 Many reasons have been cited as being responsible for making us fat. Protein, fat, insulin and carbohydrate, food in general, a lack of activity and combinations of all of the above have received their share of blame for our chubby condition.
Bestselling books and ‘revolutionary' diet plans recommend we cut out carbohydrates and eat meat at every meal. Other ‘clinically researched, scientifically proven' weight loss programs tell us to avoid eating meat and to consume fruit and veggies, but not with other foods and not after 4 pm or before 12 noon. It's not surprising we're growing larger when the information surrounding us is so contradictory and confusing.
Many of these diets and so-called ‘eating programs' are impossible to stick to and don't actually induce long-term weight loss. And as a result we end up blaming ourselves for failing, lacking in discipline, for having no self control and more often than not, we end up actually gaining weight.
Using our commonsense let's have a look at what really makes us fat. Funnily enough, much of our commonsense is actually backed up by peer-reviewed, published medical research. Let's start with the balance between what we eat and how much we move.
Tip 1: To burn fat, you need to physically move your body.
If we don't move our bodies we will not burn up the food we eat and we certainly won't burn any fat. In this instance, common sense suggests we must move, exercise and be active in order to burn fat.
Tip 2: If you eat more food than you burn off, you will get fatter.
Secondly, let's consider food, which is one of the most confusing topics with regards to why we gain weight. When we examine what foods make us fat and what we should really eat to lose fat, common sense strikes again. The message is simply, if you eat more food than you burn off, you will get fatter.
Tip 3: It is not the type of food that you eat, but the amount that will make you fat.
The bottom line is it doesn't matter whether you eat lettuce or lard, apples or apple pie, if you eat more calories than you burn off, the excess calories must be stored somewhere. Most commonly, those calories are stored as fat, usually in the tummy, butt and thigh regions for women or around the middle for men.
Naturally, if you want to have less fat on your body, the first place to start is to reduce the amount of fat you put into your body. And that means all kinds. Fat from nuts and olives and avocado is better for your health but will still happily find its way into your fat cells. Empty fat cells mean a lean, trim body; full fat cells mean a bigger, softer body.
You don't have to cut out your fat intake, but reducing the amount of oil, butter, margarine and take-away and junk foods would be a great place to start. There's no need to cut them out altogether, just cut them down.
For most people, reducing fat intake and moving more are the only steps required for a leaner, fitter, healthier body. If you haven't tried these two techniques, just give them a try and be patient; after all, it usually takes longer than a few weeks to get out of shape, so it will take more than a few milliseconds of exercise and one Monday of reducing fat, to get back into shape!
If you find that exercise and reducing dietary fat is not resulting in fat loss, the next place to go is to reduce your alcohol intake. Again, you don't have to cut it out, just cut back. It's common knowledge that if you attempt to eliminate your favourite food or drink altogether, a binge is often just around the corner. So remember, it's not necessarily the types of food that makes you fat, but more so the amount you consume.
 Alcohol calories are burned first
It is also important to understand that all calories are not the same. Fat has nine calories in every gram, alcohol has seven and protein and carbohydrate have four calories. Purely when considering ‘input versus output' fat calories are more fattening. Alcohol places second, but interestingly, our bodies don't actually store alcohol. In fact, your body will burn alcohol calories before anything else, so the intake of calories is not the problem with alcohol, it is actually the fat that doesn't get burnt up because your body is so busy eliminating the alcohol calories.
Balanced eating is the key
Some people swear that by cutting down on carbohydrate they lost lots of weight, while other people say they lost fat by eliminating animal products (predominately protein). With regards to the appropriateness of these strategies, there are two questions to ask these people:
1.Could you realistically remove all bread, potato, rice, pasta, cereal and fruit out of your diet OR milk, cheese, meat, chicken and yoghurt, and be able to stick to it for a long time?
2. How long did the weight actually stay off? Typically with elimination diets such as this, as soon as you reintroduce these items into your eating, the weight reappears. Losing weight for a couple of weeks or months and then putting it back on is not a successful eating plan!
It's important to realise that a balanced eating program is exactly that - balanced! All foods provide us with vital nutrients for our bodies to function so we need all of them in our diet, in moderation. Carbohydrates provide us with energy and are necessary for our brains to function. Protein, particularly animal protein, is crucial for the repair, protection and rebuilding of cells in our body and fat provides us with energy and makes food taste great.
Managing our waistlines can be achieved by enjoying ALL types of food. A good starting point is to become more active and begin thinking moderation and balance in all we eat and do.
To get inspired, find motivation, or ask questions about weight loss, exercise, and losing fat please contact us!
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