A Sane Way to Diet and Lose Stubborn Fat Without Losing Your Sense of Proportion

Eating a well-balanced healthy diet can become a bit of a chore especially when you have to fit all the recommended nutrients and the five a day into a normal busy day. It can be difficult to say the least even for the most dedicated individual. Most of us are aware that cutting calories to a ridiculously low level and skipping meals isn’t the right way to lose weight.

Eating the right type of calories frequently is essential to weight loss programmes. The more calories you cut the more stress it is for your body. Did you know your body would eat itself if you didn’t feed it? All your hormones would become out of flux, fat-storing hormones would increase and the body would tell your thyroid to slow down, as a natural protective mechanism for the body to keep what little fuel it has to live on and survive.

The choices of foods are just as important as the amounts you eat. Time constraints and practicality can tempt many of us to live on processed junk food. So what is the best solution? Planning the next day’s meals in advance is the key, preparing the night before if necessary and using the convenience of food supplements in your daily diet if and when you need to. To help keep hunger at bay until meal times a meal replacement drink mid morning or mid afternoon is practical and achievable for just about anyone. That is just one way you could get nutrients your body needs and help keep the metabolism fire burning.

Caution needs to be applied to food supplements; many contain high amounts of sugars and artificial sweeteners. Choose one with low sugar contents. Only rely on food supplements when time doesn’t allow you to eat a solid meal, food is more thermogenic than liquid meals. Always favour a liquid meal over skipping a meal though as it is more likely to prevent you from heading over to the vending machine.

When planning meals careful selection is necessary with food quality and also with the amounts you eat. The ratio of protein, fat and carbohydrate per meal is dictated by your response to that meal afterwards. Unwanted side effect such as feeling tired, bloated or hungry should be recorded in a food log so adjustments can be made the next time you eat that meal. From there you will be able to modify the meal and keep fine-tuning it until you get a positive response and a sense what works best for your body. Everyone responds differently at a biochemical level to the same foods so it is important to discover what works best for you.

The key is to try and eat a wide selection of foods every week, eating the same meals day in day out can be boring and detrimental to your digestive system. The correct selection of foods that suits your body and passes on a good response after the meal is highly recommended.

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