Archive for the tag - dieting

Does Skipping Meals Help Lose Weight?

March 2, 2015 By

tumblr_n05ae7mBOU1qmbokso1_1280There are many tricks and strategies that can help you achieve your fat loss goals, but is skipping meals one of them?

At face value, it seems to make sense. After all, we know that a calorie deficit is required for weight loss. That means consuming fewer calories than your body burns. For healthy and sustainable weight loss, most experts recommend consuming 250 - 500 fewer calories than your body burns. By skipping a meal, we can easily create that calorie deficit. Right?

It’s not that simple. Skipping a meal has other consequences.

For one, researchers have found that meal skippers tend to overeat on their next meal due to their extreme hunger. In total, they still tend to eat the same amount of calories. According to researchers, this cycle of starvation and then overindulgence can result in some potentially risky metabolic changes that, over time, could even result in diabetes.

Beyond the metabolic impact and intense hunger pangs, skipping meals and is also absolutely miserable. If you’ve ever spent time fasting, you’ve likely experienced difficulty focusing, moodiness, drops in productivity, sluggishness and so on. And if you’re lacking energy and focus, it becomes much harder to power through a workout; thus, it can put your results at risk.

Rather than skipping meals, cut calories by making your existing meals smarter and healthier. Trim down your portions and opt for more vegetables, lean meats and healthy cooking methods.

P.S. To look and feel great through the foods you eat, download Davey Wavey’s Insanely Easy Guide to Eating Smarter.

Filed Under: Nutrition Tagged With: , , ,

Top 7 Dieting Mistakes.

October 9, 2013 By

diet-tips1So you want to lose weight and embark on a healthier lifestyle? Great!

But when it comes to dropping excess weight, knowledge is truly power. As a certified personal trainer, I’ve seen many, many people make the same missteps over and over again. Today, let’s learn from their mistakes and not let history repeat itself.

Here are the top 7 dieting mistakes:

  1. Buying “low fat” foods. As it turns out, the label low fat isn’t synonymous with healthy. And our bodies need good, essential fats. Limiting unhealthy saturated fats is a smart move, but ensure that you still get plenty of the good fats found in olive oil, nuts and avocados.
  2. Doing lots of cardio and no strength training. It’s true that cardio can help create the calorie deficit that’s needed to lose weight, but many dieters skip the weight room entirely. Without strength training, cardio is more likely to burn off both fat and muscle. And less muscle mass means a slower metabolism. It becomes a vicious cycle. The long and short of it is keep lifting weights!
  3. Starvation. To lose weight, a calorie deficit is necessary. A good calorie deficit occurs when we consume fewer calories through dieting and burn more calories from exercise. However, some dieters take things to the extreme and severely restrict calories to less than 1,200 for women and 1,500 for men. Caloric intake at this low level results in a massive slowdown in the body’s metabolism; energy is conserved to keep you alive. Eventually, you’ll need to eat. And when you do, your metabolism will be so slow that weight gain is unavoidable. Starvation is unhealthy and counterproductive.
  4. Drinking diet soda. Sure, diet sodas are calorie-free, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re a wise choice for dieters. Though more research is needed, a handful of initial studies have linked diet soda consumption and artificial sweeteners to weight gain and obesity. One theory is that artificial sweeteners feed our sweet tooth - and thus cause us to crave other sugary, unhealthy foods. The moral of the story is stick with water.
  5. Skipping meals. There is a misconception that skipping meals saves calories. According to researchers, people who eat fewer than three meals a day end up eating more calories in total throughout the day. Pace yourself by eating breakfast, lunch and dinner.
  6. Relying on fad diets. Some fad diets do work - but usually only for a short period of time. You can’t eat cabbage soup, for example, for the rest of your life. The problem is that most fad diets are pumped full of gimmicky marketing but short on lasting, sustainable results. Eating smart and exercising might not sound sexy, but it works.
  7. Measuring progress in pounds or kilos. Scales don’t tell the full story, and too many people get caught up weighing themselves every day. Evaluating your progress is crucial for success - as you can determine what is and isn’t working - but think beyond the scale. Body fat measurements are more accurate. Measuring your waist is also smart. Take before and after picture to monitor your journey. Pay attention when your clothes start to fit differently.

Be a smarter dieter by putting the above knowledge into practice. If you need more help achieving your weight loss goals, download The Davey Wavey Weight Loss Program. Use discount code “youtube” during checkout to save 25%!

And in the comments below, share any more tips that you might have!

Filed Under: Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , ,

5 Tricks for Sticking to Your Diet.

September 20, 2011 By

Hit a home run for your diet by following these 5 tricks.

There are as many diets out there as stars in the sky. Okay, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration - but there are literally hundreds (if not thousands) from which to pick. If you select a diet that is restrictive, then it’s going to be difficult to sustain - and it may result in nutritional deficiencies over time. Therefore, the first (and most important) step is finding a finding balanced diet that works with your lifestyle.

Trick #1: Set a goal

Goals are a great way to both get motivated and stay focused. SMART goals - that is, goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely - are the most effective. Instead of saying that you want to drop some extra weight, a SMART goal would be that you “want to lose 5 inches from your waist by next summer.” See the difference? Tracking your progress against this goal will help keep you on the straight and narrow.

Trick #2: Focus on one change at a time

It’s no secret that habits are developed slowly over time. In a 2009 study, researchers found that forming habits can take anywhere from 18 to 254 days. With this in mind, it’s a good idea to focus on only one or two changes at a time - so that you don’t become too overwhelmed. Introduce the changes that you need to make slowly, and over time. After all, you’re in this for the long run.

Trick #3: Plan ahead

Planning plays an important role in sticking to your diet. If you plan, then you are less likely to face problems. If, for example, you go on vacation without doing some preliminary research, you might find that your hotel doesn’t have fitness facilities - and that there are no gyms nearby. Plan your days, weeks and months around your fitness and weight release goals. This means scheduling gym time, planning meals, researching restaurant menus for healthy options, etc. A little planning can help you stay in control of your diet.

Trick #4: Do it with a friend or partner

If you are working on sticking to a new diet, ask a partner or friend to do it with you. It makes it more fun, is an added source of motivation, provides support and increases the level of accountability.

Trick #5: Follow the 80/20 rule

If you don’t occasionally eat the unhealthy foods that you crave and enjoy, you’re going to crave them even more. Eventually, you may break down and binge - and then feel guilty for having indulged. You may even end up binging even more to pacify the guilt. It can be an endless downward spiral that breaks dieters. Instead, follow the 80/20 rule. Eat healthy 80% of the time. With the other 20%, allow yourself to enjoy the less healthy foods that you really enjoy. It creates balance.

Do you have any other dieting tips or tricks? Please share them in the comments below!

Filed Under: Tips, Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: , , , ,