One of the biggest challenges to sticking to and maintaining a diet is effectively managing hunger. When we are on a diet, more often than not it is to reduce caloric intake rather than increase it. Because of this, our body releases more hormones from our cells, triggering that hunger response.
To defeat this, you are going to want to switch up your diet. Since you are eating less, you have to make every calorie count. Stick to nutrient rich, low fat foods that are high in protein.
Protein helps to fight hunger because it consists of big chains of amino acids which takes your body longer to break down, thus making that “full” feeling last longer.
If you have diabetes, avoid foods that are rich in simple sugars. This includes white breads, anything with bleached flour, candy, cookies, cakes and sweets in general. Avoiding these foods will help your body by needing less insulin to regulate the change in blood sugar levels, which can lead to an increase in production of cortisol and thus increased weight gain.
Remove these simple carbs from your diet and replace them with foods high in protein like an egg omelet filled with mushrooms and vegetables or a yogurt smoothie with a banana, berries and flax seeds.
Stay Away From Simple Carbohydrates
A good general rule of thumb is to stay away from carbohydrates in general unless they are 100% whole grain. Carbohydrates that are stripped of their husk are really only just sugar, and eating it alone can be harmful to the body.
Whole grains are better than processed grains because whole grains still have their husks. The husk is the part of the grain that contains all of the fiber, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients besides carbohydrates.
Eating simple carbohydrates are bad because of the effect that it has on our blood sugar levels. Simple carbs are easily digestible and absorbed to where the body can almost use them immediately, spiking the available sugar in our blood.
In response to this our body releases insulin which removes the additional sugar from the blood, taking the energy and storing it as fat.
Eating simple carbohydrates is just asking for diabetes and comes along with the awesome benefit of becoming fat as well. Stay away from bagels, white bread, crackers and other simple carbohydrates.
Focus on Your Goal and Not What You See on the Scale
Putting in all of this work, the time and effort to make sure you are eating a healthy and balanced diet can be exhausting. Because of all of the effort involved, most people want to see the results from their efforts and unfortunately the results aren’t instantaneous.
Stepping on the scale and seeing a drop in only a pound or two after an entire week of sticking to a rigorous diet can be deflating. It is pretty easy to just give up after putting in all of that work and seeing nothing in return.
This is why it is important to remember that this your diet and weight loss goals are things that are long-term, you aren’t going to see the benefits overnight.
Forget about your goals when it comes to the scale, your bodyweight is going to fluctuate anyway so stick to goals that are more concrete and easier to accomplish. For example make proper portioning a goal.
Eating a cup of broccoli, 8 oz of chicken and 1/2 cup of rice on a consistent basis is something you can easily do to help you stick to your goals. Calorie counting is another way you can go about reducing the numbers you see when you go to weight yourself as well.
Don’t Deprive Yourself-Cheat from Time to Time!
Grabbing that extra cookie or piece of pie is ok if you do it in moderation. A good rule to go by is the 90/10 rule, 90% of your diet consists of healthy nutritious food, and the other 10% you can eat whatever you want.
Going cold turkey from a diet rich in carbs, fats and salts to one that is more plant based, protein rich and fiber rich is pretty difficult if not impossible.
Try to wean yourself off the junk food gradually, you will have a great chance of maintaining your diet over a longer period of time.
