Eating To Lose Weight

It is interesting to me that so many people go on diets and then just starve themselves into oblivion.  Once they have starved themselves significantly they then end up getting sick of their diet and then quit the diet rather quickly.  Once they hate their diet then the wheels are set in motion to quit.  Furthermore, by starving themselves they will lose muscle mass, which is the furnace they need to burn calories.  So now you may ask how does eating throughout the day help you lose weight?  Let me explain...

The method for this is really simple and can be broken down into three key components.  Now there are really more than three components, but for beginners sake these three areas will carry you through any weight loss you are trying to achieve.

1.) Doing the right workouts.  It is true, you have to realize that the kind of workouts you do make a difference.  The basic philosophy is that you need to train your muscles to grow and burn calories to lose fat.  You really need to make sure you do 2-3 sessions per week of cardio for fat burning.  Also, you need to realize that you need at least one full body weightlifting workout per week.  You can divide this up however you want to adjust to your workout schedule, but remember to lift all body parts with equal time.  In other words, don't always do two days a week of upper body and one day per week of lower body.  You can vary the reps and the weights to achieve different results.

2.) Eating the right foods.  This is very important.  Remember the term "empty calories".  Empty calories do not apply to the basis of this article.  You cannot eat empty calories all day long and expect to lose weight.  Empty calories are processed foods with NO nutritional value.  Typically it is potato chips and snack foods that are not nutritious.  Empty calories also come in beverages and these are typically sodas and other drinks that have sugar calories and provide no real nutritional value.  You need to eat a lot of vegetables and lean meats or proteins if you are a vegetarian.  You want to keep the carbohydrates that come from sugars to a minimum and you want to eat complex carbohydrates like sweet potatoes and whole wheat breads.   Try to eliminate all sugar and all white carbohydrates.

3.) Eating the right foods at the right time.  This is another important part of the equation.  You need to try and eat a lean protein and a small carbohydrate or vegetable at least every three hours or so.  This will keep your body burning the calories you consume to rebuild the muscle that you worked in your workouts.  By doing this your body burns calories to digest the food and then burns calories to repair the muscle.  Thereby two different avenues for fat burning and weight loss.

Finally, you can now see how a proper plan with your workouts, your diet and the timing of your diet can lead to a lean fat burning machine.  Once your metabolism increases then you just keep up the routine until you drop the desired weight you are hoping to lose.  Of course you may need to tweak it a little here and there to keep the workouts and diet new and fresh.

For what it's worth,
Dr. B