By It’s painful eating a whole lot less and combating the complexities of hunger daily
One of the well-known diets I would always divert to was low-caloric eating. That diet did the job when I was in my 20s, as long as I ate a lot less than what I needed. Back then, eating less was easier because I ate a lot more than I am now in my mid 40’s. Because I didn’t get the results I wanted from this strategy, I tried Intermittent instead. Intermittent fasting beats all diet attempts by far. Four years later, I’m still going strong. But when it came to low carb — that was a different story. Low-carb diets were a method that helped me a lot, especially during a callous ‘sticking point’ along my weight loss journey. More than 40 per cent of Americans are obese, a considerable number. After so many years of misleading information on low-caloric diets, doctors and scientists are finally telling us to get over it. But unfortunately, that lifestyle is doing a lot more harm than good. Low-calorie diets don’t work over a long time because our bodies tend to fight us when we eat less. Constantly restricting calories causes our hunger to get out of control. Perhaps we lose muscle mass (especially when doing too much cardio), and our metabolism starts to diminish. Over the short term, low-calorie diets can help us lose weight — but it’s an entirely different ball game when you try to maintain this lifestyle! I’m speaking from my personal experience here. Instead of resorting to low-caloric dieting as a means of weight control, scientists are now encouraging the carbohydrate-insulin model.
So if overeating isn’t the main contributor to obesity, it’s time to stop counting calories, cut out those excess carbs, and control our insulin levels instead.
Our insulin levels are the key contributor to weight gain and maintenance. Too much of it can program our fat cells to store more and more calories. When we lack calories travelling through the bloodstream (to give us energy), hunger starts to take hold. The low-carb dieting I’m referring to is not cutting out carbs completely — but eliminating processed varieties, such as bread and sweets. What you focus on instead is healthy protein sources and fats (like olive oil, avocados and nuts). The keto diet is famous for a reason — and that’s because it works well. You eat between 30–50 grams of carbs per day. Those carbs are generally consumed through vegetables instead of your known carb staples. Low-carb diets have been known to be effective for weight loss and are also sustainable. Limiting carbs makes your body much more efficient in burning its body fat, which is why it’s so effective. Through my health hacking, I have found that fasting provides the same effects without sacrificing carbs as a fuel source. That’s something to think about when you are lost in options. So I’m all for a more straightforward approach and a lifestyle strategy that helps me achieve my goals. When we approach dieting in a hormonal sense, we point the finger at the obese for their lack of self-discipline. We must empower the individual to embrace a more empowering lifestyle. Obesity is not always the catalyst for overeating or the wrong things — it’s the hormone insulin acting as a fat store than a fat burner. You can quickly flip the switch with a few dieting interventions, such as keto and intermittent fasting.
More reading for you:
One Thing You Should Eat More of to Help Eliminate Belly Fat
Seven simple ways to help you eliminate belly fat after the big 40
The One Thing You Might be Doing That is Increasing Your Belly Fat
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