For far too long, fitness, nutrition, and medical professionals have drilled into our heads that we should “eat less and exercise more” in order to lose weight.
This belief has created the difference between calories in and calories out the most important aspect of our thinking when it comes to weight. Calories are a prominent feature on nutritional labels, diets, and meal guides, as well as a decisive element in many of our food choices. As we’ve seen over the last decade, the weight reduction equation of calories in vs. calories out is considerably oversimplified and, in most cases, completely incorrect. This article discusses what you should focus on instead if you want to lose weight quickly.
NOT ALL CALORIES ARE CREATED EQUAL
Isn’t it a calorie? WRONG. 500 calories of spinach and 500 calories of Skittles would, in fact, release the same amount of energy in a laboratory situation where the energy of an isolated system remains constant. However, lab conditions and the rule of thermodynamics do not apply to live, breathing beings since our systems are not “isolated.” The spinach and Skittles interact with our biochemistry, resulting in a highly intricate transformation process. Food contains much more than calories; it contains information for our cells.
Every piece of food you consume provides a unique set of instructions to your body, influencing satiety, metabolic rate, brain activity, blood sugar, and the way you store fat. The same number of calories from various foods might have significantly diverse physiologic impacts. Let’s see how your body handles Skittles versus spinach.
When you consume Skittles, a large quantity of fructose is transported to the liver, where it begins to store sugar as fat. Fructose bypasses your hunger hormones, leptin, and ghrelin, so your brain never gets the message that you’ve already eaten a lot of calories and don’t need to eat anymore. Instead, sugar activates your brain’s pleasure-based reward region, causing powerful cravings and driving you to consume more sugar to sustain the high.
Low-starch veggies, such as spinach, are abundant in fiber, which is slowly digested and does not cause glucose or insulin surges. Because of all the fiber, your stomach distends, signaling to your brain that you’re full. Aside from satiation, the minerals and fiber in spinach improve metabolism, reduce inflammation, defend against illness, lower cholesterol, increase detoxification, and feed the healthy bacteria in your gut. Despite having the same calorie value, Skittles and spinach produce completely different physiological reactions. Many other factors, such as macronutrients, food quality, blood sugar regulation, gut flora, circadian rhythm, and so on, have a greater influence on how much fat you gain than calorie restriction.
1. EAT REAL FOOD
It’s not that calories don’t matter; it’s that nutrients are more important. Considering calories to be the most significant consideration in deciding what meals to eat is an extremely simplified approach that ignores nutritional quality.
You may be eating very few calories if you live on diet drinks and 100-calorie snack packs, but you’re also ingesting a lot of chemicals, GMOs, allergic and inflammatory components… and nearly no nutrition. You’re probably hungry, grumpy, brain-fogged, malnourished, and battling to maintain a healthy weight on this diet. Meanwhile, the individual eating a higher-calorie, real foods diet that includes foods like avocados, macadamia nuts, and coconut oil has a healthy weight, better moods, more energy, and better sleep because her body understands how to employ these nutrients in the service of health.
By avoiding processed and packaged meals in favor of actual whole foods, you will provide your body with a wide range of nutrients that it can use to support maximum health. Aim for 6–8 servings of nutrient-dense veggies each day, and avoid inflammatory, nutrient-deficient foods as much as possible, such as sugar, wheat, refined flour, hydrogenated oils, artificial sweeteners, and so on.
Try counting nutrients if you want to count something!
2. BALANCE MACRONUTRIENTS
Eating the appropriate macronutrient combinations that fill you full and keep you content is one of the secrets to effective and long-term weight loss. I advise my customers to include PFF (protein, fat, and fiber) at every meal to fill their stomachs, regulate blood sugar, transmit satiety signals to the brain, and provide the body with health-promoting nutrients.
If you eat a handful of Skittles, you’ll be hungry soon after and looking for your next sugar fix. A handful of almonds will regulate your blood sugar and keep you full and content for a few hours if you snack on them.
3. KNOW YOUR HUNGER AND SATIETY SIGNALS
Measuring, weighing, and counting everything at every meal and snack seems like a nightmare! Not to mention that it promotes a detached, scared, and obsessed relationship with food–one that focuses on restriction and deprivation, draining the joy out of eating! It is also not long-term sustainable. Rather than calorie tracking, I believe in intuitive eating.
One of the most significant strategies for achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is intuitive listening and eating. Because many women have spent their whole lives on diets, it may take some time to re-learn how to distinguish when they are hungry and full.
Begin each meal by assessing your level of hunger on a scale of 0 to 10. Zero means full, while ten means hungry. Remove all distractions, including your phone, internet, and television, and take a few deep breaths with your food in front of you. Eat slowly, completely digesting each bite and savoring the flavors, textures, and fragrances of the meal. Rate your hunger on a scale of 0 to 10 when you’re halfway through the meal. Aim to quit eating when you 80 percent full.
You’ll wind up ingesting the precise quantity of calories your body requires once you’ve reacquainted yourself with your body’s satiety signals.
4. PAY ATTENTION TO MEAL TIMING
We hear a lot about what we should eat, but little about when we should consume it. It is critical for weight reduction to eat in accordance with your body’s natural cycles. Because your digestive fire is at its greatest between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., having a large, nutritious lunch at that time is most effective for digestion and nutrient assimilation.
Because our bodies want regularity, attempt to eat at around the same times every day, such as breakfast at 8 a.m., lunch at 1 p.m., and supper at 6 p.m. Because the digestive fire is weak in the evening, aim to finish your meal by 7 p.m., or 8 p.m. at the latest. Fasting for at least 12 hours between dinner and breakfast aids in fat loss. Fasting increases HGH output, improves muscle development, and normalizes insulin sensitivity.
If you’ve switched to a whole foods diet but are still struggling to reach your desired weight, check out this post with 13 crucial weight reduction stages. If you’re still stuck, I recommend consulting with a practitioner to examine your gut health, metabolism, nutritional status, cortisol, blood sugar indicators (fasting glucose, insulin), sleep, physical activity, thyroid, and sex hormones.
Drink This “Belly Fat Oil” to Lose 27 lbs in 21 Days
Struggling to lose weight? Researchers have found that a specific type of fatty acid could be hindering your progress.
A study from the American University of Rome points to a fatty acid that causes your body to accumulate internal visceral fat, leading to metabolic slowdown and hormonal imbalances.
Good news: A doctor from Italy claims to have developed a natural oil that can help cleanse your system of this obstructive fatty acid.
Tens of thousands have tried this morning routine, claiming to lose an average of 28 pounds in just 21 days.
>> Sip a teaspoon each morning to diminish belly fat quickly
John lost 65 lbs of deadly fat clogging up his arteries and completely transformed his body in his 40s.
His wife Candace also melted away 39 lbs and 4 dress sizes… and it forced her to shop for a whole new wardrobe!
To your wellness,