The Truth About Dieting And Weight Loss
You may not like what I’m about to say, but dieting alone will not help you to lose weight. Watching your diet alone is not going to yield results unless it is coupled with proper exercise. You have to make a conscious effort for this. And the solution for this is a workout routine. Yes there are people that lose weight just from cutting down on their fat intake, carbohydrate intake, protein intake, or calories in general; but have you seen the results under their clothes? It is not a pretty sight! Without exercise (weight training in particular) your body has no way of toning up, and you could be left with near sagging skin with a non attractive shape. Also, losing weight from diets is mostly water weight loss and not fat loss. Do you want to lose water from your body and become dehydrated? Or do you want to lose Fat? The absolute only way to burn a high percentage of body fat is through exercise. The only reason why anyone should choose a diet plan is to see which one can help complement their workout program. The diet plan you choose should be one that you can stick to for the rest of your life, and it should be healthy for your body. Diet is such a short term word, so think of dieting as changing your eating habits for the long term. Your eating habits should provide you with enough protein for your muscles and enough carbohydrates for energy as well as other vital nutrients.
Stay away from diets that focus on losing weight quickly…
Not only are they unhealthy, but most of the weight you lose is water weight. Once again, do you want to lose water or fat? If you want to lose fat, you most definitely will not be losing it quickly unless you know how to burn fat. Being that you are losing mostly water on these quick weight loss diets, you will soon find out that you will gain the weight back just as quick as you lost it (if not faster).
You must eat! If your body thinks you are starving, it will feed on your muscle tissue for energy. It is not enough to just take in enough calories each day for energy, but it is how often you feed your body the calories. In order for your metabolism to function correctly, you must eat at least 5-6 meals per day. The total calories of the 5-6 meals should equal the amount of your daily calorie intake. Eating throughout the day, gives your metabolism fuel to keep burning your stored body fat. That said, you should still cut down on your calorie intake to lose weight, but you also must know how many calories per day is right for your body.
Stay away from diets that say you must eat protein and carbohydrates separately…
Protein and carbohydrates work together within your body; they are team players, not individuals.
Think of it like this:
Mr. Protein needs to take a taxi to get to the muscles cells to help build and condition them. Mr. Insulin is the taxi and Mr. Protein is not capable of calling a taxi, so Mr. Carbohydrate will always call Mr. Insulin to transport Mr. Protein to the muscles. The muscles cells love Mr. Protein, but they also must have Mr. Carbohydrate for energy. Mr. Carbohydrate is very outgoing and there is a lot of him to go around, but too much of him is bad. On the other hand, not enough of him is also bad.
Muscle cells only need enough carbohydrates to fill the glycogen stores. If more carbohydrates are present, it will get stored as fat. Eating protein and carbohydrates will slow down the absorption of carbohydrates which means that your body will have time to burn off the extra carbohydrates before they are stored as fat. So why not just significantly lower your carbohydrate consumption? Because too much protein and very low carbohydrates will cause you to overburden your liver and kidneys; could cause dehydration (most people do not realize that metabolizing protein requires you to drink more water); and your body will not get the right amount of its preferred source of energy-carbohydrates.
So you see, eating these two nutrients together allows your body to function like it should. The key is to know how much carbohydrates and protein is the right amount to satisfy your body’s needs.
Bottom Line when it comes to dieting and weight loss: Losing weight is easy. Losing weight by losing fat the healthy way is more of a challenge. Don’t get caught up into just losing weight. Understand that you need to stay healthy at the same time that you are losing weight by losing fat.
This article was written by Vernita Sherman of Ultimate Fat Burning Secrets. Ultimate Fat BurningSecrets is an online resource dedicated to exposingfat burning secrets that weight loss companies arekeeping from you. Vernita focuses on teaching youthe truth about how to permanently lose weight the healthy way at ultimatefatburningsecrets.com
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10 Easy to follow Tips to help YOU Lose Weight
Dieting is not easy. If it were, we would probably all be thin. Since we are not, here are some tips that successful people use to lose weight so that others can benefit, too.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 1: DRINK 8-10 GLASSES OF WATER EACH DAY
Okay, for many people this is a big problem. Water doesn’t taste all that great generally because water doesn’t really "taste" like anything. Drinking water 8 to 10 times each day gets easier the more you actually do it. It is simply a matter of conditioning your taste buds, and yourself, so that it becomes easier to do. Once you get started, you will begin to crave water.
To begin with, you should drink a glass of water in the morning first thing, before you eat. This is probably the easiest glass you will drink all day and it will help you remember to drink water all day long. Better yet, why not drink two glasses?
If you really cannot bear the taste of water, try using a water purifying pitcher or filter. You can also add a few drops of lemon or lime to your water – but no sugar or sweetener! Ice also helps.
Check out flavored waters on the market, too. Just keep an eye out for additives.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 2: EAT BREAKFAST
Do not skip breakfast. If you need to go to bed a little earlier so that you can get up 20 minutes earlier each morning – do it! Breakfast is so important to your good health and to weight control. According to Dr. Barbara Rolls a professor of nutrition at Penn State University, “Your metabolism slows while you sleep, and it doesn’t rev back up until you eat again.”
Eating breakfast is not only good for overall weight loss, it will help you stay on track with your diet the rest of the day. You are more likely to binge on something sweet and in the "bread" group if you skip breakfast.
You can always keep a couple of hard-boiled eggs in the fridge or some high-fiber, low starch fruit around. If you plan to eat fruit at all during the day, breakfast is the perfect time to do it.SUCCESS TIP NO. 3: EAT AT LEAST 3 MEALS AND 2 SNACKS EACH DAY
This can be one of the hardest adjustments to make. After all, you are busy! You already have a "full-plate". When do you have time to worry about filling your plate with more frequent meals?
Just like eating breakfast will increase your metabolism, so will eating more often. This will also help you curb your bad-carb intake by making sure that your snacks are planned and occur regularly throughout the day.
Really, it will just take a minimal investment of planning time at the grocery store and at home each morning before you head out for the day to make some healthy food choices and prepare a few healthy snacks and meals. For suggestions, just see the handy list of snacks and appetizers listed later.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 4: AVOID WHITE FOODS
This is one easy way to remember what not to eat. If it is made from sugar, flour, potatoes, rice or corn – just say no. Remembering this rule of thumb will make it easier to recognize those rice cakes as an unhealthy high-carb snack.
Always look for colorful fruits and veggies to substitute for the white ones. Buy broccoli, lettuce, bell peppers, green beans and peas, brown rice in moderation, leafy greens like kale and spinach, apples, melons, oranges and grapes.
These foods are not only colorful they are also high in fiber, nutrients and important antioxidants. Eating colorful fruits and vegetables will give your diet variety as well as give you added health benefits.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 5: EAT YOUR VEGGIES
It is so easy to use a low-carb diet as an excuse for poor nutrition. Resist this temptation. If the only vegetable you have eaten in the last 5 years has been the potato, now is a good time to begin experimenting with other vegetables. This is important for your overall health and to avoid some nasty side effects of not getting enough fiber in your diet.
If you try hard enough, you will find vegetables that you enjoy eating. Experiment with grilling veggies and cooking with real butter to add flavor. You can also search for new recipes on the Internet or in cookbooks.
Remember, if you are only eating 40 grams of carb a day or less, two cups of plain salad greens contain only about 5 grams of carbohydrate. You have no excuse not to eat your veggies.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 6: PREPARE YOUR OWN FOOD AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE
While more and more restaurants are offering low-carb friendly menu items, many of them are still not ideal low-carb fare. There are many recipes for quick and easy meals that you can prepare yourself at home. Try to do this as often as possible.
If you cook your own foods, you know exactly what the contents are and you will be able to better control for hidden sugar and otherwise processed foods.
Another benefit is the cost savings over the long run. Even if you must go to the grocery store more often, you will save a significant amount per meal as opposed to eating at restaurants and fast food establishments.
It will also be easier to maintain your diet with your own favorite fresh food selections on hand.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 7: INVEST IN A GOOD SET OF FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS
Having food storage containers of various sizes on hand will make it so much easier for you to plan your meals and snacks. When you buy nuts, fruits and vegetables in bulk you can simply prepare, separate and store them for easy use later.
For instance, you can pre-slice your apples and snack on them over several days. Simply cut them, rinse them in pineapple or lemon juice and store. This will make a quick and easy snack for later.
Fix your lunch and take it with you to work. Better yet, fix your lunch and 2 snacks for work.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 8: EAT SOME PROTIEN AT EACH MEAL & AS A SNACK
In addition to everything that’s been discussed before, eating protein helps you burn more calories. Jeff Hample, Ph.D., R.D., a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association says that, “Protein is made up mainly of amino acids, which are harder for your body to breakdown, so you burn more calories getting rid of them."
Just think – eating a protein rich snack can help you lose weight. How about a few slices of turkey or ham or some string cheese?
Eating protein will also help you feel full so that you are less likely to crave unhealthy snacks.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 9: DRINK A GLASS OF WATER AFTER EACH SNACK
This will help you get in your 8 to 10 glasses of water each day but it can also have other benefits. Ever feel hungry after eating a handful or standard serving of nuts? Try drinking water afterwards. The water will help you feel full and prevent overindulgence.
Drinking water after a snack will also help remove the aftertaste from your mouth and can help curb your desire for more.
SUCCESS TIP NO. 10: EAT SLOWLY & ENJOY YOUR FOOD
You will feel full and more satisfied if you take the time to savor your food and chew it slower. Don’t get in the habit of eating while standing or eating quickly. Sit down and chew.
Eating slower will help you enjoy your food more, pay attention to what it is you are actually eating and get a better sense of when you are actually full.
Steve Li is the webmaster of http://weightlose.yourbestchoices.comYou can read more articles like this by subscribing to his twice-weeklyNewsletter. Send a blank email to: mailto:[email protected] get a free ebook "The Power of Positive Habits" as welcome gift.
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