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.
Step no.3 – Include more protein in your diet if you want to lose weight
It is scientifically proven that our body takes longer to digest proteins. This leads to greater calorie burning, metabolism enhancement, increasing your body’s fat-burning ability and lowering your needs for food since they give you the sensation of fullness.
In 2007, the American Society for Clinical Nutrition published an article about how protein consumption is affecting the calorie intake. It showed that if you increase the protein intake in your daily diet you can lower the calorie intake by 441 calories per day.
It is also well known that proteins are essential for muscle growth, especially, if you are a weight lifter. On the off chance that you are struggling to add protein to your daily diet, try to go for eggs, fish, and meat as much as possible.
Step no.4 – Trick your mind
If you can’t control how much you eat, why don’t you try tricking yourself? Grab a smaller plate and fill it up so it will create an illusion of having more food, instead of taking a large plate and opting for a smaller portions. Although it may sound foolish, psychological studies have proved that this works. This way, your brain is tricked that you ate a lot more than you actually did.
Step no.5 – Add fiber to your diet if you want to lose weight
Various examinations have indicated that people who eat nourishments with higher water content lose more weight than the individuals who don’t. Fruits and vegetables make you feel fuller for a longer amount of time because they are considered as foods with high water content.
Likewise, dissolvable fiber is separated in the digestive tract into bacteria that produces butyrate, a fatty acid, which is assumed to have significant anti-obesity effects.
Step no.6 – Improve your digestion and decrease your appetite with coconut oil
Coconut oil is abundant in medium-chain triglycerides, which are unsaturated fats that go directly to the liver for digestion, where they are changed into ketone bodies or utilized as energy. What’s more, it has been proven that medium chain triglycerides can increase energy usage in the body by as much as 5% daily .
To lose weight and reduce your waist considerably, studies show that you should be consuming 1 oz. (30 mL) of coconut oil every day. Also, it’s not a bad idea to start using coconut oil for cooking.
Step no.7 – Get more sleep and reduce the stress
Stress and lack of sleep are some of the greatest risk factors for obesity. Hormone balance and body functions are mostly affected by the amount of stress in your life and the amount of sleep you get on daily basis. In fact, they can increase the risk of obesity by 55%. The reason for this is that too much stress can increase your cortisol levels, a hormone that increases the risks for developing a chronic disease and accumulation of body fat.
A wrap up :
To put it briefly, there are plenty of different methods to lose weight. The best option for you is to stick on a few or all of them and stay consistent and dedicated for not less than 6 months if you are willing to get visible results!
