There are a lot of misbeliefs related to the concept of losing weight and long-term weight maintenance. People are frequently advised by doctors, scientists, nutritionists, to do all kinds of things, the greater part of which have no proof behind them. One of them is that calories are just calories and entirely the cause our weight varies. However, what is apparent may not be the truth. In reality, things are a bit more baffling than this.
Since all the calories are not made equal, different foods may affect hunger and hormones in different ways. In these terms, counting calories with the aim of losing weight might be good for nothing. Here are a handful of dietary weight-loss strategies, that will help you lose weight and maintain positive weight regulation, without checking the calories.
Step no. 1 – Less carbohydrates = less weight
Researches claim that reducing your carbohydrate ingestion is crucial for losing weight. This means that people who do not consume refined and simple carbs are consuming fewer calories, and are losing weight with less effort than usually needed.
To prove this state claim, scientists from the University of Cincinnati, conducted a test by separating 53 overweight women in two groups – the first one was the calorie-restricted, low-fat group, and the second one was a low-carb group. In six months, the women in the low-carb group lost 18.7 lbs. (8.5 kg), while the calorie-restricted, low-fat group lost around 8.6 lbs. (3.9 kg).
In the beginning, start eliminating bad carbs like sodas, sugars, sweets and other starchy foods from your diet. This also means that you should exclude consuming foods like bread, potatoes, and pasta. If this sounds impossible to you, try to make healthier and better choices. For instance, red and sweet potatoes are a better option than regular white potatoes. Тry to eat whole grain bread and pasta instead of white flour products and eat them in moderation.
If you want to start getting visible results, decrease your daily carb intake to up to 150 grams per day, and if you want to lose weight even faster, reduce your carbs intake to less than 50 grams per day.
NOTE: Carbs are very important for athletic performance as they are the primary source of energy. You should be careful with carbs if you are an athlete or if you are doing any kind of sport, because lowering the carb intake can affect your performance. It is always a good option to cut on simple carbs like sodas, sugary and starchy food but complex carbs are the ones that provide your energy and strong training performance.
Complex Carb Sources:
- Peas
- Beans
- Whole grains
- Vegetables
Step no.2 – Replace the carbs you cut with protein
If you lower your carb intake, you need to increase the amount of protein you consume, especially during the breakfast. This was confirmed by a study done in 2005, where 30 obese women were put either on a high-protein or low-protein breakfast diet. The ones who ate eggs for breakfast consumed fewer calories for lunch than the ones who ate bagels. This state continued all over the day and in the following 36 hours. They ate a lot less at the later meals because the eggs were good in filling them up and keeping them from eating more calories.
In 2008 another group of researchers lead another study which included 152 obese men and women. They were separated into two groups in a duration of eight weeks; one group was consuming eggs for breakfast and the other had bagels. These were the results of the egg group in comparison with the bagel one :
- 61% greater reduction in BMI
- 65% more weight loss (2 lbs. compared to 1.3 lbs.)
- 16% higher reduction in body fat.
- 34% larger decrease in waist circumference.
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