Diet tips issue #3: 7 Secrets of Permanent Fat Loss and Fitness (Part 6)

The big issue: Too Many Calories

Whether you like it or not, the big problem people have is simply eating too many calories…there is too much going in and the only place the excess is going is to your fat stores. So what I’ve found is that instead of restricting yourself of entire food groups (like carbohydrates), it’s far easier and better from a fat loss and health standpoint to concentrate on eating foods loaded in nutrients. Why? Because our hunger is driven by nutrient consumption. Not just the macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats), but even more so by the micronutrients…the vitamins, minerals, etc. that are found in certain foods and not so much in others. In fact most people don’t even think about this, instead focusing on how many carbs or how much fat or protein they eat.

And the mainstream diets are this way too. When you analyze it, most diets are just variations of either low calorie, low fat, or low carb. They’re all focused on the macronutrients with little regard for choosing food based on the micronutrients….which really satisfy your body and your hunger.

When you focus on these foods, many of the details take care of themselves. Think about it, these are the foods your body craves naturally…why? Because they’re loaded with nutrients…your body craves nutrients. I’m talking about unrefined whole grains, beans, legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. If you give your body what it craves, it’s very unlikely you’ll have overeating problems. Period.

This one fact could save so many people from so many health problems it’s not even funny. And most issues with fat gain simply disappear when eating this way even 80-90% of the time. And on top of this, you’re automatically lowering your chance for various diseases and ailments that plague the person on the typical oversized and protein heavy American or western diet.

Now, focusing on nutrient rich foods is the foundation, but there are other factors we can manipulate to get the desired fat burning effect while supporting the muscle growth we are stimulating with our proper exercise application as I talked about in the last secret. These include eating smaller meals more frequently, managing your calorie intake without actually counting calories, and more. Perhaps just as important as what foods you are eating is what you are drinking.

The habit of drinking loads of water each day should be one you want to develop right now. While water is essential for almost every bodily process we go through, it is absolutely vital to fat burning. If you don’t get your water, you can forget about maximum fat burning.

The reason for this has to do with what happens to your body when it is dehydrated. It basically stores fat at an accelerated rate, and the sooner you get hydrated, to sooner your body will be able to metabolize your body fat stores for energy.

So make sure you’re eating foods that are rich in nutrients and make sure you’re getting more than your fair share of water. Give the body what it craves…and it will reward you.

Diet tips issue #3: 7 Secrets of Permanent Fat Loss and Fitness (Part 5)

SECRET #3

Focus on the Right Foods, Nutrient Rich

The 3rd secret to permanent fat loss and fitness is: focus on the right foods, nutrient rich. We’ve all seen the fad diet books and plans out there that promise all sorts of fabulous weight loss with very little effort. What we typically find out though, after going on one of these diets, is that they’re unusual. They require you follow a very unusual way of eating compared to what common sense and Mother Nature would tell you.

We also find out that once we go off of these diets we gain the weight back faster than we lost it, and usually add a few more pounds on top of it (often due to loss of muscle mass in the process). This is obviously not the way to go, yet so many people are still duped into following these wacky diets…again and again and again.

The big secret I’ve found in eating is that instead of focusing on what you can’t eat or what you shouldn’t eat, we should be concentrating on the types of foods that create an ideal environment for satisfying hunger. This is true because when it comes down to it, we have to create a calorie deficit if we want to lose fat.

That is, we have to burn more calories than we consume. The exercise principles I described in secret #2 will help to create a deficit without changing your eating habits at all. But if you want fast success, and lasting success, you must employ proper eating strategies as well.