A Good Diet Has You Eating More Often!

The basis of any diet plan is to eat less and exercise more. We are always urged to consume fewer foods that contain calories from simple carbohydrates (sugar and processed flour) and more protein (meat, eggs and cheese), whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. This is common sense to most people.

Less well appreciated is that a good diet gets you eating more food - in the form of eating more often.

Human genetics has developed over the millennia because of one important driving force - survival. Your brain feels threatened when you eat too little because your stomach sends up a message that it thinks the lack of food means you're starving (locusts have wiped out the crops, or a tsunami has laid waste your habitat for hundreds of miles!) Your subconscious does not know that it is you who is deliberately causing the reduced caloric intake; it just goes into panic mode.

Reacting to this message, the body begins to break down muscle to use as energy but saves its fat stores for the "final" effort to save itself from what it thinks is impending death.

This is bad for two reasons...

Losing muscle tissue requires your body to increase your energy intake to help keep your metabolism running at its normal pace. A higher metabolism burns more calories even at a state of rest. Fat, on the other hand, does not require energy to support it - it's truly "dead-weight".
When you eat less, your body will store more intake as fat because it is following its primary objective. Survival is your body's most important concern and it will do whatever necessary to stay alive.

What's the answer? How can you eat less without starving yourself and sending your body into this survivalist defense?

Eat smaller meals, but eat every two hours, not four, throughout the day.

And this good for two reasons...

By eating more often you won't get hungry as quickly
Your metabolism will stay raised because you'll be digesting food more often. Digesting food uses calories just like any other physical activity

Eating often will help you avoid those snacking binges.

You should eat five or six meals a day - just not what you have come to think of as a meal (a plate-full plus dessert). Instead, eat a small portion of protein together with some fresh fruits and veggies. This does not take much time to prepare; it just requires planning.

Useful examples include skinless chicken breast - a great protein - which you can buy in a value pack. If you cook the lot at once, you will then have handy, good-for-you options for future meals. And eggs: boil up ½ dozen eggs (whites are better alone but you don't have to eat the hard yellow middle) - or you could remove a few of the yellows and scramble the rest then refrigerate and use in small portions.

This prep work - for fruits and veggies too - can be done in an hour or so at the weekend, and then you are all set for the week.

Don't forget the water: at least 64oz of filtered water through the day (not all at once) to help rid your body of fat and toxins. It will also help to make you feel full.

Eating more and feeling full on a low-carb diet plan will help you feel better and lose weight.

I have lost 55 pounds in 4 months with a low carb diet called The Dukan Diet. If you have an interest in learning more about it, I have chronicled my own weight loss success in a diary. On that site, you will also find details of the top 10 most popular diets today and a comparison of the 3 most followed low carb options.

Here's the Deal: Eating Too Many Carbohydrates in One Go, WILL Make You Fat

Why Do I Have To Reduce The Amount Of Carbs I Eat?

Here's the deal: Eating too many carbohydrates in one go, WILL make you fat.

Instantly.

Ok, not by much... or not by so much that you'd notice. It'll make you fatter by maybe 10-20g if you didn't go mad. If you've just eaten a whole packet of biscuits, three packets of Rolos, had a hot chocolate and a whole family bag of Doritos, then yes, you're going to SEE a difference.

10-20g may not seem a lot, but if you're carbs are out of control, that could be 20g every meal and snack... soon becoming extra pounds and even whole stones in weight that just seemed to 'creep' on.

I'll explain myself in just a moment. First though, just as quick aside, I don't think carbs are bad or evil. I actually believe you cannot have a healthy diet without them. So I'm not recommending a 'carb-free' existence, oh no.

All I'm saying is... CURB YOUR CARBS!

Time for the science bit!

When you eat carbohydrates, they get broken down in your gut into sugar. This sugar then passes into your blood so that it can be transported to al the bits of you that will use it as energy - your muscles, liver and brain, to name a few. (These organs NEED sugar to function which is one of the reasons why you must never cut out carbs completely!)

It's now called 'blood sugar' and your body closely monitors the level of your blood sugar, as having too much sugar in your blood is toxic and dangerous for you. This is known as 'high blood sugar'.

If there is a lot of sugar in your blood, or your body sense that there soon will be because the levels are rising very quickly, it acts IMMEDIATELY to return your blood sugar levels back to safer ground.

To do this, it releases a hormone called INSULIN.

I like to call insulin the fat storing hormone...

When this response is triggered, as much sugar as possible is cleared from your blood and safely stored elsewhere for future use. This storage area is actually your fat cells and they get all nice and full and plump and big and....

...you just got fatter!

So this is why you should REDUCE the amount of carbohydrates you eat... because gaining fat only takes an instant!

Jo is a leading Personal Trainer and Diet Coach who has helped thousands of people achieve their goals over the last decade. She is the author of the book Dumbells Are A Girl's Best Friend and creator of The 8 Week Diet Programme.

Sign up for Jo's weekly newsletter at http://www.thephysiqueacademy.co.uk

The Dr Dukan Diet: Is Low Carb Eating the Best Way to Lose Weight?

Low carb eating is a method popular within the health and fitness industry for promoting weight loss. From Dr Atkins to Protein Power and now the Dr Dukan diet it seems that the message of cutting out carbohydrates is a loud and clear one. There are two potential problems though. First is that we live in a world where we are surrounded by carbohydrates. Second is that they are usually yummy! The prospect of living life on a diet deprived of our favourite foods is often the cause of long term failure. More commonly, it's the reason we never really get going with weight loss in the first place.

So low carb eating is probably not going to be the best way to lose weight for everyone. If it's not to be the answer it's time to look at the reasons why, and how you can use them to choose and use an eating plan more in line with you. Here are some things to consider.

There are lean people all over the world and successful dieters every way imaginable

To get and stay lean doesn't require knowledge of the latest diet trends or fads. It doesn't require knowledge of proteins, carbs and fats, or nutrient timing. It's a lot more simple than that and the majority of lean people out there are living proof.

Energy balance rules

There are many factors that contribute to a healthy diet, and strong evidence suggesting that when it comes to optimal health a calorie is not just a calorie. However for weight loss alone the fact remains that if you take in less energy than you use, you will lose weight. The devil is not in the detail, it's in the dose. it's not what you eat, but rather how much of it.

Eating in line with your weight loss goals is the key, and that is a lot more straightforward than trying to shoehorn a low carb eating plan into your life.

You don't need the Dr Dukan diet, or any other

We all have our own best way, the trick is to find it. it's all about you. If it's not, it should be.

Put yourself back in the centre of the frame. You can absolutely achieve weight loss on your terms. That is weight loss without giving up your life and it is the way forward. You don't need to know everything, simply what you need to know. Low carb eating is just an option, and when you know how to focus on the difference that makes the difference you will have many options. It is a lot,more fun when the choices are your own.

To learn more about a healthy way to lose weight visit http://www.underwearbody.com/weight-loss/how-to-choose-a-healthy-way-to-lose-weight

Here's the Deal: Eating Too Many Carbohydrates in One Go, WILL Make You Fat

Why Do I Have To Reduce The Amount Of Carbs I Eat?

Here's the deal: Eating too many carbohydrates in one go, WILL make you fat.

Instantly.

Ok, not by much... or not by so much that you'd notice. It'll make you fatter by maybe 10-20g if you didn't go mad. If you've just eaten a whole packet of biscuits, three packets of Rolos, had a hot chocolate and a whole family bag of Doritos, then yes, you're going to SEE a difference.

10-20g may not seem a lot, but if you're carbs are out of control, that could be 20g every meal and snack... soon becoming extra pounds and even whole stones in weight that just seemed to 'creep' on.

I'll explain myself in just a moment. First though, just as quick aside, I don't think carbs are bad or evil. I actually believe you cannot have a healthy diet without them. So I'm not recommending a 'carb-free' existence, oh no.

All I'm saying is... CURB YOUR CARBS!

Time for the science bit!

When you eat carbohydrates, they get broken down in your gut into sugar. This sugar then passes into your blood so that it can be transported to al the bits of you that will use it as energy - your muscles, liver and brain, to name a few. (These organs NEED sugar to function which is one of the reasons why you must never cut out carbs completely!)

It's now called 'blood sugar' and your body closely monitors the level of your blood sugar, as having too much sugar in your blood is toxic and dangerous for you. This is known as 'high blood sugar'.

If there is a lot of sugar in your blood, or your body sense that there soon will be because the levels are rising very quickly, it acts IMMEDIATELY to return your blood sugar levels back to safer ground.

To do this, it releases a hormone called INSULIN.

I like to call insulin the fat storing hormone...

When this response is triggered, as much sugar as possible is cleared from your blood and safely stored elsewhere for future use. This storage area is actually your fat cells and they get all nice and full and plump and big and....

...you just got fatter!

So this is why you should REDUCE the amount of carbohydrates you eat... because gaining fat only takes an instant!

Jo is a leading Personal Trainer and Diet Coach who has helped thousands of people achieve their goals over the last decade. She is the author of the book Dumbells Are A Girl's Best Friend and creator of The 8 Week Diet Programme.

Sign up for Jo's weekly newsletter at http://www.thephysiqueacademy.co.uk

The Dr Dukan Diet: Is Low Carb Eating the Best Way to Lose Weight?

Low carb eating is a method popular within the health and fitness industry for promoting weight loss. From Dr Atkins to Protein Power and now the Dr Dukan diet it seems that the message of cutting out carbohydrates is a loud and clear one. There are two potential problems though. First is that we live in a world where we are surrounded by carbohydrates. Second is that they are usually yummy! The prospect of living life on a diet deprived of our favourite foods is often the cause of long term failure. More commonly, it's the reason we never really get going with weight loss in the first place.

So low carb eating is probably not going to be the best way to lose weight for everyone. If it's not to be the answer it's time to look at the reasons why, and how you can use them to choose and use an eating plan more in line with you. Here are some things to consider.

There are lean people all over the world and successful dieters every way imaginable

To get and stay lean doesn't require knowledge of the latest diet trends or fads. It doesn't require knowledge of proteins, carbs and fats, or nutrient timing. It's a lot more simple than that and the majority of lean people out there are living proof.

Energy balance rules

There are many factors that contribute to a healthy diet, and strong evidence suggesting that when it comes to optimal health a calorie is not just a calorie. However for weight loss alone the fact remains that if you take in less energy than you use, you will lose weight. The devil is not in the detail, it's in the dose. it's not what you eat, but rather how much of it.

Eating in line with your weight loss goals is the key, and that is a lot more straightforward than trying to shoehorn a low carb eating plan into your life.

You don't need the Dr Dukan diet, or any other

We all have our own best way, the trick is to find it. it's all about you. If it's not, it should be.

Put yourself back in the centre of the frame. You can absolutely achieve weight loss on your terms. That is weight loss without giving up your life and it is the way forward. You don't need to know everything, simply what you need to know. Low carb eating is just an option, and when you know how to focus on the difference that makes the difference you will have many options. It is a lot,more fun when the choices are your own.

To learn more about a healthy way to lose weight visit http://www.underwearbody.com/weight-loss/how-to-choose-a-healthy-way-to-lose-weight