Nutrition with Mark
More info : > Weight management :
It's easier than you think to lose weight!
By Mark Hayward
I am constantly asked the question 'I've cleaned my diet up, exercise 5 days a week but the weight just will not come off, what am I doing wrong?'. The answer is usually quite straight forward as we will see. People who are unfortunate enough to live in places where there are severe food shortages, such as in some parts of the third world, don't have a problem keeping the weight off. Can you see the connection now? Read on.
Here I'm going to go over some of the most likely causes, but before I start, let me tell you that's it's rare for it to truly be a medical problems some claim and 'big bones' or 'getting older' really just won't cut it either.
Eating More Than You think
This is the biggest cause of stubborn weight loss for obvious reasons. You may think you are eating well but just sit down and spend a little while truly analysing what is in your food and how many calories you are eating. Keep a food log for a week, be honest with yourself. Foods like low fat mince are actually incredibly high in calories, yet marketed as 'healthy'. Don't be put off by supermarkets 'healthy eating and living' claims. While these foods are better than most it doesn't mean you can eat more of them! Low fat products often still contain substantial amounts of sugar and other fattening ingredients. Keep them to a minimum!
Also if your are the type to go to an all you can eat buffet and gorge yourself untll you are literally wedged between the chair and table, then stop it! You may have been good all week but this will hinder progress severely.
Eating Too Little
As strange as this may seem it can make weight loss more difficult, particularly after the early stages. Here are the reasons. Do you skip breakfast, have a light nibble or nothing in most cases for lunch, then go home and have a big meal? If so you have just let your body know there is a famine going on and it had better start saving those calories from the big meal while it has the chance. It's just trying to survive and genetically doesn't know food is on hand for most people at all times. If you pig out at the weekend and do this in the week you will have problems.
It will make it even harder if you are working hard at the gym too. Your body will then well and truly be in survival mode- loads of energy expenditure required and too little fuel to do it- better store some calories up on your hips for later!
Sumo wrestlers eat only once a day and look at them. Assuming that's not the look you want for yourself eat small regular meals every few hours.
Too Much Sugar
Honey at breakfast? Sugar in your coffee? Simple sugars spike your insulin levels sky high, which will favour the enlargement of fat cells. Obviously most people don't want this so they should avoid it at all cost. Remember the low fat products? They are usually packed full with sugar.
Avoid sugar if you want to lose weight!
Too Few Vegetables
While not necessary as such, keeping full with vegetables is invaluable in you quest for weight loss. Not only do they fill you up, your body loves them and will quite happily shed the pounds while it's getting a regular supply. They are packed full of fibre, vitamins and minerals; your body will absorb them this way far better than a vitamin pill as well.
At the very least try to eat plenty of veg of different colours with some oily fish or lean meat, every day, evening is usually best for most people.
Not Active Enough
Doing the cross trainer at level 1 for half an hour is not really a workout unless you are one of those unfortunate 50 stone people you see on TV who have to be airlifted out of their bed to hospital. You really need to be breaking a sweat out at the gym. Most people don't and they get a better workout when they're walking from the car park to the changing room. Being in the gym does not mean you are working out!
Also do you drive everywhere? Take the lift instead of stairs? It's all too easy but our bodies haven't evolved to take things easy, your genes think life is hard, constantly active and avoiding danger. You may not want the danger part but keep active always moving, don't just sit down and vegetate at work or home. The fat will stick like glue if you do.
Make changes where you have too, just be honest with yourself. Wishful thinking does not aid fat loss, so maybe it's time to get real.
Eat in moderation
This doesn’t mean a specific amount of food or specified number of calories per day. Eating in moderation refers to your attitude to restraint with regard what you are eating. In simple terms this means eat to fuel your lifestyle and no more. This varies according to every individual’s circumstances. For example, a marathon runner who has little excess body fat and runs seventy miles every week will need more food each day than a sedentary office worker who needs to shift 3 extra stone. Moderation means stopping eating when you begin to feel full. Make sure you eat slowly so you know when you have reached this point! Stop for a few minutes to let your food go down and you will be far more likely to resist a second slice of pizza and to choose vegetables instead of additional chips.
In order to eat in moderation, you need to know portion sizes. But we are looking at a manageable lifestyle change not a rigid diet plan. The foods you eat will fall into either of two categories: carbohydrate or protein. Carbohydrates include fruit, vegetables, bread, pasta and rice. These last three are starches; you will need to limit your consumption of these if you want to lose weight and keep it off. Proteins are meat, eggs and dairy. Each serving of carbs should be about the size of your closed fist. A serving of protein will be approximately the size of your palm.
The easiest way to eat in moderation is to divide your plate into quarters. Half your plate should be covered with fruits and vegetables. A quarter of your plate should be allocated for protein, and a quarter can be used for starches for example bread, baked potato and pasta. If you aren’t full by this point, eat only extra vegetables. Leave out extra starches. Additional protein is allowed, particularly if you are physically active.
Avoid empty calories
An empty calorie is a food or drink that has zero nutritional value besides its energy value. This includes sugary drinks like lemonade or lucozade. Other examples of empty calories would be most breakfast cereals and sweets. Empty calories should be saved for a weekend treat and special occasions only. No exceptions. If you make a habit of regularly consuming these empty calories, they will likely catch up to you in the form of blood sugar problems, weight gain, and poor health.
Limit sweet and/or fatty food to one meal per week
This is straight forward. Stay away from sweet, fatty food e.g. cakes, biscuits- have them in moderation once a week if you must.
Eat five servings of vegetables each day
There is no need to restrict carbohydrates from vegetables as some diets would have you do. Fruits must be limited yes, but no one ever become fat eating vegetables in excess. As well as filling you up they keep you healthy by providing essential vitamins and minerals your diet may be lacking if you avoid them.
Don't cover them in oil or cheese either, eat them raw or with a main meal on their own. Select a variety of colours to get the full benefit from them.
Choose whole grains
When you decide to eat starches, look for whole grain sources which provide better nutrition than their highly refined counterparts. For example, next time you have pasta, try whole-wheat instead of regular. You could try mixing both whole-wheat and regular pasta in your dishes until you get used to the fuller flavor. After a short while you will find that whole-wheat pasta far more flavour and is much more satisfying. When buying bread, get a whole-grain variety instead white, even if your white bread is “fortified with vitamins and minerals.” Make sure you look for bread that has whole-wheat or whole-grain as the first ingredient on the label, and look for products with 2-2.5 grams or more of fiber per serving.
Choose lean meats
You do not have to be a vegetarian in order to be a healthy eater; vegetarianism is not always the healthiest approach to eating in itself. Veganism is good as it avoids the exploitation and suffering of animals and is good to practice if you can. You can keep good nutritional habits and still eat meat on a regular basis. The most important thing is to choose leaner meats- they are high in protein and have limited saturated fats. Fish, chicken, venison, turkey, and lean beef. You might limit red meat to two meals week as more frequent consumption has been linked to serious health risks. Fattier meats like pork should be consumed on a less frequent basis. Check how the meat is prepared. Avoid fried foods as much as possible. Processed meats like sausages and bacon are full of fat and chemicals and are high in sodium so avoid whenever possible. Heart patients need to eliminate all fatty and processed meats from their diet.
Chose low fat alternatives
Always look at food labels. Not all reduced fat or fat-free foods are good for you. Many contain extra sodium, sugar, or other chemicals that can be harmful long term. Many however are good alternatives to high fat foods. Whenever possible, choose the healthier food option. For example, iceburg lettuce offers little in the way of nutrition, but green leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, and spinach leaves are a great alternative for salads and side dishes, and they have more taste. Many low-fat or fat free salad dressings are good alternatives to high fat versions. Whenever you can, order grilled chicken instead of fried, wholegrain bread instead of white, jacket potato instead of chips. Having the healthier alternative is the main thing to remember whenever you’re about to eat a meal or snack. By applying this simple rule, you can make good choices about your food and drink and enjoy it guilt-free knowing that you are on your way to becoming fitter and healthier.
Forget the olive oil
Many people seem to treat olive oil like it is a "free" food i.e. they can have a s much as they want, guilt free. They drown their salads, roast their vegetables with it smother thier pasta- because it's healthy right? Good for the heart it may be (which is debatable) but it will also make you fat in record time; it is very high in calories and your body will covert it to fat in an instant. If you wonder why you can't lose weight try leaving it off your healthy meals.
Have one cheat day per week
Have one day a week when you ease up on your diet a little. This will help stop your metabolic rate from dropping and make you more likely to stick to your diet. But be sensible! Don't at until you can't get up from the table. Eat until you begin to feel full, eat slowly and enjoy your cheat food. Do not scoff down an entire pizza; just have a couple of slices. One slice of cake not the whole lot. If you do over indulge you may very well put all the weight back on you have lost that week.
Exercise four to six days per week
Not nutrition I know but exercise can be important in achieving and maintaining good health and low body fat. To lose weight, you must burn more calories than you take in. The best plan for long-term weight loss combines healthy eating with increased physical activity. But exercise isn’t just for people who need to lose weight; a habit of exercise is for everyone. You do not have to sign up to a gym, lift heavy weights, or run marathons to get all the exercise you need. Go for a brisk walk of thirty to sixty minutes; perform calisthenics at home; or try an exercise DVD that you might enjoy doing three or four days per week. Try to move more in between workouts- increase your daily physical activity by taking the stairs instead of the lift, parking your car at the back of the car park instead of finding a spot close to the supermarket, walk to work or park a couple of miles away or take your children to a park and running and play along with them. Look for a way to make exercise fun, and you will be more likely to stick with it for the long-term.
