DO DIETS REALLY WORK?
AND WHICH ONES ARE THE BEST?
One diet that can help you lose weight is the Paleo diet (in other words, eating like a caveman). The Paleo diet permits only foods that people had access to millions of years ago. Cow-based dairy products aren’t meant for human consumption, so dairy and cheese do not make the Paleo list. Wheat flour is made using a manufacturing process that wasn’t available to cavemen, so the Paleo diet also forbids wheat and gluten. Processed-sugar products are excluded, as are pastas. What’s left, essentially, are vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, and legumes. These are all healthy fuels for your body.
A Paleo diet might be difficult to follow right off the bat. You’ll need time to change your habits and wean your body from the foods you are currently eating. We have been raised to include many of these things in our daily food intake, and the food pyramid shows that healthy and moderate portions of dairy products, pastas, breads, and wheat are part of a balanced diet. With that in mind, in lieu of white processed breads and pastas, eat breads, cereals, and pastas made from whole grains.
An alternative to Paleo dieting is a practice called carb cycling. If you like carbs (and most of us do), you can use this diet to keep off weight once you lose it. Carb cycling is a meal plan in which you eat foods with high carbohydrate concentrations on certain days, and foods with low carbohydrate concentrations on other days. This diet includes a built-in rewards day during which you can eat your favourite foods so that you don't feel deprived (which is what might happen if you follow the Paleo diet and watch other people eat foods that you really enjoy).
One of the most important things to monitor when you follow the carb cycling diet is your fat, protein, and carbohydrate intake. To lose the correct amount of weight (and to keep it off), your body needs appropriate levels of each of these things. Carbohydrates fuel your body and provide the energy you need to move and exercise, so if you ingest too few of them, you will feel weak and sluggish. Cutting carbs completely can cause your body to enter starvation mode and actually retain fat instead of burn it. The bottom line is that not only can eating too much cause you to stay overweight, but so can eating too little. You must do everything in moderation.
What types of foods contain carbohydrates? Vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes, pastas, cereals, etc. While these are healthy choices, be careful here, because carbohydrates also include unhealthy options like chocolate cake, doughnuts, and cookies. Keep your carbohydrate consumption at a level that helps you burn fat and maintain your blood sugar so that you don't start craving unhealthy foods.
Also pay attention to your fat intake. There are healthy fats (meat and fish) and unhealthy fats (junk food). Healthy fats can help maintain your brain and heart function and eye health, as well as curb your appetite. Conversely, unhealthy fats can cause you to gain a significant amount of weight or struggle to keep weight off. However, don’t simply avoid fats because doing so will cause organ damage. Instead, choose healthy fats that provide the compounds necessary for your body to function. Not all fat is bad.
Protein, including meats, eggs, and fish, builds muscles that help you lose weight and stay fit. Without protein, you wouldn’t be able to exercise and would lose muscle mass. Protein also helps you burn calories for energy. Keep in mind, though, that while you need protein to accomplish all these things, too much protein will spoil your weight-loss plans. I’ll say it again—everything in moderation.
You’re probably wondering how to implement the carb cycling diet. According to carb cycling expert Chris Powell, you should start with a nice breakfast when you wake up, then eat five balanced meals throughout the day. On high-carb days you should eat foods high in carbohydrates. On low-carb days you should eat foods low in carbohydrates. High-carbohydrate foods include cereals, breads, pastas, and canned fruit. Low-carbohydrate foods include chicken breast and eggs.
The reasoning behind the concept of high-carb days and low-carb days is that on high-carb days you’re stocking your calorie-burning furnace with fuel so that on low-carb days, instead of burning carbs, your furnace burns fat—lots of fat! This is a trick that bodybuilders use and a concept about which most people have no clue. Still, it’s a proven system to shed weight faster than any other method.
I’ve made carb cycling a part of my own life, and others have followed my lead after noticing my amazing results. It truly works! Four different types of carb
cycling exist, but the most-used and best-working version is the one I’ll share with you now.
Here’s what it entails:
Weight loss is a science. To lose weight, our bodies need the right combination of protein, carbohydrates, and healthy fats. Here’s why:
Good carbs are crucial for burning calories, as the process required to break down healthy carbs takes longer than the one required to break up unhealthy carbs. Unhealthy carbs spike your insulin levels, and once you’ve used up your sugars, you experience a “crash.” Healthy carbs not only regulate your blood sugar and keep your energy level steady, they also keep your “furnace” hot so that it continues burning calories.
Carb cycling can set you free from years of bad self-image. Imagine being in control, feeling better, and having more energy. You don’t have to starve yourself with the idea that doing so will help you lose weight when, in fact, it does the opposite. This system fits anyone’s lifestyle. You’ll shed weight and make smart lifestyle choices that you’ll retain for the rest of your life. You’ll achieve the balance you’re looking for in terms of physical, mental, and emotional freedom.