Some Do’s and Don’ts

EAT WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY

You should not be walking around hungry. If you are hungry, eat some salad vegetables or arailway tracks protein snack. Good snacks include raw or dry roasted nuts, nut butters, guacamole, and vegetables with healthy dip. If you have trouble feeling full without eating a lot of starch, fill up on salad/vegetables. Your cravings for sweets and starches, which are a type of addiction, should subside within three weeks.

DRINK LOTS OF WATER 

Stick to water or sparkling mineral water. All herbal teas are fine and green tea is particularly beneficial as part of your diet program. Green tea is a powerful antioxidant and also helps with fat burning. You could drink up to 4 cups a day. No soda of any type, even diet soda, and no fruit juice.

DON’T EAT A LOT AT ONE TIME. 

When you are hungry eat a small meal or snack. It’s far better for your metabolism to eat several small meals or snacks throughout the day than three large meals. Listen to your body. Eat only when you are hungry, and not just because it is a certain time. As you get used to the diet program you will find your appetite will regulate itself and you will be satisfied with 3 small meals a day and perhaps a couple of tiny snacks. Don’t overeat to feel full. It is a habit many people have created and they will not be satisfied until that overfull feeling is there.

EAT SLOWLY 

If you bolt down your food, your brain will not have the chance to know that you are no longer hungry, and you will keep eating. If you eat slowly, your brain will get the message that you are filling up, and you will know when it’s time to stop eating.

DON’T EAT FOR AT LEAST THREE HOURS BEFORE BEDTIME 

Your last meal in the evening should be at least twelve hours from your first meal of the morning. This will give your body the time it needs to rest and heal, and you will find that you are sleeping better. Digesting food is hard work. Let your digestive system sleep also. Drinking water, however, is okay.

EXERCISE AFTER THE LAST MEAL OF THE DAY (IF POSSIBLE) 

Do 15-20 minutes of mild resistance exercise or take a short walk (preferably uphill.) This will help burn up sugar, and prime you for a night time of fat burning. This should keep burning fat all night long, and the more fat you burn, the better you get at it. Even broccoli has some sugar and I want you to burn it off as soon as possible. What I don’t want you to do is to eat late, lie down on the sofa and go to sleep. This will force your body to be working hard trying to digest all that food just when it should be winding down for sleep.

And finally……

DON’T GO OFF THE RAILS – AT LEAST FOR THE FIRST THREE WEEKS

It takes about three weeks for your metabolism to retool so that you switch from being a “sugar burner” to a “fat burner.” Once your body and brain have made the switch, you will feel the difference. You will have more energy, better mental focus, and you’ll even be sleeping better! In my experience, I have found that after feeling the difference, and “retooling” the brain’s needs and desires, few people want to go back to their old eating patterns.

NOBODY’S PERFECT It is far better not to go off the rails, but  IF YOU DO SLIP UP…EXERCISE IT OFF. If you do eat a sandwich with two slices of bread, or eat a cookie, go for a brisk 20-30 minute walk or undertake other exercise immediately after eating. If you don’t burn off those starchy calories right away, they will raise your blood sugar, raise your leptin and insulin levels, prevent fat burning, and turn to fat, all of which get you right back to a deranged metabolism.

(c) Maxine Wright:  Advanced Dip Naturopathy – Medical Herbalist – Nutritionalist – Iridologist – Hemaview Tech - Health Coach – Weight Loss counsellor – Massage Therapist – Beauty Therapist – Speaker.  Step Into Health Wellness Centre - facebook - twitter.