Split your meals to lose weight

One of the easiest ways to look at food consumption is to eat six meals a day. Each of these meals should have protein, carbohydrates and should give you energy. Eat what your body can assimilate once every three hours or so. Here is why you should split your meals and how it helps to lose weight.

1. Eating a smaller meal helps your body to metabolize the food you consumed
   
2. Longer gaps between meals make your body store food as fat. Small well spaced meals solve this problem.
   
3. Your blood sugar will fluctuate a lot during the day if you have a big meal then a long break and then another meal and you will feel your energy constantly going up and down.
4. Small meals mean more choice and variation in what you eat and enjoy food
5. You feel lighter and less bloated

Make sure you add a lot of fruits, proteins and carbs to your diet. A diet comprising 25 to 30% proteins, 50 to 55% carbohydrates is advised.

Try eating smaller servings at every meal of the day and see if it makes a difference to how you feel.

The Perfect Diet

Is there an ultimate diet that suits your body? A diet that you could follow without a second thought and lose weight fast and easy?

The answer is no. There are several diets that promise quick and easy weight loss. Some suggest eating more of one food type and less of another. These do not give the benefits that you would get from a balanced diet. Most of the diets might help you to lose weight initially but if you stick to it you may begin to develop nutritional deficiencies.

Fad diets are also often boring and restrictive. You might be initially good as you are in a zeal and passionate to lose weight but after the novelty of the first day or two, you will not enjoy your meals. This makes you start to crave for food constantly breaking the diet. You still would think this isn't your fault as you didn't follow the prescribed diet.

Another problem with 'perfect' diets is that they might not be good for your health and disturb your bodily functions causing more harm that the weight loss you achieved. Some diets do not maintain a balance of fruits, vegetables, proteins, fat, etc., in your weight loss program, or give you the variety of foods that your body needs. Diets that promise quick weight loss diets are usually just a temporary solution and do not help you to make permanent changes to your eating habits. A good diet should look at making permanent changes as they help you lose weight in a healthy way and maintain there.

The myth of the perfect diet is thus broken. The best way to sustain weight loss is to eat a varied and healthy diet, do not overeat, exercise regularly and avoid fad diets.

Obesity and Cancer

Several studies have shown the link between obesity and cancer. Obesity health risks include cancer; however, awareness of the obesity and cancer link is low with many not realizing maintaining a healthy weight can reduce this risk. Surprisingly it is one of the least discussed problem about obesity.

The more fit you are physically the lesser are the chances of contacting cancer. A healthy diet can help sustain a healthy weight and lower risk of cancers regular physical activity protects against the buildup of excess body fat and against cancer, independently.

Image is from AICR

Get physical

All of us know that physical exercise is needed to compliment your dieting and helps you to lose weight. H are a few physical endeavors that are simple to follow but help you lose weight.

1. Skip the elevator, take the stairs
2. Wriggle your toes and fingers often. If you have a numb/sore feeling, it is an indication you should relax, change stance and go for a walk. It also works as an excellent stress buster
   
3. Brisk walk about 20 minutes a day
4. Dance to your favorite song. This would help you burn few calories and refresh your senses.
5. When on phone, walk
6. Be outdoors when free
7. Chew your food
8. Every weekend, burn extra calories
9. Touch your feet whenever possible

Sedentary lifestyles, high pressure work atmospheres make us forget that we are adding up fat cells everyday. getting enough physical exercise becomes important to stay fit and burn extra calories.

The Naked Test

How do you know you need to lose weight?

Here is an easy way to find out. Take the naked test! Undress and stare at yourself in front of your mirror. If what you see looks like a greek sculpture model or ancient vedic description of a king or queen then then you can relax. If what you see displeases you, then you have all the more reason to think about weight loss.

We all have done it. Every time we walk in to a dressing room or pose for a picture, we try to tuck in the extra fat in all those wide areas. If that is what you do then this is the right place for you to be. While you are at the mirror, turn to your side and get a very good view of your side profile. This is an excellent way of checking whether you have a tummy that is starting to bulge or has bulged already. Blow out air and then take a look at your tummy. If it goes in even a little bit, that is where your tummy should reach if you take good care. A good weight loss plan, with proper diet should help you lose a couple of inches in a just a few weeks.

Checking your weight constantly is a good way to keep track of your health. If that isn't possible, the mirror check would help you.

Weight loss myths

With lots of information being available online, so is disinformation. It is difficult to differentiate the truths from the myths. Here are some common myths about weight loss and the truth associated you should definitely know if you’re trying to lose weight:

1. Myth: Easy immediate fix for weight loss is possible. I would love to tell you that this is possible and that this product is mine. Several ads boast of too good to be true solutions to losing weight, the truth of the matter is that there is no easy or simple fix. Trust me when I say that losing weight takes time, patience, dedication and a lot of self-discipline when it comes to eating and lifestyle habits.

Truth: The reality is that weight loss takes work. It also takes time, so don’t expect to lose ten pounds in a week. Be realistic with your goals and understand that losing weight is a life long change in your habits and the way you eat and function.

2. Myth: Eating “low carb,” “low fat”, “low calorie” foods help lose weight. Many dieters feel if something says it’s sugar-free, low-carb, or low in fat, it entails them to have them as much they can. Food labels contain accurate, easy to understand information that can be used as

Truth: The reality is that most food labels are misleading or incorrect, and can actually lead to binge eating. Several studies have shown that excessive consumption of sugar-free foods cause irritable bowel syndrome and sometimes trick the body into believing that it’s eating sugar, thereby seeking real sugar. It is advised to eat natural foods like whole wheat breads, fruits, and vegetables when you feel the need to binge and this could help you lose weight.

3. Myth: You can lose weight without changing your present lifestyle. Going on a diet is enough to lose the weight and maintain it.

Truth: You need to look at your lifestyle and make necessary changes in the way you live your life. Diets might help you lose water weight or even a few pounds, they must actually be followed for the rest of your life in order to keep those pounds off. The secret in being healthy and fit is in maintaining how you live on a day-to-day basis.

4. Myth: Spot reduction treatments work! You must have seen ads that claim several things that seem so easy. A few sittings on our machine and your fat would melt like butter on a hot pan! A few sit-ups a week would give you six pack stomach or that by lifting some free weights, your arms will be less flabby.

Truth: Fat isn't accumulated at a few spots in body. It is just visible at a few points like stomach, hips and things. Fat in human bodies is distributed evenly, so it’s very difficult to spot reduce fat from certain “problem areas” easily. It is possible to tone up problem areas with exercise, but for the muscles to show up, you must lose the fat first.

Follow a healthy diet plan, follow it up with an effective exercise plan is the best way to ensure that you look slim and trim all over.