People seem to be attracted to ways to lose weight fast. There are many fad diets on the market today that guarantee rapid weight loss. Advertisements claim if you eat just 800 calories a day and run for two miles you will lose ten pounds in the next week! True weight loss takes time and dedication and this is not a way that most people can sustain.
Trying to lose weight fast can backfire on most dieters. The body has a natural initial reaction to being starved. The brain sends signals to your metabolism to slow down so stores food so the body can survive a period of no food. The body does not realize you are on a diet and that you are actually having a caloric deficit. This also means that the body will go into starvation mode and hang on to fat, as it interprets lack of food as a life threatening situation.
If you want to lose weight fast, you have to get in the habit of eating small and frequent, well balanced meals. These meals should include lean protein such as chicken, beans and tofu. Healthy carbohydrates such as brown rice, fresh vegetables and whole grains should be fiber packed and include plenty of essential vitamins and minerals.
While low fat, low sugar “diet foods” can be found in any grocery store, few people can afford them. Instead, fill your refrigerator with lots of fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains. The fiber in these foods causes the body to burn calories through digestion thus the amount you burn in the long run is more than the amount of calories from the foods you eat. Fiber also moves fat through the digestive system faster so that less of it is absorbed into the body. This may also be the reason that some people report feeling fuller for longer periods of time.
While it is true that the human body requires a certain amount of calories each day, the quality of those calories is just as important. All foods have nutritional value. Those foods which are low in nutritional value will do more harm than good and will only temporarily facilitate weight loss. The human body needs certain amounts of vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, proteins and carbohydrates. The trick is to know which foods have high nutritional value and to eat those foods. The human body needs 3500 calories each day to sustain life. Based on this fact, each of us must create a caloric deficit to lose weight. In other words we must use more calories in a day than we consume.
In addition to consuming healthier foods, we must become more active. Exercise in the form of weight training and cardiovascular training will increase our caloric output. The body must work harder to create energy and will burn more fat and calories. At rest, the body stores unused calories in the form of fat. If we are ingesting more calories than we are using, we will not only get bigger, but we will also get fatter.
The human body employs a complex chemical process to maintain itself. Nutrients are absorbed into the body primarily through four mechanisms: absorption through the intestinal walls or peristalsis, the pulps of food moving through the lungs, the basileai of oxygen and carbon dioxide from the lungs to the alveoli of the stomach, the contraction of muscles and finally absorption in the alimentary canal. The body has over 100 organs which process and distribute our needs into the blood flow, all functioning together in a complex arrangement of synchronized functions.
