Showing posts with label weight gain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weight gain. Show all posts

Tuesday, 27 March 2012

Carbohydrates - Are They All Bad? The Truth Exposed.

Lack of education and information is one of the leading causes behind many weight loss failures. As a matter of fact, lack of education gives rise to several misconceptions and superstitions! One such misconception is regarding carbohydrates. People think that carbohydrates are all bad and that if one can reduce carbohydrate intake, or even better, totally avoid carbohydrates, then weight loss will be easy! However, that is completely wrong!

There are actually two types of carbohydrates, to simplify we'll call them the good and the bad. You should of course avoid the 'bad' carbohydrates but the 'good' ones will provide your body with much needed nutrition and energy. Here's a brief rundown on what types of carbs you should consume and which ones you should avoid to ensure fast weight loss!

1. The Bad Carbohydrates: In case you don't know, processed foods contain a lot of carbs. However they are bad carbs. These foods do contain some nutrition in their natural state but as soon as they are processed through their various stages, much of their nutrition and value is lost! What is left are empty calories which only make you fat and nothing else.

Examples of such foods are chips, white bread, pasta, soft drinks, cakes, biscuits, candies, etc. These foods should be avoided at all costs, if you are serious about weight loss, that is!

These processed foods contain a lot of sugar and as you might be aware, sugar is rich in calorie content. The more sugar you consume, the fatter you become! These foods offer very little nutrition to your body and since they have very little fiber content, they are easily converted by your body into fat deposits.

Apart from weight gain, eating processed foods regularly can also result in diabetes, since your blood sugar levels increase so much that it becomes extremely difficult for the insulin produced by your body to control it!

2.  The Good Carbohydrates: So what are good carbohydrates? Good carbohydrates can usually be found in natural foods, such as raw fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, wholemeal pasta, wholegrain wheat, etc.

These foods contain carbs for sure but not the ones that would make you fat! Unlike the fast carbs contained in the processed foods, these are slow carbs which take a long time to digest; therefore, you don't get fat!

Plus they also contain a high amount of fiber. Fiber will keep you fuller for longer! If there was ever a natural way to suppress your appetite, then this is it!

Remember that not all carbs are bad. Making the right decision regarding carb consumption can result in quick weight loss!

Wednesday, 21 March 2012

Four Foods That Can Help You With Weight Loss

Ever wondered why most people gain weight during their middle age? During middle age, a person's metabolic rate slows down; hence they are not able to burn as much fat as they used to during their youth. Eating certain  foods however, can boost your metabolic rate and help you to lose weight.

1. Green Tea: If you are in the habit of drinking morning tea, replace it with green tea! Ordinary tea is not so bad, but green tea is better! It contains fat burning chemicals which will help you with weight loss. It is no wonder that many of the weight loss supplements available in the market have green tea as a common ingredient!

2. Peanut butter: Peanut butter is a great replacement for the ordinary butter. Unlike the ordinary butter, which is rich in fat, peanut butter is rich in protein and fiber, both of which will help you with weight loss. While protein will help you burn fat by building lean muscle mass, fiber will help in suppressing your appetite for a long time.

Peanut butter is widely available but I would recommend that you buy the natural ones and avoid the popular commercial brands. Or if you want, prepare it at home! Peanut butter makes for a great breakfast when combined with wholegrain wheat!

3. Almond: As you know,there are two types of fat, good and not so goods. Bad fats need to be avoided because simply, they make you fat! The good fats, on the other hand, supply your body with essential nutrients such as fatty acids. Almond is one such food. It is rich in fatty acids and protein. Almond helps you burn fat by boosting your metabolic rate!

4. Beans: How successfully you are able to suppress your hunger will determine how fast you are able to lose weight. Beans make for a great appetite supplement. Since they are rich in fiber, they help to keep your stomach full for a long time.

OK, they do have that sometimes unfortunate side-effect, but eaten regularly your system gets used to processing them in the most efficient manner, and it isn't such a problem.

So, if you incorporate these foods into your diet on a regular basis it will help you to lose weight without being too stressful.

Friday, 24 February 2012

Simple and Powerful Techniques to Help You Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals

Many factors that determine the success or failure of your weight loss goals. Here are a few things you can do in order to lose weight successfully.

Set small goals: Most people are unable to achieve their weight loss goals because they always think big. There is nothing wring with thinking big, but don't make your goals so big they become overwhelming and intimidating to you! Don't stretch your weight loss goals so far that you feel tempted to quit altogether! Start slow and you'll see how easy it is to shed those obstinate pounds!

You know that you need to make huge lifestyle changes in order to lose weight successfully. Now, keep in mind that you cannot make these changes overnight! For example, if today I ask you to avoid eating junk foods altogether, will you be able to follow my advice? You will probably try hard to avoid junk foods for a day or two, and by doing that, you will be all the more tempted to take a bite of your favorite fatty foods. As a result, you'll end up gaining more pounds than what you started with! What a waste!

Here's an easier way to do it: Instead of trying to cut down on your junk food intake entirely, try to replace one junk food with one good food. Do you eat butter? Well, replace that with peanut butter. Next day, replace burgers with raw carrots! If you eat white breads, replace that with wholegrain wheat breads.

You won't be able to accomplish all of these changes overnight, but you will be able to achieve your goals if you do it slowly, bit by bit. Eventually you will realize that you have completely replaced your bad foods with the healthy foods, but without going through any stress or temptation!

Replace bad habits with good ones: Remember that you gained weight because of certain bad habits. Ideally you should break those old habits in order to lose weight, but I know that breaking an old habit is easier said than done. What you can do instead is modify your bad habit enough so that it becomes a good and healthy habit.

If you are like many people, you have a habit of snacking in the afternoon. Instead of trying to break your afternoon snacking habit, try to replace the snack itself!. If you eat chocolate soups and cookies as snacks, replace them with low-fat yogurt and raw fruits!

Get rid of temptations: Unless you learn to control your temptations, you won't be able to lose weight successfully. Whenever you are tempted to eat, do something that distracts you from the thought of food. You can do anything such as dancing, driving, walking around your house, doing some sit-ups, or drinking a glass of water. All of these things will help keep yourself away from the food cravings!