Habits Not Diets

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Habits Not Diets
By Tom Venuto, GHF’s Fat Loss Expert

With swimsuit weather right around the corner, like many of us, you're
once again faced with the daunting task of shedding the layers of
flab we have accumulated over a long winter of eating and drinking.
Of course this comes as no surprise because removing our "winter
coats" has become a ritual for us every spring. This year, instead
of wondering "how can I get rid of this belly in time for the
beach," why not ask yourself a totally different question: "How
can I lose this excess baggage permanently so I don’t have to
keep taking it off every year?"

If you are having a difficult time keeping fat off permanently,
it is probably because you foster the entirely wrong attitude
towards nutrition. For most of us, our idea of a summer shape-up
program consists of jumping on the latest diet bandwagon, which
we inevitably end up falling off of when the summer is over.
Losing weight is easy; the hard part is keeping it off. Instead
of looking for quick fixes, we need to focus on developing better
eating and exercise habits that we can maintain for the long haul.
Instead of going on and off diets, we need to completely change our
approach and make exercise and good nutrition our way of life.
Small changes in our daily habits, over time, can produce quantum
changes in your body and your health.

The first habit you must develop is to keep track of your daily
caloric intake. Calories do count! Human physiology dictates that
losing fat is a simple matter of consuming fewer calories than you
burn up. Too much of anything gets stored as fat. However, it is
not necessary to starve yourself. In fact, you can actually eat
more and still become leaner by eating small meals more frequently.
Five small meals, each eaten three hours apart, will speed up your
metabolic rate, allow your body to absorb and utilize more nutrients,
stabilize blood sugar and insulin levels, and increase your energy
levels. Most importantly, small frequent meals will decrease fat
storage by controlling your portion size and never giving your
body more calories than it can utilize in one sitting.

The trick is to decrease your calories slightly below your
maintenance level but not to cut them too far. Women can usually
eat as many as 1400-1800 calories per day and men 2200-2600 per day
and still lose body fat. Most diets are based on severe calorie
restriction, often dipping well below 1000 calories per day. This
approach may work initially, but it will never work in the long run.
Many people believe that they can just skip meals or "starve the fat
off" by hardly eating anything at all, but it’s not that simple. Your
body is an extremely efficient fat storing machine during times of
famine or deprivation. The direct and unavoidable consequence of very
low calorie diet is a reduction in lean body mass and a decrease in
metabolic rate. When this occurs, your progress will grind to a
screeching halt. Once this dreaded plateau strikes, most frustrated
and discouraged dieters end up falling off the wagon and gaining
all the weight back.

The next habit is to divide your calories into the correct portions
of protein, carbohydrates and fats. Each meal should contain
approximately 30% of the calories from lean proteins and 55%
from natural complex carbohydrates. The remaining 15% will come
from fat. For high energy levels, your best sources of carbs
include 100% whole grain cereals and breads, potatoes, yams, brown
rice, oatmeal, beans, legumes, vegetables and fruits. Great sources
of protein for muscle development include egg whites, lowfat dairy
products, chicken, turkey, fish and lean cuts of red meat. Fats
should be kept to a minimum, but cutting all the fat out is not
necessary. Essential fatty acids are just as important as amino
acids, vitamins and minerals. Your diet must contain a wide
variety of natural, unrefined foods. The less processed your
food choices are, the better; eating foods in their natural
state the way they came out of the ground is ideal.

Plan on losing weight slowly. Everyone wants fast results, but
you can’t undo a lifetime of inactivity and poor nutrition
overnight. If you lose weight at a rate of 1-2 lbs. per week
you will be more likely to keep it off permanently. Many diet
programs promise rapid weight loss. High protein, low-carbohydrate
diets for example, can take off pounds very quickly, but much of
the weight loss consists of water and muscle. Instead of worshipping
the almighty scale, measure your progress in terms of body composition.
Use your bodyfat percentage as the ultimate yardstick of your success.
This will help you distinguish between fat weight and muscle weight.
It does you no good to lose 5-6 lbs. per week if it is mostly muscle!

Arguably, the most important habit of all is exercise. Nutrition is
only half the battle; the other half is working out. Cardiovascular
exercise is the real secret to burning bodyfat. Aerobic activities
such as bicycling, walking, jogging, stair-climbing, cross country
skiing and rowing are all terrific fat burners. Shoot for at least
thirty minutes, three to five times per week for optimal results.
Weight training is also essential because the more lean muscle
tissue you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate will be.
In other words, by developing more muscle, you will be burning more
body fat all day long, even when you’re not working out.

It is human nature to look for quick fixes. However, when it comes
to fat loss, there are no shortcuts. It is easy to fall for the
hottest diet craze, the newest workout gizmo, the trendiest class
or the latest miracle pill, but the results they produce are often
short-lived at best. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably
is. Short-term diets never work! Dieting for a few weeks or months
just to get in shape for summer, only to put the weight right back
on makes absolutely no sense at all! Get off the diet roller coaster
once and for all by developing habits that you will be able to
maintain for the rest of your life. If may take a little more
discipline, patience and hard work this way, but it the end it
will all be worth it.

Article courtesy of Global Health and Fitness

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