We all know what to do to lose weight: eat less. It’s so simple that many of us refuse to believe it. We need something more complicated, some sort of scientific scheme or strategy to melt the fat away. Or maybe we just need an ordered regimen that helps us keep tabs on what we eat.
The following diets are fairly straightforward, easy to use and don’t require any dubious miracle drugs, fasts or cult memberships. Even better, they don’t ask you to completely give up your favorites, like sweets, breads, fried chicken or bacon. Well, maybe bacon. But as diets go, these are fairly painless. Give them a chance; they might be just what you’re looking for. But remember: Any diet plan is a short-term solution. If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you’ll need to change your eating habits for good and exercise regularly.
The Volumetrics Eating Plan
This diet is all about good substitutions. Craving a candy bar? Reach for a banana instead. Replace those chips and dip with some raw veggies and low-fat dressing. According to Dr. Barbara Rolls, the author of the plan, the great thing about these substitutions is that they make you feel full without packing on the pounds. You can eat more of them without getting pudgy. It’s so ridiculously logical that it’ll probably work.
You get to eat: More. That’s right: You get to eat more. But you’ll have to replace high-fat, high-calorie foods like butter, mayo, cheese, and pudding with low-calorie, high-volume stuff like fruits and vegetables. Not that tough, right?
The Rainbow Diet
Colorful foods are good for you. That is, naturally colorful foods; a few pounds of Skittles will not do your body good. The Rainbow Diet is based on this simple inference, gleaned from a few million years of eating. Those who eat a “rainbow” of foods typically lead healthier lives. Richly colored fruits and veggies are chock-full of vitamins and nutrients that help you build and sustain a healthy body. The authors of the Rainbow Diet have gone to the trouble of finding out which colors correspond to which nutrients. The bottom line: Stay healthy and slim by eating a variety of brightly colored raw fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. Don’t eat too much overall and watch your fat intake.
You get to eat: Whole-grain breads, cheeses, dips -- you name it. Just cut back on high-calorie, high-fat foods and be sure you get a good dose of colorful fruits and veggies every day.
The DASH Diet
The DASH diet was developed to combat high blood pressure, but it can make anyone healthy and trim. This eating plan avoids salty and high-fat foods, and pretty much anything that’s bad for you. It asks you to increase your fruit and vegetable intake, and get a little exercise. It’s not the simplest plan -- there are meal planners and charts for counting calories -- but it’s very effective.
You get to eat: Plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Stop whining; they’re good for you. Of course, you’ll also get to eat the occasional slice of chocolate cake or bowl of ice cream. Just not every night.
The G.I. Diet
No, it’s not what GIs eat during basic training; G.I. stands for “Glycemic Index.” It’s based around the idea that different foods take different amounts of time to break down into glucose (or sugar), after you eat them. High G.I. foods act like a boost of alcohol fuel in a dragster: They burn up quickly and leave your tank empty. Conversely, low G.I. foods burn slowly and give you high mileage. If you eat them, you won’t need to fill up as often.
The diet was created by Dr. David Jenkins, a professor of nutrition at the University of Toronto. According to him, high G.I. foods include breads and other refined foods. Low G.I. foods include fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, whole grains, and lean meats. In short, the G.I. Diet is based on what nutritionists have been saying for years: Eat more fruits and vegetables, and cut back on breads and fat.
You get to eat: The G.I. Diet drastically cuts back your intake of processed foods like cookies, white bread, sugary cereal, and most other tasty miracles of modern food science. You can, however, splurge every so often and have a piece of all-natural sweet French bread with some butter. The G.I. Diet is pretty strict when it comes to traditional “goodies,” but it does leave you feeling full and satiated, so you won’t crave Ben & Jerry’s, Oreos or American cheese.
simple weight-loss solutions
These diets are probably the best out there. They’ll help you lose weight, stay healthy and achieve optimal nutrition. But again, they are only temporary fixes. Unless, that is, you stay on them forever. A lifelong diet that is high in fruits and veggies, and low in fatty meats, fats and refined breads will keep the pounds off almost indefinitely. Use these diets to knock the pounds off, but also use them as a guide to overall healthier eating.
1. Drinking alcohol on an empty stomach
A bottle of Anchor Steam harbors about 150 calories. Even a watery bottle of Bud Light contains 110 calories. Just a few drinks can account for a quarter of your recommended daily calorie intake. Beer -- and alcohol in general -- is packed with calories, and if you consume it on an empty stomach it will go straight into your blood stream and get stored as fat. Added to that, it will make you overeat by increasing your insulin levels, which causes the levels to plummet even lower, making you crave food you probably don’t need.
How? Your body sees alcohol as a poison and tries to clear it from your body as quickly as possible, interrupting your normal glucose production. Low blood glucose makes you hungry, which makes you eat more. Have a few drinks on an empty stomach and you’ll be gobbling up everything in sight in an attempt to get your glucose levels up. But it won’t work until the alcohol is out of your system.
Bad eating habit solution: Eat before you drink.
Have a bite to eat before you take a sip of beer or booze. Food in your stomach will keep alcohol from being absorbed too quickly. If you don’t have time to eat anything, drink a glass of milk. The protein in it may slow the absorption of booze by as much as three times. That means your glucose production won’t be affected as much and you won’t get as hungry. You’ll eat and probably drink less, and, therefore, consume fewer calories.
2. Eating a heavy meal before bed
A nice big meal -- or even a satisfying snack -- will put you right to sleep. It’ll also go straight to your gut. While proof that eating before bed directly causes weight gain is debatable, if you eat a large meal that is high in carbohydrates before your body goes to rest, chances are that your body will not burn them all for fuel. Also, unless you haven’t met your daily caloric requirements, eating a large meal before bed can add unnecessary calories to your diet. When you sleep, your body goes into “repair and store” mode, so if you are not active enough throughout the day, your body may turn the food into fat.
Bad eating habit solution: Eat veggies and lean protein before bed.
Late-night hunger could be your body’s way of telling you that you are tired and you need sleep -- not food. Make sure you eat enough veggies and lean proteins during dinner. High-fiber veggies and lean proteins will make you feel full and they’re low in calories. Pack them in and you’ll feel full for hours.
If you didn’t stuff yourself with veggies at supper, and you didn't consume your daily caloric allowance, go ahead and have a snack that is high in protein, as this macro nutrient helps your body repair itself. Choose lean proteins, such as chicken breast or cottage cheese, as they have far fewer calories than fatty meats and cheeses. Lean proteins and vegetables are less likely to be stored as fat because your body will use the nutrients in them to nourish itself.
3. Drinking fruit juice
When you were a kid, mom was always telling you to drink your juice. It’s good for you, right? True, pure fruit juice has lots of vitamins, but it also has a lot of sugar, usually more sugar than the fruit it came from. And sugar energy, when it’s not used immediately in the body, is stored as fat. Drink a few glasses of fruit juice and you’ll accrue calories like a snowball collects snow when it rolls down hill.
Bad eating habit solution: Eat the whole fruit.
Eat the whole fruit instead. Fruit is filling and has less sugar than fruit juice. Plus, it contains more vitamins and nutrients than pure juice. It also contains fiber that will fill you up and cause the sugar to slowly enter your blood stream, which means that your body will be less likely to store it as fat. The next time you’re craving a glass of Tropicana, grab an orange instead.
4. Compulsive snacking
You compulsively snack on chips, wasabi rice crackers and Cheetos while you work. The habit might help you burn through projects, but it also helps your body store fat. Plus, most snacks are super salty and won’t help your hypertension. Any way you look at it, snacking all day long is bad for you.
Bad eating habit solution: Manage your snacking.
Don’t bring the whole bag to your desk. Instead, take a small amount of your snack and put the rest away. Or, simply buy single-sized bags so you don’t consume a big bag by eating mindlessly. Another tip is to keep track of your snacking. Every time you reach for the bag, mark it down or make a strong, mental note of it. This will help you realize exactly how much you eat during the day. It can be sobering and may provide the motivation you need to drastically cut back on snacks. It may also help to break your three big meals into five smaller ones, which will keep your metabolism revved and will help you feel full throughout the day and could help you kick snacking altogether.
time to break free
Bad habits are hard to break, especially when they involve food. A few simple substitutions, however, can turn your bad habits into good ones. Over time, your diet will become lighter, healthier, more nutritious, and you'll feel and look your best. So kick those habits; it’ll be good for you.
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