Manage your intake of carbohydrates, fats, and calories... all three. Some key points about each: Carbohydrates should exclude all packaged foods because they are striped of all nutrients with those bleached/refined ingredients as well as preservatives and artificial sweeteners. Why is this bad? Because our bodies thrive on nutritional content in order to be healthy and when we eat these things, particularly artificial sweeteners, it slows our metabolism. Our carbs should come from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains because they contain the vitamins to aid in 'good' energy, feeling fuller, lowering our cholesterol and so forth. Nothing has been striped out of these foods.
Fats are necessary!! Low-fat diets aid in obesity because they deprive us of the healthy fats that our body needs. We need more good fat (Omega 3), and less bad fat, (Omega 6). The balance of both fats is crucial and we tend to get too much of the bad (O6).1 Studies have shown this imbalance as the underlying cause to so many chronic diseases.2 When you balance your diet to incorporate the good fats, you eat more of the good such as salmon, flax, and kiwi; and eat less of the bad such as baked goods, oils, eggs, and nuts. Remember "balance" means you can have these, just watch the ratio.
Calories are also important. The average recommended calorie intake is around 1500 per day. Set your own by checking with your doctor or even using web tools such as those on WebMD. If you go over a little on your range, don't beat yourself up. When starting a new plan on your own, you have to allow yourself some wiggle room to figure out what works and what doesn't.
Finally, ditch the fast-food and sodas! Hate me if you want to. I am a testimony that if you become selective, it will make you feel like a new person, help your body to reverse the toxic overload, and will positively affect the scales. This entirely ties into to everything above as they work hand-in-hand. If you can give yourself two weeks, you can't loose... in a good way!
Fats are necessary!! Low-fat diets aid in obesity because they deprive us of the healthy fats that our body needs. We need more good fat (Omega 3), and less bad fat, (Omega 6). The balance of both fats is crucial and we tend to get too much of the bad (O6).1 Studies have shown this imbalance as the underlying cause to so many chronic diseases.2 When you balance your diet to incorporate the good fats, you eat more of the good such as salmon, flax, and kiwi; and eat less of the bad such as baked goods, oils, eggs, and nuts. Remember "balance" means you can have these, just watch the ratio.
Calories are also important. The average recommended calorie intake is around 1500 per day. Set your own by checking with your doctor or even using web tools such as those on WebMD. If you go over a little on your range, don't beat yourself up. When starting a new plan on your own, you have to allow yourself some wiggle room to figure out what works and what doesn't.
Finally, ditch the fast-food and sodas! Hate me if you want to. I am a testimony that if you become selective, it will make you feel like a new person, help your body to reverse the toxic overload, and will positively affect the scales. This entirely ties into to everything above as they work hand-in-hand. If you can give yourself two weeks, you can't loose... in a good way!
My testimony? See About Me for more details but most recently, even though I was eating the "better" carbs, whole wheat toast for breakfast and stuck with whole wheat pasta, I continued to battle the scale. I switched up my choices in foods, following everything above by cutting out the bad carbs and allowing myself bonus carbs like beans, fruit, and my dark chocolate. During the last eleven days, I have lost 4.2 pounds! I'm 5' 2" so I have a range I need to stay within! I am a work in progress, just like anyone else! Get on a plan. Weight Watchers is popular these days and I know plenty of people doing extremely well on it! Get on track, you can do it!!
PS: Thank you Martha for the carb-counting and bonus carb tips!!
Helpful Tools:
For the BMI Calculator, Food Pyramid, Calorie Tips and more, visit http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20110602/plate-replaces-pyramid-as-diet-guideline-icon
2. SCHROEDER, J. (2011). The Importance of Balancing the Fats. American Fitness, 29(4), 58. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Thank you Jennifer for your post. I really enjoyed reading it :-) So glad you do this. I love, love, love ALL things healthy!!! We only are allowed one body, so we better take care of it!
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