You’re finishing up the first full week of your New Year’s resolution to lose weight, but the numbers on the scale aren’t dropping very fast. Don’t feel discouraged – just stick with it.
And especially don’t attempt a drastic way to drop the pounds faster. Remember, sure and steady wins the race.
Throughout the month of January, we’re highlighting 12 ways – 3 per week – of a poor way to try to lose weight and then a healthy alternative to stay on track. In the end, you’ll feel better and be proud of your accomplishment.
Extremely reduce calories – If you cut your calories in half, of course you’ll lose weight. The problem is, when you start eating normally again, you’ll be right back to where you were before – or worse. Yo-yo dieting and starving yourself is unwise and unhealthy. Those who can’t maintain their drastic weight loss usually eat – and ultimately gain – more due to shame and stress.
Instead, reduce your calories by about 500 to safely lose fat. Based on a general 2,000-calorie diet, you may consider reducing your intake to about 1,500 calories per day. Even losing just a few pounds can boost your confidence level and give you a sense of pride.
Drastic juice-cleanse – After too much holiday celebrating, detoxing your body with a juice cleanse can be a good idea. But extreme cleansing that replaces all of your food for an extended period is not a good idea.
Rather, jumpstart your weight loss by replacing 2 meals a day with fresh, cleansing juices and then a sensible meal with 4 ounces of high-quality protein, fresh vegetables and whole grains. Do this for up to 5 days and you’ll not only lose weight, you’ll feel much better about yourself.
Going vegetarian – Abruptly cutting all meat out of your diet doesn’t necessarily decrease the amount of calories you’re eating. Sometimes, vegetarian foods are high in processed carbohydrates and have hidden calories that sabotage your weight loss.
It’s better to just limit your intake of lean animal proteins to 3 – 4 ounces or – for an easier visual – just a quarter of your plate. Fill the rest of your plate with whole grains, fruits and vegetables. If you’re still trying to avoid the protein from meat, but don’t want to skimp on the protein, try incorporating more beans or tofu. The addition of phytochemicals and antioxidants into your diet has even been found to elevate your mood.
Next week, we’ll highlight 3 more common scenarios and how you can beat them to stay on your nutritional journey in 2014.
Sources
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20501331,00.html
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
http://www.thecultureist.com/2013/06/24/10-healthy-juicing-recipes-for-detox-cleanse/
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/yo-yo-dieting-dangers
https://www.insidetracker.com/blog/post/44141140157/phytochemicals-why-you-should-eat-the-rainbow
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