Lose Weight by Eating More with 10 Simple Trade-offs

1. Choose quality over quantity

Ever heard of calorie counting? Not only does it not work, it also doesn’t help in preventing weight gain. Here’s why:

A large bowl of salad composed of greens, fruits and lentils can go up as much as 400 calories compared to a 200 calorie slice of lean meat but would end up being burnt-off by the body faster than the former. This means a plant-based high caloric meal will still be the skinnier choice as it’s digested faster, it’s nutrients better absorbed and it’s protein converted easier. So instead of cutting down portions, make them count instead.

Don’t trust food labels. Nutrition facts are purposely made to be confusing to mislead customers. Look at the ingredients instead: If you see anything refined and processed (or simply words you cant even pronounce or vague) put it back. In fact, it is safe to say that anything that needs to be frozen or packaged has a lot of hidden sugars, salt and preservatives to make them last longer and are all hidden causes of weight gain.

2. Extra rice please! Thanks to the now obsolete Atkins Diet (which people eventually realized doesn’t work), people now see Carbs as the enemy and Protein the natural remedy. Major error! We need complex carbohydrates for energy. Yes, Protein is important but it doesn’t out rank carbs in the nutrition pyramid. In fact, we all need Carbs, Protein and Fats to be healthy.

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We need Carbs to fuel our daily activities, and so long as it’s complex carbohydrates like brown rice, lentils, sweet potatoes and whole grains (nothing white, go for everything brown and unpolished)- we dont need to be afraid of the starch in Carbs stagnating as sugar because it gets broken down by the body slowly but is quickly released as energy. Complex carbs is the only source of fiber, which is vital for weight loss and body waste excretion. Moreover, avoiding carbs all together will make you crave fatty, sugary foods to compensate the body’s lack of energy source which basically defeats the purpose of avoiding carbs in the first place.

3. Cut down on Protein: We are all in danger of overloading on Protein. Thanks to a lot of brainwashing by the fitness industry, everybody thinks that we are all running on animal protein and that somehow, an excess of it is alright. Did you know what underutilized meat protein turns to?

The fat in your gut, that’s what.

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Whey, Dairy, and meat protein or even specialized protein supplements does not automatically find it’s way into your biceps, that’s what weight-lifting is for, but even with enough exercise, we can still be in danger of over-consuming animal-based protein. This leads to Liver Cancer, Type 2 Diabetes, Heart disease and Auto-immune diseases and yes, Obesity too.

Remember that Protein is not just for muscle build-up, it’s actually important for our body’s immunity, bone repair and brain function which can be abundantly sourced from cleaner, body-friendlier varieties like Green leafy vegetables, legumes, seeds and whole-grains:

A bowl of Broccoli has 45% Protein VS Beef’s 28.8% Protein. Spinach has 48% Protein VS Chicken’s 23% while Mushrooms have 38% Protein VS Egg’s 12%.

When we consume plant-derived protein, we are not at risk of over-dosing, thanks to the fiber in plant food, anything that doesn’t get used gets flushed-out quickly.

4. Have your cake and eat it

Sugar is a great energy booster. Notice how when you’re fatigued you end up craving for sweets? It’s because sugar is a natural remedy to low energy. Trick is, it’s also a cause for that! Refined sugar like white sugar cane, corn syrup, high fructose syrup creates a sugar-high that results in “crashing,” making us literally addicted to the substance just to maintain the elevated abnormal sugar level in our body.

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Most people just eliminate sugar all together but the fact is, we do need it! People with too little sugar in the body develop Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, and usually end up over compensating on fatty foods like cheese, butter and milk. Dairy food actually triggers diabetes faster than sugar because Casein, the animal protein in Milk products is proven to numb insulin receptors. For that healthy sugar high minus the crashing, choose unrefined low-glycemic options like fruits, dates, yacon, coconut sugar.

5. Cheese isn’t it

Cheese, Ice cream and Yogurt, whether they’re low-fat or non-fat (no such thing) in their labels are all just too much sodium, fat and refined sugar rolled into different cultures and by-products. Studies show that the hormones present in dairy literally makes people addicted to it. Remember that milk, the major component in dairy products is originally intended for calves so that they would crave it religiously in order to DOUBLE UP IN SIZE in months. Unless that’s your plan, omit the extra serving of parmesan on your pasta and the whip cream on top of your Banana Split.

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If your concern is calcium, you’d be shocked to know that milk, though a good calcium source, has one of the lowest calcium absorption for the human body. In fact, beyond our growing years, we lose the natural enzymes designed to digest milk making us all lactose intolerant by default. This means force-drinking milk, which the body has already rejected, will naturally cause more harm than good.

For probiotics, which cultured milk boasts off-you can better benefit when it comes from pickled vegetables like sauerkraut, a pickle relish that contains the most amount of probiotics.

6. More salt please

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Notice how everyone trying to get healthier seems to opt for less to no salt? That’s smart but only if what they are abstaining from is iodized refined salt. Unrefined unadulterated salt is vital for our immune system, bone health and brain function and does not contribute to weight gain. Sea Salt, Celtic Salt and Himalayan salt are all healthy alternatives to the popular iodized salt. Keep in mind though that salt is a natural cause of bloating because it retains water so keep additional servings to a minimum. If flavor is what you seek, it’s best friend pepper is will do the trick and so will metabolism-boosting spices and herbs.

7. Hit the snooze button

Lack of sleep directly results to weight gain. When we don’t have enough sleep, our metabolism gets disrupted. Getting ample rest is vital into making sure that our organs perform to its maximum capacity. In fact, when choosing whether to make up on sleep or exercise, choose the former. Studies show that sleep deprivation seriously hampers our performance in our workouts and interferes with results. Remember that recovery is just as, if not more important than being active.

8. Juice it, Blend it, Chew it!

Thanks to the popular diet, our idea of a complete meal has one full serving of meat, another full serving of carbs and an optional side dish of greens. If like everyone else, you don’t find the taste of vegetables agreeable, you can begin by juicing them. A kilo of fresh vegetables and fruits when juiced can create a full serving of vitamins and minerals minus the saturated fat.

9. Burn rubber burn

Don’t starve, just exercise! Sweating not only burns excess calories during workouts but also continues to metabolize fats in-between. That’s the beauty of being active, your body continues to burn even when you’re off the treadmill. Starving yourself will just signal your body to store instead of utilizing fat as its self-preservation default mode.

10. Get some zest

Processed food, refined sugar, meat and dairy have all made our bodies very acidic. An un-alkaline body is prone to disease, and obesity is one of them. To restore the body’s PH alkaline level, load of up plant-based foods, steer clear of unnatural products and lessen your meat and dairy intake if you cannot get off it entirely.

A natural trick in the morning is to drink a warm glass of water with a slice of lemon and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, the natural citric acid in it will not just alkalinize the body but will literally scrape fats, sugar and excess salt off our colon. (DOH)

References:

www.giveproject.org.