Debunking The Myth Of Eating Less To Lose Weight
December 5, 2011 by Mohamed
Filed under Weight Loss, Weight Loss Articles and News
One of the biggest myths about losing weight is the idea that you need to eat less in order to shed pounds. New studies have shown that this is simply not the case. As a matter of fact, it’s just the opposite. Let’s take a look at why you need to eat if you want to lose weight.
The Scientific Benefits of Breakfast
People who eat breakfast on a daily basis tend to lose weight easier. The National Weight Control Registry performed a study that showed people who eat breakfast have a better chance of maintaining a 30 pound, or more, weight loss for at least a year. Studies in The Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed similar results.
Another research group analyzed government data on over 4,000 adults and found those who ate a regular breakfast tended to take in fewer calories during the day and had a lower fat intake. They also noted that regular breakfast eaters were more likely to engage in routine exercise.
Eating breakfast also jump-starts your metabolism, says Elisabetta Politi, RD, MPH, nutrition manager for the Duke Diet and Fitness Center at Duke University Medical School. She states; “When you don’t eat breakfast, you’re actually fasting for 15 to 20 hours, so you’re not producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight.” In fact, sumo wrestlers don’t eat until late in the day for the sole purpose of gaining weight. If you don’t eat breakfast, you are actually following the sumo wrestler diet. Now, that is a scary thought.
Keep Your Metabolism Going All Day
With the right mechanisms in place, your body will naturally burn fat. But, what are the right mechanisms? That’s your job; to find your body’s balance between energy consumed and energy burned. Metabolism is the name of the game. When you eat healthy small meals, starting early in the morning, your metabolism is set in full swing, mobilizing and converting fat stores into energy.
When you eat breakfast along with regular snacks and small meals throughout the day, your body gets the nutrition it needs and goes to work, breaking down your food into energy. If you wait until you’re starving before you eat anything, that gnawing feeling in your stomach is telling you something. Your body will start by robbing your muscle tissue of anything it needs first, like protein, then it will store fat because it thinks it’s in famine mode. By eating early and often, not only are you protecting the muscle that supports your frame and allows you to walk, sit, and stand, but you are also keeping your metabolism going so it works all day to give you energy.
Simple Weight Loss Tips to Get You Started
- Eat slowly. It takes twenty minutes for your stomach to tell your brain you are full. Don’t eat and run. You’ll be looking for your next meal way before you need it.
- Pick out foods you need to chew. Try apples, whole grain hearty breads, celery, and other raw vegetables. These foods will slow down your eating and satisfy your chewing instinct. Raw nuts are another option. Just be sure to monitor the serving sizes as you snack.
- Drink 6 to 8 glasses of cold water per day. This helps to feel full and as your body works to raise the temperature of the water, you are burning calories. Keep bottles of water filled in the refrigerator and sip, sip, sip.
- Eating oranges is much more satisfying than just drinking the juice. Keep this thought when choosing other fruits and vegetables. Whole is usually better.
- Have a healthy snack before you start cooking dinner. This will help with overeating while preparing the meal, and after. Munching on celery is the perfect way to keep you satisfied while cooking.
If you need a sweet treat, just remember that frozen yogurt, angel food cake, and sherbet are all low fat. Low carb diets are low sugar diets, which often forbid fruit. In this case, one tiny piece of dark chocolate may be an option. This may leave you satisfied without all the sugar or carbs. You have to experiment to find the right treat for your sweet tooth that fits your diet.
The less you eat, the more your body protects itself and begins to go into starvation mode, holding on to more food, storing it as fat and robbing your muscles of nutrients. Make sure you eat a good breakfast to start your day right. Then, keep your metabolism working throughout the day with small meals and healthy snacks.
Stop starving yourself so your body can relax and start to lose that weight. Adding foods instead of subtracting foods? It’s so crazy it might just work.
The Magic Diet Pill To Help You Lose Weight
June 16, 2009 by Mohamed
Filed under Weight Loss
… unfortunately there isn’t a magic diet pill that can help you lose weight. I don’t fall for all the products out there, since the key to losing weight and keeping it off is lifestyle changes. Science hasn’t yet discovered how to put that into a pill.
There are many strategies that you can undertake to help your weight loss – but in the end they all end up following a very simple formula:
- Calories Burned LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO Calories In RESULTS IN maintain your weight
- Calories Burned LESS THAN Calories In RESULTS IN promote weight loss
What are some strategies you can use, today – RIGHT NOW.
- Weight Loss Strategy #1Eat LESS! This is the easiest thing to do. Just cut back by 50% what you’re eating. For example, if you have 6 slices of regular cut toast in the morning – CUT BACK to 2 slices OR buy thin sliced bread – two slices are the equivalent to one slice of regular cut bread. You could (technically) still have 6 slices but are only eating the calories for 3. Instead what you should do is cut back – eat the thin sliced bread and have two slices instead.
- Weight Loss Strategy #2Walk a lot. Walking is great exercise, it is easy and you don’t need to buy any specialized fitness equipment to walk. You may want to buy a pedometer – but it’s not necessary. Just go out for a walk. When I lost my initial 100lbs I went for walks daily. During lunch I’d go out for 30 minute walk. After work, I’d take the long way to my car and in fact parked several blocks from work — not only did it save me money but I got exercise! Walking to lose weight is a strategy that will help you work towards weight loss and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Those are just two weight loss strategies that will help you lose weight, and feel great!
Here is to your health!
Mohamed
Weight Loss Frustration
May 11, 2009 by Mohamed
Filed under Weight Loss
WOW – I can not believe it’s been almost one year that I have not posted here. Not due to ignoring the site, but just busy with work and family.
I’d like to let update folks about a few things:
FREE PEDOMETER – WOW! I can’t believe how popular this was, unfortunately I don’t have a bottomless pit of money, nor do I have an inside track with any manufacturer so my stash os pedometers was given away looong ago. I am considering offering this again, but it wouldn’t be free – but definately something affordable; that said – check out your local department store as you should be able to purchase a pedometer for under $10.00 for something very basis. You can spend a lot more, but not sure if you need all the features others may offer. Remember using a PEDOMETER is only one way to help you stick to a walking plan by encouraging you to walk 10,000 steps per day!
MY OWN WEIGHT LOSS – well for almost 2-3 years there I wasn’t loosing anything. The initial weight loss that I had has stayed off; but over the last 3-4 months I’ve started watching my meals again and am doing some exercise (nothing strenuous) to aid in weight loss. I’m happy to report that I’ve come down almost 15 lbs over the last 4-months!! In terms of sizes, here is what’s happened:
Jeans – from a size 50-52 to about 48-50
Dress Pants – from a size 52 to about 48 (depending on the mfg’er)
Dress Shirts – from a 4x to 3x (I can probably fit into a 2x but I don’t like wearing tight clothes)
Undies – 2x (from 3x – 4x … I’m sure you wanted to know that!!!) LOL!
Seriously though, as I’ve dropped another 15lbs I do feel much better and actually feel like doing things with my son instead of sitting inside all the time (FYI – my kid is a skinny, skinny bean pole! He doesn’t seem to gain any weight except for what is appropriate for his age. Lucky!).
What have I been doing? Well you’ll just have to keep visiting to find out, and I promise to post more regularly!
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