You do not need to eat celery all day to lose weight. If you have tried a dozen diets with no success you already know what I am talking about. Simply, diets do not work or work for long. The problem is not so much what your eating. The problem is how much your eating and when you eat it.
The easiest way to lose weight is to eat more often! No, this is not a joke or a dieting fad. This is an easy way to speed up your metabolism, keep it running all day, lose weight, and stop feeling hunger all day.
If this sounds too good to be true, guess again. Studies have shown eating small portions of food throughout the day will speed up and keep you metabolism in tip top shape. You will not have to live solely on carrot sticks to accomplish this either.
Many people skip breakfast and lunch for a number of different reasons. This is a huge mistake if you want to lose weight. Eating breakfast starts your metabolism running for the day, eating lunch keeps it running at high speed. If you eat breakfast but skip lunch, your metabolism will start slowing down mid day because it has nothing to go on. This means when dinner time rolls around it has to start back up from an “empty tank”. Your metabolism is not like a new car. It can not go from 0 to 60 in a few seconds. Think of it more like an old junker. It takes a lot of maintenance to keep running. It needs the gas (food) to start but then it needs more gas and a lot of coaxing to keep running or it stalls, and once it stalls it has a hard time starting back up. Once it gets started its slow going until it is warmed up for a while.
This is where “Grazing” comes in to play. Grazing simply means eating 5 – 6 small “meals” throughout the day to keep your metabolism running at top speed so you can burn up more of what you take in. This is important, they must be small meals! It is very easy to end up eating large portions filled with too many calories. You have to eat small. You should not feel full or bloated all day, but you also should not feel hungry.
An example of grazing:
(This is only an example. You will have to watch your calories based on your own needs and the foods you enjoy.)
Small breakfast – Such as 1/2 a serving of cereal, a banana, and a large glass of juice.
First break at work – Snack – Such as an apple, orange, or veggies with a little dip.
Lunch – Small salad, or maybe half a hamburger and small fry, or small slice of pizza.
Last break at work – Snack – Such as some whole-grain crackers, or yogurt, or a few meat & cheese cubes, or even half a “lite” sandwich.
Dinner – Eat what you normally would for dinner but eat half the amount and remember to watch your calories. Dinner is the time where most people eat too much and skip watching calories.
After Dinner Snack – (You can skip this one if you do not like eating before bed.) About 2 hours before bed eat something very lite – Such as 1 cup unsalted & unbuttered air-popped popcorn, or 12 unsalted pretzel sticks, or 1 cup of cottage cheese.
Eat whatever you want but make sure you stay under your calorie limit and stick to small portions. If you notice yourself gain a couple extra pounds the first few weeks its okay. You should expect this as your eating more than normal and training your metabolism. However, if your still gaining a few pounds after the first few weeks you need to evaluate the foods your eating. Eating what you want is fine but make sure to add some healthy food to your diet too. Processed foods are hard for the body to break down and burn off so try limiting the amount you intake.
Grazing should help you learn to eat small portions and keep you from feeling hungry all day then binge at dinner. However, you will still need to try eating healthier and exercising regularly. A simple hour walk up a hill, after dinner, with a loved one is good regular exercise.
If you are unsure how to find your target calorie limit you can speak with a doctor, a nutritionist, or a simple google search can yield some good free calorie calculators. Once you found your target calorie limit you’ll want to start keeping track of your day to day calorie in take. If you need some help with that you can buy a calorie tracking journal or sign up for a free one on the web. A google search will yield many. www.my-calorie-counter.com is a good one. They have a searchable food database for nutrient information, a calorie tracking journal with monthly reports & charts, a calorie calculator, forums, communities, and more. They are run by Everyday Health which is a social website for people trying to lose weight who need a bit of help and support from their peers. Try out a few websites until you find one you enjoy using.
Good Luck!
