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Mississippi Group ---The Three Tenets of Weight Loss
Mawskittykat
Posts: 241 Member
The First Tenet: Eating Fewer Calories
Taking charge of your weight begins with taking charge of the number of calories you eat. And you can do that by making small changes that add up to big differences. For instance, eating a mere 100 calories less per day can mean staving off a 10-pound weight gain each year. Here's the math: 100 calories X 365 days = 36,500 calories, which is just over 10 pounds (10 X 3,500 calories in a pound).
But let's correct one weight-loss fallacy at the outset: Eating fewer calories does not mean skipping meals. You may think that skipping meals will sharply reduce your calorie intake. But it doesn't work that way. Skipping meals actually slows down your body's metabolism, the opposite of what you're trying to accomplish. That's because meal skipping triggers our evolutionary response to famine, which is to conserve energy and lay down fat reserves in order to survive.
Eating regular meals, on the other hand, tells your body that plenty of food is available, so its metabolic rate can continue humming along. Those meals just need to be composed of modest amounts and fewer calories. You can eat fewer calories by:
• Choosing foods with less fat or added sugar.
• Eating smaller portions.
• Reducing the amount of processed foods in your diet.
• Choosing more nutrient-dense foods.
Once you know how, it's easy to choose similar foods that have less fat or added sugar. Remember to make minor changes can add up to a big difference in total calories. The flavors and portion sizes are the same so you will feel as satisfied with the new meal as you did with the old one.
Substituting foods that are lower in calories yet similar to the originals cut the calories in that meal by more than half. You can learn to do the same. Knowing which foods to substitute for those that are higher in calories is vital to eating fewer calories each day.
Recognizing which foods to fill up on while getting the least amount of calories is important, too. In general, plant foods -- vegetables, fruits, and grains -- are quite low in calories, as long as they are not processed with added fat or sugar. That is why these three groups should make up the bulk of your diet. Foods such as milk and meat are modest in calories, especially if you choose low-fat or lean versions. At the other end of the calorie spectrum lie fats and processed foods, both of which are loaded with calories. Vegetables and fruits are calorie bargains, while fat-laden candy bars and sugar-laden sodas are calorie excesses.
Processed foods tend to be high in calories because fat and sugar are frequently added in processing. Calories add up fast when fat is added because it packs more than twice as many calories as protein and carbohydrates. The excessive amount of sugar added to some foods gives them a calorie overload, too.
Most foods contain a combination of carbohydrate, protein, and fat. Here's where the calories you eat come from:
• Carbohydrate - 4 calories per gram
• Protein - 4 calories per gram
• Fat - 9 calories per gram
• Alcohol - 7 calories per gram
You can start making choices today to lower your calorie intake. Filling your plate with favorite vegetables and snacking on fruits is a quick way to eat fewer calories. Eating smaller portions of higher-calorie foods or eating them less often will cut calories, too.
The Second Tenet: Be More Active
Being more physically active is another way to tip your calorie-balance scale toward weight loss. Physical activity burns up calories, and it boosts your metabolism by revving up your internal engine and keeping it going at a higher rate for some time after you've stopped the activity. And physical activity, particularly strengthening activities, builds lean muscle tissue, which burns more calories than fat. The more muscle you have, the faster you burn calories, even when you're at rest.
Building muscle mass will also help protect you from weight gain as you age. Muscle mass tends to decrease with age, lowering your metabolism by about five percent per decade. So keeping active as you get older will help prevent loss of muscle mass and the subsequent slowing of your metabolism. To burn more calories, you need to determine how much activity and what type of activity is right for you.
The Third Tenet: Making Wiser Food Choices
Cutting back on calories in order to lose or control weight does not mean sacrificing good nutrition. It just means you need to use your calories wisely by making the best food choices, which are those that provide the most nutrients for the least number of calories.
Foods that are low in calories and brimming with vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial substances are considered "nutrient-dense." Nutrient-dense foods are the preferred choice. They provide nutrients needed for optimum health while allowing you to manage your weight.
To have a weight-loss and weight-maintenance routine that you like well enough to live with for years to come, you need to adopt a balanced eating pattern. A balanced pattern includes foods from each food group, because they each provide different nutrients. A balanced plan incorporates a combination of the three energy-providing nutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
Severely restricting any one of these categories or food groups not only leads to health problems over the long term, but it also sets you up for weight-loss failure. In the next section, you'll see how to balance your nutrients to keep you running strong while staying slim.
The Power of 100 Calories
Gradual weight gain is caused, on average, by an excess of only about 100 calories per day. So eliminating 100 calories by eating a little less and getting more physical activity may be all it takes to manage your weight. Losing 10 pounds over a year can be as simple as eating 100 calories less each day for a year. Try these tips to get started.
Five ways to trim 100 calories from food:
• Swap a 12-ounce regular soft drink for a diet soft drink or water.
• Drink 2 cups of fat-free milk instead of 2 cups of whole milk.
• Use 1 teaspoon of mustard or ketchup or 1 tablespoon of fat-free mayonnaise in place of 1 tablespoon of regular mayonnaise.
• Split a small order of french fries with a friend.
• Slice a typical piece of pie or cake about one-third smaller.
Five ways to burn 100 calories through physical activity:
• Pedal an exercise bike for 13 minutes.
• Practice some fast dance steps for 16 minutes.
• Work in the garden for 18 minutes.
• Walk briskly for 23 minutes (3.5 mph).
• Clean the house for 25 minutes.
Five food and foot-power combos to cut 100 calories:
• Eat 5 fewer potato chips, and walk for 6 minutes.
• Eat one-quarter cup less of spaghetti with tomato sauce, and walk for 11 minutes.
• Top toast with 2 teaspoons apple butter instead of 2 teaspoons butter, and walk for 11 minutes.
• Spoon out 3 tablespoons less mashed potatoes, and walk for 13 minutes.
• Skip 2 half-and-half creamers in coffee, and walk for 15 minutes
Taking charge of your weight begins with taking charge of the number of calories you eat. And you can do that by making small changes that add up to big differences. For instance, eating a mere 100 calories less per day can mean staving off a 10-pound weight gain each year. Here's the math: 100 calories X 365 days = 36,500 calories, which is just over 10 pounds (10 X 3,500 calories in a pound).
But let's correct one weight-loss fallacy at the outset: Eating fewer calories does not mean skipping meals. You may think that skipping meals will sharply reduce your calorie intake. But it doesn't work that way. Skipping meals actually slows down your body's metabolism, the opposite of what you're trying to accomplish. That's because meal skipping triggers our evolutionary response to famine, which is to conserve energy and lay down fat reserves in order to survive.
Eating regular meals, on the other hand, tells your body that plenty of food is available, so its metabolic rate can continue humming along. Those meals just need to be composed of modest amounts and fewer calories. You can eat fewer calories by:
• Choosing foods with less fat or added sugar.
• Eating smaller portions.
• Reducing the amount of processed foods in your diet.
• Choosing more nutrient-dense foods.
Once you know how, it's easy to choose similar foods that have less fat or added sugar. Remember to make minor changes can add up to a big difference in total calories. The flavors and portion sizes are the same so you will feel as satisfied with the new meal as you did with the old one.
Substituting foods that are lower in calories yet similar to the originals cut the calories in that meal by more than half. You can learn to do the same. Knowing which foods to substitute for those that are higher in calories is vital to eating fewer calories each day.
Recognizing which foods to fill up on while getting the least amount of calories is important, too. In general, plant foods -- vegetables, fruits, and grains -- are quite low in calories, as long as they are not processed with added fat or sugar. That is why these three groups should make up the bulk of your diet. Foods such as milk and meat are modest in calories, especially if you choose low-fat or lean versions. At the other end of the calorie spectrum lie fats and processed foods, both of which are loaded with calories. Vegetables and fruits are calorie bargains, while fat-laden candy bars and sugar-laden sodas are calorie excesses.
Processed foods tend to be high in calories because fat and sugar are frequently added in processing. Calories add up fast when fat is added because it packs more than twice as many calories as protein and carbohydrates. The excessive amount of sugar added to some foods gives them a calorie overload, too.
Most foods contain a combination of carbohydrate, protein, and fat. Here's where the calories you eat come from:
• Carbohydrate - 4 calories per gram
• Protein - 4 calories per gram
• Fat - 9 calories per gram
• Alcohol - 7 calories per gram
You can start making choices today to lower your calorie intake. Filling your plate with favorite vegetables and snacking on fruits is a quick way to eat fewer calories. Eating smaller portions of higher-calorie foods or eating them less often will cut calories, too.
The Second Tenet: Be More Active
Being more physically active is another way to tip your calorie-balance scale toward weight loss. Physical activity burns up calories, and it boosts your metabolism by revving up your internal engine and keeping it going at a higher rate for some time after you've stopped the activity. And physical activity, particularly strengthening activities, builds lean muscle tissue, which burns more calories than fat. The more muscle you have, the faster you burn calories, even when you're at rest.
Building muscle mass will also help protect you from weight gain as you age. Muscle mass tends to decrease with age, lowering your metabolism by about five percent per decade. So keeping active as you get older will help prevent loss of muscle mass and the subsequent slowing of your metabolism. To burn more calories, you need to determine how much activity and what type of activity is right for you.
The Third Tenet: Making Wiser Food Choices
Cutting back on calories in order to lose or control weight does not mean sacrificing good nutrition. It just means you need to use your calories wisely by making the best food choices, which are those that provide the most nutrients for the least number of calories.
Foods that are low in calories and brimming with vitamins, minerals, and other beneficial substances are considered "nutrient-dense." Nutrient-dense foods are the preferred choice. They provide nutrients needed for optimum health while allowing you to manage your weight.
To have a weight-loss and weight-maintenance routine that you like well enough to live with for years to come, you need to adopt a balanced eating pattern. A balanced pattern includes foods from each food group, because they each provide different nutrients. A balanced plan incorporates a combination of the three energy-providing nutrients: carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
Severely restricting any one of these categories or food groups not only leads to health problems over the long term, but it also sets you up for weight-loss failure. In the next section, you'll see how to balance your nutrients to keep you running strong while staying slim.
The Power of 100 Calories
Gradual weight gain is caused, on average, by an excess of only about 100 calories per day. So eliminating 100 calories by eating a little less and getting more physical activity may be all it takes to manage your weight. Losing 10 pounds over a year can be as simple as eating 100 calories less each day for a year. Try these tips to get started.
Five ways to trim 100 calories from food:
• Swap a 12-ounce regular soft drink for a diet soft drink or water.
• Drink 2 cups of fat-free milk instead of 2 cups of whole milk.
• Use 1 teaspoon of mustard or ketchup or 1 tablespoon of fat-free mayonnaise in place of 1 tablespoon of regular mayonnaise.
• Split a small order of french fries with a friend.
• Slice a typical piece of pie or cake about one-third smaller.
Five ways to burn 100 calories through physical activity:
• Pedal an exercise bike for 13 minutes.
• Practice some fast dance steps for 16 minutes.
• Work in the garden for 18 minutes.
• Walk briskly for 23 minutes (3.5 mph).
• Clean the house for 25 minutes.
Five food and foot-power combos to cut 100 calories:
• Eat 5 fewer potato chips, and walk for 6 minutes.
• Eat one-quarter cup less of spaghetti with tomato sauce, and walk for 11 minutes.
• Top toast with 2 teaspoons apple butter instead of 2 teaspoons butter, and walk for 11 minutes.
• Spoon out 3 tablespoons less mashed potatoes, and walk for 13 minutes.
• Skip 2 half-and-half creamers in coffee, and walk for 15 minutes
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