I love getting questions from my readers and clients and believe me, people trying to lose weight often have a ton of questions.
To be brutally honest, if they stopped talking and asking… and instead focused more on moving more and eating healthier, most of them would see more results.
However, that being said, this article will answer some of the most common questions just so that you’re better informed and don’t make too many mistakes.
Do note though… You can't plan, think or reason the fat away. Only exercise and a healthy diet will do that.
Only do what truly matters.
1. Will eating slowly help me lose weight?
No. You could eat slowly but eat a lot and all the wrong foods. You may have read that eating slowly will result in you feeling full before you have completed your meal. So, you will end up eating less.
This is often not true since many people are mentally conditioned to finish whatever is put on their plate.
So, they’ll carry on eating despite feeling satiated. So, they’ve not eaten less but just wasted more time. It's really about what you eat.
2. How do I stop my food cravings?
We must be honest with ourselves here. We’ve made unhealthy eating a habit. Food cravings are a symptom of a bad habit. The cravings will take time to go away.
Have a well-balanced diet so that your body gets all the nutrients it needs.
When you have bad cravings for something sweet, eat some fruit.
If you really must eat chocolate, get dark chocolate that’s healthier. Here's what I eat when I have a chocolate craving: Fat Burning Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.
Slowly but surely form new healthy habits. Don’t try and cut all your favorite foods off at one shot.
Slowly reduce consumption of them and little by little you will wean yourself off these foods. It's about creating new healthier choices not about restricting yourself.
3. Is it safe to restrict my carb intake?
A healthy diet does not restrict carb intake. You should be more concerned about where you are getting your carbs from.
Is it from healthy sources like oatmeal, vegetables, etc.? Or are you eating white bread, junk food, etc.?
What really matters is the carb source. However, when you are trying to lose weight, ideally you should restrict your carbs so that you can lose the excess fat.
Once you have reached your ideal weight, slowly you can increase your carbs till you find the sweet spot where the carbs won’t lead to weight gain.
4. I’ve reduced my calories but I’m not losing weight… Why?
Most probably you have reduced your calories too drastically. If you were going to count calories, you'd aim for only a 500 calorie deficit.
I don't count calories and here is why:
It is more valuable to think of your food in terms of proteins, fats and carbs in counting what really matters.
If you eat a low calorie diet of all fat and carbs this will not give your body the building blocks it need to create lean muscle and burn fat.
Low calorie and healthy are not synonymous so stay away from counting calories and instead count grams of protein, carbs and fats.
5. Will eating at night make me fat?
No. It really does not matter when you eat as long as WHAT you eat is healthy. I have a late night snack almost every night but it's usually a really tasty protein smoothie or some Greek yogurt with berries and honey.
These 5 questions are some of the most common ones.
Now you know the answers to these questions and you know that what really matters is you taking action.
Put on the workout attire and go sweat. When you’re done, eat right. That’s really all you need to do.
Yours in Health,
Danette
P.S. If you like this article please share it with your friends and as always, I welcome your comments below.
