Want To Lose Weight? Ya Gotta EAT!

Want To Lose Weight? Ya Gotta EAT!

I don't know if mothers still tell their kids that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. People have been saying it forever. But you don't have an appetite in the morning, right?

Well, if you are one of the 65% of Americans - one of the 50 million who will be going on a "diet" this year (and next year, not to mention last year and possibly all the years on either side) - breakfast is way more important for you than the lucky 35% who don't worry about their weight. The explanation is so simple and logical and I had never heard it before.

When you sleep, your metabolism slows down to virtually nothing. You have to give it a kick-start when you start your day. It's like putting fuel in a furnace. It doesn't have to be a lot of food, but it has to be something if you want to lose weight. A piece of whole grain toast (sure, put a little butter or peanut butter on it), an egg (keep some hard boiled ones in the fridge), some left over chicken breast, etc., work just fine. It might very well stimulate your appetite, and that's all good. You MUST eat if you want to drop those unwanted pounds. And eat often. Not necessarily a lot, but enough that you are never hungry and never uncomfortably full. Digestion is a calorie-burning activity. Eating 5 or 6 times a day burns more calories.

Eating boosts metabolism. Dieting makes your body more fuel-efficient. This is a survival mechanism and is unavoidable. Your body reads a drastic cut in calories as starvation and starts producing hormones that slow your metabolic rate. The longer you diet, the more saturated your body becomes with these "starvation hormones". To get rid of them, and to increase your metabolic rate, you have to EAT - the right things.

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a measure of how much a certain food raises blood sugar. A low glycemic food is absorbed slowly and raises blood sugar modestly. Your body produces insulin to bring your blood sugar down. That production is also modest and the return to normal blood sugar is smooth. High glycemic foods, mostly processed carbohydrates, raise glucose levels quickly and intensely, causing an overproduction of insulin, which brings your blood sugar BELOW normal levels. This results in your being hungry and subject to cravings (for even more high glycemic foods). http://www.diabetesnet.com/diabetes_food_diet/glycemic_index.php will take you to the Diabetes Mall that gives you a list of many foods and their GI. There are also a ton of books on the subject.

Some self-control will probably be necessary for a few days but you will be surprised how quickly your cravings for garbage food disappear when you get your calories from natural sugars, good carbs, good fats, and protein. Tell you what. It beats yo-yo dieting hands down!

JUDY RAITEN is an Independent Distributor for Xtreme Health Formulas, http://www.judybuilder.com. I distribute an all-natural weight loss/energy product that actually works! One capsule a day CONTROLS APPETITE, BOOSTS METABOLISM, INCREASES ENERGY and INCREASES STAMINA. If you take the tour of the website, I will be able to contact you to see if you would like a FREE SAMPLE.

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