There is a lot of misconceptions on an effective weight loss strategy. The ones that irks me the most is when a person starve him/herself or say "i'm not eating rice. Rice is BAD for diet." I wrote an entry sometime ago on carbohydrate and rice. Read the battle of carbs: to rice or not to rice.
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Here are a few common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight
1. Skipping breakfast
Eating breakfast is one of the simplest and healthiest thing you can do to feel better and have more energy. But you have to eat protein for breakfast. Cereal is bad for breakfast because it is high in sugar, additives and low in protein. If your breakfast is high in simple carbohydrates, you'll end up feeling sleepy and sluggish before noon. Why protein you say? Protein is digested slowly. Your blood sugar is more stable and you'll have better satiety. Try boiled eggs, sardine or chicken sandwich.
2. Severely restrict your caloric intake/ starve yourself
This i can tell you, won't work in the long term. Any weight you might have lost during that period will creep back on, sometimes even more than you have lost because most people cannot maintain such diet plan for a long time. When you starve yourself, your body sensed that there is low energy intake therefore it switches to starvation mode where the metabolism slows down to conserve energy for body's vital functions such as breathing. When you start to eat normally after you starve yourself, the body will store the excess energy as fat.
3. Too rigid on your diet plan
Normal human beings have cravings. We like food that we know is bad (ice-cream, cakes, french fries, fried chicken). It doesn't help that these food taste waaaayyyyy nicer that healthy foods. Who says you can't eat these food when you are on a diet? Yes you can but in moderation. It is important to indulge once in a while but be very-very careful of how much you indulge. Moderation is the key.
4. Have no idea what is the right portion
Ideal portion of our daily meal is often smaller than we thought is right. Sometimes, we pile on the weight because we don't know how much we should eat. Big portion is one of the contributor of weight gain because bigger portion = more calories. Read on the right portion size here guide on portion control.
5. No exercise
Consume less calories and increasing your physical activity is essentially the key in losing weight. Limiting calorie intake alone won't do. You need to exercise to build muscle, increase your metabolism rate and indirectly, make you feel better and energize. That is why it is important to find something that you like. i.e swimming, dancing, aerobics etc. Find out what works for you.
6. Think of the long term goal and don't be too hard on yourself
The long term goal of losing weight/ dieting is a healthier you. If you don't lose the weight you wanted, don't be discouraged. Continue to eat healthy ( click here to read my entry on healthy eating) and do physical activities you love. Without you realizing it, it'll become a habit and you'll lose the weight gradually.
Do read on this entry to find out what food to avoid/eat less when on diet.
People asked how i lost weight (i was a fat adolescent then at one point, chubby adult), here's how:
1. Watch what you eat
2. Eat before you are hungry and stop before you are full
3. Eat only half or 3/4 of what's on your plate
4. Eat slowly. Savour your food. gives the brain time to analyse and tell your stomach that you are full.
5. Exercise, exercise and exercise.
Good luck and all the best!
.jpg)
Here are a few common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight
1. Skipping breakfast
Eating breakfast is one of the simplest and healthiest thing you can do to feel better and have more energy. But you have to eat protein for breakfast. Cereal is bad for breakfast because it is high in sugar, additives and low in protein. If your breakfast is high in simple carbohydrates, you'll end up feeling sleepy and sluggish before noon. Why protein you say? Protein is digested slowly. Your blood sugar is more stable and you'll have better satiety. Try boiled eggs, sardine or chicken sandwich.
2. Severely restrict your caloric intake/ starve yourself
This i can tell you, won't work in the long term. Any weight you might have lost during that period will creep back on, sometimes even more than you have lost because most people cannot maintain such diet plan for a long time. When you starve yourself, your body sensed that there is low energy intake therefore it switches to starvation mode where the metabolism slows down to conserve energy for body's vital functions such as breathing. When you start to eat normally after you starve yourself, the body will store the excess energy as fat.
3. Too rigid on your diet plan
Normal human beings have cravings. We like food that we know is bad (ice-cream, cakes, french fries, fried chicken). It doesn't help that these food taste waaaayyyyy nicer that healthy foods. Who says you can't eat these food when you are on a diet? Yes you can but in moderation. It is important to indulge once in a while but be very-very careful of how much you indulge. Moderation is the key.
4. Have no idea what is the right portion
Ideal portion of our daily meal is often smaller than we thought is right. Sometimes, we pile on the weight because we don't know how much we should eat. Big portion is one of the contributor of weight gain because bigger portion = more calories. Read on the right portion size here guide on portion control.
5. No exercise
Consume less calories and increasing your physical activity is essentially the key in losing weight. Limiting calorie intake alone won't do. You need to exercise to build muscle, increase your metabolism rate and indirectly, make you feel better and energize. That is why it is important to find something that you like. i.e swimming, dancing, aerobics etc. Find out what works for you.
6. Think of the long term goal and don't be too hard on yourself
Do read on this entry to find out what food to avoid/eat less when on diet.
People asked how i lost weight (i was a fat adolescent then at one point, chubby adult), here's how:
1. Watch what you eat
2. Eat before you are hungry and stop before you are full
3. Eat only half or 3/4 of what's on your plate
4. Eat slowly. Savour your food. gives the brain time to analyse and tell your stomach that you are full.
5. Exercise, exercise and exercise.
Good luck and all the best!
Thanks.
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