It has happened to all of us at some point or another: we were doing so well with our weight loss diet or exercise regime. Then suddenly we fell off the horse and decided that if we had already gone this far and yet failed, we might as well give up entirely.
There's an old Chinese tale about a father and his son who lived on a farm. Together they raised sheep and cared for them. They lived off of these sheep and were able to make money from the sheep's fur. Every day both the father and the son walked around the field where they were raising the sheep to check that the fence was in good order. One night, the fence broke and some wolves sneaked into the field and ate some of the sheep.
The son cried out to his father saying that all was lost and that they were now ruined! But the father simply picked up his tools and took his son to the fence to patch it up. Once the fence had been fixed, the father told his son that just because there was a weakness in the fence it does not mean that it cannot be fixed nor was it impossible for them to keep raising sheep.
Your diet or exercise regime is like sheep, it is always at risk of violated or destroyed. The fence represents your will power and your circumstances. It might happen that you're too busy to go to the gym or go jogging every morning for a period of time. It might happen that you were forced to stop at a fast food joint on the side of the high way. It might happen that you cave in to eating some chips, some chocolate, or any one of your other cravings. But that doesn't mean you should give up and let your sheep continue to be eaten by wolves. After you've stuffed yourself with what you know to be unhealthy food: stop and think about it. It's not the end of the world.
If you go end up on a binge of food, you don't need to eat more bad food to 'get it out of your system'; to feel better or to make sure it never happens again. You will be faced with times where you want to eat something unhealthy, or you want to sleep in and skip your step class. No problem, but don't let that one incident ruin your motivation or your commitment to your diet or exercise regime. It happens to everyone, but if you're one of those people who is able to pick yourself up and fix the fence you'll be able to keep losing weight and get healthier.
I hope this story has helped you to understand that not all is lost if your resolve waivers for a day or a week, or what have you. You are the boss of yourself and you can chose to return to eating healthy foods and working out on a regular basis without any fear. Trust in yourself and make sure you keep your eyes focused on the goal since that's what keeps us all motivated.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
How many calories to eat a day.
One of the main reasons why so many people have become overweight in the West is due to their eating too many calories. The consumption of more calories than are burned each day means that the body stores the extra calories as fat. The modern diet certainly allows a person to eat well beyond the calories they need to maintain their weight.
It is very informative to compare our consumption of calories with that of 100 years ago. In those days, the average person consumed 3,500 calories a day, which is approximately the same as we eat now. However, whereas in the early 1900's, most of the calories consumed were carbohydrates, and there was considerably less fat, modern fast food meals consist of almost 50% fat, and fat is a big part of the modern diet. In addition, the 1900's folk did a lot of exercise. They were more active in their work, and their hobbies also made them exercise more. In contrast, modern work environments encourage sedentary habits, and their hobbies tend to revolve around computers and television. As a consequence, while the 1900's people's calories were burned as fuel that day, most of our calorie consumption ends up being stored as fat. Even exercise can only go so far if calorie consumption remains at previous levels, without the general level of activity.
As our working habits have changed, so have our calorie requirements. The average person now needs around 2000-2500 calories a day to keep them at their present weight. The best way to work out exactly how much you should be eating to maintain your present waistline is by checking your BMR, which is the basal metabolic rate – the amount of calories you burn every day, even if you sleep for 24 hours. People who weigh more actually have a larger BMR than those who look slimmer, and a reduction in their calorie intake, even if the calories still total more than that eaten by a thinner person, will help them lose weight. This is the method used in most dietician's and doctors clinics.
The important factor to remember when considering how many calories you need to eat each day is that is does not matter so much what you eat, quite so much as how much you eat. Of course, anyone who eats a diet solely of fat will not get slim, no matter what some diet books tell you. However, neither is one cupcake going to sink your entire weight-loss plan. Sensible dieting – that is, a diet in which all of the food groups are eaten in appropriate quantities – lasts much longer than starvation diets and fad diets. Going on to a very low-calorie diet for long periods of time will cause your metabolism to slow down – the opposite of what you want. If you find that you reach a weight, and cannot lose any more, then you will need to amend your diet.
On a diet, you will find that your BMR will fall, so that a calorie intake that once helped you to lose weight is now keeping you from losing any more. Rather than just do more exercise (which has a limit on how much more you can do), you need to alter again the amount of calories you are consuming. A diet with limited calories will work for a short period, but the body will adjust to the new diet, and stop losing weight. A sensible diet, worked out using BMR index, and a gradual reduction in food intake, is the best way of managing weight loss.
It is very informative to compare our consumption of calories with that of 100 years ago. In those days, the average person consumed 3,500 calories a day, which is approximately the same as we eat now. However, whereas in the early 1900's, most of the calories consumed were carbohydrates, and there was considerably less fat, modern fast food meals consist of almost 50% fat, and fat is a big part of the modern diet. In addition, the 1900's folk did a lot of exercise. They were more active in their work, and their hobbies also made them exercise more. In contrast, modern work environments encourage sedentary habits, and their hobbies tend to revolve around computers and television. As a consequence, while the 1900's people's calories were burned as fuel that day, most of our calorie consumption ends up being stored as fat. Even exercise can only go so far if calorie consumption remains at previous levels, without the general level of activity.
As our working habits have changed, so have our calorie requirements. The average person now needs around 2000-2500 calories a day to keep them at their present weight. The best way to work out exactly how much you should be eating to maintain your present waistline is by checking your BMR, which is the basal metabolic rate – the amount of calories you burn every day, even if you sleep for 24 hours. People who weigh more actually have a larger BMR than those who look slimmer, and a reduction in their calorie intake, even if the calories still total more than that eaten by a thinner person, will help them lose weight. This is the method used in most dietician's and doctors clinics.
The important factor to remember when considering how many calories you need to eat each day is that is does not matter so much what you eat, quite so much as how much you eat. Of course, anyone who eats a diet solely of fat will not get slim, no matter what some diet books tell you. However, neither is one cupcake going to sink your entire weight-loss plan. Sensible dieting – that is, a diet in which all of the food groups are eaten in appropriate quantities – lasts much longer than starvation diets and fad diets. Going on to a very low-calorie diet for long periods of time will cause your metabolism to slow down – the opposite of what you want. If you find that you reach a weight, and cannot lose any more, then you will need to amend your diet.
On a diet, you will find that your BMR will fall, so that a calorie intake that once helped you to lose weight is now keeping you from losing any more. Rather than just do more exercise (which has a limit on how much more you can do), you need to alter again the amount of calories you are consuming. A diet with limited calories will work for a short period, but the body will adjust to the new diet, and stop losing weight. A sensible diet, worked out using BMR index, and a gradual reduction in food intake, is the best way of managing weight loss.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
- Take control of what you eat. Weight watchers should have complete control over what they eat. One should never have the habit of eating everything laid in front of them. Eat as much as required. In simple, do not over-eat.
- More of fruits, vegetables and whole grains are important for daily healthy life. Increase the intake of unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains. These types of foods can be consumed in plenty without gaining weight. Meat can be included in ones diet, care should be taken that its lean meat and not the deep fried ones.
- Eat more fiber. Fiber rich diet should be made an integral part of one's meal. This not only aids in increasing the metabolism but makes us feel full sooner and stays longer in the stomach ensuring decrease in appetite. Refined grains like white rice and those used to make white bread and sugary breakfast cereals have had most of their fiber and nutrients striped away.
They turn into blood sugar (glucose) so fast that, like sugar itself, they can cause a spike in our insulin level. This tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it. - Cutting down on sugar is essential as the insulin spike caused by eating foods like white rice is even more dramatic when eating sugar itself. One has to be cautious on sugar in coffee and soda pop. It can add up quickly, and these drinks aren't filling.
- Too little of a good thing. Fat should not be totally eliminated from our diet for its required to maintain a healthy body. One should learn to differentiate between beneficial and hazardous saturated fats.
- Eat frequently, but always eat slowly. Never skip a meal, and eat healthy snacks between meals. Eating frequently prevents hunger pangs, provides consistent energy, and maintains metabolism efficiency. Human bodies are designed with survival mechanism which results in slowing down the metabolic activity when one tends to go on a crash diet or skips a meal to conserve energy. Eating slowly gives our body time to tell us they are full before we eat more than we need.
- Consume lots of warm water. Consumption of lots of warm water not only burns the calories but also increases the metabolic activity.
- Avoid fried foods. Fried foods, especially deep-fried, although they are tasty to eat contain a great amount of fat. While chicken and fish are usually leaner than beef, they can contain more fat than beef when they are fried.
- Cut down on fat when you treat yourself to a Pizza avoid the luxury of the extra layer of cheese or mayonnaise. Eliminate the cream from your salads.
- Exercise regularly. Exercise not only helps to burn calories, but your body will continue to burn calories at a higher rate even after you stop exercising. If walking is all you can do, then walk because it's been proven to be great for you. But don't sit too long. The human body is good at adapting. If you dig ditches without gloves, you will develop calluses to protect your hands. If you sit too long, you will develop extra padding to keep you comfortable!
- Increase your protein intake. Without protein your body cannot build new muscle. Protein also helps to increase your metabolism - which burns calories.
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