Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Why You Should Be Counting Calories to Lose Weight

We all know losing weight isn't easy... but when you've got diabetes, it is so important in terms of managing your condition and reducing your risk for heart disease. Research out of New Zealand suggests it doesn't matter what diet plan you choose - high protein or high carb - counting calories to lose weight is the best way, as the weight loss comes from a reduction in calories, not the eating plan you decide to use. So you can choose the plan that's most appealing to you and still get results.

To look at the different diet plans and their impact on diabetes, the researchers kept track of almost 300 overweight diabetic subjects (men and women) who were age 35 to 75 years old. They were taking part in a brand new nutritional program scheduled to last two years.

At the start, all the subjects had BMI measurements over 27 (overweight is 25.0 to 29.9). They were randomly assigned to follow one of two diets - low fat and high protein eating plan, or a low in fat and high carb eating plan.

Weight and waist size was recorded at three points during the study; at 6 months, 1 year and 2 years. Other test including Kidney functionality and lipid profiles were also conducted regularly during the research.

The food diaries the participants kept showed that the total calorie intake decreased for both groups of dieters. They both ended up losing a similar number of pounds, and brought their waist size down as well. After two years, both groups even had similar lipid profiles.

Researchers conclude that both diet approaches yield weight loss, with the most important driving factor behind keeping the weight off being reducing daily calories, rather than regular consumption of either high protein or high carb plans. In the end, the two diets are pretty much equal.

These findings echo earlier work in on weight loss.

It's now generally agreed by nutritionists it doesn't matter what you hear about the latest "miracle" plan, calories are the key to weight loss. Not to mention keeping the weight off. No matter what source they come from, to lose weight you need to take in fewer of them than you burn off. It's just that simple.

To lose a single pound, you need to burn 3,500 calories more than you take in. Cut 500 calories a day from your diet and you'll drop a pound at the end of 7 days. Here are some simple, painless (really) tips you might use for cutting calories...

- Say "No" to one high calorie food each day - your morning sugary coffee drink or a nighttime snack like chips or ice cream. Look at what you eat and see what you might do without; you'll be surprised how quickly those calories add up.

- Choosing lower calorie alternatives to high calorie foods is a great way to treat your taste buds without sabotaging your calorie cutting efforts. The taste of today's low cal options is surprisingly good. You might even like them better - switch whole milk for fat free, water or diet soda for blended drinks, and snack on fresh fruit or veggies rather than salty snacks.

- Eating smaller portions really controls your calorie intake. Try taking just a bit less than what you think you can eat (you can have seconds, after all) and see if this is enough to satisfy. Look at portion sizes on labels; often junk foods are packaged in bags that are two servings, not one.

FREE Bonus Secret Health Reports - For a limited time you can grab 5 FREE essential health reports from the Daily Health Bulletin. Click through now to discover more on counting calories to lose weight and other effective weight loss methods.

Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert

No comments :

Post a Comment

 
YouSayToo Revenue Sharing Community