Fitness is an obsession in our culture. Plus with social media at our fingertips, we have access to a variety of diets and fitness programs that promise to yield results. How do we effectively decipher between what really works and what is just another empty fad.
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There is essentially an overload of information on dieting, and far too many potentially miracle moves that promise to help us loose our dreaded belly fat “fast”. The fitness industry is constantly giving us a a new fitness guru claiming to have found the holy grail of all workouts.
The truth about dieting
Dieting is a sore subject for many, and it can be the hardest part of a weight loss program. However according to experts, 75% of our weight gain or loss can be attributed to our eating habits. We can literally spend hours at the gym, but if we do not eat properly, we will see very slow progress, if any, and you will eventually hit a plateau. In short, weight loss definitely requires healthy eating choices.
What diets have been proven to work?
Diets that focus on making healthy choices and eating unprocessed food have the highest success rates. The following four diets have been thoroughly studied and are proven to work.
Low-Carb, Real Food Based Diet
This diet is perfect for people who need to lose weight, optimize health and lower the risk of disease. This diet is high in vegetables, meat, fish, eggs, fruits, nuts and fats, but low in starches, sugars and processed foods.
Mediterranean Diet
The mediterranean diet is an excellent diet that has been well studied. It is particularly effective for heart disease prevention. It emphasizes on eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts.
Paleo Diet
The paleo diet is now the most popular diet in the world. It is effective for weight loss and general health improvement. This diet involves eating unprocessed foods that resemble the foods eaten by our paleolithic ancestors.
The Gluten-Free Diet
The gluten-free diet is essential for people who are intolerant to gluten, a protein that is found in wheat and several other grains. The best approach to a gluten-free diet, is to eat whole foods that are naturally gluten-free.
Overall healthy eating means consuming lots of vegetables and fruits. It also requires, for the most part, sticking to lean protein options such as fish and poultry. Finally, healthy eating also includes consuming a limited amount of whole grains, dairy and healthy fats such as olive oil and nuts.
Foods you should limit if trying to loose weight:
- Any processed foods
- Foods high in sugar
- Foods that only provide empty calories such as: chips, cookies and cake.
Exercise
Although eating healthy is a crucial piece to weight loss, experts agree that you need to exercise in order to keep the weight down and avoid hitting a plateau. Therein lies yet another mystery. What exercise routine yields the best results? The deciding factor is really what your specific goals are. Regular exercise assists in approximately 25% of weight loss. Your job is to outline your fitness goal and find the best path to achieve that.
The rule of thumb is to get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity. Moderate activity could include: brisk walking, swimming, or Zumba. Vigorous activity can be running or aerobic dancing.
Resistance training is also an effective approach. The best exercises for resistance training are the ones that use your body weight against gravity such as squats, lunges, push-ups and planks. Although, there is no recommended weekly amount of minutes for resistance training, most experts agree that resistance training should be practiced twice a week. As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of overall physical activity every day.
There are many options for dieting and some that are far more stringent than others. Their effectiveness definitely depends on your goals and how much you actually stick to the plan provided. If your goal is short term weight loss, you will probably want a more stringent option, however, if your goal is to become healthy not necessarily to loose a lot of weight in a short period of time healthy eating habits will be a better option that can improve your health in the long run. Just remember that you need to
exercise in order to stay healthy and improve your chances of weight loss.