We realize that the word ‘diet’ may be nothing less than a horror film for some of our readers. Particularly those individuals who have tried, time and again, to lose weight but come out unsuccessful, dejected and completely hopeless.
What we have to realize is, there is no magic trick to effective weight loss: There is no one simple hack or trick that works like a charm; there is no secret shortcut or miracle that can melt away those extra pounds and have you looking like a movie star. Too many people play into these blatant false promises dished out by marketing giants intended to promote their products.
The first step to an effective diet plan is to be familiar with your own body; because every individual’s internal make-up is inherently different from that of another. Their metabolism rate, their tendency to gain weight, their body’s fat composition, muscle mass, bone density, endurance, stamina, appetite and a million other factors collectively decide how easy or difficult it is for a person to lose weight.
Some people eat like a horse and manage to stay slim and fit regardless. Others may blow up like a balloon if they accidentally smell a chocolate chip cookie. In short, your genetic make-up plays a huge role in deciding what kind of a diet plan along with a workout regimen you should follow.
Measure your calories
The science behind it is simple. If your calorie intake is more than the amount of calories you burn on a daily basis, you are in a calorie surplus and therefore you will gain weight. If you wish to lose weight, then you must take your body into a calorie deficit. Consume less calories than you burn on a daily basis.
How do you go into a calorie deficit? This is the not-so-fun part.
To put it simply, either eat less, or workout more. Or do both. We have heard the old excuse time and again “No matter what I do, it doesn’t work”. We assure you that it is scientifically impossible not to lose weight if you’re in a calorie deficit.
So either you’re getting calories from somewhere you don’t realize; which is the case in a lot of instances. Or you’re not being truthful with yourself.
Discard the Junk Food
This is usually the source of all those ‘mystery calories’ that are preventing your weight from going down. You may not realize it but processed, junk food is extremely unhealthy and packed with an overabundance of calories.
So while you may be sacrificing your daily meals and trying to assuage your appetite by munching on a packet of chips, you are doing yourself no good. Because you’re not measuring your calorie intake. Every bite counts; nothing is negligible.
You need to limit the amount of carbohydrates you consume on a daily basis; especially any of the refined variety and instead consume healthier, non-processed foods (mainly veggies) that are rich in proteins and other essential nutrients.
Keto diet
Let’s take a few minutes to elaborate on the miracle Keto diet that so many of our readers think is a magic trick of some sort.
It really isn’t.
It is essentially the same thing we suggested earlier, wrapped in a pretty package, with a cool name. A diet that is low in carbohydrates, high in fats is known as a Keto diet (or LCHF).
Since the diet contains a high amount of natural fat, does this mean you will get fat? Fortunately, the human body does not work that way. Fat does not simply get stored in the body after consumption. The villain in this instance is the carbohydrates.
Natural fat is a much healthier alternative and it will help satiate your appetite while your body goes into a carb deficit.
On a typical day. your body uses the carbohydrates to produce glucose which is the main energy source of the body. If we follow a Ketogenic diet, your body does not produce an adequate amount of glucose. This will force your body to alter its metabolic pathway and what happens instead is a process known as Ketosis.
Ketosis is a process in which stored body fat is broken down in the liver to produce ketones. Ketones now take over as the main energy source and help your cells function.
Sodium
Reducing sodium in your diet may help you shed some weight but this is simply water weight due to the fluid loss that occurs, since less water is retained. It does not affect your body fat.
Exercise
We cannot stress this enough. A calorie deficit cannot be achieved only by dieting. You must also introduce a strict, well-planned workout regimen so that your excess calories are burned away.
You are not obligated to join a gym. A few minutes of cardio, planks, pushups and any aerobic exercise will do the trick, as long as it is performed regularly. Don’t take it easy on yourself; the trick is to push your body.
If it were easy, everyone would do it.
