Losing Weight Naturally and Healthily
By Cydney Henderson
This is basically a modified fasting regimen that allows you to re-adjust your metabolism back to the way it was designed to work. Specifically, it’s called alternate day fasting. Here’s how it works.
On fasting days, you reduce your food intake to 500 calories. This is the day (actually every 2nd day where you do need to count calories a bit.) These calories should be consumed at one meal; ideally lunch or dinner. On NON-fasting days (every 2nd day) you can eat whatever you want, without counting.
It’s simple, but it does an extraordinary thing. You need to consider these mental/emotional perspectives before you begin this regimen and if you are diabetic or hypoglycemic or suffer from adrenal problems, discuss it with your doctor first, please.
Eating one meal on your fast day usually means not eating breakfast. Most of us believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Researching the literature on this, you’ll find that most of the studies done that support this perspective were funded by the cereal companies. Other, independent studies do NOT support the importance of breakfast over other meals.
The toughest time emotionally and mentally with this alternate day fast regimen comes in the first 7 – 10 days. It’s during this time that your body is adjusting and re-setting your metabolism. This is the CRITICAL period of this weight loss regimen. Stop and think critically for a moment, please. Re-read the previous sentence with the word critical in it. Remember that in terms of evolution, we are in a continuous fest mode of eating, because we rarely go without a meal these days. This has caused our bodies to adapt to burning sugar as its primary fuel. This down regulates the enzymes that use and burn stored body fat. Fasting is an excellent way to re-adjust your metabolism so your body will once again burn fat as its primary fuel, which helps you to shed your unwanted body fat stores. The importance of this critical re-adjustment of your metabolism can NOT be over stated. Keep your mental and emotional states strong and high during this period by doing quieter things that you love in your free time. AVOID watching TV, because you wouldn’t believe how many food ads there are. When you’re fasting, you really notice them and you don’t want to focus on food at this critical time. You want to keep reminding yourself that you are re-adjusting your metabolism in a natural, healthy way. So, when you get past that 7 – 10 day critical period, you will have SUCCESSFULLY switched your metabolism from burning sugar which is a fast-burning fuel to burning fat as the primary fuel. Burning body fat is more satisfying to the body (as it’s the evolutionary way our metabolisms developed) and so the body does NOT send you reminder signals called hunger pains so often. Hunger pains tell you to renew your energy levels by eating. You’ll get them a lot LESS often once you switch your metabolism from sugar-burning to fat-burning.
So, think about all of these issues during the critical re-adjustment period and I guarantee you’ll succeed and be on your way to losing weight HEALTHILY and NATURALLY, the way your body and its systems were designed to do. Good health to you!
Please check out my website: http://www.laughwithcydney.net to find many helpful suggestions for building a healthy and happy lifestyle. I am a laughter yoga instructor interested in promoting good health thru the practice of healthy habits, including eating properly, enjoying personal spiritual time, exercising regularly and practicing laughter yoga.
Article Source: Losing Weight Naturally and Healthily
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