If you want to lose weight, you have to have a plan, a route map to success. This is called a program or programme. There are thousands of programs, but many of them are just plain barmy. If they sound foolish, they probably are. Have you heard of the ‘cabbage water diet’? It sounds foolish and it is. You cannot only drink cabbage water all your life!

Although there is a lot of claptrap talked about losing weight, there are some truths that have a part to play in almost every program you choose to follow. One of these truths is that it is better to eat many small meals throughout the day (about 5-6), than to go all day without eating and then stuffing yourself at dinner in the evening. This is popularly called ‘grazing’.

Have you ever wondered why this might be so? Well, the fact is, that the average human body can only process about 250 calories an hour. If you eat more than that, you are almost certainly overloading your digestive system. This is why it matters, because if your body cannot handle all the calories that you give it, it will stockpile them.

Your body can only use up what it requires to execute the job that it is busy with, that is, what you are putting it through. If you are watching TV, most of those 250 will be stored. If you are exercising, most will be burned up. It stores the remainder as body fat. Your body has learned through evolution that hard times will come, so it prepares for them. It is like us putting excess money in a savings account or people hoarding food if a bad winter is predicted.

However, these days in the West, we seldom face those hard times any longer. Therefore, that fat is never used up and we just keep adding to it until we resolve, by choice, to limit our consumption of calories or increase our amount of exercise.

Given this information, what can we do with it? Well, if you were to want to lose weight, you should be consuming no more than 1,500 calories a day (or whatever your program tells you), so 1,500 divided by 250 is six. if you ate 250 calories every other hour, that would give you twelve hours.

Therefore, eating light but often would be a beneficial strategy or program to follow, because firstly, you are only providing your body with what it needs, when it requires it and secondly, you are able to better maintain a steady blood sugar level, which means that you level out the spikes and troughs you experience in a normal day’s cycle.

Two hundred and fifty calories does not sound a lot, but it is surprising what it will stretch too, if you take the trouble to investigate. It is true that you will have to severely restrict some foodstuffs, like bread, pasta, rice and potatoes, but whoever honestly thought that you could lose weight by eating that stuff anyway?

If you do not have time to cook several times every day, look in your supermarket. There are loads of ‘250 calorie’ microwave meals. You don’t want to eat that? I can’t blame you. so get a good cookbook, which shows calorie content. You are at work all day? OK, eat some fruit, but choose wisely. It can be done, it only takes a little determination and planning.

Owen Jones, the author of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with lose weight programs. If you have an interest in losing weight, too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

The march to health and fitness is on and a lot of people are getting in on the act. Some people do it in order to achieve a beautiful body, some people do it because they are embarrassed about their body as it is now, while others do it simply to remain fit and healthy. Because of this, there are thousands of health programs on the Internet, in gyms, spas and fitness centres all over the world. Some are too expensive – so expensive that you will lose weight quickly, just because you have to work hard to earn the money to pursue these fitness programs.

One might not have to go to the gym or the spa or any fitness center and spend a fortune just to slim down and obtain that longed for beautiful body. There are many books available in the bookshops offering weight loss programs which are convenient and free. However, the books are not though. These weight loss programs, or diet plans are gaining immense popularity because of their publicity, testimonials and reviews and you may be confused as to exactly which one to follow. So before choosing which weight loss plan to follow, try reading the following precis of the most popular diet programs around today.

Atkins’ New Diet Revolution by Dr. Atkins: This weight loss program promotes a high protein diet with a restricted carbohydrate consumption. You can dine heartily on vegetables and meat, but must not eat bread, rice or pasta. You are not restricted with your fat intake so it is OK to pour on the (right) salad dressing and freely spread on the butter. However, during the diet, some people may find themselves lacking fibre and high on fat and cholesterol. Grains and fruits are also strictly restricted.

The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet by Drs. Heller. This diet plan also advocates following a low carbohydrate diet. It recommends eating mostly meats, vegetables and fruit, dairy and grain products. however, advises against consuming too many carbohydrates. So-called “Reward Meals” can be quite high in fats and saturated fats.

Choose to Lose: by Dr. Goor. It recommends restricting your fat intake. You are given a “fat” budget but you are given free reign on how to spend it. It does not force people to watch their carbohydrate intake. Eating meat and poultry as well as low-fat dairy and seafood is no problem. You may also eat vegetables, fruits, cereals, bread and pasta. This weight loss plan is quite healthy, because it recommends healthy amounts of fruits and vegetables as well as saturated fats. Watch your triglyceride levels though. If they are high, trim down on the carbohydrates and eat more unsaturated fats.

The DASH Diet. Advocates moderate amounts of fat and protein but lots of carbohydrates. Primarily designed to lower blood pressure, so the diet plan follows the pyramid food guide and encourages a high intake of whole wheat grains and fruit and vegetables and low-fat dairy. Some dieters think it advises too much eating to produce significant weight loss.

Eat More, Weigh Less: by Dr. Ornish. Primarily vegetarian fare and strictly low-fat. Warns to look out for low-fat dairy and egg whites. This diet plan is low in calcium and limits the consumption of healthy foods like seafood and lean poultry.

Eat Right for Your Type: This diet is really unusual because it bases its recommendations on your blood group. For instance, it advises lots of meat for people with the blood type O. However, diet plans for some blood types are nutritionally unbalanced and too low in calories. Furthermore, just for the record, there is no evidence that blood type can affect dietary needs.

The Pritkin Principle: It is focused on trimming the amount of calories by eating watery foods that make you feel full. Eating vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, pasta, soups, salads and low-fat dairy is OK, although it limits protein sources to lean meat, seafood and poultry. It is healthy because it provides low amounts of saturated fats and large amounts of vegetables and fruits. However, it is low on calcium and limits lean protein sources.

Volumetrics: It recommends eating fewer calories. It advises roughly the same foods as Pritkin but restricts fatty food and dry foods like popcorn, pretzels and crackers. This diet is fairly healthy given the high volume of fruit and vegetables. It is also low in calories and saturated fats.

The Zone: It is fairly low on carbohydrates but fairly high on proteins. It recommends low-fat protein foods like fish and chicken plus vegetables, fruits and grains. It is also a healthy plan but short on grains and calcium.

Weight Watchers: They recommend high carbohydrate meals, yet are moderate on fats and proteins. A fairly healthy diet plan and very flexible too. It permits the dieter to plan his own meals rather than offering recipes, although there are WW TV dinners in the supermarkets.

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