18. 03.
If you are currently trying to lose weight or if you have ever gone on a diet then you will definitely be able to relate to what you’re about to read.
Think about a typical day on a diet. You start off your day strong — usually. You wake up in the morning ready to finally get your weight loss plan going. You are raring to go and you probably eat a healthy low-calorie breakfast. You may even go get some exercise.
Everything seems to be going right and you’re feeling very hopeful that this time your diet will work and you will lose the weight you want to lose.
Then what happens?
Did you know that most diets tend to break down or fall apart in the middle to late afternoon? Is that what usually happens to you?
There have been scientific studies conducted on brain waves that show that often around 3 to 4 PM your body enters a time that researchers have called the “breaking point.” This is a time when your brain waves slow down and your body transitions into a place where it wants to be in a recuperating phase of rest or sleep. This causes your body to experience one of your lowest energy points of your waking hours.
During this phase you may feel less alert, very fatigued, and possibly like you need a nap. You know, that feeling of sluggishness near the end of your workday where it gets more hard to think clearly and focus to get your work done.
This low energy time of day is the exact time that a huge percentage of dieters fall off the diet wagon and they reach for food to try to regain energy to get themselves through the rest of their day. Unfortunately these quite often empty calories (usually found in the vending machine) don’t even give you energy — eating simply occupies your brain with action and falsely helps you feel like you have more energy. Or you may get more energy for a brief moment and then drop down into even deeper sluggishness.
A better plan (and one that would help you stick with your new healthy diet) is to be very aware that these slower phases occur in your body and brain every day — then make a plan to give yourself what you REALLY need — rather than empty calories — when those sluggish times of low energy hit you.
So what do you really need? Your body really needs a break if at all possible. Grab a quick 20 minute nap or “rest break” if your schedule and environment allow it. You will feel a lot better if you can give your body to rest it wants. That short rest will rejuvenate you for the remainder of the day.
If you can’t take a quick nap, then at least take a small break. Even a five-minute break with a change of pace — away from your desk if possible — where you do some light stretching, take a short walk, grab some fresh air outside and reconnect to your body, your mind, and YOU.
Avoid using food to push yourself through your day. Listen to your body and give it food only when it is hungry and give your body rest when it needs rest. Get in touch with what you REALLY need and you will reach your health and weight loss goals.
Tags: dieters, diets, empty calories, energy points, healthy diet, low energy, sluggishness, weight loss plan
March 19th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
When you decide to change your diet there are a few things to consider before you begin.
Observe your body and your mind
What are you feeling physically? You know your body better than anyone else. What is going on with it right now? Is your current diet fueling you? Is it giving you energy throughout your day? Or are you feeding yourself poorly and expecting your body to pull you through anyway?
And how are you doing mentally? Are you feeling like you can conquer the world? Or are you suffering mild depression or lack of excitement about your life?
Before you make a change in your diet, take stock of where you are now, jot down your current state of mind and health so you know your starting point. Then write down what you would like to be feeling both mentally and physically.
How do you want your body to look? How do you want your body to feel? Do you want to wake up more excited about each new day? What do you want to have accomplished in the next 30 days? Three months? Six months? A year from now? Write out what it would feel like to reach the goals that you are working toward.
Avoid a binge the day or night (or week!) before you change your diet.
You set your body up for disaster by overeating junk foods before starting a new healthier diet. Unfortunately this is probably one of the most common moves that many people make. If you have ever gone on a diet or know someone who has, you have probably heard or experienced the “last supper” where huge amounts of food are binged on (and not usually even enjoyed) in an effort to eat as many forbidden foods as possible before they are taken off the menu.
Drink a lot
Not alcohol, but water! Hydrate your body with lots of water continuously. This is good advice for every day of your life, not just when you’re making a change in your diet. You can never hurt yourself by getting a lot of water each day. Keep a glass of water near you at all times and sip it throughout your day.
Avoid eating late at night
You may not know this, but sumo wrestlers use the method of eating a lot of calories and then going right to sleep (either napping or sleeping at night) as a technique for putting the pounds on fast. So don’t do what sumo wrestlers do. Don’t eat late at night and then go to sleep. If you eat a lot of calories late at night you won’t have time to burn off the calories you have eaten before you go to sleep and as an added bummer you will wake up in the morning feeling groggy, not rested, because your digestive system has had to work hard all night to deal with all the food you munched on the night before.
These are just a few health tips to consider when making a change in your diet. It is good to move toward a healthier diet — just keep these tips in mind for a smoother transition and better results.