Evastar
Inactive User
it's that time of year again when people start to think about going on a diet. you might have put on a few pounds over christmas, or made a new year's resolution to lose weight.
most people that go on a crash or fad diet gain all of the weight back as soon as they give up. then they go on a diet again, lose weight, go back to their old eating habits and put it all (and more) back on again.
the best thing to do is to make simple diet and lifestyle changes that you will stick with and that will help you to lose weight gradually and safely over time.
first of all we need all the major food groups in our diet, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. we also need fibre, minerals and vitamins to be healthy.
some people think that all carbohydrates are bad for you that isn't true. carbs can be further divided into simple carbs and complex carbs. simple carbs are digested very quickly and converted to sugar in your body, while complex carbs take longer to digest and contain more fibre.
one of the best tips for losing weight is to look at your carbohydrate intake and swap simple carbs for complex carbs. what this means is for example, if you eat white bread, change to wholemeal or wholegrain bread instead. these take longer to digest and don't give a 'sugar rush' so don't cause the energy highs and slumps that more refined foods do.
List of Simple Carbohydrates and Complex Carbohydrates Foods
Another thing to look at is what you drink. Fizzy drinks and alcohol contain a lot of empty calories. If you drink a lot of beer and don't want to give it up, consider cutting down and switching to a light beer.
Calories in Alcohol
Sauces are also very fattening. For example if you were out in a restaurant and you ordered chicken caesar salad, you would think you are being healthy right? it all depends on where you order it, sometimes it can have over 1000 calories and be full of fat! Chicken Caesar Salad Nutrition Facts | eHow.com
there's no need to cut out everything you like and that's where a lot of people go wrong. they give up all their favourite foods and get bored of their diet after a week and just fall back into their old bad eating habits.
a few simple tips are:
if you make or buy sandwiches for lunch, have butter or mayonnaise, don't have both.
have brown bread instead of white.
try spices like cayenne chilli pepper to spice your food up, it helps to speed up your metabolism and burn fat faster.
try eating more vegetables, as they fill you up and you won't be as likely to snack on chocolate etc.
eat breakfast, but make sure it's a healthy one, try porridge or wholemeal toast. some breakfast cereals are full of sugar, so check the box.
drink water to cleanse your system and stop you feeling hungry. if you don't like the taste add a squirt of lemon juice.
try making your own soups, homemade vegetable soup etc can be lovely
also try and exercise at least three times a week for half an hour. this could be anything from a brisk walk, to going to the gym to cycling, to doing wii fit. as long as it gets your heart beating faster it really doesn't matter what type of exercise it is.
most people that go on a crash or fad diet gain all of the weight back as soon as they give up. then they go on a diet again, lose weight, go back to their old eating habits and put it all (and more) back on again.
the best thing to do is to make simple diet and lifestyle changes that you will stick with and that will help you to lose weight gradually and safely over time.
first of all we need all the major food groups in our diet, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. we also need fibre, minerals and vitamins to be healthy.
some people think that all carbohydrates are bad for you that isn't true. carbs can be further divided into simple carbs and complex carbs. simple carbs are digested very quickly and converted to sugar in your body, while complex carbs take longer to digest and contain more fibre.
one of the best tips for losing weight is to look at your carbohydrate intake and swap simple carbs for complex carbs. what this means is for example, if you eat white bread, change to wholemeal or wholegrain bread instead. these take longer to digest and don't give a 'sugar rush' so don't cause the energy highs and slumps that more refined foods do.
List of Simple Carbohydrates and Complex Carbohydrates Foods
Another thing to look at is what you drink. Fizzy drinks and alcohol contain a lot of empty calories. If you drink a lot of beer and don't want to give it up, consider cutting down and switching to a light beer.
Calories in Alcohol
Sauces are also very fattening. For example if you were out in a restaurant and you ordered chicken caesar salad, you would think you are being healthy right? it all depends on where you order it, sometimes it can have over 1000 calories and be full of fat! Chicken Caesar Salad Nutrition Facts | eHow.com
there's no need to cut out everything you like and that's where a lot of people go wrong. they give up all their favourite foods and get bored of their diet after a week and just fall back into their old bad eating habits.
a few simple tips are:
if you make or buy sandwiches for lunch, have butter or mayonnaise, don't have both.
have brown bread instead of white.
try spices like cayenne chilli pepper to spice your food up, it helps to speed up your metabolism and burn fat faster.
try eating more vegetables, as they fill you up and you won't be as likely to snack on chocolate etc.
eat breakfast, but make sure it's a healthy one, try porridge or wholemeal toast. some breakfast cereals are full of sugar, so check the box.
drink water to cleanse your system and stop you feeling hungry. if you don't like the taste add a squirt of lemon juice.
try making your own soups, homemade vegetable soup etc can be lovely
also try and exercise at least three times a week for half an hour. this could be anything from a brisk walk, to going to the gym to cycling, to doing wii fit. as long as it gets your heart beating faster it really doesn't matter what type of exercise it is.
there's a GI post here: 
