The phrase lose weight by dieting can be very misleading and here is why.
Before we can start talking about diets and diet plans, you must first
understand what a diet REALLY is and what it REALLY means.
People tend to use the phrase "I'm on a diet"
when they want to tell people that they are trying to lose weight. A diet
IS NOT weight loss. Diets are just simply what you eat on a regular basis.
You could eat McDonald's cheeseburgers covered in ice cream 4 times a day,
and you'd still be "on a diet." While eating like this would certainly be
the worst of all diet plans, you get my point.
Another example is if someone said, "that a monkey's diet consists of
bananas," would that mean the monkey has a weight problem? No, it would
just mean that the monkey eats bananas on a regular basis. Saying you're
on a diet really just means you eat food. That's why I think it's funny
when people state that they're "on a diet" and expect it to mean something
it doesn't. "You're on a diet? Wow... congratulations... so is EVERY OTHER
LIVING THING ON THE PLANET!!" These people should be saying that out of
the many different diets and plans that exist, they're "on a weight loss
diet." Lets hope these people are reading this right now, and hopefully
they have learned their lesson.
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Calories And Maintenance Levels
So if you say you want to lose weight by dieting you are actually on a
weight loss diet. Now that you fully understand what diets are, let's
break down what all diet plans consist of. Above all things, there are
calories. All diets are made up of calories. Everything you eat and drink
(besides obvious calorie-free things like water and celery, etc.) has
calories in it. It's how many calories and exactly where those calories
are coming from that effect your body and your weight.
When talking about weight and calories and how the human body works it is
pretty simple. There is a certain number of calories that your body
requires every day in order for it to maintain its current weight. I like
to call this your "Maintenance Level" because, well, that's what it's
actually called. If your diet plan is made up of less calories than this
maintenance level, you will lose weight. If it's made up of more calories,
you will gain weight. It's all really simple, actually.
After reading that last paragraph you should feel good about yourself.
Why? Because right now you already know more about diets and nutrition
than at least 80% of the population. Most people are clueless about the
subject of "diet plans" and how to actually control their body and weight
when trying to lose weight by dieting.
Now that you know that diets are made up of calories, you should be
wondering what exactly calories are made up of. Basically, calories are
made up of 3 things. Protein, carbs, and fat. Yeah yeah, I know. High
protein diet!! Low carb diet!! Low fat diet!! Healthy fat!! Fat free!!
Good carbs!! Bad carbs!! Those are probably the assortment of confusing
things that enter your mind as soon as you hear the words protein, carbs
and fat. It's ok though, relax. In a few minutes none of it will be
confusing ever again. Let's take them one at a time.
Carbs
Also known as carbohydrates for the people who don't mind typing 8 extra
letters) is another of the three main elements that make up calories. I
have a feeling that of the three, carbs are the most confusing for people
creating diet plans. I think the reason for that is because everything you
enjoy eating has carbs in it. Everything you don't enjoy eating has carbs
in it. Carbs are in almost everything and therefore seem to be the hardest
for people to manipulate within a diet plan. Just like protein, 1 gram of
carbs is equal to 4 calories. So, if you were eating something that had 20
grams of protein and 10 grams of carbs, you just ate at least 120 calories
(20x4=80, 10x4=40, 80+40=120calories).
Fat
Fat is different than protein and carbs which are both 4 calories per
gram, 1 gram of fat is equal to 9 calories. So if you eat something that
has 10 grams of fat in it, you just ate at least 90 calories. This
explains why high protein foods are usually low in calories, while foods
high in fat are high in calories. This is also probably the reason why
there are so many fat free foods and why people on diets think fat makes
them fat. Guess what... it doesn't. That is a myth.
Actually fat does not make you fat. Eating too many calories makes you
fat. It just so happens that a gram of fat has more calories in it than a
gram of protein or carbs. However, the only thing that makes a person gain
fat is when that person is eating more calories than their maintenance
level, and then not burning them off through working out. Whether these
excess calories in your diet plan are coming from protein, carbs or fat
makes little difference.
Often, some people on
specific weight loss diet plans who are trying to lose weight by dieting
just try to eat less fat (or even fat free) and think that alone will
work. What they don't realize is that they are probably replacing those
fat calories with calories from protein or carbs. Yes their fat intake has
become lower, but their calorie intake evens back out to what it was, if
not more. And, since you now know that it is too much calories, NOT fat,
that causes fat gain, the person's weight usually won't decrease.
Protein
When talking about protein it is an extremely important part of all diet
plans. That's why you have most likely never heard of any low protein
diets, and also why you probably HAVE heard of protein supplements. That's
because your body needs protein, and lots of it. It is the building block
of muscle. Protein is measured by the gram. 1 gram of protein is equal to
4 calories. So, if you are eating something that has 20 grams of protein
in it, that means that whatever you are eating is at least 80 calories. In
case you failed 2nd grade math, that was 20 grams of protein multiplied by
4 calories per gram... 20 x 4 = 80
Now that you know about carbs, protein and fat, you can start making wiser
shopping decisions in the grocery story, and you will be well on your way
to a healthier, happier you!
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