When most people want to lose weight the first thing they usually do is start a diet. And a diet to most people means "stop eating". Wrong! A healthy diet should consist of eating less of the foods that contain calories from simple carbohydrates (sugar and processed flour) and more whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and good sources of protein. This is the basis of a good low carb diet plan. As a matter of fact, a good diet should have you eating more instead of less! Not more food, but more often. The body's a wonderful mechanism. It's geared towards one important goal. Survival. When your body feels threatened by the lack of food it automatically assumes that you're starving. To combat this condition the body will start breaking down muscle to use as energy and saves its fat stores for the last ditch effort to save itself from what it thinks is immanent death. This is bad on two fronts. First, by using muscle tissue for energy you're losing precious lean mass which is metabolically active. This means that you need energy to support muscle which helps to keep your metabolism running at a higher pace. Higher metabolism means more calories burned even in a resting state. Fat, on the other hand, doesn't need any energy to support it. It's simply "dead" weight. Secondly, the body will start storing more fat because it's preparing itself for the worst. Your survival is your body's most important concern so it'll do whatever it can to stay alive. So what can you do if you want to eat less without starving yourself and sending your body into this defense mode? Eat smaller meals more often throughout the day. This works on two levels. By eating more often you won't get hungry as quickly and your metabolism will stay raised because you'll be digesting food more often. Digesting food uses calories just like any other physical activity. So here's the plan. Eat four or five meals a day. Not what most would consider a meal (main course with two sides and dessert!), but a small portion of protein along with some fresh fruits and veggies. This can be accomplished with a little planning and preparing in your spare time. Cook your weeks worth of meals - skinless chicken's an excellent source of protein and can usually be purchased in a big pack or value pack from your local grocery store - and refrigerate it in separate packages, one for each meal. Egg whites are a very good source of protein too. By mixing three or four whites with one yolk and tossing it into the microwave for approximately 90 seconds, whipping it and tossing it back in for another 60 seconds, you can have some nice fluffy scrambled eggs practically anywhere. Without all the cholesterol! Buy your produce and clean it, separating it too into meal size portions. All this can be done in a few hours on the weekend. Buying some disposable storage containers can help keep things convenient and organized. Try to eat every three hours or so to keep your metabolism and energy up. This'll help you stay away from those snacking binges too. Also, drink lots of water. Water will help to cleanse your body and make you feel full. So you see, with a little planning and by adhering to a low carb diet plan sometimes eating more can be better!
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