What you do is try to find a diet that includes a variety
of foods that you can live with comfortably. You have to
take a long-term view and include plenty of exercise. A
good diet is one that supplies all of the essential vitamins
and minerals, and is not high in fat or protein.
Research on people, who have successfully lost a lot of
weight and kept it off long term, shows that the vast majority
succeeded by consuming a low fat diet high in fibre coupled
with strength training and cardiovascular activity.
Be wary of diets that
• Ban a specific food group
• Promise a quick fix
• Replace a balanced meal with a drink or a snack
bar
• Make recommendations based on single studies
• Make recommendations to help sell a single product
Excess weight does not appear overnight and nor will it
disappear overnight! In fact the faster you lose weight,
the more likely you are to pile the pounds back on. Seek
out a program that will help you maintain long-term body
fat losses by providing attainable solutions such as a program
that promotes lifestyle changes, healthy eating and regular
exercise.
Regular exercise is important (i.e. strength training)
as it burns fat, boosts your metabolism and also increases
your energy levels. Dietary changes can lead to initial
weight loss, but this is only for the short term. Exercise
is essential for maintaining weight loss for the long term.
Now let’s take a closer look at what food is made
up of and then you will have a good idea of what to look
for in your daily eating plan. Firstly we need a wide range
of nutrients to perform various functions for a healthy
life. These nutrients include carbohydrates, proteins and
fat and are all present in the food we eat on a daily basis.
The foods containing these nutrients are cereals, legumes,
nuts, vegetables, fruits, milk products and flesh foods
(fish, meat and poultry).
We need all these nutrients to live and thrive and since
we receive them through the food we eat, our food must be
well balanced and in the proper proportions. Food is a fuel;
the body requires this fuel for energy, which is measured
in fats, carbohydrate and protein.
Each of these nutrients provides different amounts of energy
and these are measured in calories.
Nutrient Calories per Gram
Carbohydrate 4
Protein 4
Fat 9
What Are Carbohydrates
Let’s look at carbohydrates first, carbohydrates
supply energy for our body, they provide fibre for the prevention
of disease and taste and texture to food. They are found
in cereals, potatoes, fruits and vegetables.
They come in two basic forms, simple and complex. Simple
carbs are easily identified by their taste and are sweet.
Complex carbs, such as potatoes are pleasant to the taste
buds, but are not sweet.
They are then divided into two groups, high fibre and low
fibre.
High-fibre foods are the healthiest choices for nutrition
and the intake of these foods is associated with a lower
incidence of cancer and diabetes. Carbohydrates supply the
sort of calories easily burned during cardiovascular exercise.
They are often wrongly feared and considered fattening,
but the most important factor in weight control is balancing
the energy (calories) consumed.
Please remember:
Energy In is more than Energy Out = Weight gain
Energy In is equal to Energy Out = Weight maintenance
Energy In is less than Energy Out = Weight loss
Different foods affect the ability to exercise at different
levels. High levels of exercise (cardio and strength training)
require carbohydrate as a fuel source; at lower levels it
is fat.
A lack of carbohydrate in the diet will lead to fatigue,
the inability to exercise effectively, and excess fat consumption.
When our food is digested, carbohydrates are broken down
into simple sugars.
These sugars are absorbed by the body and used by the muscles
or stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver. As our glycogen
storage capacity is limited, carbohydrate needs to be continually
topped up by the foods we eat.
But the body has an unlimited storage capacity for fat!
The average person is extremely vulnerable to fad diets
and extreme dieting behaviours. The low carbohydrate diet
is one of the latest eating plans to hit the streets. This
current diet craze is very popular but there are safer and
more effective methods based on scientific research, to
reduce body fat levels.
Low carbohydrate dieting is simply wrong
Why is this? Just as a car runs better on a certain fuel,
so does the human body. Unfortunately the latest low-carbohydrate
fad diets are not the fuel mix the human body was designed
to run on.
Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram, whereas fats
contain 9 calories per gram. For weight loss, the priority
is to decrease total calorie intake. Reducing the amount
of fat in the diet will make the biggest difference in reducing
total daily calorie intake and hence weight loss.
Carbohydrate intake is not fattening, excess calorie intake
is fattening.
If you aren't having enough carbohydrates in your diet
you will experience:
• Fatigue due to low blood sugar levels inadequate
intake of vitamins and minerals
• Low fibre intake, which may affect bowel movements
• 'Bad’ breath due to the breakdown products
of fats (called ketones)
The bottom line for carbohydrates and weight loss is to:
• Try to balance carbohydrate intake with activity
levels
• Maintain energy levels by eating carbohydrate
rich foods on a regular basis
• Carbohydrate rich foods are normally low in fat
and nutrient-rich
A real weight loss program includes all the food groups,
strength training, and low-level aerobics, a slight decrease
in your daily calorie levels and a program that can be followed
for life.
In conclusion try to achieve a balanced diet, eating a
balanced variety of foods will help you to feel great every
day, ensure better long-term health and improve weight control.
>>
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