The Best Weight Loss Program

Trying to find the best weight loss program can be quite difficult.  They all claim to be the most effective or promise the fastest results.  It can be very confusing having so many to choose from.  How do you know which one is the best? 

For one thing, you should remember that all weight loss diets will be effective initially.  But your main concern should be whether or not it is something you would be able to stick with long term.  There is nothing worse than working hard to get the weight off only to find that you really can’t maintain the lifestyle.  

In fact, one of the main reasons people fail at long term weight loss is because they followed a diet that really was only a quick fix.  This is why so many people are stuck in a never ending yo-yo diet situation.  Take myself as an example. I’ve been struggling for 17 years before I find a lifestyle that suits me – intermittent fasting.  

One very popular way to lose weight is with juice or soup fasting.  While this type of fasting is highly successful at producing weight loss, it cannot be sustained for long periods of time. Who can survive on lemons and cayenne pepper for the rest of their life? 

However, intermittent fasting, or IF, can be followed as long as you desire. It is not a diet, it is an eating style that is quickly gaining recognition among health gurus and fitness buffs alike. The beauty of intermittent fasting is that you can make your fast fit into your schedule rather than becoming a slave to it.  

All fasting is NOT the same, just like all styles of Eating are not the same. 

As fasting is concerned, there could be confusions.  According to Brad Pilon, author of Eat Stop Eat, these are his definitions, but they have served him (as well as his followers like me) extremely well over the years… 

Long-term fasting: Abstinence from food or calorie intake for a period over 72 hours.

Short-term fasting: Abstinence from food or calorie intake for a period of 72 hours or under.

Intermittent Fasting as one kind of short-term fasting could be confusing too. 

Intermittent – Occurring occasionally – but how often?  Obviously you won’t count 3 hours without food as a fast although 3 hours is less than 72 hours.

If I tell you intermittent fasting is the best weight loss program and you want to start practicing it, there are couple of issues you want to clarify – abstinence from food for how long and how often?

The book Eat Stop Eat suggests an intermittent fasting style program that teaches you how to easily incorporate regular fasts into your life – you only need to fast once or twice per week to see results. It is firmly backed by science and is not a gimmick. It is a real program that gives excellent results when followed.  

If you are the type of person who skips breakfast or lunch a few times a week, this may be perfect eating style for you. Even if you aren’t a frequent meal-skipper, you may still enjoy the flexibility intermittent fasting has to offer. Either way, Eat Stop Eat has something to fit anyone’s needs. 

NOTE:  I’m one among thousands of live examples who can proof that intermittent fasting is the best weight loss program.  Take a look at Eat Stop Eat and see if it is a right fit for you.

 

Intermittent Fasting Success - Eat Stop Eat - Best Weight Loss Program

Why You Don’t Need to Eat 5 Meals a Day to Lose Weight

Why You Don’t Need to Eat 5 Meals a Day to Lose Weight

Ask any trainer, nutritionist or doctor and he or she will tell you that you that if you are trying to lose weight then you should be eating 5 meals a day.  The reasoning behind this idea seems to be that eating more frequently will increase thermogenesis.  Thermogenesis is the production of heat by your body in order to perform the work of digestion. When your body is in a thermogenic state, it burns fat.  

There are many people who will tell you that eating frequent meals worked for them.  While this may be true for a number of reasons, it does not mean that if you eat less frequently you will lose weight more slowly or damage your metabolism.  

There are some benefits to eating 5 meals a day. Eating frequently can help reduce the chances of binge eating because your blood sugar will remain stable and you won’t get to hungry in between meals.  It may also help you manage cravings and hunger pangs.  Since you can continuously eat all day long, you won’t feel deprived.  

For some people though, eating all day long can make hunger pangs worse. It can also be difficult to carry around snacks or meals with you everywhere, making it difficult to stick with the diet and increasing the likelihood that you will become discouraged and quit altogether.  

Where is the Proof?

 

Studies have shown that meal frequency does not affect the amount of energy expended by your body (1)(2). In other words, your body will work no harder when digesting 5 meals than it does digesting 3 meals. The results are the same as long as there is an overall reduction of calories.   

Many people have found that the easiest way to lose weight is with Eat Stop Eat, an intermittent fasting style program. Intermittent fasting is quickly gaining popularity in the fitness world because its flexibility and simplicity.  It is not a gimmick. Countless people have not only successfully lost weight, but have managed to keep it off long term.  

So if you have been struggling to eat 5 meals a day because you think that’s the only way you are going to get the fat off, you can relax. As long as you can keep your calories restricted and stick with it, the weight will come off.  Science says so.  Anna also says so.

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Anna is the author of this blog.  She manages weight loss through intermittent fasting after 17 years of struggling with overweight, bloating and various kinds of digestive problems.

Intermittent Fasting Success