Don’t Sabotage Your Weight Loss

Dieting Mistakes

Grazing, snacking, whatever you want to call it, can sabotage any weight loss effort. Contrary to popular belief, eating smaller, more frequent meals to ‘keep blood sugar stable’ is not good advice. According to research, eating more frequently actually appears to promote weight gain.

Overall in the United States, we are surrounded by calorie-laden food all the time. We eat more and more often than we did 20 or 30 years ago. We eat constantly. Calorie-dense, nutrient-poor snacks are everywhere. And, many of our beverages contain enough calories to be meals in themselves.

Calorie intake in the U.S. has been increasing by an average of 28 calories per day per year since 1977, and researchers have found that the major driver of this increase in calorie intake has been an increase in the number of times we typically eat per day.

Snacking for most people is a reaction to ‘toxic hunger,’ Most people snack between meals to stop uncomfortable symptoms of withdrawal from all the unhealthy foods they eat.  The average number of times we snack has increased as our diet has become more toxic, filled with processed foods which produce more cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Unhealthy food does indeed have addictive qualities, producing a cycle which drives you to consume more calories than your body needs. 

Avoid Toxic Hunger

The secret to helping you avoid snacking and the continual feelings of hunger that can induce overconsumption of calories is to eat more high plant foods, especially green vegetables, colorful vegetables, beans, nuts and seeds and fresh fruit.  Make salad the main dish at one of your meals. Eat big salads and lots of tomato, onion, raw and cooked greens and cooked mushrooms.  Avoid refined food, such as commercial baked goods as much as possible and reduce animal products including dairy.

The key factor for weight loss is improving the quality of your diet. Eating more healthy food brings a greater level of satiety, and significantly reduces or eliminates the uncomfortable symptoms of toxic hunger, leading to greater meal satisfaction, reduced calorie intake, and attainment of a healthy weight.

A diet that delivers a broad array of micronutrients via a wide spectrum of healthy foods will be the most satisfying and will help you to avoid the pangs of toxic hunger and the urge to snack. Vegetables and other nutrient-rich produce will fill you up, crowd out unhealthy food choices and flood the body with beneficial antioxidants and immune-supporting phytochemicals.  A Nutritarian diet (rich in nutrients)  creates  a favorable hormonal balance that reduces fat storage and prevents cancer simultaneously.  Go for it.