Weight Loss - Personal Lifestyle Diet

Weight Loss - Your Personal Individual Lifestyle Diet

.... start developing your personalized lifestyle diet

Dieter L. Editor

Author of It happened in the seventies

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Part 11 - Personal Lifestyle Diet

Your diet has to work for You, not for me, and not for anyone else.

You have specific tastes and associations with food. It is not only that You need to know what to eat, but also what you need to avoid, because as you know, once you start eating a certain food, you may not be able to stop.

I will give you the diet guidelines, but you need to take those guidelines and make them your own, by adding or subtracting what you like or don’t like.

You know already, that you are not going on a diet; you simply improve your diet from the way it is now, to a more optimal healthful diet.

Here are your first basic guidelines, which you should combine or arrange to what we have discussed before.

There are 2 important points why you should or should not eat certain foods.

The first point is that of general health, that is the group, where we aim to cut out processed and low quality food, because it is absolutely laced with unhealthy additives and ingredients.

The second point is to know and recognise that all food has an influence on your metabolism, by arranging your food and avoiding or adding certain foods, you may speed up you metabolism, making it better for a healthy turn over and for weight loss.

The rest is general diet and lifestyle advice, and don’t forget the basic saying, which is; “You are what you eat”, which I am sure, we all agree makes a lot of sense regarding weight issues.

By the way, please consider your dietary heredity; adjust your diet according to climate condition. With other words, much less energy dense food in a tropical country, more energy dense food in a cold climate country.

There is a rule within the macrobiotic way of eating, only eat which grows within 50km around you, and in the right season. These days we often forget that, because food of all kind is available throughout the year.

Dietary heredity should be taken even further, and genetic or enzymes requirements need to be acknowledged. - Milk by example or the ability to absorb or digest milk is genetically different in people of Asian decent.

A lot of immigrants from Asian countries, if they adopt the Australian way of eating, will acquire health problems they would not have experienced back in their country of origin. The advice would be to stay on their traditional diet, while only adjusting the food to climate conditions.

Food has a strong influence on the chemistry of the mind and body.

Applying simple dietary rules has brought pronounced results for people who have been trying to lose weight for years.

The balance of protein, carbohydrate and fat in our diet, determines the amount of glucose (sugar) reaching the blood.

This balance also affects the amount of the hormone insulin, which is secreted in response to glucose.

Insulin is a broad acting hormone, which is to increase the uptake and utilisation of glucose in the body, but Insulin also inhibits body fat burning as a source of energy, promotes cell growth, and changes the balance of hormones and chemicals to a more inflammatory state.

Eating sugar (carbohydrate) results in a rapid elevation of glucose and the equally rapid release of insulin, which instructs the body to use glucose as a fuel - not to touch the fat reserves.

"It becomes extremely difficult to lose weight when insulin is raised."

Your personal Diet will achieve the opposite, keep blood sugar and insulin levels within a tight range and thereby stimulate fat utilisation - burning.

Elevated insulin also promotes the release of substances responsible for inflammation, blood pressure and other negative effects, which contribute to chronic degenerative diseases.

Your personal diet is for long-term health and weight loss and needs to achieve proper blood sugar regulation, provide wholesome nutrition and avoid causing hunger pangs.

You will find, that on this diet, you need to eat far less than before. This is because you will use much more of the most efficient source of energy we have – Fat, and by burning fat you will create energy.

Research shows that high insulin levels can cause heart disease. Insulin also directly increases the amount of cholesterol in the blood.

A high carbohydrate diet is one of the major reasons for raised insulin levels.

Remember carbohydrate is just a fancy word for sugar...

There are virtually no restrictions on what type of food you can eat, (as long as it is fresh and of good quality) from quick snacks to 5 Star meals.

Your Personal Lifestyle Diet works by eating your required amounts of Protein, Carbohydrate and Fat in a balanced ratio.

Ask yourself a question;
"how do farmers fatten their cattle"?
Answer: By feeding them lots of low-fat grain.

Next question: How do you fatten humans?
Answer: The same way... you feed them lots of grains, such as pasta, bread, pizzas, cakes, crackers etc.

Most people eat too much Grain products, which are carbohydrates.

Do you have to stop eating Carbohydrates?

No, just eat them less, enjoy them in small amounts, and make up the lost bulk with plenty of vegetable (a less dense form of carbohydrate), low GI Carbohydrates and the right amount of protein and fat... and talking about fat, you have to eat fat (mainly unsaturated) in order to burn fat.

Here are your basic Rules:

1. Drink about 8 Glasses of Water per day ( best is warm water )

2. Eat much more vegetables, fruits and much less pasta, breads, grains, and starches.

3. Eat 3 meals with fewer calories, plus two snacks. ( there are exceptions to this, other more strict meal plans can be adopted at a later state)

4. Eat small amounts of low-fat protein at every meal and snack.

5. Strictly No Sugar... this includes sugar containing manufactured food and drink items.

The overall result of the Diet will be: a chemically and hormonal well-balanced, fit, slim and healthy human being.

More Rules, specifically to lose weight

1. Drink at least 200 ml of warm water before meals... you will feel less hungry..

2. Eat within 1 hour of getting up...

3. Don't go longer than 5 hours without a meal or a snack... this avoids blood sugar fluctuations...

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Other Weight and Lifestyle Rules:

Rest, Relaxation And Sleep

What has this to do with weight loss you may ask?

It’s all about stress … stress can be a major instigator for over eating and weight gain.

Sleep is probably the best way to balance out your stress, others are stress reduction exercises like relaxation and meditation, but sleep is one of the best way to handle it.

Set aside a special time each day for complete mental and physical relaxation rest, to remedy possible stress. This is important in the restoration, as well as maintenance, of normal health.

A short relaxing sleep like state is ideal for such a purpose. The required time is about 20 to 30min. – During this time you will not fall into a deep sleep. That’s why it may be wise to set an alarm clock.

Get enough sleep during night hours, to allow your body to recuperate and repair. If you do not get enough sleep you are drawing on reserves. Those reserves are limited. Find out how much rest you require to awake naturally refreshed and adopt a time of retiring that permits you to get the required amount. Try to go to bed before midnight.

For physical and mental regeneration (Alpha brainwave), 7-8 hours deep refreshing sleep is the average. More if you are depleted or sick, a bit less once you have acquired total health.

Exercise - establish a level of fitness to suit your individual lifestyle.

The "harder" you "live", the harder you have to exercise to create the fitness for your lifestyle.

Being overweight is regarded as “living hard”, because of the added strain on your body.

4 forms of exercise: Cardio Vascular - Stretching – Weights and Breathing

Remember this important Fact: You cannot store Fitness, you have to keep at it :-) !

Cardiovascular exercise:

Exercise every day, make it part of your lifestyle. Walking, swimming, bike or mini-trampoline, at least 20min. daily is important to keep fitness and burn some calories. Failing that, try to incorporate a Cardiovascular exercise into your daily routine, maybe you can power walk to your work. Or you find Tennis or any other game activity easier to stick to.

Another method is Interval Training, which are short bursts of energy release, about 5min. of hard exercise up to exhaustion, 3 to 4 times weekly. ( check with your Doctor first, maybe to a stress test )

For your regular exercise, become active to the point of getting up a light sweat, but don’t get exhausted.

Walking Programme :

Walk a distance, which you can walk comfortable in 20min., having established this distance, slowly increase the distance, but stay in the 20min. time frame.

Doing this is building up fitness without exercising the whole day.

Stretching exercise:

Do stretching exercise like Yoga for mobility and strength. Never strain yourself.

Start with 20min. Yoga stretching; "salute to the sun" and about 8-10 yoga position.

The aim is to tone up muscle while at the same time improve digestion, keep weight down, stimulate circulation, correct metabolism and tissue oxygenation, increase vitality, encourage proper elimination, enrich mental function, invite restful sleep and combat depression.

To lose weight, power yoga is very effective and an all around good exercise; holding positions for longer.

Recommendation: Take a yoga class, the combined result from doing yoga and taking the time out for it, will show profound positive health results.

Weight lifting exercise:

Muscle building – or – Muscle keeping - Use it or lose it ... is the first rule we go by.

However, something else is even more important, which is the ability to grow muscles. Growing new muscle tissue has shown to increase immunity, and produce brand new cells, which has an anti-aging effect.

Muscles need time to grow, don't lift heavy weights every day; I suggest just 2 -3 times a week. Always have 2 - 3 days of rest after a weight lifting session. 20 min. per session is enough. - If you can lift a weight for 12 - 15 repetition, increase the weight being lifted.

Power Yoga and holding specific position is able to achieve similar results.

Recommendation: Get some instruction and a weight lift program worked out for you.

Conscious Breathing Exercise

What can I say; is there anything more important than breathing? Nothing works without proper breathing …
We all do it, but like everything, to get a good result, we need to show a bit of effort.
Give your lungs a good clean out.

At least once daily, better twice, do a circle of conscious breathing. This will strengthen your lungs, and they will process more oxygen with less effort. The heartbeat will grow stronger pumping an increased volume of blood to the muscles. Sagging tissues will regain firmness. Your face will have a better colour.
Body temperature is controlled through automatic change of breath between the right and left nostril.

The right nostril represents the sun, heat and energy.

The left nostril represents; the moon, the cooling power, and the expansion of the mind.
1 circle consists of:
Inhale to the count of four, holding to the count of four, exhale to the count of four, retain to the count of four.
Repeat this circle 10 times. - Breathe through the nostrils. - If you develop chest pain, stop until pain is relieved. - In the City, do your breathing exercise in the early morning, before traffic builds up.

One Nostril Breathing :
Close the right nostril with the right thumb. Slowly inhale deeply through the left nostril, then exhale through the same nostril, do that 6 times. (lowers Blood pressure)
Next, inhale through the right nostril by closing the left one with the ring finger of the right hand. Exhale through the same nostril 6x.

Complete Deep Breathing :
Fill the lower lungs by lowering the diaphragm as the abdomen expands.
Then fill the middle part of your lungs, pushing out the lower chest.
Then fill the upper lungs, lifting the chest.
Then the uppermost part of the lungs, slightly draw in lower abdomen.
At the end of inhalation, raise shoulders slightly, permitting air to enter the extreme upper lope of the right lung.
Retain the breath for at least 15 sec., exhale slowly, relax.

.. and now .. breath normally again :-)

.. next .. more about your personal diet

Part 12 - Wellbeing Lifestyle Diet Advice

 

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Article by:

Dieter L. Editor of useNature Gold Coast - Brisbane

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Disclaimer:
The information provided in this article is intended for general use and for personal interest only. It should not be used or understood as suggestion or medical advice.