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Nutrition Tips to Improve Fat Loss
© By Rick DeToma
Incorporating these fat loss tips will
improve your nutrition program. Start
off slowly and add one a week, you don't
have to adopt all of them at once.
Before long, you’ve cleaned up your
nutrition program and on your way to
reaching your goal. Trendy diets, fads
and the infomercial product of the
month, are not going to help you reach
your weight loss goals. A well
thought-out nutrition and exercise
program will.
Eat breakfast
Proven time and again, those who eat
breakfast are more successful at
controlling their weight than those that
don't. Plus, when doing strength
training exercises (and you know you
should be), it's even more important to
make certain you fuel those muscles
after an overnight fast. The perfect
time for burning fat because glycogen,
blood glucose and insulin levels are all
low.
Unfortunately, it may also be perfect
for burning muscle, because glycogen
levels are low, and levels of the
catabolic stress hormone cortisol are
high. If you skip breakfast and eat
lunch at noon, you’re not only in a
highly catabolic (muscle wasting) state,
you’re also sending an unmistakable
starvation signal to your body.
Eat less sugar
Start reading labels! Sugar is hidden in
almost every commercial food item. A
single tablespoon of ketchup gets 3 of
its 4 grams of carbs from sugar. A 12 oz
can of cola has a staggering 40 grams of
sugar, and ALL of the carbs in a cola
are sugar! Why does that matter?
Simple sugars are digested very quickly
and cause a rapid spike in blood sugar.
Your body then releases large amounts of
insulin. Insulin quickly clears the
glucose from the bloodstream leading to
low blood sugar (hypoglycemia.) Low
blood sugar causes cravings, hunger,
weakness, mood swings and decreased
energy. These cravings for sugar result
in a vicious cycle of ups and downs in
blood sugar levels throughout the day.
Eat More Often
Studies have shown that those who eat
4-6 smaller meals per day have less body
fat than those eating 2-3 meals a day,
even if both groups eat about the same
number of calories. This is because of
maintaining steady blood sugar levels.
Too much insulin activates fat storage
enzymes and forces fat in the
bloodstream into fat cells for storage.
High insulin levels also inhibit enzymes
that promote the breakdown of existing
stored body fat. You can manage your
blood sugar and insulin levels by
choosing fewer simple carbohydrates,
more complex carbohydrates, eating fiber
and having your carbohydrates with lean
proteins approximately every three
hours.
Eat protein
Be sure to include enough protein for
your level of activity (you are
exercising…right?)
Protein speeds up your metabolism
because your body has to work harder to
digest, process, and utilize it compared
to fats or carbs.
The "thermic" effect of protein is one
of the reasons that a higher protein
diet is more effective for fat loss than
a diet high in fat or carbs. Too much of
any food can be stored as body fat, but
protein is less likely to be converted
to fat than any other nutrient.
Eat nothing from a box
The closer your food is to nature the
better off you are. Have you looked at
the ingredients list in most packaged
food these days? You need to be a
scientist to figure out what half the
ingredients are. Stick to real,
wholesome foods, fruits, vegetables,
whole grains, lean protein, etc.
Eat your vegetables
I don't mean fast food french fries. Try
to get as many vegetable servings into
your meals as you can. It's nearly
impossible to over eat vegetables. They
are full of fiber and will help keep you
full between meals. They also contain
loads of antioxidants. Raw is great,
steamed is another good way to have
them. Hold the heavy cheese sauces
please!
Eat protein and carbs together
If you want to keep your blood sugar in
check, then don't eat your carbs by
themselves. Strive to always have
balanced meals of protein, carbs and
healthy fats. You'll feel better and
your muscles will thank you.
Prepare your own food
Best for several reasons…It's cheaper
than eating out, you know exactly what
you are eating, and it saves time. It
takes no more time to cook up 6 healthy
chicken breasts than it does to cook one
or two. Make things easy. Prepare them
over the weekend and your lunches for
the next few days are done. While you
are at it, put on a pot of brown or wild
rice, or bake up some sweet potatoes and
you're good to go.
Drink water
LOTS! Most people are already
dehydrated. Strive to drink a gallon a
day. If you drink a lot of coffee, then
you need an extra 8 oz for each cup of
coffee. Exercise will put more demands
on your fluid levels. You need water.
Drink 50-75% of your body weight in
ounces of water. Add an additional 16 oz
for strenuous exercise. No complaining!
Get more exercise
Get some exercise on most days of the
week, and alternate between strength
training exercises and cardio training.
If you are a beginner, shoot for two
weight workouts a week and progress to 3
or more depending upon your goals. Get
in as many cardio sessions as your
schedule will allow, but aim for at
least 3.
Commit to adopting these nutrition
program changes and you'll be well on
your way to reaching your weight loss
goal, whether it's ten pounds or many
more. Sound nutrition and exercise will
always succeed in the long run. Don't
give into the temptation of fads.
The information contained in this
article is strictly for informational
purposes and is not intended to provide
medical advice. If you are sedentary or
over 40 please get clearance from a
doctor before starting an exercise
program.
About the Author: Rick DeToma is a
fitness coach, and trainer who
specializes in home workouts. Contact
Rick for a no obligation telephone
fitness assessment at: http://www.tailored-fitness-home-workouts.com/contact.html
Get more tips like these by subscribing
to Tailored Fitness News http://www.tailored-fitness-home-workouts.com/newsletter.html
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