The ultimate Weight Loss Guide
About Fat
Basically, fat isthe stored energy in the body. The body can use fat when glucose levelsare low and the body needs to use reserve energy (reserves). Certainorgans in your body, like the brain, need glucose (specific) as energy.Fat is abundantly found directly under the skin. When fat is brokendown during lipolysis, you get two products namely glycerol and fattyacids.
The good side of fat:
Essential fatty acids cannot be made by the body and needs to be supplied in the diet.
There are vitamins that are fat-soluble. That means these vitamins will not dissolve in water, but only in fat. Therefore, these vitamins need fat to distribute throughout your body.
Fat is a very good source of energy
Omega-3 fatty acids:
Omega-3 fatty acids seem to control your body’s blood sugar levels.When your blood sugar levels are stable and controlled, cravings areusually kept under control. Omega-3 is also believed to decrease therisk of diabetes and obesity. Omega-3 fatty acids may also increaseyour metabolic rate. More important than keeping track of the caloriesyou eat, is to ensure that your body burns the calories in an effectivemanner.
Why a balanced meal?
Protein
High-protein foods have a tendency to slow down the movement of food in the gastric channel. If you can manage to lower the number of times you empty your stomach, you will be fuller for longer and get hungrier later.
Because protein doesn’t affect the blood sugar levels to such an extent, you won’t have a steep rise in sugar levels with a sudden drop.
One’s body uses more energy to break down (digest) protein than it does to break down fat or carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates
Skipping meals lowers your metabolism, your blood glucose level (which causes one to crave sweet things) and your energy levels.
Eating too few calories WILL slow down your metabolism and make it harder for you to lose weight.
Why Exercise is Important
Exercise speeds up your metabolism.
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is a rate that gives one an indication of how fast your body burns calories while you rest. If you exercise, your BMR increases so that you burn more calories throughout the day.
Exercise causes your body not only to burn calories, but also to mobilise stored fat (before fat can be used as fuel, it must be mobilised).
Muscles burn calories for energy 18 times faster than fat. By increasing your muscle activity moderately, your body’s metabolism will increase and you will burn more calories naturally each day.
Exercise and food.
If you exercise, you will need to eat the correct food for your body to perform at its best.
After exercise?
Try to replenish some burned energy after workout. The carbohydrateswill help you to recover by replenishing muscle glycogen. It alsoprevents you from overeating at dinner. Orange juice is a greatrecovery fluid. It contains vitamin C, potassium and no fat. Onaverage, there is only about 140 calories per 10-ounce serving (and youalso get to replace lost fluids).
Why do I pick up weight?
There may be various reasons why you are picking up weight.
You are not disciplined enough in your diet and exercise. If this is the case, use your dietary journal. Our journal will aid you in tracking your progress. At the end of the week, you will be able to see how many days you have cheated and to what extent. You may surprise yourself as one soon forgets an occasional chocolate or sweet thing.
You eat the wrong types of foods. Use our suggested food specifications to equip yourself with the necessary knowledge as to what the correct foods are to eat. If you are not sure what to eat, it is easier to eat the wrong food types at the wrong time.
You eat most of your carbohydrates during the latter stage of the day or even before you go to sleep. For your body to cope with stresses and everyday activities, it needs energy and calories. Some people starve themselves during the day only to overeat at night. Night-time is the worst time to overeat. Carbohydrates need to be eaten during the first part of the day. This will give you energy during the most stressful part of your day. If you do not eat during the day, you will most probably get cravings at night. The only way to prevent this is to have a healthy meal in the morning and in the afternoon.
How to combat night-time cravings?
If you train at night, include carbohydrates before you train for energy and endurance. Because your body uses carbohydrates for energy, you may feel very tired after workout due to low blood sugar. Taking carbohydrates beforehand may lessen this effect.
Try to include low GI carbohydrates in your normal daily routine. These will ensure stable blood sugar levels throughout the day. Because low GI carbohydrates get released over a period of time, your blood sugar won’t dip and you will not get cravings.
Overeating on weekends. When you follow a healthy diet throughout the week and not over weekends, your body acts like a sponge, absorbing and storing everything. Alcohol is full of empty calories that only get stored in your body. If you drink on an occasion, drink one glass of water per alcoholic drink. You will feel better the next day and not suffer from dehydration. If you know that you are going to cheat (birthday, work function), hit the gym a few days prior to the event.
Most of us do not have the luxury to prepare food during the day. This usually leads to the consumption of convenience food. You will spend a lot of money on convenience food, eaten in a hurry because you do not have enough time to prepare food for yourself. If this is the problem, you will definitely benefit from one of our meal replacers e.g. Diet Fuel or Protein Plex. Meal replacers provide a balanced meal that consists of complex carbohydrates and proteins.
Are you a vegetarian or vegan? Proteins are very important in a diet as they balance your blood sugar levels and also help your liver to break down fats. Introduce a plant based protein source like soy.
Some people have jobs that require entertaining clients and taking them for dinner. Doing this may be fun, but also very unhealthy.
Try the following to avoid over-indulging yourself:
Drink your meal replacer beforehand. This will fill your stomach and you won’t feel that hungry during the meal.
Drink a lot of water during the meal and avoid fizzy drinks.
Try to keep your diet more protein based and avoid carbohydrates.
If you order meat, ask for lean meat.
Ask them to bring the sauce separate. Most sauces are cream based.
Healthy Eating Lifestyle
Try to eat three small meals a day with healthy snacks IN-BETWEEN to help your metabolism run smoothly and to secure an “energy balance”.
DO NOT skip breakfast. A healthy breakfast is the most important factor in helping you to lose weight. It kick-starts your metabolism and prevents overeating at lunch. Your breakfast should be hearty, but not heavy (about 500 calories). A lot of studies have been done and it has been found that people who eat breakfast, control their weight easier than those who don’t. It is also important to feed your body after your overnight fast while sleeping. Because your glycogen levels are low and cortisol (your body’s stress hormone) is high, your body is in a catabolic state (this is the state in which your body usually breaks down muscle). Because your cortisol is high, your body will stress and send a starvation signal if you only eat later in the day.
Eat enough proteins. Protein has a thermogenic effect on the body because your body needs to work harder to burn proteins than carbohydrates. If you eat too much of a specific food, it may be stored as fat. However, protein is less likely to be stored as fat than any other food type.
Eat less sugar. Sugar is almost everywhere and can be found in most food items. Simple sugars spike your blood levels. The insulin that is secreted then causes the glucose in your blood to be taken into your cells causing a drop in blood sugar. This leads to hunger, weakness, mood swings and energy depletion.
If you prepare your own food, do it in quantities. It is better to prepare rice for the week than preparing for one night. It will not only save time, but also effort and time doing the dishes. This is especially a good idea if you are on a diet and exercise plan. During this time you may feel tired and not have enough time to prepare meals every day. While you cook your rice, you can also prepare your protein portions. It will be better to prepare your vegetables beforehand or even eat them raw (except of course for potatoes etc.) You can use your own discretion in this regard. Stock up over weekends to save time during the week.
There has been a lot of contradicting information about this, but it’s been shown that it is better to eat your proteins and carbohydrates together. By eating these together, your blood sugar will be kept within a normal range and your muscles will get enough nutrients to recover and repair.
SOUP AWAY! Soup takes a long time to eat, is usually filling, is low in calories and good for you. Just watch out for creamy soups and soup with high salt levels.
Pace yourself while eating. If you eat slower, you will enjoy your food and feel satisfied for longer. It usually takes a while for your brain to register that you are full.
Nuts vs. appetite? Eat a handful of nuts as this will suppress your appetite. Always buy nuts with their skins intact (to get in all the nutrition that is contained in the skin). Stay away from salted or sugar coated nuts. Almonds are a particularly good choice as they are high in protein and monounsaturated fat.
Try to incorporate everyday activities like climbing stairs instead of using the elevator or doing exercises in front of the TV into your lifestyle.
Remember your afternoon snack. This may just help you to not overeat at dinnertime.
Good snack ideas are:
1. Fat free yoghurt - add some almonds
2. Dried fruit
3. Smoothies - fresh fruit blend, fat free yoghurt and a scoop of protein.
When you choose a type of yoghurt, rather go for ”live” yoghurt. This will encourage the live bacteria in your gut to build, leaving the harmful bacteria to decrease in numbers. A small portion of live yoghurt contains about 1 billion bacteria that need to be taken every day before you will enjoy the benefits of it. Why do you need these germs?
1. Live yoghurt may help to relieve gastrointestinal disorders e.g. diarrhoea, constipation and even food poisoning.
2. It may even help against bad breath.
3. It’s also a good source of Calcium.
Remember, when it comes to losing weight, you need to take baby steps. The only healthy way to lose weight is to do it slowly as you do not want to shock your body. If you do it the quick-fix way, you will probably end up unhealthy, with a slower metabolism and picking up weight again fast.
JUST HOW GOOD IS WEIGHT LOSS FOR YOUR HEALTH?
Weightloss is not an outward concept, but more an inward health risk. InAmerica the proportion of money spent related to obesity has increasedmore than tenfold from $3.6 billion to $36.5 billion.
The increase in the health budget is due to two reasons:
The amount of people that need to be treated becomes more.
The medical costs increase each year.
Whyare more people sick? People suffer from conditions linked to obesitylike diabetes and high blood pressure. The major problem with obesityis the target market. It is not ideal that your doctor is targeted asthe informer. Obesity is not a problem that your general practitionershould bring under your attention. Being overweight (and notnecessarily obese) is something that you should realise yourself andtackle at home. The target market is supposed to shift and peopleshould take responsibility, not only for their weight but also fortheir quality of life (6).
Conclusion
Try to berealistic about your diet. Keep it simple and you will be able to gothe full 12 weeks. Educate yourself regarding weight loss and follow ahealthy style of living. Try to be innovative and positive regardingyour diet and lifestyle.