A simple search for weight loss options brings up tens if not hundreds of
options: diets, supplements, pills, workouts and even surgical operations.
Over the years, women have subscribed to all sorts of regimens to lose
weight. Do they work? Are they sustainable? Well, sometimes. Here are
some of the most common weight loss advice that you’ll come across:
Carbohydrates are broken down into sugar, which is then stored as fat. If your
diet consists mainly of carbohydrates, you’ll keep piling fat as the days go by.
If the carbs are not on your plate, chances are they’ll come in the form of
snacks. Cake, cookies, biscuits and so on. These options are even worse as
they contain high levels of sugar and fat.
If you’re physically active, you burn calories for energy, thus regulating your
weight. If not, or if your intake exceeds the rate of utilization, then you’ll
gradually add weight. Increasing the portions of proteins and vegetables at
the expense of the carbohydrates cuts down on the piling up of fat.
Gulping down your food increases the chances of eating more than you need
too. The ‘full’ signal takes up to 20 minutes to register in the brain. If you’re
eating quickly, you’ll keep eating even when you’re already full, just that the
brain has not registered it yet. If you ate slowly, you’re more conscious of the
feeling, and you stop eating much sooner. The lesser the food is taken, the
lower the calories.
Take away the platters from your dinner table. Large plates deceive you with
the portions. You feel like you’re just taking a standard serving while you’re
in fact heaping on a large meal. And when you’ve served just enough; it’ll
look scarce on a platter. Reducing the size of your plate will help you
regulate your portions.
Fiber-rich foods make you full faster and keep you full for longer. Some of
the most potent sources of fiber include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and
legumes. Use fruits as a snack to replace the sugary or fatty options. Having a
fruit salad 30 minutes before a meal can considerably reduce the amount
you’ll consume. As for the vegetables, think of them not as a side dish, but a
key component of the meal. Let the vegetables occupy up to half of your
plate. Go for brown rice and bread baked from unprocessed wheat. Such a
diet will leave you full for hours and reduce the need to snack on unhealthy
options.
A can of cold soda on a hot summer day is surely refreshing, but not as friendly
for your weight. Soft drinks contain a high amount of sugar, which is
eventually converted to fat in the body. You can wade off that craving by
staying hydrated. Even before you feel thirsty, sip water periodically. A
hydrated body is less likely to demand a sugary drink. If you must have
something tastier, go for fruit or vegetable juice. Vegetable juice may not be
as tasty but is definitely a better option as it contains less sugar. Take the fruit
juice in moderation, especially if it comes from sugary fruits such as apples,
mangoes or oranges.
The idea of getting into the kitchen after a long day at work is not exactly
pleasant, but your body will thank you for it in the long run. Cooking your
own food allows you to choose fresh and healthy ingredients, and cut down
on processed foods. One of the main problems with processed foods is the
preservatives used to give them a longer shelf life, which often contains trans
fats and sodium. Trans fats are a major contributor to belly fat.
As you cook your own food, you can monitor the levels and quality of oil and
sugar which majorly contribute to weight gain. Carry the food to work too.
Whenever you get time to cook, prepare multiple meals and refrigerate or
freeze them, so you don’t have to cook every day.
Restaurant meals are hardly friendly to weight loss. They mostly concentrate
on the flavors; to tantalize your taste buds hoping that you’ll return for more.
You can minimize the eat-outs, but you don’t have to cut them out entirely.
One of the useful tips that will help you with restaurants is to look at their
menu beforehand. Fortunately, most of the establishments now have their
menus online. Browse for the healthy options on offer, such as those steamed
instead of fried, or sugar-free drink options. By the time you sit in the
restaurant, you’re already certain about what you want to have no matter
what everyone else is having. You also don’t have to eat the entire portion
served. You can have some packed to take home for the next meal.
Some women will eat a mountain when stressed, frustrated or sad. This type
of eating is not triggered by hunger, but by an emotional need. Interestingly,
during this time hardly anybody goes for a salad. Fatty and sugary foods
become the top option, perhaps to please the taste buds, to compromise for all
the bad feelings elsewhere. Learn to fill such emotional needs differently.
Entertain yourself by watching a movie, reading a book or going out for a
game. Once you start to feel better, the demand for food lessens.
How much did you consume, say, last weekend? Unless you’re consciously
keeping count, such a question would be hard to answer. You’ll be surprised
how much you eat in a day, or a week, if you note it down. We snack in
between meals and hardly consider that food, yet in most cases, those snacks
contain high amounts of sugar and fat that lead to weight gain. Keeping track
of what you’re eating and the resultant calories also help you determine the
number of calories you need to burn to lose weight. The more you eat, the
more you’ll need to exercise. Alternatively, you can simply regulate your
eating.
Now that you’re here reading this book on weight loss through intermittent
fasting, I think it’s safe to assume that the methods you’ve tried out, if any,
have not been successful. Chances are you’re still struggling with extra
pounds.
Before we embark on this form of fasting, let’s explore some of the reasons
why your weight may not be going down despite the various remedies that
you’ve tried out:
Wrong Information: You’re most likely to obtain your weight loss
information from the internet. Are you aware of the credentials, if
any, of the persons providing that information? Anyone can claim
to be an expert on the web. Some of these people can give
misleading information or outright lies, mostly in an effort to sell
you one of their remedies. You may have taken one of these,
spurred by the glossy testimonials, and they left you high and dry.
If the remedies come in the form of pills, supplements or injections
could leave you with nasty side effects to boot.
Poor Sleep: When you have adequate sleep, your hormones are
balanced enabling the burning of fat. With poor sleep, the fat
burning is compromised keeping you from shedding the pounds,
even when every other factor should be leading you there. Stress is
also a contributing factor here, as it will often keep you from
sleeping well. Stress and poor sleep, whether experienced jointly or
separately, also contribute to excess eating. When you’re stressed,
you eat to soothe yourself. When you can’t sleep, you roam around
the house in the dead of night, and there’s a good chance that
you’ll end up in the kitchen. The result is the same; pounds that
just won’t come off.
No Dedication: Keeping your body in shape is work; even more so
when you’re already overweight. You will be required to eat right
and exercise, not just periodically, but to turn this into a lifestyle.
There’s hardly any shortcut and even those which promise to be
turn out to be costly in the long run. And the results may not be
sustainable. You may have decided to enroll at the gym, how many
sessions did you attend? Or if you opt to go out and run in the
morning or after work, do you find it hard to leave the warmth of
your bed or complain of being too tired? If you don’t follow
through with your weight loss plan, you will not have any notable
results, and that will only demotivate you even further.