Diets are not for Everyone

For most people starting out on an exercise program the issue of diet, and or dieting, will be discussed early on in the piece. Here at Lifestyle Improvers, we highly recommend Matt O’Neil’s Metabolic Jumpstart program to all of our new clients. No doubt you have heard through various media outlets about numerous other types of diet whether that be high Protein, low Carbohydrate, low sugar or various detox types of diet. So which one should you choose?

Recent research shows that 90-95% of people who lose weight through dieting regain 115% of the weight lost within 5 years. These are pretty damning figures. Perhaps a better approach to weight loss is to introduce lasting changes to our eating habits rather than follow the latest fad diet?

So to help kick start your new lasting healthy eating habits I have included my 5 top tips as follows ;

1) Eat Breakfast – a good healthy natural breakfast not only helps get your metabolism firing first thing in the morning, but also significantly decreases the chances of overeating later in the day.

2) Focus on Nutrient rich, energy sparse food – this could actually mean you need to eat more rather than less? If you’re confused by this what I mean is adding nutrient rich foods such as vegetables or various forms of protein instead of cutting out things from your diet. The exception here is highly processed foods which should be replaced by natural nutrient rich alternatives.

3) Reward rather than deprive – if you must have some treats, use them as a reward rather than trying to cut them out completely. So if you’ve stuck to your eating plan all week allow yourself a small reward at the end of the week. Research has shown that total deprivation of treat foods can lead to increased consumption at a later date.

4) Think before you eat – make sure you pay attention to what and how much you’re eating. Try eating at the table and away from the TV, chew each mouthful of food to completion before reaching for your next mouthful, put your knife and fork down between mouthfuls and finally, drink a large glass of water before eating your main meals.

5) Don’t let the scales rule your life – if you dread your weekly or daily weigh in then do away with it. Seeing a good or bad number on the scales will influence your mood and quite possibly your eating habits. Your clothes will tell you how you’re going.

Good luck to you all as you embark on a new long lasting healthy eating lifestyle.