So, you’re doing everything the latest trends have touted as being the quickest way to lose weight and get toned. But did you know that you may be wasting your time with some commonly mistaken health habits? We expose some of these diet tactics for what they really are.
Cutting out snacks
Most people who cut out all snacks find that they feel lethargic, cranky, less focused and ‘crazy hungry’. These feelings can lead to mindless snacking and overeating at another meal. Jaclyn Reutens, Dietician at Aptima Nutrition and Sports Consultants and Active8me expert, recommends that “while not all people ‘need’ to snack, they can certainly be part of balanced diet and weight loss program.
Healthy snacks can keep energy levels up, curb hunger pangs and give you needed nutrients. The trick is being wise about your snack choices and portion sizes as part of a calorie controlled diet.” You can still have snacks that are healthy without being boring. For example, check out Active8me’s delicious homemade Spicy Carrot Chips at only 89 calories. Find the recipe and more great snack ideas in the Active8me FREE 21-Day trial.
Juicing
Juicing is not necessarily the healthy habit that many are led to believe. Often juicing fruits and vegetables removes the fibre (which is the part that makes you feel fuller for longer) leaving you with high calorie, concentrated sugar. Juice cleansing diets mistakenly lure people into believing it’s the quickest way to lose weight, when in fact you are often consuming a lot more calories than you realise. Think of how many apples it takes to extract a glass of juice, and compare that to how many apples you would eat to satisfy your appetite…it’s a BIG difference!
The fact is, juicing can disrupt blood sugar levels, cause nutrient deficiencies, imbalance your gut bacteria and will almost always lead to regaining any lost weight. Your liver and your kidneys are the real ‘cleansers’. They remove toxins and filter everything that goes into your body. If you feel the need to cleanse, the best option is to simply drink WATER! Water has no calories, loads of benefits (think: clearer, more youthful skin) and helps flush your system. Remember though, juices are not to be confused with smoothies.
You can get all the benefits and nutrient value of fruit and vegetables by blending them instead of merely extracting their juice, usually with less calories! Try filling up with the Green Smoothie from the Active8me app.
Believing the hype – diet, diet, diet?
The word ‘diet’ has become synonymous with being restrictive; cutting out entire food groups; not enjoying your food; and just being plain difficult to stick with! Crash diets may ‘seem’ to be the quickest way to lose weight, but they are rarely successful in the long term as they neglect to take into consideration maintaining weight loss with your regular lifestyle. Jaclyn points out that “apart from the dangers of nutrient deficiencies from crash diets, your body will be low on energy which often causes high-fat, high-sugar food cravings, leading to eventual weight gain.”
It is important to get the proportions of carbohydrates, proteins and fats of your meals correct. Jaclyn gives the example of Chicken Rice, a meal which is made up of 70% rice, 20% chicken, 10% cucumber, “if you eat the entire plate of rice, it is obvious that you are consuming too many carbs and your scales won’t be forgiving” she suggests “to regulate your own portion control”. You can achieve this easily with the hand measurement trick, check out how this works in the FREE Active8me cheat sheet for calorie counting!
Avoiding food after 8pm
This phenomenon stems from the belief that…? Well, there are so many conflicting theories behind this habit that it’s confusing. Jaclyn clearly sets the record straight “the truth is, there is no proven timing of meals that is linked to whether you gain or lose weight”. She adds “it is more important to have regularly spaced meals across the day, and if you are trying to find the quickest way to lose weight then you need to burn more calories than you consume across each day”.
The simple, healthy and sustainable way to achieve this is to regularly consume balanced, nutritious meals and snacks across the day and burn calories by getting active with a variety of exercises (be they traditional workouts or more untraditional ways
If you are looking for the quickest way to lose weight, take into consideration that often the ‘quick fix’ is hard to sustain and will most likely result in weight gain. At Active8me we want to equip you to make sensible choices that will help you not only look your best with the transformation you want to see, but also, that you can sustain long term, embracing a healthy and active lifestyle for the rest of your days.
