Did you know that you can loose a significant amount of weight without loosing much fat? You may be just be loosing excess water and also muscle tissue you desperately need to keep your metabolism rate high. This makes it harder for you to loose fat in the long run, because the muscle you are loosing requires more energy than fat you are keeping. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism. Muscle will burn energy even when you are sleeping. Loosing muscle mass during dieting can be prevented by maintaining sufficient protein intake and exercising.
There are many factors you need to consider before you decide which diet program is right for you. It is important to be aware of the diet effects and what you want to accomplish.
Crash dieting may cause your body to react like it is starving and pack excess fat as a response. This will not stop the day you stop dieting, and so you will gain the lost fat back very quickly, and even more than what you started with. The best diet will keep your metabolism rate high or normal at all times.
Low carb diets restrict the amount of carbohydrates in the diet, because excess amounts of carbohydrates will cause the body to produce too much insulin. Insulin is a hormone telling the body to store rather than burn fat. Sure, lowering the blood sugar levels and the production of excessive insulin is a good thing usually, but there are some side effects you need to be aware of:
-Restricted intake of carbohydrates often results to constipation if not supplemented, since fiber intake is also reduced significantly. Constipation can then lead to other digestive problems like diverticulitis.
– A Low carb diet can also stress the renal system and increase the risk of arthritis.
– High consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease.
– Kidneys can become overworked on a low carb diet and the change in blood acidity can lead to bone loss. The strong smell of ammonia in urine is one of the telltale signs of a diet consisting on too little good fats and too much protein.
-On a low carb diet you may be missing out on vital nutrients, if you don’t take dietary supplements.
Low fat diets were popular for a long time. These diets are based on reducing fat intake and replacing it with carbohydrates. Low fat diets have created the misinformation that only fat makes you fat, and carbohydrates only give you energy. They ignored the importance of essential fatty acids and fat soluble vitamins. This led some people to eat higher amounts of low fat food with refined carbohydrates, and gain weight. Do I need to say more…
Some diets recommend ingesting excessive amounts of vitamin and mineral supplements. Usually this is harmless, but you need to know which vitamins and minerals are dangerous if consumed in excess. Iron and fat-soluble vitamin A are toxic in large doses for example. Most people can get the nutrition they need from healthy food. Though there are some exceptions like vegans, who often need to supplement vitamin B-12. A once a day multivitamin usually does the trick for the majority of the population in western countries.
Healthy, high fiber carbohydrate foods should be part of a well-balanced diet, especially those from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Extreme diets may lead to nutrient deficiencies, and are less likely to be effective at long-term weight loss. The best diet is a life long change in eating habits, if the goal is to loose weight. The best diet is a normal balanced diet, which just comes with smaller portions and maybe some substitutions.
More information about nutrition, healthy diet plan, food supplements, and healthy weight loss at Healthdietplan.com