“Eat less, move more” is relatively healthy and helpful advice in a world of weight loss confusion. After all, if you reduce your calorie intake, and increase your fat-burning exercise, you’re bound to lose weight quickly and efficiently, right? Almost.
While it is true that eating smaller portions each day will significantly improve your weight loss efforts, cutting out food altogether is never the answer. Much like a car will fail to go long distances with a mostly empty tank of gas, your body can only function so well without the energy it makes from food.
It’s not wrong to make adjustments to your diet if you want to lose weight, but there are smarter ways to go about eating well and shedding those excess pounds.
Supplements
If you’re eating a more nutritional diet, then supplements might not do much for you. However, shakes and supplements are good if you’re temporarily replacing meals to kick start weight loss. When the body has no calories to burn, it enters a metabolic process called ketosis, which means that your body starts burning fat to make energy.
For the first week or so of your weight loss process, you can look into meal replacements such as Isagenix from IsaaXcess to help you lose weight; meal replacement shakes will give your body the nutrients it needs to stay healthy, while still allowing your body to enter ketosis. Meal replacements are also good as a post-workout meal in the evenings, as your body doesn’t have to waste energy on digesting solid food.
Fat-burning foods
No matter what adjustments you make to your diet, the one thing you must never do is cut out food altogether; just as a car won’t get very far on an empty tank of gas, your body won’t function well without the energy it makes from food. Instead, you can boost your weight loss by eating food that helps you burn fat.
Avocados, almonds, and sweet potato are all fat-burning foods that curb your appetite for several hours, and keep you full of energy for longer. They’re also full of good fats that help you burn calories at the gym later.
Protein
Exercise alone is not enough to give you flat abs. Every time you complete an intense workout, body tissue gets destroyed and the only way to build it up again is to consume a lot of protein. Fish, especially salmon, is one of the healthiest sources of lean protein. It’s also a rich source of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, which fuel fat burning, block fat storage and aid weight loss.
Make yourself a salmon dinner after an intense workout, and you’ll notice the difference it makes to your post-workout energy, and to your body. Include spinach and other green vegetables in your salmon dinner to further aid muscle building. Protein has also been shown to reduce cravings.
Unless you have genuine allergies or intolerance, cutting out food is not a good idea. Use the nutrients it provides to help you lose weight.
It is not the food but the right food. I admit my dilemma after every exercise is my insatiable appetite. And I didn’t lose weight, in fact, I gained instead. Eat less, move more is my new mantra.