Sometimes it goes without saying, but when considering what kind of weight plan is the most suitable you first have to decide what it’s for. It could be to lose weight, to put on weight, improve overall health, or anything else. Whatever it is, it will involve a diet.
As the best-selling author Dr Mark Hyman, MD says in his eye-opening book “Food: What the Heck Should I eat?” …”there are many beliefs and dogmas, from vegan, Paleo, vegetarian, Mediterranean, and raw food, to ketogenic, high-fat, low-fat, omnivore. How can they all be right? There are benefits to each of these diets, but an all-in approach to one or another may not be the all-in answer.” He recommends his own Pegan diet, on which there are quite a few books and publications which you can see here.
Dictionary definitions range from the simplest such as that contained in the Cambridge Dictionary which states that food is “something that people and animals eat, or plants absorb, to keep them alive” to that in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary which defined food as “material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy”.
Nowadays, of course, the meaning has been adulterated just like the types of food and drink that we see on supermarket shelves, stores, and virtually everywhere else.
Have a look at our post on overweight and obesity for some interesting background on this subject. We didn’t always eat the way we do now, and in many ways were the better for it.
Behavior and habit have a lot to do with making it harder to adopt any change in your dietary habits such as Keto, so you can improve your overall health and that can over time lead to weight loss.
One of the main obstacles is the temptation to treat yourself to the kind of foods and drink that can rapidly reverse any gains made. This can happen because meaningful weight loss does not happen quickly and it’s easy to lose confidence particularly when bombarded with advertising and products that claim to be healthy and that you have been accustomed to consuming which were probably responsible for your weight gain in the first place.
It can therefore require a huge amount of willpower not to succumb to old habits.
But always keep in mind that you will be changing your eating habits and moving to a life-long plan that is aimed at improving your overall health. Such a plan should consist of affordable foods you can buy in the shops and perhaps in some instances grow yourself.
Another method of dieting that has in recent times become highly popular is known as Intermittent Fasting. At its simplest, this could involve, for example, going without breakfast, though the more intensive forms can involve fasting for longer periods.
One way is to keep a daily diary of what you consume which you can look back on at the end of each week. Honesty in what your record will be the key word here. After setting a realistic goal of how much you wish to lose, keep a close eye on your weight using, for example, one of these scales. But remember to keep to weighing yourself just once a week and record the measurement. Doing so more often and not seeing a result can quickly lead to disillusionment.
It can help a lot if you can be either part of a group undertaking a weight loss program or at least with a friend so you can provide each other with mutual support.
There is no easy answer to this question because it all depends on your unique metabolism. In relation specifically to food, metabolism is the highly complex process of chemical reactions in our body that keeps us alive by converting proteins, starches and fats in food into energy.
The problem is that most of us are totally unaware of what our individual metabolic rate is because each and every one of us burns calories in different ways. It explains how some people can eat what appear to be mountains of food without getting fat, while others just can’t seem to lose those pounds whatever they do.
Some people choose to go vegetarian or vegan, while others opt for a carnivore diet composed wholly of meats. Besides those there are a bewildering number of new and old diets, and foods that people eat. The problem is that many of the foods we have been accustomed to eating nowadays have been packed with too much sugar, salt and monosodium glutamate, are highly processed, and are full of harmful chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides to name just a few. You can imagine what our bodies are forced to do to try to prevent the harm all of this is doing. Often, it’s a losing battle and we put on too much weight and invite disease.
It’s also worth remembering that in spite of what you might be tempted to fall for by persuasive advertising, what you consume, including supplements and herbs, cannot prevent or cure infectious diseases. On the brighter side, however, consuming certain foods and adopting lifestyle changes can help to ensure your body’s immune system is best placed to help ward off chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. And the sooner you recognize this the better
How often you should eat is an interesting question. The traditional three meals or more a day is thought by some not to be necessary. Instead, intermittent fasting, where you go without food for hours or days, is a means to give the body’s metabolic system a rest. It is said to be something natural to humans and goes back to our distant ancestors who, as we note here, often never knew where their next meal would come from.
Have a look at some of these books on this subject where you can also find cookbooks and recipes. They will give you a much better idea of what it’s all about.
Simply put, it’s any physical activity that over time results in physical fitness. All of the exercise equipment and videos provide you with guidance perform physical
First, let’s reiterate that what you consume and how much physical activity you do are indelibly linked in terms of promoting your best health.
Although many people find exercise hard when starting out, and the temptation to give up is high, when you stick with a regular fitness schedule it will guarantee that you will become fitter the longer you persist. The upside is that as you get fitter, you’ll find your schedule comes a lot easier and even enjoyable, and you’ll feel the huge benefits of increased energy levels, which in turn reduce your risks from chronic diseases and help you to live longer life.
As you can imagine, this depends on a variety of factors, such as your age and existing physical condition. Remember, in the case of adults, any amount of physical activity will provide gain some health benefits.
The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion of the US Department of Health and Human Services recommend the following:
Children and adolescents aged between 6 and 17 should do a minimum of 1 hour of physical activity every day. The weekly physical activity should offer variety, be enjoyable, and be suitable for their age. It should include:
Adults aged between 18 and 64 should: Aerobic activity should be performed in episodes of at least 10 minutes, and preferably, it should be spread throughout the week.
Adults aged 65 and above should:
According to US Government guidelines: