Q. I’m exercising and I’m eating healthy, but I’m not seeing any weight loss. What do you think is going on? ~ Connie, Eagle River

A. This is something I come across a lot in my profession: people who are ready and willing to make the necessary steps, but aren’t seeing the results they hope for.

For weight-loss exercise, you should try to do aerobics 3 to 5 times per week (30-45 minutes per time) and strength training 2 to 3 times per week (20-30 minutes per time). I know not everyone can fit that into their schedule, but it is in your best interest to strive for that fitness plan.

More important in your question is the “healthy” food aspect. You need to form eating and activity patterns that can sustain you for a lifetime. Everyone says diets don’t work, and it’s half true. Diets can be effective forms of short-term weight loss, but they do not help you to keep it off. As soon as you go off of your diet, you will put the weight back on.

Drastically restricting your food intake works the same way; it will help you lose weight immediately, but you will put it back on as soon as you return to your regular eating habits. If your goal is a healthy life, you have to make choices that you will stick to for the rest of your life, not just until you lose that 10 pounds.

Going for that 'full feeling'

Satiety is the feeling of fullness and satisfaction that you should have at the end of a meal. In order to feel satisfied, you have to choose the correct foods. There is NO trick to combining foods to fool your body: whatever calories you eat, your body will use, and if you eat more calories than you body needs, you will gain weight, regardless of the “type” or combination of calories you eat.

When your goal is weight loss, you are taking in fewer calories and burning more calories through exercise, so nutrition is extremely important. Research shows that over a span of days, an individual will eat similar weights of food. If you ate two pounds of food on Monday, you will eat around two pounds of food on Tuesday, and so fourth, regardless of calories.

This trend can be used to your benefit when planning your meal. Food that has higher water content (like vegetables) leads to satiety because the water dilutes the calories in food, adds weight and adds volume without added calories. Here's an example: for 100 calories, you could eat ¼ cup of raisons, or 2 full cups of grapes. You get the same nutrition but you would be much more satisfied after eating the grapes.

Fiber intake

Another big factor in feeling satisfied is fiber intake. Whole foods versus processed foods: processing foods destroys the fiber content thus lowers your feeling of satiety. Think of the difference in satisfaction between eating and apple and drinking a glass of apple juice extracted from that single apple.

Fiber is important because it takes longer to digest, so you eat fewer calories, because you don't feel as hungry. If you increase your intake of fiber from the average 15g per day to the recommended 30g per day, you will lose five pounds in four months without any other changes to your food or exercise routine.

Dispelling some food myths

I want to dispel a few healthy food myths here as well, and tell you some foods that are commonly sold and marketed as healthy but are not, and will hinder your weight loss goals if eaten as part of your fitness plan.

Smoothies: Beverages are less filling per calorie than solid foods, and the added sugars in most store-bought smoothies is the equivalent of drinking fruit pie filling!

Along with smoothies are yogurts – in smoothies or on its own, yogurt can be good for you, but you have to know what to look for. Whole milk yogurts have high saturated fat, and the low-fat varieties that contain fruit can be enjoyed, but you need to understand that the fruit is jam, mostly sugar. The best way to enjoy yogurt is to buy low-fat, plain yogurt, and stir in fresh (or frozen) fruit to taste.

Granola bars: These are high in fat and contain sugars and oils, such as coconut oil. The high calories come in the form of nuts and chocolate chunks and they are highly processed – honestly not much better than a candy bar.  It's better to make your own trail mix with whole grain, ready-to-eat cereals such as shredded wheat, whole nuts, seeds and chunks of unsweetened dried fruit.

If you are going to buy granola bars, stick to ones with a short ingredient list, at least 4g of fiber, no more than 6g of sugar and no more than 150 calories per serving.

Pretzels: These are thought of as a healthy alternative to potato chips, but they are basically empty calories. They spike your blood sugar and leave you tired and cranky as well as hungry soon after snacking on them. And they are high in sodium.

Rice cakes: These have no nutritional value and contain sodium and calories – especially the flavored variety. Even the rice cakes claiming to be “whole grain” typically have the wheat germ removed, which is the most nutritional part. If you want to include rice cakes in your diet, choose the plain variety and eat it with hummus and vegetables, or a little peanut butter on top for healthy protein.

Muffins: Just like pretzels, muffins are made from white flour, which has no protein, fiber or vitamins, so it’s all empty calories. On top of this, muffins are loaded with calories – even the fat-free sugar-free variety usually has around 600 calories!

Many commercially-produced bran muffins don’t really have much bran in them, so the fiber content is low. You want at least 5g of fiber in a bran muffin, but it still likely contains around 500 calories. A better choice is a serving of bran flakes cereal – even with a cup of fat-free milk and strawberries it’s only 200 calories, and still contains 5g of fiber.

Reduced-fat peanut butter: Real peanut butter that’s made with real peanuts is high on protein and high on fat, but they are the healthy fats your body needs. Reduced-fat peanut butter is essentially a mixture of a small amount of real peanut butter mixed with fillers such as sugar. Stick to a small amount of peanut butter that is made from only peanuts.

Baked beans: Beans are an excellent source of protein and fiber. Pre-made canned baked beans are loaded with sugar: 1 cup can have as much as 24g of sugar (roughly the same as an 8-oz. can of soda). Throw out the pre-made canned beans in favor of just plain beans, either from a can or from a bag, and add those to a salad instead.

Frozen entrees: The good points of these are portion control and being a convenient alternative to fast food. The hidden minus is sodium: most have 600mg of sodium. These are highly-processed as well, and usually leave you hungry for more. An alternative would be an egg-white omelet with veggies or whole wheat bread with some light sauce and mozzerella.

Tuna: Tuna is a smart choice for anyone, but when eating out, tuna is not the healthy choice you may think. A typical tuna sandwich at a deli is around 650 calories. You are better off with turkey, roast beef or even chicken salad. Tuna is such a fine substance there is much more area for mayonnaise to fill, hiking up the calories and fat.

Salads: In this case, the downfall is the toppings. Nuts and cheese can be used in moderation, but the real killer is dressing. Measure your dressing! If you are going to use any of the traditional dressings, measure out 1 to 2 tablespoons and no more.

When you are eating a salad, at home or out, you should get the dressing on the side so you can better control how much is in a single bite, and give yourself the flavor without slathering it on. Another good option is balsamic vinegar as a dressing.

Tea Drinks: Antioxidants are great for us, but bottled tea drinks are not the same as brewed tea. Many contain little to no brewed tea and have so much added sugar they could rival soda. A better alternative is to brew your own beverage, chill and flavor with lemon and a small amount of sugar. Beverages in general are a problem: they quench your thirst but not your hunger. Avoid drinking calories whenever possible. Water is the best beverage you can drink.

Read the labels

As you can see, it seems like every food company wants to get in on the health craze. Advertisements scream “made with whole grains” and “fat-free,” so it’s easy to fall into patterns believing what the front says. But whenever you are shopping you must read the labels. Look for fiber and sugar content. Cutting only 100 calories out of your diet per day will mean 10 pounds of weight loss by the end of one year. (Remember, eating an extra 100 calories per day will add 10 pounds in one year too!)

Leading a healthy lifestyle can be challenging at first, but once you get the hang of it, you will feel better, look better and enjoy food and life more than you did before.