Nutrition Tips for Weight Loss

healthy chicken meal with vegetables

What Is the Perfect Diet?

There are a plethora of books proclaiming that the diet they promote is perfect for everyone. The truth is that there is no “one size fits all” diet. Each person has a unique biochemical and metabolic makeup. Metabolic typing is the best technology that takes this into account. We’ve found metabolic typing to be very effective method for permanent weight loss. It gives you objective proof as to what kind of nutrition plan you should follow. 

Before you try the next fad diet, remember what Lucretius, the Roman healer/philosopher, said, “One man’s food is another man’s poison.” For more information on metabolic typing, read William Wolcott’s book, The Metabolic Typing Diet.

 

What Are Some Ways to Lose Weight?

Break the fast

Mom was right when she cooked you a big breakfast before an important test or sporting event at school. Studies have shown that eating breakfast promotes weight loss by reducing the amount of food that you eat later in the day. More importantly, eating breakfast stops the body from being in a catabolic (tissue breakdown) state. When you get up in the morning, your body is in a catabolic state because you have not eaten for 6 to 8 hours therefore it’s critical to stop this catabolic process to preserve your muscle mass. 

Remember that muscle mass is your metabolic engine. The bigger your engine, the more calories you burn. If you skip breakfast, your body will perceive the lack of food as starvation. When you do eat lunch, the body will store most of the calories into adipose tissue (body fat). The reason the body does this is because it does not know when it will receive nutrients again so stores what you eat into a long term energy source which is body fat. So, if you don’t want to wear your lunch, eat breakfast!

The most efficient breakfast foods are eggs, bacon, sausages, and other animal proteins. These foods will ensure that your body has proteins and fats which are anti-catabolic.  Remember to consume organic, pasture fed, and/or free-range meats. This will ensure that you are consuming high quality fats and proteins that will aide in weight loss and with your health and vitality.

Create feast not famine

Let the body know that there is a feast. Debra Waterhouse, author of Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell states that lipolytic enzymes decrease and lipogenic enzymes increase as calories are reduced by dieting. This means that your body’s fat burning enzymes decrease and fat storing enzyme’s increase as you skip meals. This is also true for men that skip meals to lose weight. To optimize your fat burning enzymes, eat three meals and two snacks a day. This will prevent any increase in lipogenic enzymes (fat storing enzymes) and also spread your total calories throughout the day.  

Eat protein at each meal

Protein is made up of amino acids which are the building blocks for muscle tissue. Remember the more muscle mass you can maintain, the higher your metabolism will be. In particular, animal protein sources are important because of the complete array of amino acids that can be supplied to muscle tissue.

Eating protein at each meal will help you lose weight. According to Loren Cordaine, author of em>The Paleo Diet, “protein boosts your metabolism and causes you to lose weight more rapidly than the same caloric amounts of fat or carbohydrate.” This means that out of the 3 macronutrients, the body uses the greatest amount of energy to metabolize and break protein down. So, if you include protein in each meal and snack, you are increasing your metabolism by eating!

Eat fat to lose fat

If you have found yourself hungry within an hour after eating a meal, you probably did not eat enough fat. Fat is an important macronutrient because it allows us to be satiated after eating a meal. If you starve your body of fat, your body will store fat.

Certain fats will help with weight loss such as omega-3 fatty acids, monounsaturated fats, and saturated fats. You can find omega-3 fatty acids in oily fish (i.e. salmon), certain nuts, and green leafy vegetables. Your best option would be to consume fish oil supplements to get your daily allotment of omega-3 fatty acids. The optimal dosage is one to two capsules per 50 pounds of bodyweight. For instance if you weight 150 pounds, you would take three to six capsules per day.

Monounsaturated fats can be found in foods such as olive oil, avocados, and nuts. If you are missing fat in a meal, adding olive oil to your salad or 1/2 an avocado can be a great source of fat. Another great way to add monounsaturated fats to your diet is to eat nuts as a snack.

Believe it or not, saturated fats are healthy for you and can help you lose weight. Unfortunately, saturated fats have gotten a bad reputation because of misinformation. These long chain triglycerides (LCT) are important in many physiological functions in the body such as enhancing the immune system, protecting the liver from toxins, and protecting the digestive tract from harmful microorganisms.

LCTs have also been shown to increase cholecystokinin which is a hormone that is secreted by the gut which gives the body a feeling of satiety. If you are forcing yourself to eat low-fat meals, you may not feel satisfied and will crave foods that are not conducive to your weight-loss goals. Make sure to consume high quality animal foods that are pasture fed, free range and/or organic.

Medium chain triglycerides (MCT) is another source of saturated fats that can aide in weight loss. Since MCTs are absorbed directly into the portal circulation and transported to the liver, they are not stored as adipose tissue (body fat). Studies have shown that consumption of MCTs increases energy expenditure and lowers overall food intake. Tropical oils, such as coconut oil, are a great source of MCTs that can be added to your diet and taste quite delicious.

Remember healthy eating is a lifestyle change

We always tell our clients if they make a change for weight loss, it must be “for the rest of your life”. In order for weight loss to be permanent, you must commit to a lifestyle change. Nobody wants to be a yo-yo dieter and have their weight fluctuate all the time. If you follow a nutrition or exercise program for only six months or even two years, your results will only last for that period of time. Whether it is eliminating alcohol or exercising on a daily basis, make it a lifestyle change and do it “for the rest of you life”.

Are you interested in learning more about weight loss? Contact us online today to schedule a consultation.

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