If only losing weight was as easy as starting a new diet. Imagine, you go on a fad diet for a month and – *poof* – you’re forever slim.
The unfortunate truth for the vast majority of overweight people is that the idea of eating less is a painful one. If it wasn’t, we would all be slimmer. Whether we overeat because we chow down too fast, or it’s how we deal with stress, the amount of food we eat is important to us.
It’s exactly why diets don’t work. Yes, we can cut out food during a crash diet while the easy pounds come off and we see lots of results. But as soon as those visible changes start to slow down, or we reach our goal, we quickly fall back into our old habits – and our old body is usually not far behind.
Losing Weight Without Eating Less Food
It’s a rare few of us who actually like being overweight. What we really like, for good reasons or bad, is to eat. That increases our chances of failing at any weight loss effort that involves eating less.
So what would you say about being able to lose weight while eating around the same amount of food?
The adage that to lose weight you must eat fewer calories is absolutely true. But too many of us equate calories with the amount of food we eat. Indeed, you could have a high-calorie diet without eating that much food.
What you eat is just as important as how much.
A certain amount of high fat, high sugar and high salt foods will spike your weight more than the same quantity of foods that don’t contain all those calories, or that destabilize your blood sugar content.
If you swapped the sugary, fatty and salty foods in your diet for foods that were not sugary, fatty and salty, your chances of noticeably losing weight would be much higher, all while you ate the same amount of food.
To help you get started, here are some of the best ways for you to eat just as much food as you do now, and still lose weight:
1. Eat Smaller Meals Throughout the Day
There’s a big difference between eating your daily recommended calorie intake at one meal or several. If you eat a large meal, it’s very likely that you will not burn the extra calories before your next meal. The leftover calories are stored in added
Smaller meals give your body the energy and nutrition it needs throughout the day without overloading, or spiking your blood sugar, at any one time.
2. Eat Whole Grains
We mean everywhere. Grabbing a slice of pizza for lunch? Get whole grain crust. Spaghetti? Whole grain pasta. Whole grains do not boost insulin as high as processed grains. And lower insulin means more fat burning.
3. Get Rid of High Sugar Drinks and Snacks
Just by swapping high-sugar soft drinks, fruit juice, snacks and desserts for low-sugar options, like vegetable juice, nuts, seeds and whole fruit, you can eliminate massive quantities of sugar from your diet. There are 10 teaspoons of sugar in a can of Coke. The World Health Organization says you should consume no more than six teaspoons of sugar a day.
4. Trim the Fat
By cutting the visible fat from meats, you cut lots of calories. Lean red meat is a great source of protein, which helps burn fat. You can eliminate most of the fat from your protein consumption by eating more legumes, like beans, peas and lentils.
5. Drink Lots of Water
While it has no nutritional value, you need water as much as the most nutritious food. Among the many benefits of water, it helps distribute nutrients from food throughout your body; it fills you up, so you eat less, and in lubricates your muscles and joints. That combination means you eat less fat and burn more.
Weight loss diets fail because they miss the point. What you eat is more important than how much. While anyone who overeats will gain weight, even on a healthy diet, there is far less chance of overeating when you choose the right foods.
To learn more how you can enjoy a balanced diet and get the proper nutrition, all while losing weight, visit or call your local Herbal One Centre.