There are so many theory's/ concept's out there about nutrition i hear you say, so why would we need another one. Well this concept is a bit different than most, so stick with me on this one as it will all become clear.
Stephen Covey tells a story that one of his associates heard at a seminar. The seminar presenter pulled out a wide-mouth gallon jar and placed it next to a pile of fist-sized rocks. After filling the jar to the top with rocks, he asked, "Is the jar full?"
The group replied, "Yes."
He then got some gravel from under the table and added it to the jar. The speaker jiggled the jar until the gravel filled the spaces between the rocks. Again, he asked, "Is the jar full?"
This time, the group replied, "Probably not."
The speaker then added some sand and asked, "Is the jar full?"
"No!" shouted the group.
Finally, the speaker filled the jar to the brim with water and asked the group the point of this illustration.
Someone replied that you could always fit more things into your life if "you really work at it."
"No," countered the speaker. The point is, if you don't put the big rocks in first, " . . . would you ever have gotten any of them in?"
Well i believe there are 5 Big Rocks in nutrition for fat loss that need to be address before you would start looking at any other nutritional strategies for loss fat.
1. Never Skip BreakFast!
What's for breakfast - coffee? Most mornings, we barely glance at the kitchen. Fixing breakfast takes up precious time that's in short supply. But there's ample evidence that the simple act of eating breakfast -- every day -- is a big part of losing weight, lots of weight.
"People skip breakfast thinking they're cutting calories, but by mid-morning and lunch, that person is starved," says Milton Stokes, RD, MPH, chief dietitian for St. Barnabas Hospital in New York City. "Breakfast skippers replace calories during the day with mindless nibbling, bingeing at lunch and dinner. They set themselves up for failure."
The Benefits of Breakfast
Eating breakfast is a daily habit for the "successful losers" who belong to The National Weight Control Registry. These people have maintained a 30-pound (or more) weight loss for at least a year, and some as long as six years.
"Most -- 78% -- reported eating breakfast every day, and almost 90% reported eating breakfast at least five days a week - which suggests that starting the day with breakfast is an important strategy to lose weight and keep it off," says James O. Hill, PhD, the Registry's co-founder and director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.
Eating early in the day keeps us from "starvation eating" later on. But it also jump-starts your metabolism, says Elisabetta Politi, RD, MPH, nutrition manager for the Duke Diet & Fitness Center at Duke University Medical School. "When you don't eat breakfast, you're actually fasting for 15 to 20 hours, so you're not producing the enzymes needed to metabolize fat to lose weight."2. Portion Control!
Calorie balance is still the one and only way to lose weight, calorie balance being the equation of calories in versus calories out. So to make sure you are holding firm to this rule you have to watch how much you are eating. One way of accomplishing this is portion control, and a good way of achieving this is the HAND portion control system.
HAND portion control works by placing your 2 hands together side by side and this respresents your plate. Now we divide up into different food choices. The size of one palm of your hand should be the size of your Protein portion. The whole of the other hand should represent the amount of fibrous vegetables, and the fingers of the other hand should represent the amount of low GI carbohydrate sources.
3. Multiple Meals Per Day!
A major benefit of multiple meals per day is it's ability to control blood sugar levels. The traditional "3 square meals per day" causes 3 large injections of carbohydrates (sugars) into your body. These carbohydrate injection cause spikes in blood sugar levels. This is disruptive for your body, which likes to maintain a steady blood sugar level. In an attempt to bring blood sugar levels back to normal the body secretes the hormone insulin.
Your body, eager to bring blood sugar levels down, can get overzealous and release too much insulin, resulting in very low blood sugar levels. Low blood sugar levels, or hypoglycemia (hypo = low, glycemia = sugar), can leave you feeling tired, shaky, or light headed. This fluctuation of blood sugar levels is not the optimal situation for muscle growth or fat loss. Spreading your meals throughout the day and eating more often helps prevent this blood sugar roller-coaster.
4. Protein With Every Meal!
High-protein diets have become a popular way to lose weight because emerging research has hinted that protein may be able to satisfy hunger better than either fats or carbohydrates.
What Studies Show
Participants in a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported greater satisfaction, less hunger, and weight loss when fat was reduced to 20% of the total calories in their diets, protein was increased to 30%, and carbs accounted for 50%. The study participants ate some 441 fewer calories a day when they followed this high-protein diet and regulated their own calorie intake.
Another study, reported in the Journal of Nutrition, showed that a high-protein diet combined with exercise enhanced weight and fat loss and improved blood fat levels. Researchers suggest that higher-protein diets help people better control their appetites and calorie intake.
Diets higher in protein and moderate in carbs, along with a lifestyle of regular exercise are often purported by experts to reduce blood fats and maintain lean tissue while burning fat for fuel without dieters being sidetracked with constant hunger.
5. Know Your Carbohydrates!
Carbohydrates can be both good and bad for your health. There is a big difference between the various types of carbohydrates that we consume. It is always good to know which carbohydrate sources could benefit us instead of make us unhealthy.
Are Carbohydrates Good or Bad?
Carbohydrates have been the subject of dispute in the past ten years. Carbs have been considered a ‘no-no’ in may fad diets and some have been recognized as healthy nutrients that lower risks for chronic diseases.
What is the verdict then? Are carbs beneficial or disadvantageous? The truth is, carbs are both good and bad, and it is fortunate that it is actually very easy to tell the difference.
- Good carbs like the ones that are fiber rich have many health benefits. These prevent sudden rises in blood sugar levels because they are slowly absorbed in our systems. Good carbs from fiber-rich foods can be found in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans.
- Bad carbs have beneficial fiber stripped away from carbohydrates like white bread and white rice. Eating less of these products can dramatically reduce the health risks posed by bad carbs.
In Conclusion!
Make sure you have the Big Rocks (fundamentals) in your diet set before trying to implement any other strategies for losing fat. Remember the fundamentals are the building blocks for success. If these are in place the other strategies will work better.
