We've all heard or read about at least 5 different eating
strategies by now. The Paleo diet, The Atkins diet, slow-carb,
gluten-free, intermittent fasting - if it's been out there for any
decent amount of time, chances are you've heard about it. You've
probably even been recommended a couple of these by your friends or your
trainers. So, the results of all these strategies speak for themselves -
they work. But the question is, which one of the many diet plans is
right for you? And more importantly - can you create a hybrid eating
strategy for yourself that mixes and matches parts of each diet you
like? As it turns out, yes, you can. Let's look at a few ways you can
create your own wonder diet.
1. Tracking your total calories consumed.
To put it bluntly, you should be eating fewer calories than you expend if you want to lose weight. Even though this sounds like an obvious strategy, there has been debate in the community recently about how effective this strategy truly is. Some research suggests that if your insulin levels are stable, it doesn't really matter how much you eat daily. But the basic idea is sound. Create a calorie deficit and you will lose weight and fat.
If keeping track of your daily calories consumed is too strenuous, aim for creating a deficit each week. Use a BMR calculator to find out how many calories your body will use up daily. Use this number to give you an idea how much you can eat during the week. Now typically, people who have a large social circle usually go to parties or group dinners once in a week. Use your calorie number to eat strictly for 5 days a week, leaving you with two days to let go and enjoy yourself.
2. Eating a Slow-carb or Low-carb diet.
The low-carb strategy has been around for a long time under different names, and the slow-carb diet has recently gained a lot of attention due to Tim Ferriss' bestseller 'The 4-Hour Body'. The basic advantage of eating this way is that your body remains in fat burning mode almost all year round since your insulin levels are kept stable. The Atkins, Paleo and Slow-carb diets are all good strategies for eating a low-carb diet.
Most of us have a lot of favorite foods which are carb heavy. Now it would be tough to abandon all of these completely. But you can work around this by consuming all your carbs immediately after you finish your workout and have all your other meals following the low-carb plan.
3. Intermittent Fasting for Fat Loss.
Research has shown that intermittent fasting has the same effects on the body as exercising. This is great news for those of us who would like to lose weight. It accomplishes both of the things required to keep the body in fat burning mode - keeping insulin levels stable and creating a calorie deficit. You can look online for intermittent fasting information, there are a lot of great websites that are dedicated to the subject.
If you want to weave intermittent fasting into your diet plan somehow, you can dedicate a few days of the week to it, leaving the rest of your week open for experimentation.
4. Eating every two hours to stay slim.
This is a dieting mechanism that has gained a lot of momentum in recent years. While the results vary drastically according to what is actually eaten every two hours, the basic theory is sound. Most of us tend to overeat if our bodies go without food for a long time. This strategy prevents that by ensuring that you are never too hungry, and are therefore more likely to exercise portion control during your meals. Some of us are simply accustomed to eating every few hours, so this method of dieting is a natural fit.
If you want to adopt this strategy, divide your total daily calorie requirement into 5-6 meals. Ensure each meal has a healthy amount of greens, nuts and protein sources. If you follow it correctly, your body will lose weight since your insulin levels will not spike.
5. Creating high calorie deficits for limited periods of time.
This is an extreme dieting plan that is usually adopted by athletes or models who want to get their body fat percentages extremely low before an event or a shoot. Basically, you eat much less than your calorie requirement for a few weeks at a time. For most of us, this kind of a diet is overkill. You will definitely lose a ton of weight eating this way, but the strains on your body and mind are tremendous.
If you are preparing for a shoot or an event of some kind that requires you to be especially lean, you can incorporate this into your eating schedule. But make sure you do it only a couple of times a year.
6. Giving yourself a cheat day once in a week.
Eating right can be a huge endeavor if you don't give yourself a break once in a while. The constant craving for comfort foods causes a lot of people to fall off the wagon. To counteract this, you can give yourself one day where you treat yourself to whatever you want to eat. This has multiple benefits - your cravings are satisfied and your metabolism is kept high.
Designate one day of the week where you are allowed to eat anything. If you have an active social life, this would be Saturday or Sunday. So stick to the diet for the rest of the week, and let your hair down on your cheat days.
In summation, there are a lot of eating strategies out there that will help you get into shape. Each of them has their own specific set of challenges. Try out a few and see if they are a good fit for you. If you find that you're getting good results on more than one plan, try to incorporate strategies from both into your own customized diet plan. And remember to have fun while you're doing it. The idea is not to punish yourself; it is to build a healthier, fitter and happier you.
1. Tracking your total calories consumed.
To put it bluntly, you should be eating fewer calories than you expend if you want to lose weight. Even though this sounds like an obvious strategy, there has been debate in the community recently about how effective this strategy truly is. Some research suggests that if your insulin levels are stable, it doesn't really matter how much you eat daily. But the basic idea is sound. Create a calorie deficit and you will lose weight and fat.
If keeping track of your daily calories consumed is too strenuous, aim for creating a deficit each week. Use a BMR calculator to find out how many calories your body will use up daily. Use this number to give you an idea how much you can eat during the week. Now typically, people who have a large social circle usually go to parties or group dinners once in a week. Use your calorie number to eat strictly for 5 days a week, leaving you with two days to let go and enjoy yourself.
2. Eating a Slow-carb or Low-carb diet.
The low-carb strategy has been around for a long time under different names, and the slow-carb diet has recently gained a lot of attention due to Tim Ferriss' bestseller 'The 4-Hour Body'. The basic advantage of eating this way is that your body remains in fat burning mode almost all year round since your insulin levels are kept stable. The Atkins, Paleo and Slow-carb diets are all good strategies for eating a low-carb diet.
Most of us have a lot of favorite foods which are carb heavy. Now it would be tough to abandon all of these completely. But you can work around this by consuming all your carbs immediately after you finish your workout and have all your other meals following the low-carb plan.
3. Intermittent Fasting for Fat Loss.
Research has shown that intermittent fasting has the same effects on the body as exercising. This is great news for those of us who would like to lose weight. It accomplishes both of the things required to keep the body in fat burning mode - keeping insulin levels stable and creating a calorie deficit. You can look online for intermittent fasting information, there are a lot of great websites that are dedicated to the subject.
If you want to weave intermittent fasting into your diet plan somehow, you can dedicate a few days of the week to it, leaving the rest of your week open for experimentation.
4. Eating every two hours to stay slim.
This is a dieting mechanism that has gained a lot of momentum in recent years. While the results vary drastically according to what is actually eaten every two hours, the basic theory is sound. Most of us tend to overeat if our bodies go without food for a long time. This strategy prevents that by ensuring that you are never too hungry, and are therefore more likely to exercise portion control during your meals. Some of us are simply accustomed to eating every few hours, so this method of dieting is a natural fit.
If you want to adopt this strategy, divide your total daily calorie requirement into 5-6 meals. Ensure each meal has a healthy amount of greens, nuts and protein sources. If you follow it correctly, your body will lose weight since your insulin levels will not spike.
5. Creating high calorie deficits for limited periods of time.
This is an extreme dieting plan that is usually adopted by athletes or models who want to get their body fat percentages extremely low before an event or a shoot. Basically, you eat much less than your calorie requirement for a few weeks at a time. For most of us, this kind of a diet is overkill. You will definitely lose a ton of weight eating this way, but the strains on your body and mind are tremendous.
If you are preparing for a shoot or an event of some kind that requires you to be especially lean, you can incorporate this into your eating schedule. But make sure you do it only a couple of times a year.
6. Giving yourself a cheat day once in a week.
Eating right can be a huge endeavor if you don't give yourself a break once in a while. The constant craving for comfort foods causes a lot of people to fall off the wagon. To counteract this, you can give yourself one day where you treat yourself to whatever you want to eat. This has multiple benefits - your cravings are satisfied and your metabolism is kept high.
Designate one day of the week where you are allowed to eat anything. If you have an active social life, this would be Saturday or Sunday. So stick to the diet for the rest of the week, and let your hair down on your cheat days.
In summation, there are a lot of eating strategies out there that will help you get into shape. Each of them has their own specific set of challenges. Try out a few and see if they are a good fit for you. If you find that you're getting good results on more than one plan, try to incorporate strategies from both into your own customized diet plan. And remember to have fun while you're doing it. The idea is not to punish yourself; it is to build a healthier, fitter and happier you.
MyReviewsnow.net offers information regarding diet plans. For more on diet plans, please visit us at MyReviewsNow.net.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cookie_Maxwell
No comments:
Post a Comment