Curejoy talked to Emma Olliff, a Certified Naturopathic Nutritionist , about some of the most common weight loss & diet questions and how to get started with a right weight loss plan.
1. I want to lose weight but have no idea where to start. What should I do?
If you’ve decided that you need to lose weight – be it for aesthetic or health reasons – it’s often difficult to know where to begin. There are so many different techniques, methods and diets to try that it’s almost impossible to make an informed decision. Luckily, weight loss usually comes down to a couple of important rules and these are where you should start:
- Choose a healthy diet plan, one that can be maintained and still provide the right level of nutrients over the long term.
- If you want to lose weight you have to exercise. If you have any medical condition that may be affected by a change in diet and or and increase in physical exertion, you should check with your doctor before beginning a program to lose weight.
In very basic terms it is imperative that you consume less calories than you expend in order to lose weight.
2. Which commercial diet books, programs, or plans really work?
Here are my top 3 diets that work (honestly). Read my full article here: 3 Most Popular Diets That Actually Work
MEDITERRANEAN
The Mediterranean diet has become popular because it may reduce the risk of heart disease, MayoClinic.com notes. Practiced by people living along the Mediterranean Sea, the diet has a foundation of low-fat foods to encourage healthy weight loss. Dieters focus on fruit, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices during each meal. Olive oil often replaces other oils or butter in preparing foods. The diet includes eating fish at least twice a week, poultry in moderate portions and meats or sweets less often.
CLEAN AND LEAN DIET
Eating Clean & Lean is not a quick fix. This diet will enable you steadily shift excess fat and you will get to enjoy your food. You will need to limit your sugar intake, but this is not a no-carb/no-fat plan. If you love starches, you can still have them, However you will need to swap your white toast for sourdough or rye bread instead and exchange your white pasta for spelt or quinoa. You need to get rid of sweets, wheat, processed foods, alcohol (except for vodka, which is the least calorific form of alcohol), and include lean meats, fish, green veg, nuts, berries, avocados, olive oil, sweet potatoes, oatcakes, green tea.
Finally once a week you are encouraged to have a ‘cheat’ meal – this will help you lose weight (seriously). Healthy eating will keep your metabolism steady; eating differently will force your body to work harder to burn the extra calories.
However if you do it too often you will store fat, so it is important to be disciplined.
FAST 2-DAY (5:2 Diet)
This is not a diet, it’s a (relatively) new way of eating for life. This plan involves restricting your calorie intake (500 for women and 600 for men) for two non-consecutive days a week and eating a healthy diet on the other five days. The Fast 2-Day promotes weight loss and also has several beneficial effects on health: including increasing lifespan, improving cognitive decline, and reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer (however, up until now, these benefits have only been seen in animal studies). It is easier to stick to than conventional diets because you only need to follow it 2 days per week. It will not provide you with a quick fix, weight loss will be slow and steady. WARNING: No foods are forbidden, however it is not an eat as much as you like 5 days of the week!
