Keys to Fat Loss

Nearly 70% of the population is overweight or obese.  In an effort to lose weight, many people end up looking to a fad DIET for a solution...as they are heavily advertised.  But the result is that nearly 100% of those that go on a DIET gain all their weight back within two years.  It is understandable why so many people are frustrated.  You might think that most people lack the willpower to change.  While this is partially true, you must understand there are other forces at work.

There are THREE THINGS you need to understand if you want to lose fat properly and KEEP IT OFF.

The first thing you need to understand is PORTION CONTROL.  I am not just talking about the size of your meal.  I am also talking about how many meals you should be eating DAILY.  It will be more effective for you to eat 5-6 meals every day than the "three square meals" you were taught to eat as a child.  Eating smaller meals more frequently will keep you from overeating, give you only the calories you need to make it through the next few hours, stabilize your blood sugar and energy levels, and help to accelerate your metabolism so you can burn calories more efficiently.  Now that we know that, you are probably wondering about the size of your meal.  Well, I want you to get the thought of counting calories out of your head.  That's too confusing, time-consuming, and most people won't stick with it.  Instead look at portion sizes.  Each meal should contain two portions and be about the size of your two fists together.....or one clenched fist and one open palm together.  This is an easy rule of thumb to follow.

The second thing you need to understand, in order to lose fat properly, is BALANCE..  BALANCE simply means ensuring you have one portion of high-quality protein with a similar portion of high-quality carbohydrate in every meal.  A portion size should be about as big as the size of a clenched fist, as in brown rice....or it can be the size of an open palm, as with a grilled chicken breast.  Brown rice is a quality carbohydrate.  A grilled chicken breast is a quality protein.  Carbohydrates are important as they provide the fuel you need to be productive and to exercise as well.  Proteins are important because they provide the critical building block for muscle.  Muscle is NECESSARY as it helps determine the speed of your metabolism.  Toning, or adding muscle mass, increases the rate at which your body burns calories.  This is important if you are striving to lose fat.  Taking in high-quality carbohydrates and proteins help improve health, help you to feel great, and help you to accomplish your goal of losing fat efficiently.  Most fad diets are unbalanced.

The third thing to understand, if you want to lose fat properly and keep it off, is the importance of consuming LOW-GLYCEMIC carbohydrates.  Carbohydrates have a glycemic index between 0 and 100 based on how quickly they raise your blood sugar.  A lower number is better.  If the glycemic index of a carbohydrate, or carbohydrate-containing food, is 70 or higher, it is considered high-glycemic.  These foods tend to spike your blood sugar which, if eaten regularly over time, can lead to a myriad of health issues, including weight gain, difficulty in losing fat, and the buildup of arterial plaque.