5 Changes You Can Make to Your Nutrition for Successful ‘Dieting’

Do you wonder why you haven’t been able to shift the weight?

1. This is going to hurt but the simplest step is: Stop eating crap!
Most processed foods are generally filled with so much rubbish!
They have lost their nutrients during the processing phase and are often
filled with unhealthy fats, sugar or artificial sweeteners and
ingredients you can’t even pronounce (just turn the package around and check out the ingredients list)!

Many of these ingredients (artificial sweeteners, artificial colours,
hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup) are not even utilised by
the body. Your body thinks they are inedible!
Think about this, you wouldn’t eat a bowl of sticky tape so why consume
anything else that isn’t actually food? Not to mention, these kinds of
ingredients are toxins and often stored with fat so they stay inside your body with nowhere to escape.

Choose foods that are in their natural state aka WHOLEFOODS (eg: apples,
chicken breast, green beans) AND aim to make these total 60-75% of your
diet.

2. Avoid fad diets
Fad diets: Any diet that promises rapid weight loss following extreme
methods. Do they work? NO.
You are likely to drop a few kgs in the first week as promised but basically
because you are so restricted. Sorry everyone, the TRUTH is that weight is probably
just water.
Once you quit the diet (because it is so farfetched and impossible to
maintain) the weight will come back on and possibly, more than you
started with.

Further negatives:
*disrupting your metabolism
*restricting foods, causing nutritional deficiency
*fatigue
*muscle loss (Check out Strength Training – The key to keeping the weight off.
*brittle nails and hair loss
*bloating and/or constipation
*mood swings

It’s not complicated. Follow a normal, balanced diet. If you don’t know what that
means, see a dietician. We recommend Life Star Nutrition who you have access to hear with us.

3. Avoid snacking
All those ‘little things’ you’ve had throughout the day: that cookie, the
5 handfuls of nuts you’ve mindlessly gnawed away on, that can of Coke,
the few M&Ms from the jar….oops, that’s now empty.Studies show the average person accumulates an extra 500 calories per day
through snacking. That’s an entire meal! Those extra snacks over a week can equal 3500 calories! FYI there are
7700 calories in a kg of fat…do the math. That could mean an extra half a kg of bodyfat gained in just one week.
Plan your day to provide enough food for consistent meals that keep you
going. For the times you just NEED something try: packing a muesli bar,
piece of fruit or snack box of nuts. This keeps you from wandering to the
closest vending machine or cafe for a sweet treat you will regret later.

4. Drink water
The first sign of dehydration is HUNGER!
Instead of turning to food, ask yourself ‘how much water have I had to drink
today?’ More often than not, you will realise you’ve had nowhere near
enough. Drink a glass of a water and within 20mins the hunger will
disappear, if not then maybe it’s time for small portioned healthy snack or a wholefood based meal.
Just a few further benefits:
-Dehydration also slows your metabolism to conserve energy. Nobody wants a slow metabolism!
-Drinking water flushes toxins from your body
-Keeps joints lubricated
-drinking more water leads to drinking less sugary or artificially sweetened beverages (which again, adds to your calorie intake and leads to unwanted body fat!).

5. Carbs do not make you fat.
Restricting yourself of this magnificent food group could be what’s
actually crushing your weight loss goals!

Carbohydrates are your body’s number one source of energy.
You need energy to go about your daily lives…breathing, sitting,
training, thinking!
Avoid carbs and you’ll experience feeling weak, lethargic and incapable
of focussing on simple tasks like to talking to other human beings.
Restricting carbs due to the pure fear of getting fat often does the
total opposite, leaving your body in a state where it thinks it is starving and actually stores fat!
Again, a balanced diet consisting of all food groups and in moderation
will encourage a healthy, beautiful body! We’ve talked about goals, the key to weight loss (hint: strength training) and now you’ve got some simple tweaks to get your diet right. You’re not alone and we know you can do it!

All4Fitness – Making a difference.