WHY A
STARVATION DIET DOESN’T WORK
By Linda Yo
To
lose weight, many of us have tried fasting or skipping meals and we know that
it doesn’t work. When we fast, our bodies think we are starving. The body then
tries to conserve energy by slowing down its metabolism. Slower metabolism
means the body burns less energy during daily activities. This is why people on
prolonged fasting will hit a plateau in their weight loss.
When
we return to our normal eating patterns, it takes a while for our bodies to
adjust from the slower metabolism to our regular metabolism. During the
adjustment period, we will have surplus calories which our bodies store as fat.
What
Works?
Experts
agree that the best diet plan is to reduce calorie intake by a small amount,
about 500–1000 calories, every day. Since one pound is equal to 3500 calories,
you will lose 1–2 pounds each week or 4–8 pounds per month.
Studies
show that the people who lose weight slowly with a healthy diet are more likely
to maintain their healthy weight for a long term.
What
you can do to reduce your calorie intake:
Start
your meal with a clear vegetable soup as your appetizer. Add plenty of vegetables to your soup. Cabbage, carrots, celery, cauliflower and
mushrooms are high in fiber content and very low in calories.
Combine
your meal with brown basmati rice. Brown basmati rice is filing and it is high
in fiber and resistant starch content, thus it will keep you full for a long
time.
When
making omelets or other recipes that require eggs, replace the yolk with two
egg whites; an egg yolk contains more calories and high in cholesterol content
while an egg white is very low in calories, approximately 16 calories and no
cholesterol.
If
you would like to learn how to slim down and stay slim permanently without
starving yourself, visit http://www.asianslimsecrets.com.
About the author:
Linda Yo is a certified
weight consultant and the author of Asian
Slim Secrets: Enjoy Food, Stay Slim Naturally! Linda gained 25 pounds in
three months after moving to the