Is following a diet plan better, than just trying to lower your calories yourself? (if you feel following a diet plan is the best, could you say which one please)
Also, is it better to more look at the fat in what your eating, than the calories?.
Thanks for any sensible answers.
xx
low carb diets are best. the key is to watch how foods affect your blood sugar, namely insulin. if you eat foods such as rice, bread, potatoes etc, they are broken down into simple sugars (glucose) and flow into your bloodstream. when your blood sugar rises above normal levels insulin is released to lower the amount in the blood. the only way to do this is to store the sugar in muscles or the liver. when these stores are full, it gets stored as fat. (this means jacket potatoes, rice and especially fruit, can increase body fat!)
the trick is to eat slow burning high fibre carbs such as oatmeal, wheatabix etc as this doesnt have as much of an effect on insulin.
high protein meals keep insulin low and arent converted to fat as easily but still keep you full so eat as much chicken, fish, steak and eggs as you want.
if you must eat pasta or potatoes etc, a good tip is to eat fibrous vegetables with it such as brocolli or green beans as the high fibre content slows down then digestion of the carbohydrates and helps them enter the blood stream more slowly which means the insulin release is much lower helping to prevent fat storage.
on the flip side, if blood sugar is below normal, glucagon is released (the oposite to insulin) and this breaks down fat for the body to use as energy, this is what you want.
bottom line, low carb diets are best, easier to follow long term as crash diets never work. keep meals high protein, lots of veg, go easy on fruit and drink lots of water.
also make sure you exercise on a daily basis, even if its just a long brisk walk. the best time is first thing in the morning before eating as you havent eaten while your asleep so your blood sugar is already low and your body will burn fat for energy.
one last thing to answer your question, its important to look at the fat content of the foods you eat obviously BUT the important thing to look at is the simple carbohydrate content. as i was saying earlier, its the effect on insulin that matters rather than calories.
for example, a bottle of lucozade has zero fat but is simple sugars. if you drank this regularly, you’d put alot of weight on as it goes straight to the blood.
hope this helps
my daughters were ovetrweight. they were working out. inititally there was a weight loss, which later stopped. we then went to a dietician who immedeatly identified the problem – PCOS and Insulin resistance. so they were put on a diet, which WORKED FOR THEM. a power-packed diet, that gave them the energy to work out more. it was contrary to what we would have thought the ideal diet, but it was what they needed. so i sincerely dont believe in the do-it-yourself dieters. we have no clue. and most obesity has some hormonal imbalance which a qualified dietician will be alse to spot.
References :
Just in case you weren’t all ready aware. If you drink soda or ANY type of sugary drink, you should replace all of it with water. Only drink water. It is the easiest and most obvious way to cut calories.
Eat a lot of veggies
Exercise
References :
The Cambridge Diet is a very good diet for massive weight loss over a short period of time, I lost 1st in the first 14 days on the diet, however it is just a quick fix and not suitable for long term stable weight loss. Lipotrim and Lighterlife are also examples of the similar diet.
References :
low carb diets are best. the key is to watch how foods affect your blood sugar, namely insulin. if you eat foods such as rice, bread, potatoes etc, they are broken down into simple sugars (glucose) and flow into your bloodstream. when your blood sugar rises above normal levels insulin is released to lower the amount in the blood. the only way to do this is to store the sugar in muscles or the liver. when these stores are full, it gets stored as fat. (this means jacket potatoes, rice and especially fruit, can increase body fat!)
the trick is to eat slow burning high fibre carbs such as oatmeal, wheatabix etc as this doesnt have as much of an effect on insulin.
high protein meals keep insulin low and arent converted to fat as easily but still keep you full so eat as much chicken, fish, steak and eggs as you want.
if you must eat pasta or potatoes etc, a good tip is to eat fibrous vegetables with it such as brocolli or green beans as the high fibre content slows down then digestion of the carbohydrates and helps them enter the blood stream more slowly which means the insulin release is much lower helping to prevent fat storage.
on the flip side, if blood sugar is below normal, glucagon is released (the oposite to insulin) and this breaks down fat for the body to use as energy, this is what you want.
bottom line, low carb diets are best, easier to follow long term as crash diets never work. keep meals high protein, lots of veg, go easy on fruit and drink lots of water.
also make sure you exercise on a daily basis, even if its just a long brisk walk. the best time is first thing in the morning before eating as you havent eaten while your asleep so your blood sugar is already low and your body will burn fat for energy.
one last thing to answer your question, its important to look at the fat content of the foods you eat obviously BUT the important thing to look at is the simple carbohydrate content. as i was saying earlier, its the effect on insulin that matters rather than calories.
for example, a bottle of lucozade has zero fat but is simple sugars. if you drank this regularly, you’d put alot of weight on as it goes straight to the blood.
hope this helps
References :
have you looked up figure8, you eat six times a day they do a fantastic weight loss plan and do the plans to go so you dont have to be a member. weekly weighins and great motivation.
figure8.ie
References :