Weight Loss Question

Question
Hi there,
How are you doing?
I'm wondering what I can do to lose weight successfully long-term, naturally for an apple-shaped woman of 24, medium frame, former world-class swimmer, 5'6'' 142 lbs 33.5 inch waist, 36 inch hips.

Some personal background:
I quit swimming due to shoulder injury 5 yrs ago and recently took up triathlon training, where I aim to do 2 hrs swim, 2 hrs run, and 2 hrs cycle every week in addition to 1.5 hour resistance. Now, I dont always do this consistently, but 5 days a week I have a close to flawless diet consisting of egg on toast for breakfast, soup, some source of protein plus veggies for lunch, and color-rich salad for dinner...snacks in between those meals consist of an apple, 2 clementine oranges, and if im hungry enough, a 14 gram fiber bar and/or a V8 (low sodium). The other 2 days it varies but I have always tried to avoid processed foods, high-Glycemic carbs, etc. I just started my career in January and experience fairly high levels of stress at work. I weigh myself once a week, I drink a pretty good amount of water, tea all day, sleep 5-8 hrs sleep depending on how busy i am, take deep breaths if theres time, usually in the car on the way to work, and I just started drinking 3 gram fiber metamucil powder in a glass of water before meals to reduce hunger and slow absorption of food, along with buying freakin relacore which might have some bad side effects (they claim to reduce stress and the stress hormone called cortisol which causes weight gain, but studies havent yet proven their claims supposedly). This is how desperate i am...I cant work out 2 hrs a day and eat miniscule portions. My portion control could use some work. I grew up in a family where you had to clean your plate but Im getting over that. The problem is, if I'm eating as little as your typical asian woman does (i dont mean this in a stereotypical or racist way- I wish I was able to pull it off!), I emotionally lose it and start binging on carbs or cookies. How do I eat reasonable portions w/o feeling deprived and backlash binging? I feel like Im doing everything 90% right and yet Im stuck with this hideous 34 inch waist that looks like im literally pregnant, and Im tired of it b/c the only times in my life where I've been able to get rid of it were when I was working out 4-5 hrs a day or severely limiting my caloric intake (e.g. 1500 cal low Glycemic index food diet which drove me insane and led to my injury) and I just dont think it should be this hard! My work doesnt allow me to be a jock anymore, I need some tricks and strategies.

Do you know of any supplements and vitamins/minerals I should be taking that are 100% on almost all the ingredients and fully absorbable? The pill industry is very confusing - some vitamins say 1500%, others 2 %, some terms I have no idea what they mean, some brands are completely fraudulent-esp in cheaper stores, but if u go to a whole foods, u have to spend an arm and a leg just for some multivitamins and I cant afford that.

What about weight-loss teas? What can trick my body into feeling full? I already know about a high-fiber diet in terms of helping make you feel full but it doesnt always work for me, and I found these 14 gram fiber bars but I am a woman who needs variety so after several months eating 1-2 a day Im pretty bored and tired of them. Unfortunately, trying to find anything with more than 6 grams fiber in it is like trying to fin a needle in a haystack!

Other things I've researched about or tried include: Foods rich in vitamin C help fight ab flab, protein to make you feel fuller ( i feel like i already eat enough- how many grams a day do i need?), increasing omega-3s with foods like walnuts (i have them in my salad 5 times a week) or seafood (i could use more of it, is sushi safe since its raw?), low-carb diet, fish oils, conjugated linoleic acid for belly fat (I took in past, with limited to no results..hard to tell), high-calcium diets (supposedly u can lose 14 percent of your belly doing this? however dairy is usually high in fat- do calcium pills work? calcium chew are expensive), scents?, aromatherapy?, I heard the color pink beats the urge to snack b/c it increases serotonin?

If any of these techniques work or dont work or u have new ones, please let me know...or if you can suggest any natural and quick ways to get rid of stress/cortisol-related weight gain and an overall diet/supplement regimen you can recommend for me based on my stats/gender/situation, I'd be extremely appreciative of your time and input!! :)
Thanks a million and thanks for reading my long email!
Take good care.

Answer
I actually could have written your email not long ago! So yes, I can promise you the following are truths:

 Don't believe ANYTHING you're reading when there's an ulterior motive.

 Did you know that the so called research that found more weight loss or smaller waists with regular dairy intake was sponsored by the DAIRY industry and the doctor doing the research sat on the DAIRY industry's board?  Those findings have also been so unproveable since then that the FDA got behind the gov't ruling that those claims could no longer be made in any ads.
  They've all been rewritten (by lawyers) so they still sound the same and people still get that impression, but no, the dairy is as ineffective as the calcium supplements you've mentioned.

Same with the rest of it I'm afraid.  It's a matter of what the study looks for (and who's behind it). Digging deep into a claim will often find the reason it's made; although the components of various nuts DO seem to help (it's maybe 5 lbs a year in difference).

 When it comes to the other things like (anything) for specific fat, that's a little harder to explain, but what happens is that a researcher finds something in test tubes, fruit flies, mice or rats - whatever is applicable and they issue a finding to the medical journals.  They HOPE to be published, but more researcher need to get involved and double check their stats, findings and controls.
  This is all great, but the diet industry (sleazy as they are) gets this information and runs with it.  They don't bother to tell anyone that it's not the same drug in the labs, not even close to the same compound or even that the studies were on real people.

 All this said, it would be prudent for you to get your waist measurement to 30 or less, although your current measurement is not considered particularly dangerous given your natural shape.

Rather than waste time or money on products, an overall healthy eating plan and increased activity is what matters.
 
The best - number ONE healthy exercise is anything in water.  Swim, walk in water that's at least as deep as your waist, as long as you're moving, it's GREAT!
 The next best overall exercise?  Walking.  Not jogging, just a good walk.  You don't even have to power walk as long as you're (you got it) moving!  Twice a day for 10-15 minutes is all you need.

 See more about truth and not sales here:

www.GetTheReal.info  

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