Are You Making These Diet And Exercise Mistakes?

At some point in our lives, each of us will plan a diet or exercise plan. It may seem like an easy thing to do but there are common mistakes that we all fall foul to at some stage or another. Overdoing the sugary and fatty foods and sitting down all day long without any exercise is not good for our bodies, so if you notice that your body and health is suffering as a result, making a change to your lifestyle is a great choice. Here are some tips to help that transition go a little more smoothly.

 

Avoid fad diets

There are millions of them around – the Atkins, 7-day Diet, Grapefruit Diet, 3-Day Diet, etc. – but none of these ways of losing weight will work, nor will they give your body the nutrients you need. The first step towards making a healthier diet plan is to give up on the fad diets and ensure that you’re getting the vitamins and minerals you need to be healthy. This means avoiding fatty foods, lowering your sugar intake, up your intake of fruit and vegetables, and ensure you’re getting enough protein and calcium. In the long term, your body will thank you for it.

 

Don’t skip meals

It may seem like the easy way to halve your calorie intake, but skipping meals actually has an adverse effect not just on your health but also on your weight loss. Your sugar levels will lower too much and you will have cravings for sugary foods; your body will also cling to the fat in your food, making it harder to shift. Eating regular, small meals throughout the day will keep your metabolism moving and will ensure that you maintain a good blood sugar level.

 

All diet and no exercise

Exercise isn’t all about losing fat and calories; it’s actually vital for our health and wellbeing. It tones muscle, improves our cardiovascular health and even benefits our mental health. There are a number of reasons why exercise is so great for shifting excess weight, but don’t assume it only needs to be done when you’re on a diet. And on that note, don’t stick to just cardio when you’re hitting the gym. If you’re trying to tone up and lose some weight, you need to combine weights and cardio to see results. An exercise plan that has a weight lifting routine in it will help you to tone up and will also increase your metabolism, helping you to burn calories even when you’ve stopped training. Women often worry that they’ll bulk up too much but this isn’t the case – you’ll just get leaner, more toned and stronger. Ease into a weightlifting routine by building up slowly – don’t be tempted to go for a heavy weight straight away.

 

Don’t start off with too much

If you’re completely new to exercise, don’t launch into a five day-a-week routine straight away. Your body needs time to adjust to this new lifestyle, so take it slow and begin with light exercises such as jogging or yoga to get your body used to exercise. You can then build up to more intense workouts when you’re used to it. You should check with your GP before embarking on any new diet or exercise programmes, to ensure that it’s safe for you to do so – they may also be able to offer advice on ways to ease your body into it so as not to shock your system or risk injury.

Categories: body, day diet, diet, exercise, Fad Diets, fatty foods, fitness, health, nbsp don, weight

Intermittent Dieting: Weight Loss that Breaks All the Rules

Intermittent dieting is a popular weight loss tool these days, but wellness experts are a bit sceptical about just how beneficial this way of losing weight is to your wellbeing. Joanne Chen, author of The Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair With Our Favourite Treats, details, ‘As a health writer, I’ve always been smug in my nutrition knowledge—and not shy about sharing it. “You need breakfast,” I’d scold my friends. “Consistency is key!” Admittedly, I was a little patronising. So of course I rolled my eyes a few months ago when my friend Emily, visiting from London, told me about 5:2—aka The Fast Diet—developed by health journalists Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer. I listened incredulously as Emily described friends shedding weight like crazy by eating what they wanted all week, save for two non-consecutive 500-calorie “fast” days.’

 

However, the 5:2 isn’t the only intermittent diet around. Many Brits have found themselves turning to another on-off diet known as the two-day diet, which was outlined in a book by dietician Michelle Harvie, PhD, and oncologist Dr. Tony Howell. This diet bans you from eating any carbs apart from fruits and vegetables two days a week. There’s another variation to be published next year, entitled The Every Other Day Diet by Krista Varady, PhD. So the question is; Could yo-yo dieting, fasting, and skipping meals actually work? Intermittent fasting is different than regular dieting, making your metabolism improve with short spurts of feast and famine. Valter Longo, PhD, director of the Longevity Institute at the University of Southern California, explains that this is the way our ancestors had to eat and so returning to this old way of eating can help reverse the modern obesity epidemic.

 

‘Fasting is hard, though,’ notes Chen. ‘And in some sense, non-fast days are harder. Following the rules outlined in The Fast Diet, I eat yogurt and berries, an arugula salad, and a chicken drumstick on my first fast day. The next day, I stuff my face with cake and mac ‘n’ cheese and feel sick. Apparently, there’s a thin line between yo-yo and intermittent dieting. It’s called control—and I don’t have it.’ Susan Roberts, PhD, professor of psychiatry at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, points out that, for this reason, intermittent dieting ‘may not be sustainable.’ However, while those opposed to intermittent dieting argue that it leads to nutrient deficiency, Roberts takes a less critical view: ‘Our bodies are designed to retain vitamins we take in over time, on days we do eat.’

 

This means that, as long as you pay close attention to nutrition on your “good days,” the bad days won’t be too harmful to your wellness. Chen comments, ‘It’s no wonder, then, that after two weeks of very little good food and a lot of very bad food, I shed no weight. Emily, however, fares better. “Really? You lost nothing?” she asks incredulously on our transatlantic call. By doing 5:2 for a month—eating egg whites, smoked salmon, and “lots of cucumber” on fast days and healthy portions of salads, fruits, and protein on non-fast days—she’s lost about six pounds…While I can’t say I’ve become more alert with this new way of eating, I have become more aware of my food. I’ve acquired a deep appreciation for good coffee. I crave chickpeas as if they are a treat. I’ve also gained some humility, and I’m no longer condescending about diet mantras. It seems—at least for some people, like Emily—so-called healthy rules are best broken.’

Categories: 5:2 Diet, control, day diet, days, diet, Dieting, eating, intermittent, intermittent dieting, intermittent fasting, Weight Loss