Another one, also from Yahoo! Health.
I like this article. It's short, precise, and straight to the point. For me, a moderately stressful lifestyle must be compensated with a healthy body, which goes with keeping fit and keeping our weight in check. Here you go~
1. Avoid any fad diets and fast-acting solutions.
They guarantee incredible weight loss while you watch television and eat deserts. Nonsense!
2. Focus on being fit rather than being thin.
Aiming to be thin often means restricted eating, over-exercising, and anxious obsessing about weight - there is nothing healthy about this mindset.
3. Eat five small meals per day.
Actually, eating steadily throughout the day keeps you from becoming famished and overeating at your next meal. Follow an eating schedule with five little meals every day. Try a low-fat trail mix from raw almonds, pumpkin seeds, dried plum, and apples and have it available at all times to avoid the tempting lure of high-calorie snacks.
4. Your last meal of the day should be no later than 7 p.m.
The human body follows a circadian rhythm, which means that the same foods eaten at breakfast and lunch are processed differently than when eaten at dinner. Studies show that when you eat your daily protein and fat at breakfast you tend to lose weight and have more energy; however, eating the same things at dinner tend to increase tendencies toward weight gain.
5. Eliminate candy, sugar, and soda from your diet.
Instead of candy, chew on some fresh peppermint leaves or cinnamon sticks. Use honey sparingly as a replacement for sugar.
6. Eat more complex carbohydrates and ample quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Eat more green, chlorophyll-rich foods such as broccoli, kale, spinach, and asparagus. Your diet should consist of a balance of organic sources of lean protein, complex carbohydrates, whole grains, legumes, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Instead of white rice and pasta, opt for brown rice or buckwheat. Also, keep dairy to a minimum because most dairy products are high in saturated fat, which is not healthy for your cardiovascular system when consumed in larger amounts. Avoid fatty foods, processed or fried foods.
7. Drink plenty of water.
It is especially beneficial to drink plain hot water. By drinking more water, you are not only flushing out toxins, you are also teaching your body that it no longer needs to store water. Drink at least 8 glasses a day. Boil water and sliced lemons, and drink this throughout the day to help with fluid retention.
8. Drink soup at least once a day.
A low-salt nutritious soup re-hydrates the body while also nourishing and flushing waste from the body. Look out homemade soup, because canned soups are filled with salt and chemicals.
9. A 30-minute daily walk can do wonders for your metabolism.
The number one cause of weight gain is inactivity. Physical activity is the key to speeding up your metabolism and burning excess calories. The best way to be physically active is to use your legs! Walk as often and as long as you can. Always take the stairs instead of the elevator. Step outside during your break at work and take a walk around your building. Try taking a walk 30 minutes in the morning or 30 minutes in the early evening.
10. Adopt a balanced approach to your diet.
Most of the fad diet programs out there nowadays are extreme in a few recommended foods, or else deprive the body of food altogether. This works in opposition to our metabolism and the results usually don't last, producing a yoyo effect that depresses your metabolic function - not to mention your self-esteem. We are natural beings that need a balance of nutrition from all sources.
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"Your last meal of the day should be no later than 7 p.m."?
ReplyDeleteErr.. hard.. by the time 'fong gong', nonid to eat meh? sigh..
so, in order to have a healthy lifestyle, we have to 'fong gong' at 6pm sharp! :D Then only got time to go makan.. make sure the last bit masuk mulut sebelum pukul 7 malam mah..
*shrugs*
ReplyDeleteI guess it applies to heavy meals.
I still pop some light things into my mouth after 7pm. But I avoid supper totally.
Abit no logic leh..
ReplyDeleteWe noe that peninsular time is faster 1 hour..
So means on our watch is 7pm, but the actual time is 8pm worhs..
if lydat 6pm fang gong also cannot
nid 5pm fang gong lols..
I think the best thing is to eat everything in moderation & not under- or over-eat.
ReplyDeleteHeavy dinners are not recommended because our physical activities tend to cease after evening. So, those extra & unused calories will be converted to fat and stored lor...
I got something from the Internet.
* There are gender differences in fat distribution.
* Women tend to deposit fat on the thighs and buttocks while men deposit fat around the middle.
* In both cases, the tendency is due to an abundance of lipoprotein lipase – an enzyme that is necessary for fat storage – in those regions.
* Because lipoprotein lipase is produced by fat cells, it preserves one’s fat distribution in times of weight gain generally rendering women into “pears” and men into “apples.”
* Regular activity (exercise) is accepted as the key to weight loss and control.
* Although moderate to rigorous exercise may be necessary to reduce abdominal fat stores, there is increasing evidence that people who are 20 percent or more above their desirable weight may benefit from even such low-intensity exercise as walking at a rate of 2 miles per hour for 30 minutes a day – if they do it on a regular basis.
* If you are overweight and have an apple shape, a reasonable approach is to begin to exercise at a comfortable rate and gradually build up to higher-intensity workouts.
* If you are not overweight but are gaining weight around the abdomen, try exercising at a higher rate for at least 30 minutes a day.
* Both the number of calories consumed and the number of calories expended through activity determine the amount of energy stored in fat.
* As weight falls, so do lipoprotein lipase levels and the basal metabolic rate – the number of calories required to sustain body functions.
* When dieters begin to eat a maintenance level, metabolic rate does not increase as much as lipoprotein lipase production does.
* The typical dieter goes from three meals a day to a toast and fruit breakfast, a salad lunch, and a half-sized dinner and is rewarded with rapid weight loss during the first few weeks.
* The human body is remarkable. Sensing that its survival is at stake, it begins to store more fat. In essence, the diet has “taught” the body to become more efficient at storing fat!
* There is a way to get around the body’s survival mode. Instead of drastically cutting calories all at once, gradually reduce calories, but focus mainly on changing the types of foods you consume.
* The emphasis should be placed on substituting foods that require the body to use more stored calories to digest them rather than reducing calories.
* In general, carbohydrates and proteins consume more energy in the digestive process than fats do and complex carbohydrates take more energy to digest than simple carbohydrates. Eat smart to lose those pounds for good!