This four-point plan will make you lose weight without starving. The tips are simple, but your will and discipline must be great.
Michael Sachs loves to eat. Before, when ordering pizza it wasn’t limited to two slices, it was highly likely that you would eat up to six. “If I chose spaghetti, I was not satisfied with one dish, it had to be three,” he says.
Today, at 55 years old, he remembers that until recently he was a person 1.95 meters tall, 105 kg overweight and eating habits that had caused diabetes. “I went from one doctor to another and each one prescribed me a set of medications, but it did not solve my problem.”
When Sachs went to the Center for Balanced Health located in New York City, United States, he feared for his life as a consequence of his illness. “It was impossible for me to control both my way of eating and my blood sugar,” he adds.
Instead of pills, the specialists of that institution gave him a nutritional plan that included four key points – specially designed so that he never experienced the sensation of hunger. In fact, Sachs always enjoyed eating and eats more food today than ever before. “The most important thing,” he says, “was knowing what and when to eat it.”
“All the products in my new plan are common foods with high fiber content,” he explains. “I cut out the starchy carbohydrates and tried to eat six light meals a day instead of three hearty ones. At night when I was desperate for something sweet, I ate ricotta cheese mixed with cinnamon powder, an artificial sweetener, a little vanilla and sunflower seeds. The result was an ice cream-like flavor. ”
In less than six months, Sachs not only lost 10 kilos, but her blood glucose index dropped to less than 100. Her blood pressure and cholesterol also fell favorably. On top of everything, each month he saved more than $ 400 that he used to buy drugs.
The nutrition plan you carried out maintains a low carbohydrate content and meets your fat needs. But occasionally you can eat “forbidden” foods so you don’t feel completely limited. The most important thing is that it is very easy to incorporate this type of diet into your daily life, especially if you are looking to reduce a lot of weight or just those last five kilos that you have been trying to eliminate for some time.
1 Make every carbohydrate count
The specialists at the Center for Balanced Health recommend their patients to consume carbohydrates high in fiber and low in starches. But what is the reason? Fiber prevents blood glucose levels from rising and helps you feel full. While the other compounds do the opposite. Realize that starchy foods – like pasta, bread, and rice – quickly raise blood sugar, which is a big problem because this process is like a trigger that forces the pancreas to trigger a flow of insulin, the hormone that lowers glucose levels, but also alerts your metabolism to store fat.
Statistics show that a third of the population tends to overstimulate insulin production as a result of their diet, which in the long term causes a dysfunction of this hormone and causes blood glucose levels to remain elevated. This is why you feel hungry shortly after eating a delicious bagel that contains about 400 calories. On the other hand, if you choose carefully the carbohydrates you will eat, such as those with a high fiber content, you will be able to stabilize insulin levels and reduce your hunger. The bottom line: you will only eat few calories.
So how do I choose the best carbohydrates? They are almost all vegetables, but at the top of the list are broccoli, spinach, Brussels sprouts, and peppers – which are also low in starches. The best thing is that since all these products are also reduced in calories, you can eat as much as you want. Another secret to identify the ones that suit you is to choose the ones that have less industrialization, fresh fruits instead of canned ones or raw nuts instead of toasts, for example. Whole grains – such as rye, wild rice, oats, or barley – are better than those made with flour (such as commercial cereals), even when it is whole.
Following these tips promotes better health. Choose the best carbohydrates to include in your diet, in addition to reducing the total number of those you eat and that are best used by your metabolism to produce energy. It also helps decrease the level of triglycerides in your blood flow, the excess of this type of fat promotes cardiovascular disorders.
2 Choose “clean” products
By this term we mean those that are naturally produced and are free of synthetic components. “Clean” foods do not contain …
Trans fat
Sweeteners, artificial colors or flavors
Conservatives
Pesticides and herbicides
Many of these substances can affect your health, and we are sure that they do not benefit your metabolism – nor do they help you lose weight. Therefore you should not consume processed food because it is a huge source of these ingredients. But how can you know which products have not been added with these substances? Here we give you two clues:
If they come packed in a transparent box, can or bag (don’t worry, the latter has also been processed and contains preservatives)
If it is made with flour, such as cereals, cookies or bread.
3 Eat fat to burn fat
Trans fats are linked to health disorders like obesity. Natural ones, also called real fats, are better for your body, even those that are derived from animals. For your consumption you can choose them from different sources, including:
Olive or coconut oil
Beef, chicken, or farm pork (not those that were fed grain or soy only)
Fruits like avocado and olives
Nuts and seeds
Fish
So go ahead and fearlessly eat an egg, add avocado to your salad, eat the roasted chicken skin. For your salad use real oil, not light. Enjoy the fat, and do it without regrets; as long as the portions are reasonable, you’ll be fine. In fact, at the University of Connecticut, United States, researchers found that eating these types of food combined with the reduction of refined carbohydrates decreases the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Even this eating plan is more effective compared to a low saturated fat diet.
4 cheat and forgive
Nobody wants to go through life without being able to have a beer or enjoy an ice cream once in a while. For that reason, this four-point plan allows you to treat yourself every week with your favorite food. From the foods that we list below, choose your favorite and discover how you can enjoy it responsibly.
Frozen. Eat one after dinner, when it will take several hours for you to eat food again. Choose those prepared with natural fruits, which have no additives. Sugar, cream and milk should be the only ingredients that appear on the label that accompanies the product. Limit yourself to eating only half a cup served in a bowl, add fruits or nuts. Until you have lost 20% of the weight you want to lose, you can give yourself this taste two or three times a week.
Beer and wine. Even if happy hour continues in the restaurant after dinner, you have to consider that these drinks are a dessert, so you should only limit yourself to consuming 350 ml of beer and 150 ml of wine or 20 ml of digestive liquor. Taking it after food will reduce the likelihood that weakness will betray you and exceed that amount. You can drink them once or twice a week (if you do more, the weight loss will be slower).
Salty snacks. Once a week you can consume a snack that is free of trans fats such as pretzels or baked potatoes. Whenever you give yourself this taste, accompany the snack with some food that has slow-digesting fat so that you can keep control of what you eat; such as a tablespoon of peanut butter or almond butter, avocado, ricotta cheese, or hummus.