Losing Weight the Healthy Way
With summer just around the corner, its time to get the beachwear out of the closet and see if those mini-shorts still fit from last year. But when that waistband does not stretch and the buttons wont close, an uneasy truth starts to sink in: you have gained weight.
Everyone wants to look great around this time of year, and many turn to quick-fix diets and debilitating exercise programs to get rid of that stubborn winter flab. Health gurus, osteopaths and nutritionists say that we dont necessarily need to go to the gym for hours and hours or starve ourselves to lose weight; there are much more natural and less complicated ways to get you to look your best. Here are some of the healthiest ways to lose weight this spring:
Eating Right
It may seem clich, but the most basic thing you can do to help rid your body of those unwanted pockets of fat is to eat the right foods. While carb counters fuss about the amount of carbohydrates in each meal, doctors say that carbohydrates are essential sources of energy for the body, and therefore must not be avoided.
So what foods are particularly important? To detoxify your body, it is recommend to consume acidic fruits such as oranges, grapefruits, and lemons. Other foods such as green tea, broccoli, and oatmeal are excellent for your metabolism. But remember, it is just as important monitor how much you eat as well as what you eat. If you try to have many regular light meals throughout the day, as opposed to huge quantities at a time, you will start to feel healthier and fitter almost immediately.
Regulating your Metabolism
It is wise to limit your food intake, but dont starve yourself. Many people think that by skipping meals they are sparing themselves the opportunity to gain weight. This is not true. Whenever you skip a meal, your body responds by slowing down its metabolism to help you conserve energy. In order to lose weight you need to speed up your metabolism ” not slow it down.
By boosting your metabolism you speed up the rate at which it converts food to energy, and you are preventing your body from storing it as excess fats. Eating five light meals a day at regular times ensures that your metabolism also regulates itself, becoming faster and better at converting foods to energy instead of fat.
Sleep
Dont underestimate the power of a good nights sleep when it comes to losing weight. Many people might be surprised to hear that in those eight hours we spent lying in our beds every night, our bodies are working hard to regulate the hormones that impact our appetite. Research has revealed that when we deprive ourselves of sleep, these hormone levels get disrupted, causing you to gain more weight. And sleep is important for recharging the entire body ” so what do you have to lose (other than weight, that is) by turning in early?
While these natural solutions are very general, they do give us a general overview of how our bodies work to help (or hinder) the weight loss process. As long as you combine the right foods with exercise and a good nights rest, you might actually be able to fit into that miniskirt before spring is over.