Pointers on Losing Weight Safely

People who want to lose weight commonly, and first of all, think about reducing the amount of food they eat. This may be quite a solution but not exactly the best there is. In fact, depending on the amount you reduce in your food intake, it may even be dangerous to one's health. So how does one lose weight effectively and safely? Here are some points one should consider when trying to lose weight:

 

Beware of the Crash Diets

Most people think that trimming down the calories can alone shed off their unwanted excess. Probably this is because of the fad there is in advertising about low-calorie food products and beverages. What people don't know is that this could be dangerous because when they decrease their calorie intake way to below the required levels, the body begins to digest the fats. Sounds good but it doesn't actually. Burning fat requires a lot of energy. Since there is not much energy in the body to facilitate metabolism of fat, it will run at a very slow pace resulting to fatigue, illness and weak immune system.

Low-calorie diet is also compensated for by the body by burning muscle. People on this type of diet who revert back to their old eating habits end up gaining back some, if not all the weight they have shed off. This would consist mainly of fats. And since fats have more volume per mass than muscle, they end up having the same weight as before but more bulkier. In losing weight, one should keep in mind that they should lose excess body fats only.

However, one can try out eating small meals at more frequent intervals. This way the body will not think that it is being starved and will not store food as fat.

Eat Properly

One may have considered junking the crash diet option but he should also not forget to watch what he is eating. Variety must always be considered so that one may be able to get the necessary nutrients from his diet.It is also healthier to eat food which are roasted, steamed or broiled rather than fried. It is also important to include a lot of fiber in the diet. Frequent rehydration is also necessary.

 

Pump Up lean Muscle Mass

Muscles burn calories when they work; they even do so at rest. Unlike fats which just lie around, bulge around the pants and dangle beneath the sleeves, muscles burn calories all-day round. With this fact, one can start weight loss by increasing muscle mass. The more muscles, the less fat will be left. This is attainable starting with working out with resistance exercises.

Engaging in Aerobics

Aerobics are not only good for the heart by increasing cardio-vascular endurance. Aerobics also help in increasing lean muscle mass while simultaneously decreasing excess body fat. Aside from these, aerobics make the metebolic process more efficient and its rate high, even after a long while. Imagine burning fat efficiently while driving along the freeway or even while watching television.

Extra "Push"

Some people believe that smoking and caffeine can actually help in losing weight. This can perhaps be true; however, they do the body more harm than good because of their side-effects. For that extra "push", one can try out taking food supplements. Afterall, 95% of these products out in the market actually does good.

 

On Taking Diet Pills

Over-the-counter diet pills affect the amount of weight one loses as well as how long one keeps that amount of weight off. However, one must be wary of the side-effects of these diet pills. As such, one must faithfully follow the instructions provided for in the packaging. It is also prudent to consult the physician anyway before trying out these drugs and also to find out which type would be best for the individual.

Losing weight does not have to mean sacrifice and suffering. It actually means opening up to a more full and healthy life where one may not have to feel bad about himself having to look the way he does or not being able to do what he wants to do. Losing weight might entail a little adjustments plus the discomforts, but as the old saying goes, "no pain, no gain." Besides fat, what has one got to lose anyway?

All the best

Daryl

In Better Shape: The 8 Week Diabetes Cure?

In Better Shape: The 8 Week Diabetes Cure?: For a long time now it has been speculated that type-2 diabetes can be cured by adopting a low calorie diet. This claim has been met by sce...

The 8 Week Diabetes Cure?

For a long time now it has been speculated that type-2 diabetes can be cured by adopting a low calorie diet. This claim has been met by scepticism in many corners, but now we have evidence to prove that it may actually be true. But I’m not so sure it’s all cracked up to be…

Scientists from Newcastle University in the UK conducted a two month long study which they believe shows that type-2 does not have to be a life-long illness.

There study involved 11 participants who cut their calorie intake to under 600 calories per day for 2 months. 3 months after the experiment finished, 7 out of the 11 participants were free of diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is caused when there is too much glucose in the blood. Unlike type-1 diabetes, which develops in children when their bodies cannot convert insulin into glucose, type-2 is very closely linked with obesity. This explains why theorists have suggested that a low calorie diet could cure type-2 diabetes.

Just a week into the study, the pre-breakfast blood sugar levels of the participants had returned to normal. MRI scans taken at this time showed that the fat levels inside their pancreas had also gone back to normal. This means that the pancreas had now regained the ability to make insulin.

One of the participants in the study, who had suffered from diabetes for 6 years, said that 18 months on he still did not need to take his old diabetes tablets. This is great, but what about the others?

So now the question is, how can a diabetic go about adopting a new low calorie diet plan that could free them of this disease? Going for 600 calories straight away… I don’t think so, but you could build up lower calories until you reach your optimum level, and stay there for life. How does that sound?

I’m not saying that if you have diabetes you shouldn’t use this 600 calorie method, but I know from my dieters that they are able to sustain their weight loss after my diet and I believe it can be used to reverse diabetes too. Many of them simply reduce their lunch box and breakfast and meal sizes over time. They lose weight, get healthier and have more confidence.

You could just eat a 600 calorie Lunch Box from all day from breakfast to you evening meal but I think there’s the way I just described would be more effective, long term.

We need to remember that those on this study would have been working under strict conditions and if you’re overweight and have diabetes, the chances of switching and sticking to a very low calorie diet are very slim, especially if you’ve been a yo-yo dieter in the past. We need to consider so many
different variables.

Slow and steady is the key when introducing any new eating habits so that the results can be sustained. I’d bet a fair amount of money that if 1,000 people tried eating 600 calories for 8 weeks and then maintaining a healthy weight, not even 10% would succeed long term because of the psychological and emotional battling that goes on when you restrict yourself for this long.

Low-Calorie Diabetes Diet Plan

As we have seen from the study, the participants restricted their calorie intake to 600 calories per day. So, the way a diabetic can design a new diet plan is to learn about the calorie levels in different kinds of foods and drop their calories down.

With this knowledge, a diabetic can plan their daily meals accordingly and make meals and snacks out of the low calorie foods they enjoy.

Before getting on to what kinds of foods are good to eat on this kind of diet, we need lay the ground-works. The key to dieting is not just about what you eat, but how you eat.

Eating Schedule

When starting out on a diet, it’s important to get a good eating routine going. Rather than just eating 3 large meals a day, it is much better to eat smaller meals, and then have snacks in between (ie from a Lunch Box). As I mentioned earlier, instead of reducing your calories to 600 straight away, you could use The Lunch Box Diet by gradually reducing the box size over time and then reduce the portion size of breakfast and evening meals so you’re reducing your calorie intake more steadily. This is how a lot of people have had amazing weight loss results on the plan.

 

Figuring out a rough time to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner every day can start a good flow that your body will get used to. Then you can identify the mid-point between these meals when you can have a snack. So if you decide to have breakfast at around 8am each morning, and lunch at 12:30, you can have a snack (or eat from your box) in between at around 10:15am.

Eating in this way is important for all sorts of reasons. It fills your body with energy frequently and keeps you metabolism moving fast. It is especially important to eat this way with a very low-calorie diet, as you are likely to get hungry quite often. Eating more frequently throughout the day will make sure you are less hungry because there will be no large gaps in between your meals.

Knowing About Calories

So after working out a rough eating plan, the next step will be deciding what to eat. To ensure the eating plan stays low, knowledge about the calorie levels in different kinds of foods is needed.

With good knowledge of calorie levels, it becomes easy to design appropriate meals. It can even be a lot of fun to create meals out of the low calorie ingredients that are to your liking.

Low Calorie Foods

To give a brief overview of the calorie levels of some common foods, here is a breakdown of some of the lowest calorie foods:

Under 50 calories (per 3.5oz):

Boiled Beans

Brocolli

Brussel Sprouts

Lentils

Fat-free yoghurt



Under 100 Calories (per 3.5oz)

Mung Beans

Low-fat Cottage Cheese

Low-fat fromage frais

Noodles

Porridge

Tofu



Under 150 Calories (per 3.5oz)

White fish

Lite Mayo

Boiled Bleached Pasta

Wheat Pasta

Boiled Chick Peas

Long Grain White Rice

Brown Rice

Spaghetti



Hopefully this list gives a good idea for what kinds of low-calorie meals can be designed to fit in with this diet.

With knowledge of calorie levels, creating meals can be a lot of fun, and involve a lot of creativity.

There are plenty of options for low calorie breakfasts, lunches and dinners. For breakfast you could enjoy a bagel with fat-free cream cheese, or oatmeal with raisins for less than 200 calories.

A simple tuna, turkey, or smoked chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes can be eaten for lunch at around 240-280 calories, or you’d have your lunch box to nibble on. It’s better this way because you’re blood sugar levels tend to spike when you’re just eating ‘lunch’. I try not to think of ‘lunch’ as lunch and just graze…

A low calorie dinner option could be salmon with a quick serving of brown rice, salad and low calorie salad dressing, or maybe a 2oz whole wheat pasta dish with frozen shrimp, feta cheese and marinara. Perhaps Asian stir-fry containing carrots, broccoli, red pepper and garlic would go down well with little over 300 calories.

For snacks in between meals, a tossed salad, a fruit salad or a slice of raisin bread is unlikely to be over 50 or 60 calories. If you’re on the go you could pick up a quick low fat cereal bar or rice cakes to keep you going.

These are just some of countless possible examples of how creative you can be with a diet like this. There are actually lots of low calorie eating options, so there are plenty of possibilities for making meals that contain the foods you like best. Obviously dieting is much easier if you enjoy the food you are eating, so you should focus on including your favourite low calorie foods as often as possible.

If you know all the possibilities available for designing low calorie meals and snacks, adoption this diet can be easy and a lot of fun. The health benefits of having a diet plan like this are vast. As we have seen, some people have been able to cure their diabetes for good by adopting a low calorie diet.

Even if the diabetes doesn’t go away, no-one can possibly not be in better health by eating a diet like this. Chances are having diabetes would be easier to cope with anyway, that’s if it doesn’t get cured all together.

All the best

Daryl