10 Proven Strategies for Lasting Weight Loss with JJ Virgin

Hey JJ Here. Every year around this time, I get the urge to make my home feel a little extra special. A space that feels just like the holidays. And Wayfair is my go to for that. Think cozy textures, twinkly decor, warm lighting, and all those little touches that make you want to curl up with a good book and a blanket. You'll usually find my books stacked on a great little end table I got from Wayfair, proof that function and style can coexist. Now, whether you're adding last minute hosting essentials, picking out gifts for loved ones, or refreshing your decor for the season, Wayfair makes it easy with beautiful finds, great prices and fast delivery. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Plus, with free shipping for any order over $35, that's fast delivery and a total peace of mind. It's the perfect mix of joy and order, bringing the holiday spirit in, then storing it all with ease. If you're ready to make your home feel as good as it looks, get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair Every style, every home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com hey, it's JJ here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever, and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family's sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on your first order.

Saving on your education should be a right, not a competition. At University of Phoenix, you'll get the best scholarship or savings you qualify for. Simple as that. Explore scholarship options at University of Phoenix. Chronic stress raises your stress hormones and makes your body hold onto fat and makes you store belly fat. Like that's the worst of the worst, right?

Here's jj, Virgin Triple board certified nutrition and fitness expert and four time New York Times best selling author. It's time to reignite wellness.

Talking. My favorite subject today, fast and lasting weight loss. Today I'm going to give you the top 10 ground rules for fast and lasting weight loss. And interesting. I'm putting in fast there because here's why. The research actually shows that people who lose weight quickly tend to lose more weight and keep it off. Yep. So anyway, we are going to talk not just how to start to lose weight more quickly, but more importantly, and this is the underscore, the most important how to keep that off for the long haul. Before we go there though, I want to do a little shout out to simply Carrie, who left a five star review on Apple iTunes, says thank you JJ and team. You are all rock stars. Thanks for sharing your life changing message about health and nutrition. This information has empowered me over the last few years to change my life. So thank you. Hey, you know what I love the most about this review, Carrie, is that you said JJ and team. I super appreciate that because the team works so hard on these podcasts. I, I sit here in my little, my little studio and then they do all the magic so I am so appreciative of them and they comb the the Internet for things that you guys are asking about. So depending on what you're putting on to this, my social media platforms responding on the website if you've got questions or you've got topics you want to hear more about, that's how we decide what to do. So make sure you keep those coming. Alrighty. Thank you so much for the review. Again. I'd love to shout you out. So go on and rate and review the show and be sure to put your name in there so I can shout you out on the next one. I'll be back in a moment with those ten ground rules. So stay with me.

Hey jj, Virgin here. Okay. Real talk. So often the holidays sneak up on me, travel, gifts, hosting, you know, all the things and suddenly it's like wait, who spent what and where? And I know I'm not the only one who's looked at a bill in January and thought, wow, that escalated quickly. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. It's rated the Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface. On your laptop or on your phone. Monarch lets you link everything and gives you real time visibility so you're not shocked later. Right now, I've been checking the holiday spending category so I don't accidentally start the new year with that dreaded debt hangover. And honestly, just seeing everything laid out is already helping me stay more aware this season. Monarch does the heavy lifting. It links your accounts in minutes, gives you smart categorization and super clear visuals. Yes, that end of your reset could be a real goal this time. Don't let financial opportunities slip through the cracks. Use the code virgin@monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year@monarch.com with the code Virgin.

Ray Ban Meta glasses come with open ear audio so you can listen to your favorite music without blocking out the world around you.

Hey Meta, play Gorgeous. Here's Gorgeous by Doja Cat.

You can also ask Meta AI questions.

Hey Meta, when's Doja Cat's next concert?

Doja Cat is playing at the Los.

Angeles theater next Tuesday.

Sweet Ray Ban Meta glasses available at Ray Ban stores and other authorized retailers.

Okay, so here we go. Number one. Number one is make breakfast a protein smoothie. So what I've seen is that people do one of two things. They either just blow off breakfast and we're going to talk. We're going to talk about timing and intermittent fasting coming up next. But they either blow off breakfast altogether and just get set up for a day of doom, or they eat sugary empty carbs. I always call that having dessert at breakfast, like that muffin, which is just a cupcake without the frosting. And the challenge with that is there's this thing called the second meal phenomenon. When you blow it at the first meal, it just kind of sets a bad blood sugar roll for the whole. And the challenge if you wait too long to eat for a lot of us, it raises your stress hormones and it sets you up for eating the wrong stuff later. So that is why I love these smoothies because you can pack a punch of protein and proper nutrition in them. So made correctly, which is the trifecta of healthy fat, clean protein, and slow, low carbs, you're gonna get some sustained energy and a good boost to your metabolism that should keep you going for four, six hours. So what we don't want to do is those quick and easy eats on the runs. All right, next, eat by the clock. So snacking is my nemesis. If you've been on listening to my podcast, you've probably heard me go off on a snack rant. I don't know, like, bad experiment. Because every time you're eating, you're raising blood sugar. If you're raising blood sugar, raising insulin. If you eat every two to three hours, you graze. You never let your insulin come back to fasting levels. And if that insulin stays up, it makes you inflamed, locks the doors to your fat cells. You cannot burn stored fat for fuel. It keeps you as a sugar burner, where you're always waiting for the next food to get put into your mouth so that you can raise your blood sugar and use that for fuel. This is not what we want to do. We want to be a hybrid, right? We want to be able to burn sugar, fat, and ketones. And so what you want to do is eat every four to six hours. So here's what I, here's my rules is you get up in the morning, you have some kind of a hot beverage that could be water with lemon, it could be tea, it could be coffee. I do bulletproof coffee. I don't actually make it bulletproofed unless Dave himself is making it for me, yes, I'm spoiled, but I will have bulletproof beans. And so you can do that and then delay until you get a little bit hungry. And so for me, that's usually about two hours after I wake up. And if I can get up and do a little bit of burst training before I eat, all the better bonus points. But ideally, you're eating you a couple hours after you wake up. So if you wake up around seven, I get up later. On the east coast, I might have breakfast around nine, sometimes even 10, and then four to six hours later is your next meal. Now, this may play out if you're doing intermittent fasting, if you're doing time restricted eating, eating within, say, an eight hour window, you may find that you have a late breakfast, a little kind of mini meal or nothing, and then an early dinner and you're done. For me, what I generally do is a later breakfast, a little lunch, and then an early dinner. And shut the kitchen. You want to shut the kitchen three to four hours before Bed, at least longer is better. So I want you to get a 12 to 14 hour overnight fast. And if you can go to time restricted feeding of a 16 hour overnight fast a couple days a week, all the better. And here's how you do this. If you've been a snacker, the first thing we're going to do is work from eating every two to three hours to going every three to four hours and drinking a lot of water in between. Next thing we're going to work on is making sure that you get a three hour or more fast before bed. So stop eating three hours or more. It's not really fasting, but stop eating three hours or more before bed. Next thing we're going to stretch that three to four hours to four to six hours between meals. Lots of water in between. If you're doing water and you're getting a lot of fiber at your meals, that really helps you stay fuller longer between the meals. And remember, if you're eating from the trifecta, protein, fat and fiber that keeps blood sugar balanced and hunger hormones down, then we start to stretch that out again where you start to go with that 14 hour overnight fast and then start to throw in those 16 hours. All right, next up, fill up on fiber. I just hinted at it, but fiber is really the secret weapon for weight loss. It keeps you feeling fuller, longer, it keeps you regular, and it keeps your blood sugar balanced so it can really help curb those cravings. Here's some of my faves, avocados, lentils, nuts and seeds. What we'll do is we'll put my high fiber faves list into the show notes here@jjvirgin.com ground rules. And I also have my supplement, Extra Fiber named because it's how to add extra fiber. I throw that into my morning protein smoothie. So that's an easy way to add a 5 to 10 more grams of fiber in there. And I'm really looking at getting your fiber up to 50 grams or more a day. And obviously, if you've been a little fiber eater to date, we're going to do this over time, not overnight. Don't go from like 15 grams to 50 grams overnight. That can make you a little bit gassy, bloated and constipated and not happy with moi. So we do that over time. All right, next one, stop counting those calories. What? Wait a minute, I thought we're talking weight loss. You're thinking, nope, here's what I want you to do is I really want you to get off of the Calorie counting deal. The reason why is if we start to really cut calories and keep them low for the long haul, you actually will slow down your metabolism to compensate as well. What I want you to do is instead start to fuel your body and eat from the trifecta so you aren't hungry. Instead, look at counting, getting the right amount of protein at each meal. Generally that's going to be 4-6oz of protein and then getting some slow low carbs and then a lot of non starchy vegetables and the rest is healthy fats, anti inflammatory fats. When you eat that way and you start to really look at what your meals are composed of rather than the calories, you will have better blood sugar control, insulin will be lower, you won't be hungry. And that's what we really want to shift to because that then helps your body shift. That along with the meal timing from being just a sugar burner to being able to burn sugar, fat or ketones, be a hybrid and be able to go longer without needing to eat and then you'll naturally start eating less. Okay, next one, wean yourself off inflammatory sugars. Now we don't do this overnight, we don't go cold turkey. That's setting you up to fail. Because again, if you've taught yourself to be a sugar burner and we just pull all that out, you will crash and go racing for the cookie. Plus, Sugar is, as Dr. Mark Hyman says, the number one recreational drug of choice. Super addictive and, and like probably the most addictive thing out there really that we have the easiest, easiest way to get our hands on. So what you want to do instead is taper. And I teach people in the sugar impact diet to start to recognize first where sugar is sneaking into their diet and then to taper from higher sugar impact foods to medium sugar impact foods while eating from that trifecta I talked about of the F protein and fiber and then downshifting again to low sugar impact foods and really retraining your taste bud how to appreciate the natural sweetness of food so that most of that sweet food just starts to taste gross. I know that sounds amazing, but I've seen it over and over again. It's totally possible. Okay, next one, I want you to address your hidden food intolerances. You know, there's so many foods out there that are supposedly good for you. Things like tofu and egg white omelets and whole grain and maybe they're good for someone. But a lot of times these foods are problematic because they can cause negative reactions from food intolerances. And just because the food is healthy doesn't mean it's healthy for you. So food intolerance is due to something called leaky guts where your gut becomes more permeable. One of the key culprits of this, by the way, is gluten. Stress is another a lot of different pain medications and sweeteners or others that allows these foods to get into circulation where they have no business being and your body launches an immune attack to them which then creates inflammation which can cause weight gain and actually can cause you to crave the very foods that are hurting you, which is so ridiculously unfair but true. So one of the things that I have people do is figure out their hidden food intolerances. We will put the link to our free seven day challenge into the show notes as well. And again, I'm going to put that all@jjvirgin.com ground rules next one, don't let the enemy into the house. This is just being nice to yourself. I have had to prove this theory over and over and over again. So just learn from my mistakes. If there's something that's a trigger for you. And remember, too much healthy food's unhealthy too. So if something is a trigger for you, you can't handle it. For me, this used to be crunchy salted almond butter. I would just sit there with the spoon in the fridge and eat the whole thing. Whatever it is, don't bring it into the house because it's just crazy to think that you're going to be able to handle that. Especially at night when your evil twins out. Remember, willpower doesn't work. In the name of my buddy Ben Hardy, willpower doesn't work. Don't try to rely on this. Just make it easy on yourself. And don't bring in the enemy into the house where all of a sudden it's nighttime, you're tired, maybe you're stressed, and boom, you know, there's that ice cream in the freezer and next thing you know, evil twins in there with the spoon. Don't do it. All right, next one, ditch all that long endurance exercise. So when you do a lot of endurance exercise, it can raise the levels of the stress hormone cortisol and boom, next thing you know, you're breaking down muscle, you're storing fat, you're doing the exact opposite of what you want to do. Plus all that exercise size can actually lower your immune system. So and lower the anabolic, the growth hormones. So it's actually Counterproductive to what you want to do. Instead, what we want you to do is high intensity interval training. So instead of doing that steady jog for an hour outside, Instead take about 15 to 20 minutes and walk and sprint, and walk and sprint, and walk and sprint. We'll put a little bit. We'll put a link in the show notes to how to do burst training. How's that? So you can learn exactly how to do it and then of course, do some resistance training. So key critical. So burst training is great because it creates oxygen debt that your metabolism actually has to work harder after the workout to recover from. And then, of course, resistance training helps you hold onto or build lean muscle, which is so key for your metabolism because it requires more energy to keep muscle on. Your body burns more calories. And both these things help you become more insulin sensitive. So you're better at burning off fat. Gay. All right, well, again, put the link on all of that into the show notes as well as my Fast Fitness online program, which teaches all of this stuff. Next one, get quality sleep. If you do not get enough quality sleep, it makes your. Gosh. In fact, this is just one night. And think about it, you probably know this. One night of poor sleep, you become more insulin resistant. Your stress hormones are elevated, your hunger hormones are elevated. So one per night of sleep, you're better at storing fat, you're worse at burning it off, and you're hungrier and not for salmon. And you know this to be true. Like, I'm always aware if I don't get a good night's sleep, I'm like, yep, there it goes. I'm hungrier and not for the things I should be hungrier for. So it is super key and critical to get your right amount of quality sleep. This is where you really want to wear a sleep tracker. I wear an aura ring, so I'm checking in to make sure. Sure that I'm. It's not just about how much I'm sleeping. It's what that sleep is made up of and making sure that you're getting the right amount of REM sleep and the right amount of deep sleep as well. Okay, next one. Stress. Oh, my gosh. So full disclosure, here we go. Borderlining on tmi. So my way to tell if I'm stressed, I mean, I've got. I have a little stress quiz, and I kind of run myself through it, and I've done a lot of adrenal stress testing, but, you know, to me, it's like, look at your belly. If I'm stressed. Like, I'll put weight on around my stomach. If I'm not stressed, I burn it off. So chronic stress raises your stress hormones and makes your body hold onto fat and makes you store belly fat. Like, that's the worst of the worst, right? So check in with that. If you find that you've got this belly you can't get rid of, check in on your stress levels. And there's a couple different ways to do this, because what we know too, is stress also can make your gut more permeable. So now you're more likely to have food intolerances. Stress also low lowers serotonin and can get in the way of having deep quality sleep. And it can make you crave more sugar and make you hungrier. So, I mean, nothing positive if you have too much stress, especially chronic stress, Right? So what we really want to look at is, number one, I really like to quantify stress. I'll put my stress quiz here, too. Again, jjvirgin.com ground rules. And also the test that you can take, which is called an adren salivary index, which I used to do every six months. Now I am in a place where my stress is totally dialed. I can. I can actually tell and quantify it myself. I can feel it. But literally, for years, I would take a stress test, get myself figured out, get everything in balance, then blow it up again, and then have to take a test again. And I finally went, maybe I'll just stop doing that. And I'll use the things that I need to do on a regular basis to address stress. So for you, it could be tapping, it could be Ziva meditation, it could be burst training, it could be hanging out with your dog, it could be watching a funny movie. Whatever it is, find those things that help you address stress. I'll tell you, one of the things that helps me the most is the way that I frame my day. And I start out in the morning and I have a whole box of books that Mary Morrissey recommended. And so I'm just working my way through those books. And I journal. So I start out with reading for 15 to 30 minutes of something positive in the morning, and then I journal. And at night, it's what were the wins of the day, what was great about today? And that's something that's great if you've got family around, your significant other spouse to talk about. What were the wins of the day? We just don't celebrate this stuff enough. All right, I'm going to give you some marching orders, so stay with me. I'll be right back.

This episode is brought to you by Buffalo Trace Distillery. Powerful, yet smooth contained, but never tame. Proudly going their own way, but never going alone. This is the spirit inside Buffalo Trace Bourbon. Made at Buffalo Trace Distillery, the world's most award winning distillery, Buffalo Trace is always perfectly untamed. Distilled, aged and bottled by Buffalo Trace distillery, Franklin County, Kentucky. 90 proof 45% alcohol by Buffalo volume. Learn more at BuffaloTrace distillery.com Please drink responsibly.

All right, welcome back. So here's the deal. No fads, no fad. Diet trends. What we want to do is what's proven, what works and what's going to work for you to help you make those changes and then so that you can pull that into everyday life. So example, if you do the virgin diet and you figure out your hidden food and tolerances, then you figure out which foods work for you and which foods don't, and then that becomes part of your regular eating routine. Then next up you go, huh, I need to check in on sugar. Make sure it's not too much of it's not sneaking into my life. You do the sugar impact diet and you lower your sugar impact and you pull that into your everyday life now that you're a really good fat ketone and sugar burner. Then you start playing more around with your meal timing, making sure that you're stopping eating three to four hours before bed, giving yourself that good overnight fast, paying attention to when you really get hungry in the morning, not just when you've trained yourself to. And then instead of reaching for a snack, reach for some sparkling water, reach for some ice cream tea. And again, I just gave you a whole lot of stuff in here. I gave you 10 ground rules. We don't do 10 at once. Start with one. Go through the list and be sure to print out the show notes. JJvirgin.com ground rules. Go through the list and what I want you to do is go, all right, there's going to be some you can just check off right away and go, I got that. I'm totally doing that. And then there's going to be some that you go, this is an area I need to work on. Pick one area to work on. Just pick one. Use your journal. This is where journals are so important. Focus on that. Learn from it. Let's say that you're focusing on sleep. Start looking. I literally look at my OURA ring every morning, first thing. Look, see where I'm at. Look at that. And then start to really work on what you need to do to improve it. Once that thing's nailed and dialed, then you can go on to the next. Remember, it's one thing at a time, right? We we make exponential. I can say that exponential changes by doing small little shifts over time. All right, there you go. Big ask. Before I go is I would so appreciate it if you would rate and review the show. It helps a ton. The whole team celebrates them and then I can shout you out on the next show. So jump on over to Reignite Wellness on itunes. Rate and review. Make sure you leave your name there so I can shout you out. And I super appreciate you. See you next time. Bye.

Hello listeners. This is Anne Bogle, author, blogger, and creator of the podcast what Should I read? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I check all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years, and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment. Whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change, or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything, you'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read, with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and Visit our website whatshouldireadnextpodcast.com to find out more.