Everyone wants to be in shape, but many people lack the resources to make it happen. There is a lack of education that starts in children and continues into adulthood about what the real impact of a diet is. If you want a diet for real weight loss, the food pyramid must be thrown out. A product of food lobbyists and food industry, any nutritionist will tell you how disproportionate some of the recommendations are.
The base of the pyramid rests on breads and grains, which in reality, if you were looking at a round plate of food, should take up only twenty-five percent of a meal. Recently, there have been recommendations to look into whole grain breads instead of processed white flour, but the servings remained the same. Basing a bulk of your diet on processed carbohydrates will result in weight gain.
Why? It all comes down to your insulin levels and how certain things impact what is called your glycemic index. The glycemic index measures the effect of foods on your blood sugar levels. This is not to say that all carbohydrates are bad, but some are definitely better than others.
The issue comes down to how fast things are digested by the body and many processed carbohydrates are digested quickly. This is where the problem comes in because it will cause a spike in blood sugar levels because they release glucose during the digestion process.
A good example of a carbohydrate with a low glycemic index is the sweet potato. Because of their low number their digestion is slower and instead of releasing a burst of glucose into your system, the release is gradual and does not cause a spike in blood sugar. Additionally the need to eat again is not triggered. The processed, non-whole grain, carbohydrates cause the worst damage to your internal controls and should be avoided.
The real diet king is the vegetable. Eating as many leafy greens and vegetables as you want with no regard to calories will never result in making you fat, but this is contingent on eating vegetables the right way. Frying your veggies and dipping them in sauce or dousing your salads in dressing is counter intuitive. Learn about your veggies and don’t just boil them, there are a number of cooking techniques like roasting, broiling, and steaming that can change the way that you approach cooking vegetables.
If you don’t believe that vegetables have a terrific flavor, than perhaps you have only had them a certain way. Indeed many people boil their vegetables and not only is the outcome unappealing, it has been sapped of most of its nutrients. Get online and find new recipes because there are truly hundreds of ways to cook a vegetable. Be bold with your spice choices as well because salt is not the only thing that can impart great flavors.
So you’re eating vegetables and limiting your carbohydrates, what about everything else? Meat is still a healthy part of your diet, but thinking about meat in a different way needs to happen. While meat can be the centerpiece for some meals, they should be the garnish for most. Not relying on just meat to satisfy you will help in appreciating other foods.
Fruits are full of good sugars and so don’t feel guilty in indulging, and in the end desserts like cakes and brownies should be eaten rarely. Follow these rules and start eating a diet for real weight loss.
Throwing out the food pyramid will give you real weight loss results. We’ve got the low down on Diet For Weight Loss now in our Struggerling Dieters overview. Free reprint avaialable from: The Food Pyramid Means Nothing For A Diet For Real Weight Loss For Life.