What does "dieting" mean?
For just about
all people, the term "dieting" means not eating the foods they love,
eating smaller portions, and worst of all skipping meals. I hope we all
know by now that dieting is hard and does not work for the long-term fat
loss we all want.
Let's take a closer look at the 3 methods of dieting, the side effects, and the proper way to deal with your diet.
Not Eating The Foods You Love To Lose Fat
You
probably love the same foods as me and most Americans, over- processed,
high in fat and sugar, and oversized portions. We need those over sized
portions because the food we are eating is not the nutrition our bodies
need. They are just empty calories that our body stores as fat.
If
you are trying to change your whole diet at once, that can be just as
hard as quitting smoking. I tried and the side effects of cutting all
sugar were quite painful. I lasted 3 weeks. The key here is to add a
couple healthy things to your diet and cut back on the unhealthy stuff.
An example would be to add fruit as a snack during the day instead of
doughnuts but only every other day. Then add one more day of fruit a
week with an occasional doughnut.
Whatever you do, do not call it
cheating. You can only cheat while dieting, and that is not what you are
doing. You are changing your diet to have better health, a lighter,
thinner body, more energy, higher self-esteem, and the knowledge you are
doing what is best for you and your family.
Eating Smaller Portions To Lose Fat
Leaving
the table hungry is not the way to go. This is one of the things that
make dieting very difficult. It will put you in a bad mood because you
feel like you are punishing yourself for doing what you love, eating.
After a few days of being hungry and weak, you rebel against yourself
and eat a whole pizza by yourself. This leads to guilt and resentment
and low self-esteem.
When changing your diet to nutritious foods,
it is better to eat more often with smaller portions. There is a whole
list of foods you can find that are healthy, low calorie and full of the
nutrients your body needs. The more your body gets used to getting
those nutrients, the less hungry you will feel. Personally, my favorite
snack that keeps me away from the vending machine is cocktail peanuts.
I
eat a handful about every hour and this event helps to eat a smaller
lunch. That may be more than is recommended but I do have a labor
intensive job that burns a lot of calories. I do still eat fast food on
occasion, but it will just be one small sandwich off the value menu,
such as a chicken sandwich. Never get the fries!
So eating smaller portions of great tasting healthy foods will keep your metabolism going and the fat burning.
Skipping Meals To Lose Fat
Skipping
meals is the worst dieting method you can do to lose fat. Eating food
actually boosts the metabolism and keeps your body burning calories.
This also gives you energy to do more with your day and burn more fat.
When you skip meals bad things happen to your body. Your metabolism, the
fat burning mechanism, slows down to conserve energy to keep your
organs working. If you only eat once a day, your body will store just
about the whole meal to keep your body going during the times of no new
fuel. It stores this as fat.
For breakfast, I either drink a whey
protein drink, about 170 calories, or eat a spinach salad, about 230
calories, but both give me a lot of energy, healthy unsaturated fats,
vitamins and micro-nutrients for healthy body function. Give yourself
this one boost in the morning and you will see a difference.
If
you find that you only like eating pastries or doughnuts for breakfast,
try switching them out a couple days a week to start. It will take time
for your taste buds to adjust to your new diet. That is what the protein
drink is for. My sweet chocolate fix for the day! Just remember that to
lose fat, you want less carbs and more protein. To gain weight, eat
more carbs and less protein. Go look at the best foods that burn fat on
my blog. Just click on the link below this article.
