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Dieting tips that work
1. While dieting keep in mind that the most important thing is your health.
Carrying a little excess weight
is not necessarily unhealthy.
But losing weight too rapidly and by the wrong means can be.
Although it is understandable to want to lose all that extra weight quickly,
it is wise to lose a small amount per week.
Losing weight too rapidly through starvation causes you to immediately lose large amounts of water, a small amount of
fat, and an unpredictable amount of muscle tissue and other important protein-containing bodily components.
USing important protein-containing bodily components in the place of some food can break down your body, leaving
you weak, depressed, and more vulnerable to infection.
Therefore, it is best to eat smaller amounts, so that you are maintaining your physical health and
mental well-being while reaching your goal.
2. Eat early in the day and avoid eating late in the evening.
Metabolism is what controls the rate (how fast, or how slow) we burn fuels such as fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
Our metabolism is at its peak from morning and begins slowing towards the early evening.
During the late evening and through the night, our metabolism decreases even further.
Foods consumed during slow metabolic periods tend to be stored as fat, if they are not used.
Therefore, it is best to eat less in the evening. Of course, this will depend on your lifestyle. If you
happen to work during the night hours and sleep during the day, you may need to eat while you are awake
in order to supply your body with the necessary nourishment. The adjustment in this case would be to eat less before you sleep, although
it is during the day.
The key here is to tailor off your meals towards the rest period.
3. Adjust your food intake according to your lifestyle.
Your metabolism may even be operating at a higher or lower rate, depending on your activity,
daily stress, climate, etc. If you are exercising, working, or thinking less during a particular period
then you will not have to supply your body with as much food as you would during more active periods.
4. Eat the right type of foods for you.
Balanced diets do not work for everyone.
If you live an average lifestyle, an average balanced diet can be beneficial to you.
If you are highly active, you may need more carbohydrates which act as fuel for the brain and muscle tissue.
Intolerances to particular foods can make dieting difficult (e.g., gluten sensitivity). If this is the case,
you can easily work around the food you are intolerant to, in creating your self-tailored balanced diet.
5. The amount of calories contained in a food is not always the determining factor regarding weight gain.
The type of calories is more important.
Complex carbohydrates such as rice and pasta are burned more slowly by the metabolism. This
provides the body with a slow-burning fuel source to last for hours, while putting weight on
than simple carbohydrates.
Simple carbohydrates (e.g., processed sugars, table sugar) are not slow burning. These sugars cause
an immediate rise in blood sugar and prompt various tissues to store them in order to restore normal blood sugar levels.
Fat tissue is one way to store extra sugars. We can see why processed sugars can cause weight gain,
and the importance of eating foods containing slow-burning carbohydrates.
6. Foods high in fat also contribute to weight gain.
However, the consumption of some fat is essential.
Our body requires it for the manufacture of cells and other vital components.
Excluding fat from the diet can be very unhealthy, if not life-threatening.
The muscular portion of our heart (the myocardium, or muscle portion) uses fat to contract and
hence, beat or pump blood. Although the myocardium can utilize carbohydrates as an energy source,
fats are very important. Other tissues use fats as well, and not just for energy.
Fats are used to make other important substances, such as hormones, cell walls, etc.
Therefore, avoid trying to do too much of a good thing. Lower the fat, but do not remove it from the diet.
Moderation is the key.
7. When it comes to weight loss, the effects of your diet far outweigh the effects of ANY quick weight loss
strategies.
Many people are accustomed to quick fixes. People sometimes make the mistake of applying this habit towards
losing weight.
We should always give a fair attempt at losing weight. If you diligently follow all
of the simple rules of weight loss, you should have no problem losing weight at a steady pace.
Losing weight naturally, has its benefits. If you accustom yourself to losing weight through regimental
habit, you psychologically strengthen yourself. This newly developed psychological strength can be applied to
all other areas of your life.
Psychological empowerment is a very effective tool for changing all aspects of your life. If we look at the converse
we can see how it works both ways. For example, if we begin to take shortcuts in losing weight, we then begin
to make ourselves psychologically more lazy. We subconsciously begin to apply this laziness in all other areas
of our lives. This is why one of the most important tools in losing weight is your frame of mind.
8. Smaller or divided meals help you to lose weight.
Eating smaller and more frequent meals has several benefits: Smaller meals means less
of a digestive burden on the stomach and small intestines. It is easier on the digestive system to eat
smaller meals.
This can lead to hernias and other problems. Usually, you tell if the meal is a smaller one, if you leave the table satisfied, but not
feeling bloated or stuffed. Save that for special occasions!
Frequent small meals also keep the metabolism operating at a quicker pace. If the metabolism is continually
fed small amounts of food, it will continually burn more calories by operating at a higher pace. The benefit here
is that you will not be withholding the essential elements needed by the body, while simultaneously burnig excess.
Medically speaking, larger meals put a strain on the stomach through stretching. This affects the
surrounding tissues such as the abdominal muscle layer. This can cause hiatus and other types of hernias. Larger
meals also have to stay in transit for longer periods while they are being digested. This can damage the stomach
and intestinal lining through longer exposure periods to digestive acids, detergents and enzymes.
Smaller meals are best.
9 Never avoid water.
When eating less or even fasting,
it is a good idea to still drink adequate amounts of water. Water will not put permanent weight on you. Any
water which is not required by the body will simply be urinated. However, water actually helps to burn
fat. The water molecule (H2O), is required to chemically split fat (lipid)
molecules. Water is also needed to maintain a proper blood pressure, since a large percentage of your blood
is water.
10. Fasting
When you fast, your metabolism adjusts accordingly.
When you eat less, your metabolism decreases accordingly. Your metabolism readjusts in order to
accomodate the anticipated decrease in fuel being supplied. Your metabolism has to do this because it
cannot tell the future. If your metabolism knew that you were going to eat within a short time, it could
run in high gear. However, if you forgot to eat, or cannot for whatever reason, your metabolism would then
damage your body. Therefore, your metabolism has to think for you. The metabolism is faithful to our best
interest, even
when we are not faithful to our metabolisms best interest.
As we have stated above, smaller meals keep the metabolism running fast enough to burn excess while still
providing the necessary components required by your body.
Maybe now you can see why you can consume 1500 calories per day, not losing any weight,
while some friends can eat consume 3000 kcal and more per day and still stay thin.
It’s all in adjusting the metabolism !
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