Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to the FAQ! If you can’t find your answer here, you can contact me.

LIST OF QUESTIONS

• How tall are you?
• What was your starting weight?
• What is your goal weight?
• When did you start losing weight?
• How much weight have you lost so far?
• What apps do you use on your iPhone for weight loss?
• What camera and video editing software do you use?
• What do you eat?
• Can you summarize your weight-loss plan for me?
• How many calories should I eat per day? What is a 3500 calorie deficit?
• How do I calculate the calories I burn exercising?
• How much water should I drink per day?
• How can I START losing weight? Help!
• I really need MOTIVATION. Any ideas?
• How do I combat BINGE eating?
• What is my BMI?
• Do you believe in the BMI?
• What exercises should I do?
• What are kettlebells? Where can I get one?
• What kettlebell workout do you do??
• Why do you use kettlebells instead of just free weights or weight machines?
• Where should I start with kettlebells?
• How did you start running?
• Where do you shop for groceries?
• What do you EAT?? Do you really just eat the same things over and over?
• What is “food combining” and where can I get a chart?
• Have you tried diet pills or patches?
• What do you think of the Master Cleanse and FASTING?
• What do you do about CRAVINGS?
• How do I get rid of my arm fat/belly fat?
• What’s the recipe for Green Lemonade?
• Do you have any other juicing recipes?
• What are your book recommendations?
• I heard you blog about debt… what is you personal finance website?
• How can I get a hold of you?

How tall are you?

I’m 5′8” (173 cm).

What was your starting weight?

•  230 Lbs is my highest weight ever
•  215 Lbs was my weight Jan 1, 2008 (adjusted to 218.3 on my new scale)

What is your goal weight?

I am currently AT GOAL of 160 but ultimately I’d like to be below 160… the final number is yet to be determined. A healthy weight range for a woman my height is 145-165. Right now I’m aiming for about 148.

When did you start losing weight?

January, 2008, I started cutting out all the junk food in my diet. Months later (May, 2008) I began to eat a more regimented calorie-restricted diet and I started to exercise (this is also when I started making YouTube videos).

How much weight have you lost so far?

This changes regularly… please see my list of official weigh-ins for the most recent number.

What apps do you use on your iPhone for weight loss?

•  LoseIt! to track calories and nutrients
•  WeightBot to track weigh-ins
•  FitnessPlan to track my exercise

I also currently use Hundred Pushups (100 Pushups) while I’m following the program.

What camera and video editing software do you use?

•  My camera is a Canon Powershot SD1000.  When I do videos in front of the computer, I use the iSight webcam in my iMac or MacBookPro.

•  When editing movies I use iMovie 09.

What do you eat?

I currently eat raw foods for the first half or 2/3 of the day; I am aspiring to be a raw foodist, but this is something I plan to achieve over time. Right now I eat 60-80% raw, as outlined in The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose. I eat a progression of raw foods throughout the day, starting with juiced veggies, transitioning into fruit, then into vegetables, and then into cooked foods in the evenings.

When I eat cooked foods, I eat primarily “clean” foods or non-processed foods, which means no refined flours or sugars, no preservatives, no artificial sweeteners or colors, and as organic as possible. This means I eat lots of whole grains (100% whole), fresh fruits and veggies, nuts and seeds, and some minimally-processed dairy foods such as plain yogurt and raw cheese.

I have done several grocery haul videos which show everything that I buy when I grocery shop. My GH videos are full of ideas to get you started on your own journey to what YOU like :)

Can you summarize your weight-loss plan for me?

Four words: Eat less; move more.
Seven more words: Eat healthier foods and drink your water.

Details…

  1. Figure out what your losing-weight calories are and eat around that amount every day.
  2. Exercise for at least 30 minutes, 3x per week.
  3. Drink lots of water! Take your weight and divide in half. That number is the number of OUNCES you should drink every day. (Example: If you’re 200 Lbs, drink 100 oz water.)
  4. Never stop learning about nutrition, health, and exercise. Apply your new knowledge to your life and your eating, and make healthier choices as you go along.

Read through my entire plan deatils.

How many calories should I eat per day? What is a 3500 calorie deficit?

You can figure out what calorie level is best for you for weight loss by visiting this free online calculator. Once you know that, you can work toward eating an appropriate amount and exercising too. Together, those two things will make you lose weight.

Here is a great video explaining everything. This is the text explanation:

A “3500 calorie deficit” is what I aim for each week. For most women, eating about 2,000 calories per day will maintain their weight. Eating 2,000 per day is eating 14,000 calories per week (2,000 x 7 days). If you cut your daily calories down by 500 calories per day (eating only 1,500 every day), you will be cutting out 3500 calories per week (500 x 7) — a 3500 calorie deficit — which equals about 1 lb of fat per week.

I aim for a weekly deficit of 3,500 calories, which is a daily deficit of 500 (eating 1,500 cals/day instead of 2,000). [Those are example numbers - use the calorie calculator for more specific daily intake calories for YOU.]

I mention weekly deficits instead of daily deficits because it’s not always perfect – some days I’ll eat 1300 and one or two days I might eat 1700 or 1800 calories – my aim is to still be at a roughly 3500 deficit from maintain-weight calories at the end of the week :)

How do I calculate the calories I burn exercising?

There are many ways to calculate calories burned. To get an accurate estimate, make sure the site/program/machine that you’re using has your information: It should know, at the very least, your age and weight.

You can either create an account at About.com’s Calorie Count, Livestrong’s The Daily Plate, or at SparkPeople, and use those databases (in combination with your profile containing your height, weight, age, etc.) to calculate your calories.

A good calculator for calories without an account is this handy site :)

How much water should I drink per day?

  1. Figure out how much you weigh.
  2. Divide your weight in half (your weight ÷ 2).
  3. That new number is X.
  4. Drink X ounces of water per day.

It’s really not complicated :) Example: When I weighed 200 Lbs I had to drink 100 oz of water every day. Now at 160 Lbs, I aim to drink 80 oz of water per day.

How can I START losing weight? Help!

I recommend starting out by cutting out small things. Making small changes can REALLY add up over time.

Please see this video on snowflaking your diet.

I really need MOTIVATION. Any ideas?

I always recommend that to start losing weight, you start small. It’s very important to make small changes that you can KEEP in your life forever. That said…

To keep motivated, I always find it helps to make yourself a small goal and track your progress to that goal. Whether your goal be to exercise three times this week or to stay below 1800 calories every day this week, or just to sleep more and walk everyday — whatever the goal is — make a system for tracking it and aim to achieve the goal within a week. This can really get you fired up with a plan of action to take control.

We tend to really overdo our diets to the extreme. By making small changes, setting tiny goals you can achieve, you allow yourself to gradually ease into a healthier lifestyle overall – so that you lose weight naturally and gradually. By making small, permanent changes in your eating habits, thought processes, and exercise patterns, you can lose the weight permanently for your whole life. Having a sustainable life-long plan is KEY.

How do I combat BINGE eating?

This is something I’ve struggled with my whole life. I have found that binge eating needs to be battled with a three-fold plan to cover all your bases:

  1. Distraction – First things first, we’re far less inclined to binge when we’re happy and our time is occupied. When you feel the urge to binge, STOP… and do something you like to do instead. By occupying your time and energy, you usually loose the urge to eat as entertainment or comfort. Something that really helps with this is the Happy List.*
  2. Identify Triggers – We all have things that trigger us to want to binge; you need to know yours. Whenever you feel the urge to binge, take a breath and make a list of all the feelings you’re having leading you to want to binge. Once you can identify WHY you’re bingeing, you can then work to correct those feelings in more constructive ways.
  3. Find Replacement Foods - Every once in a while, despite other efforts, we really just want to EAT. In those cases, it is honestly perfectly fine to indulge… just do it the smart way. Find healthy (or at least lower-calorie) alternatives to your binge foods, and eat those instead.**

* The Happy List is an idea from my friend Jason. Make a list of absolutely everything not-food-related that you love to do. This can include calling a friend, scrapbooking, cleaning house, playing with your kids, running errands, dancing, doing your nails, reading a book… anything you love to do. When you are feeling like bingeing, take action and do something (or several things) on this list instead. It is recommended that you keep a copy of the Happy List on your fridge and even perhaps inside your cupboard doors.

** Some suggestions for healthier alternatives are chocolate chips instead of cookies, tea instead of hot chocolate or a mocha, crackers and hummus (or a healthy spread) instead of chips, and yogurt (left in your freezer a day) instead of ice cream. Ideas for lower-calorie alternatives would be things such as 100-calorie snack packs instead of the regular item, tortilla pizza instead of regular pizza, strawberries (or sugar-free jello) and cool whip instead of strawberry shortcake, etc..

What is my BMI?

Calculate it here.

Do you believe in the BMI?

The BMI is a rough guide to where your body falls on the bell curve of weight on humans. It is not extremely accurate, nor is it fair to very muscular people. However, I do believe it gives an accurate estimation of your general fat level relative to other humans, and it gives you a good idea of what goal weight range you should aim for.

That being said, the BMI is somewhat flawed math, and shouldn’t be taken as the end-all-be-all of weight goals. I am currently at the very tippy-top of “normal” weight for a 24-year-old woman who is 5′8”, and I agree with that assessment. I’d like to lose about 10 more lbs (all fat) — a goal I came up WITHOUT the BMI — and that weight incidentally puts me smack dab in the middle of “healthy, normal” weight for me according to the BMI.

So there’s truth to it… it’s mostly just an interesting way to look at your body and weight.

What exercises should I do?

I recommend that you work out 3-5 times per week for at least 30 minutes per session.

Your workouts don’t have to be horrible, unpleasant, strenuous workouts at the gym… you can WALK or ride your bike, play a sport where you’re moving often – something like basketball or soccer – or ski, dance, take a yoga class, jog, rollerblade… whatever!

As I always say, take BABY STEPS :D You can’t do everything immediately because you will burn out, or get anxious, or be unhappy. Very few people can do it all right away. But pick SOMETHING, and DO IT. Commit to moving your body in some way for 30 minutes a couple of times a week. And stick to it! In only a few months, you’ll go to the next level not because you HAVE to but because what you’ve been doing has become too easy :)

I recommend that once you’re used to moving regularly, you introduce more aggressive cardio such as dance, kickboxing, running, stairclimbing or elliptical into your weekly exercise routine. After this becomes more regular, easy, and fun, you should then encorporate strength training into your week as well — as circuit training, free weights, or kettlebells. Building muscle will help you burn even more fat, and really increase your overall metabolism, which helps weight loss in all ways.

What are kettlebells? Where can I get one?

Kettlebells are like weights that have handles (read more at wikipedia). Kettlebells are a great way to improve strength AND flexibility (i.e. usable muscle, not just muscle mass) and core strength. Plus I just really think they’re fun. ;)

I get my kettlebells at Target; you can also get them at Big 5 Sports and similar athletic supply stores. The most popular company that makes them is GoFit and their kettlebells come with an instructional DVD and beginner workout.

What kettlebell workout do you do?

I currently do my own version of Steve Cotter Extreme Kettlebells, which I absolutely love. I do a modified version with more triceps work and added crunches that I learned from the Abs Ball DVD set by Giaim.

Where should I start with kettlebells?

To find the right weight: I suggest that you go to the store and try doing a simple one-armed kettlebell military press with a lighter weight and see how many you can do before exhaustion — with the proper starting weight, you should start feeling fatigued but not be in pain at 10 repetitions.

I started with 7 lbs and am currently doing 15 reps in all sets at 10 lbs… meaning I will have to graduate to 15 Lbs soon :D

I recommend that you start by learning the standard moves and then using the beginner DVD workout. When that is too easy, begin to do the beginner workout two times through in a row. Once you can do the beginner workout twice – COMFORTABLY – look into other full DVD workouts by GoFit or Steve Cotter, or any number of other sources.

Why do you use kettlebells instead of just free weights or weight machines?

I think they’re fun and interesting :P

How did you start running?

I started running in intervals – similar to the Couch to 5k program. I couldn’t run AT ALL when I started – maybe 30 seconds at most – but I made myself stay on the treadmill for 20 minutes total, 3x/week. I ran as much as I could, and walked in-between. Later on, I found that I could run longer, and walk shorter times in the middle.

After several months of this, I finally could run for the whole 20 minutes straight… so I started upping my time. Once I reached 1 hour, I began to work on my speed rather than time, and tried to run faster within the same hour session. I currently run 45 minutes to 1.5 hours at 5.5-6.2 on the treadmill. Yay!

I found out later that my plan was very similar to the (more structured) Couch to 5k program, available for free online. I really recommend this program to you if you want to begin running!

Where do you shop for groceries?

I shop primarily at Trader Joe’s, and love Whole Foods as well. When possible, I shop at local farmers markets – which are ideal for  finding seasonal, local produce.

What do you EAT?? Do you really just eat the same things over and over?

Yes and no. I eat the same staple things in each food group — LOTS of fresh fruits and veggies (remember, I’m working on being a raw food vegan), whole crackers and breads with hummus and vegetable spreads, whole grains and spices and veggies for dinner, nuts and seeds with fresh things for snacks, and cheese, yogurt, bread and meat sparingly. I mix it up with what veggies, fruits, and nuts I buy, but for the most part I eat the same things over and over. I LOVE them – why should I eat something else? ;)

What is “food combining” and where can I get a chart?

Food combining is the process of eating foods in a certain order, and in isolated groups, so that only good “easy exit” combinations of foods touch in the stomach. There are hundreds of resources out there for this – just google “food combining” and you will get a load of results. I, personally, think that this article and this chart are a great starting-off point in your research.

Here are three great charts for your reference, if you already get the general idea. I have both printed out and hanging on my fridge:

Have you tried the Atkins/South Beach/Zone/Slimfast/Hollywood/Low-Fat/Soup-Only/Grapefruit/Bagel diet?

Yes.

All of them worked to some extent. Some were OK, some were awful. None but South Beach taught me anything useful about food, and all of them were “diets” instead of lifestyle changes. And every one, when I went off the diet, I gained all my weight back… plus some. :(

Have you tried diet pills or patches?

Yes and yes. They were all expensive, did not work, and made me jittery. Bleh.

What do you think of the Master Cleanse and FASTING?

My general opinion on all fasts and cleanses is that they’re great, when approached for the right reasons. Doing a fast or cleanse to lose weight is useless. For the purposes of weight loss, all you are doing when you fast is emptying out your colin. Sure, you may lose a few pounds in the process, but you’re almost guaranteed to gain them back once you start eating “normally” again and fill your colin back up.

Now, if you’re doing a fast for the purposes of detoxification, rejuvination, spiritual revival or connection, or for other religious reasons, I think you are doing a good thing. I have fasted before, and it was an incredible experience. However, to approach such an extremely emotional, mind-altering process for the sole purpose of dropping 5 lbs is to completely miss the point.

If you are going to fast, please please PLEASE do your research before you start. Make sure you let your close friends and/or family members know ahead of time that you are fasting. Get your affairs in order, turn off your phone/computer/TV and make plans to spend a lot of time with yourself in meditation/reflection. Clean your home, make sure you have art supplies or other creative outlets available to you, and plan to spend at least some time outside (or at least moving your body).

And finally, be gentile with yourself. Follow all the fasting rules for hydration and for the transition into and out of the fast. If you’re not careful, you can really hurt yourself with fasting. Make sure you know the rules, the risks, and keep those close to you in the loop so that you have backup in case you need them. And then go through the process – for the right reasons – and discover a new layer of you that you never knew was there before :)

What do you do about CRAVINGS?

When I crave something, I tend to give into it, but not all the way. For example, if I crave salty things, I might have some crackers and hummus instead of, say, chips. When I crave sweet things, I head for a spicy tea with 2 tsp of sugar stirred in (instead of chocolate or cookies). If I think I can control myself, I might have a few bites of the actual chips or cookies that I want, but that can be a slippery slope so it depends on my mood and mental state :P

Finding healthy foods with the salt/sour/sweet that you crave is the best route… after all, cravings mean something! So you should listen to them, but not go for the junk food.

Also, water cures about half of all cravings, so if I’m craving something, I drink a glass of water and wait 10 minutes. Afterward, if I still think I need it, I try and find a healthy craving filler to eat instead of the “bad” choice.

How do I get rid of my arm fat/belly fat?

There is no way to spot-reduce fat on your body. If you are seeking a way to lose fat on one part of your body, you need to reduce the fat over all your body. Get a body fat monitor (handheld or in a scale) to track your body’s fat percentage… and start exercising! Strength training in particular will burn fat off of your body.

If you’re looking to tone up an area, you can spot-train that part of your body so that it is more toned when you lose the fat. Remember, however, that spot-training will tone the area but will not spot-reduce fat.

What’s the recipe for Green Lemonade?

Green Lemonade is a juicer recipe from the book The Raw Food Detox Diet by Natalia Rose. This is NOT a recipe for a blender – it is meant to be used with a juicer!

- 1 head Romaine Lettuce
- 5-6 stalks Kale
- 2 Apples (Fuji or Gala, ideally)
- 1 Lemon (rind included)
- 1 Tbsp fresh raw Ginger Root

The recipe is best kept intact for optimum healing and cleansing.

However, this is juicing, not rocket science, and if you’re just looking to make a good juice, plenty of substitutions can be made. It is also advisable to switch around the greens every now and again, so you’re getting different alkalizing properties from the different leafy greens.

The lemon and ginger can be replaced by 1-2 large carrots for a sweeter drink. The lettuce can be any kind of lettuce, or it can be chard or celery. The kale can be replaced with spinach, but as spinach is difficult to juice, it’s advisable not to use spinach. The kale can also be replaced with freshly-juiced wheatgrass (about 1 oz wheatgrass juice to 5-6 stalks kale).

Do you have any other juicing recipes?

There are hundreds of juicer recipes all over the web that you can find by Googling for them. As a rule of thumb, any sweet vegetable/fruit combined with a bitter vegetable will be delicious.

Sweet veggies/fruits include: beets, carrots, apples and oranges. Bitter vegetables are nearly all leafy greens, cabbage, etc.. You can enhance and manipulate flavor with lemon, ginger, onions, cucumber, wheatgrass, etc..

Just remember… Have fun! Experiment! And if it ends in disaster, plug your nose and gulp it down anyway, because if it’s fresh juice, it’s good for you.

What are your book recommendations?

All the books I recommend are for the general betterment of you. They’re for your edification, not just for your education in one particular subject.

If I recommend a book, it’s because something about the information contained within changed me for the better, and I think you should have that information too – even if you don’t ever plan on following the plan (guidance, etc.) for yourself :)

[Red stars (**) are must-reads!]

WEIGHT LOSS BOOKS

FINANCE & LIFE IMPROVEMENT BOOKS

I heard you blog about debt… what is you personal finance website?

Antishay.com

How can I get a hold of you?

My Main Site: ShantiMarshalla.com
Twitter: antishay
Facebook: antishay
MySpace: incroyableantishay

Y!M: incroyableantishay
AIM: hermionehwl
MSN: jechantetoujours@hotmail.com

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