines.

I was also hungry all the time. Now, granted everyone that knows me knows that I love to eat (and I can honestly out-eat almost all my friends!), but I was HUNGRY. I was also hungry for unhealthy foods that I wouldn’t normally eat, such as sweets. This is also a side effect of the artificial sweetener. Splenda can stimulate your appetite, increase carbohydrate cravings (hello, cheesecake!), and stimulate fat storage and weight gain.

Lastly, my eyes were swollen and watered the entire time I was there, which was extremely frustrating since I wear contact lenses. I had to resort my pulling out my glasses in the afternoons because I just couldn’t handle the itchy, watery, uncomfortable feeling any longer. Now that I’m home, it has almost completely stopped.

Artificial sweeteners certainly do live up to the bad rap they have been given. If you have no natural sweetener alternatives, I would highly recommend resorting to sugar before ingesting artificial sweeteners. This pertains to diet sodas as well; if you must have a soda, reach for one that isn’t diet (although I strongly suggest giving them up altogether).

I know that there are others out there that have read the articles, learned the facts, and have done the research, but you also have to “see it to believe it” like I did. I hope that my experience with this will open your eyes and show that it just isn’t worth it to cut corners with your health.

Clean Eating · confidence · Fitness · Goals · Gut Health · Heath · Journey · Macronutrients · Metabolism · Nutrition · Self Care · Transformation

Exercise Will Get You Nowhere

March 21, 2017April 7, 2018 Rachel KingLeave a comment

Exercise will get you nowhere…without the proper nutrition. Sounds crazy, right? I mean, if you are spending an hour a day in the gym up to five days a week, or you run five miles every single day, you should be able to see at least some change without having to give up the fried food diet…don’t you think?

Not so much.

Various studies have shown that changing an individual’s training or exercise session without altering their diet plan at all did almost nothing to change their body composition. Also, there was less than a 2% fat loss overall total.

Think about how much it costs to hire a personal trainer. Even if you aren’t willing to fork out the money for a trainer, a gym membership can get pricey as well. If you aren’t utilizing the proper nutrition techniques to accompany your exercise routine, basically you are shelling out money AND time for something that will leave you disappointed, angry, frustrated, and mad at your trainer.

But it isn’t their fault at all.

Please don’t get me wrong. Exercise is still absolutely critical when it comes to feeling better, looking better, and performing to your best ability. It helps your energy levels so that you feel like going on trips with your spouse or so that you can keep up and play with your children. Exercise IS important.

My point is that exercise ALONE will get you nowhere. You need to implement not only a solid exercise routine, but also a sound nutritional program. Research has shown that participants that combined effective nutritional strategies with the same training plans mentioned above had almost a 10-fold increase in effectiveness than training with no nutritional program in place.

The results don’t lie. You cannot cheat the system. You cannot make shortcuts. NOTHING is as effective as solid nutrition and proper exercise.

One last note: If your trainer is not encouraging you to seek out nutritional advice, that is a problem. It is almost as if they are giving you a brand new car without the keys. You will continue to stay in the same place because you do not have all of the pieces to move forward.

Clean Eating · Fiber · Fitness · Macronutrients · Meal Planning · Meal Prepping · Metabolism · Nutrition · Self Care · working professionals

The “F” Word

March 15, 2017April 7, 2018 Rachel KingLeave a comment

Yes, FIBER. The dreaded “F” word that none of us are entirely fond of, are we?

BUT, fiber is something that many of us know we need, but yet we really have no idea how much (or how little) we are consuming on a daily basis. Eating a high-fiber diet has many health benefits including lowered blood pressure, controlled blood sugar levels, constipation prevention, and improved cholesterol levels. It also plays a huge role in reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.

So what is the daily recommended amount of fiber?

That depends on several factors, but for the most part, it is recommended that men over the age of 19 should strive for 38 grams per day, while women over the same age should aim to consume at least 25 grams of fiber per day.

So how can you add more fiber to your diet?

Fiber is already in many of the foods we eat, such as fruits, peas, beans, and whole grains. Some of my favorite fibrous foods are blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, apples, almonds, brown rice, black beans, and chickpeas! Fiber is a form of carbohydrates, so it can be easily located on a nutrition label under the “Dietary Fiber” section. It is just as important to track fiber as it is to track protein, carbohydrates, and fats in your food log, especially if you are engaging in carb cycling and/or intermittent fasting (as we do in the Rapid Results Fat Burner Program!).

Adding too much fiber too quickly can cause pain and discomfort in the stomach, so if you are used to a diet that is relatively low in fiber, just be sure to increase the amount of fiber in small amounts daily so that your stomach can adjust accordingly.

While high-fiber diets help aid in digestion, it is also important to note that our bodies need enough fluid to properly process the fiber. Be sure to drink an adequate amount of water daily (minimum half your body weight in ounces each day) in conjunction with high-fiber foods.

What are some of your favorites high-fiber foods? Even better, what recipes do you make that can be incorporated into a high-fiber diet?

Clean Eating · Fitness · Friday Favorites · Goals · Heath · Journey · Life · Macronutrients · Metabolism · Nutrition · Snacks · Summer · Uncategorized · working professionals

Healthy Swaps for your Favorite Summer Foods

July 15, 2016July 15, 2016 Rachel KingLeave a comment

Happy Friday, friends! For today’s edition of Friday Favorites, I would love to introduce you to some of my favorite summer foods!

Growing up in the South, summer was always a special time of year. Swimming in my grandparents pool, eating lots of grilled hamburgers topped with tomatoes straight out of the garden followed by homemade ice cream, and catching lightening bugs in the late afternoon are some of my fondest memories. When I made the decision to get healthier and change my eating habits, I did not want to miss out on the fun times by not being able to eat all of the yummy summer dishes. Thankfully, there are healthy versions of all of the foods I grew up on, and they are still just as delicious!

To download your copy of my 5 Healthy Swaps for you Favorite Summer Foods e-book, just click the link below!

5 Summer Swaps

Acid Free · Artificial Free · Clean Eating · Fiber · Fitness · Goals · Gut Health · Heath · Macronutrients · Metabolism · Nutrition · Prebiotics · Probiotics · Success · Summer

Prebiotics and Probiotics: Becoming a Healthier You

June 30, 2016 Rachel KingLeave a comment

Silver Fern Brand has provided product for this review. No monetary compensation was provided. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Prebiotics and Probiotics

As a health coach, I try to practice what I preach, and this means getting enough water in each day. But let’s face – water can get boring, especially during the summer months when the temptation of lemonade, punch, and soft drinks is abundant!

You can only imagine my excitement when Silver Fern Brand offered to let me sample some of their latest drink mixes! These are not only packed full of fruity flavor (hello – perfect for summer!), but also provides many health benefits. I could not wait to test these out for myself.

After drinking Silver Fern Brand’s Wai Drink Mixes for one week, I can already see a huge impact. Typically, I add a mix to my water mid-morning, and the added 3 grams of fiber suppresses my hunger until lunch. Before introducing these mixes into my diet, I found myself wanting to snack throughout the day, increasing my daily calories and sabotaging my healthy eating. I have also noticed a surge in my energy level. The added prebiotics I receive daily from the drinks provide fiber to the good bacteria in my digestive system, promoting good gut health. This is extremely beneficial as I have developed stomach sensitivities over the past few years. Also, I have dropped a couple of pounds on the scale thanks to the metabolic restoration benefits of the probiotics. I am NOT a proponent of the scale (as I believe that how you feel truly matters more than any number can ever tell you), but this was an added bonus.

Silver Fern Brand’s mission is very much in line with my own: they desire to make an impact on the lives of others by changing the health and nutrition mindset of today’s society. They are creating and re-inventing many products, such as brownie and cookie mixes, popcorn, meal replacement shakes, drink mixes, etc., to be of the utmost nutritional value. Silver Fern Brand makes it easy to live a healthy life while enjoying the things you love. I look forward to trying out more of their products in the days to come – including some yummy German Chocolate Brownies for the upcoming 4^th of July holiday!