The A-Z Of Dieting
From fad myths to secret weight loss ingredients, here's everything you need to know about dieting.
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Atkins Diet
Created by Robert Atkins, the Atkins Nutritional Approach involves limiting the body’s consumption of carbohydrates in order to switch the body’s metabolism from burning glucose as energy to burning fat stores. However, our bodies need carbs like rice, grains and oats in order to perform vital everyday functions, and consuming animal fats and proteins significantly raises cholesterol levels. Our advice? Stick to a balanced, calorie-controlled diet, and leave the Atkins well alone.
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BMI
Body Mass Index is the ratio of human body fat compared to an individual’s height and weight. It’s a great, general tool to find out whether or not you are a healthy weight before you decide to diet. However, it does not take into account body shape, muscle or bone density, so shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Not sure whether you need to diet? Consult your GP.
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Carbs
Carbohydrates are not something to be frightened of. We need foods such as rice, oats, pasta, potatoes and bread in order to give our bodies the energy they need to function properly. Cutting carbs out of your diet can result in bad moods due to crashing blood sugar levels, dizzy spells. Need more convincing? Here are five reasons you should eat them.
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Dukan Diet
A celeb favourite of late, and particularly popular in France, Dr Dukan’s diet plan has four phases – the attack phase, the cruise phase, the consolidation phase and the stabilization phase. It starts off as a high protein diet, in which carbohydrates are cut out to encourage rapid weight loss, then slowly adds ‘banned’ food types back in over a number of weeks. Cutting carbs, however, is not advised, and critics claim that the weight loss is not sustainable.
DR DUKAN’S FLAT BELLY TIPS
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Energy Boosting Foods
In order to maximise your potential to burn calories, your body needs fuel, and that comes in the form of energy-boosting foods like these ones. Just factor them into your daily calorie count – 1,700 calories for women and 2,000 for men wishing to lose weight – to feel the difference.
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Fibre
Fibre is often overlooked, but it’s important if you are looking to lose weight. Foods high in fibre – like vegetables, bran, whole grains and fruit – help the digestive system to absorb essential nutrients, as well as keeping you feeling fuller for longer. A definite diet DO.
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GI Diet
It looks confusing at first, but the idea behind the Glycaemic Index is to tell us how dramatically different food types raise our blood sugar levels. Those that raise it a little bit have a low GI value, while those that send it shooting through the roof have a high GI value. Keeping blood sugar levels on an even keel is important for weight loss, as it affects energy levels, the metabolism (see ‘M’) and appetite. While it doesn’t beat a calorie-controlled diet, it’s definitely worth brushing up on GI foods.
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Phenotype ‘H’ Diet
The Phenotype ‘H’ Diet aims to recognise that everyone’s bodies, metabolisms and digestive systems are different, and thus makes specialised recommendations to suit an individual’s make-up. The H category focuses in particular on women at the peak of their hormonal cycles. The programme encourages dieters to keep a food diary, and to change their diets according to hormonal peaks. While critics acknowledge some positive effects, it is a complex diet to follow, and could prove difficult to keep up.
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The Italian Diet
Many claim that following a Mediterranean diet – based on fresh foods like vegetables, fish, meats, pasta and olive oil – is the key to staying slender. We say, keep your diet balanced and healthy, and steer clear of high calorie foods like red meats, cheese and cream, which also feature regularly in the Italian diet.
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Juice Diet
Rapid weight loss by consuming only juice for a sustained period of time? You don’t need us to tell you that this is a bad idea.
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Kcal
You might see this abbreviated sign on the back of ingredients packets from time to time. It is short for calories, which are units of energy in food. In order to maintain weight, women are advised to eat 2,200 calories of food a day, and men 2,500. To lose weight, women are advised to consume around 1,700 calories. Not sure? Consult your GP or a dietician.
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Lipids
Lipids are a group of naturally occurring molecules that include fats, and fat-soluble vitamins, among others. There are two types of fats: saturated and un-saturated. Foods high in saturated fats, such as cheese, red meats, cream and butter, should be avoided if you are trying to lose weight. Unsaturated food types, like olive oil and linseed oil, are beneficial to your diet, and can be used instead.
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Metabolism
Metabolism is the process your body uses to convert food into energy. In order to burn calories – and therefore fat supplies – in the body and lose weight, you need to make sure your metabolism is working to its fullest potential. You can do this by taking regular exercise and stocking up on these metabolism-boosting foods.
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Nutrient Rich Diet
Whatever diet you choose, make sure it is rich in essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Our top superfoods include spinach, broccoli, oily fish, nuts, whole grains, brown rice, eggs, berries and natural yoghurt. These foods will optimise your health (see ‘O’) and keep you feeling more satisfied, as well as seriously boosting your beauty at the same time.
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Optimum Health
What you should really aim to achieve through your diet is optimum health. This means your body is as fit, healthy and well-nourished as it can possibly be in order to prolong life and prevent disease. You can do this by eating a balanced, healthy diet that includes nutrient-rich foods (see ‘N’), taking regular exercise and avoiding alcohol, smoking and drugs. Remember that mental well-being is as important as physical well-being, so make sure you have good stress relieving outlets and get plenty of sleep (see ‘S’).
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Protein
Getting enough protein in your diet is essential to weight loss, as well as to achieving your optimum health (see ‘O’). Protein provides the building blocks behind every cell in your body, including your muscles, and is the key to looking toned and firm. It also keeps you feeling fuller for longer, and helps to curb hunger pangs. The best types are lean proteins, such as fish, turkey, eggs and beans. Avoid eating high cholesterol red meats and saturated fats.
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Quality Over Quantity
If you’re eating plenty of good quality, nutrient-rich food, you may find that the quantity of food you need to keep you full and satisfied is less. So put down that bag of easily chompable crisps, and reach for some filling sweet potato wedges instead.
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Resistance Training
Exercising using weights will not turn you into a female Hulk Hogan. Women lack the hormones needed to quickly bulk our bodies with muscle, rendering it almost impossible for us to reach body building proportions without a lot of help and a very strict diet. Instead, weight training is a great way to burn calories, as well as strengthen and tone the body. Stick to low weights, core exercises and stretches for a long, lean muscle look.
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Sleep
Dieters, remember to get your beauty sleep! Giving your body adequate time to recover helps to stabilise blood sugar levels (see ‘G’) and keep the metabolism (see ‘M’) ticking at a steady pace. It also helps to minimise stress, which has been scientifically proven to encourage weight gain. Try to get eight or nine hours sleep as often as possible.
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Weight Loss Teas
Do they really work? Some of them, yes. The most effective are herbal beverages like green tea, white tea and peppermint tea, all of which have powerful detoxing, metabolism-boosting and anti-inflammatory benefits. Teas which contain fennel and liquorice are thought to help stave off hunger pangs, while Chinese remedies such as Pu-erh and Oolong tea have long been heralded for their slimming properties.
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Under-Eating
Not eating enough is not an option if you want to lose weight healthily, and keep it off. It leads to a sluggish metabolism as your body fights to hold on to fat stores to use when other energy stores are depleted. You need energy to exercise, too, as well as perform normal everyday tasks, and depriving yourself of it will make you tired, unhappy, and moody.
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Vitamins
A vitamin is an organic compound used by your body to provide tiny amounts of nutrients, which are essential for performing vital functions. You should get most of your vitamins – A-K – from a healthy, balanced diet, but topping up with an additional multi-vitamin and extra vitamin C can also be beneficial.
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Water
We can’t say it enough – drinking plenty of water is a huge dieting DO. Water is essential to the proper chemical functioning of every single cell in your body, so you need it to be able to work to your fullest capacity, which includes burning calories efficiently. The recommended amount is 2 litres a day (about eight glasses). Try to stick to it!
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eXercise
It’s hard to get started, but you will notice a difference almost instantly if you include regular exercise in your weight loss plan. Exercise helps you to burn calories, tone muscle, raise your energy levels and concentrate better, and is an essential component to achieving optimum health (see ‘O’). Try a mixture of cardio (like running, cycling, dancing), interval (bursts of intense, and more relaxed, exercise) and resistance (weights) training for the most effective work-out.
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Yo-Yo Dieting
When dieting goes wrong! Yo-yo dieting refers to a never-ending cycle of rapid weight loss followed by weight gain. This is not healthy. Avoid getting stuck in a diet rut by saying no to fads, sticking to a balanced, calorie-controlled diet, taking regular exercise and getting plenty of sleep. Need more advice? Head to your GP or a dietician.
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Zinc
Zinc, and other minerals like copper, selenium, iron, manganese, potassium and calcium, are all essential for the proper functioning of your body. Make sure you’re getting enough by eating a wide variety of fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, nuts, seeds and whole grains.
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