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Top 9 Diet Bloopers: Expert Tips
- Deborah Arneson
There's a good reason diets don't work, says nutritional coach Deborah Arneson, BS, MS, LCN. Most people do them wrong.
Having helped hundreds of clients achieve their goal weight for the first time, she can elaborate on these top 9 diet bloopers:
1. Poor sleep habits. Bedding down after 10 and sleeping too little prohibits nightly adrenal regeneration and adds toxic load in the liver--leading to weight gain and slow metabolism.
2. Not enough calories. Eating less than your body’s minimum daily requirement causes your body to store fat. This feast or famine response kicks in the moment daily calorie intake drops below 1,200.
3. Under hydration. Drinking too little water slows down your metabolism and fat burning. To calculate your daily water allowance: Weight in pounds × .075 = cups of water/day.
4. Exercising less than 25 minutes. To lose fat, the exercise that counts kicks in after 26 minutes at your target heart rate. Less than that only maintains your current weight.
5. Eating too little protein. Too little protein in your daily diet slows down fat processing in the body. To calculate your body’s daily protein requirements: Weight in pounds ÷ 2 = ounces of protein/day.
6. Not enough fiber. 2-4 pieces of fresh fruit and 2-4 cups steamed or raw vegetables daily help the body burn fat, stabilize insulin, and drop pounds.
7. Watching the wrong numbers. Ditch the scale. The important numbers you need to know for fat loss are: body-fat percentage, body-mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and daily calorie allowance. Learn how to find these numbers and use them correctly.
8. Ignoring the clock. An easy way to lose weight is to eat smaller meals, eat soon after rising, and then every 2-3 hours after that. Don't eat after 7 pm.
9. Not budgeting. Once you calculate your daily calorie allowance, budget for 500 calories less than that if you want to lose 1-2 pounds a week. Most dieters are clueless about how many calories they consume in a day.
March
2007
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Arneson offers wellness programs and interactive health seminars for corporations nationwide, does nutritional counseling at her Healing Quest Center
(www.healingquestcenter.com), is producer of Chicago's Health Quest consumer health TV show, and has penned the new book, Fries, Thighs, and Lies: The Girlfriend’s Guide to Getting the Skinny on Fat (Basic Health, $14.95). |
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