Are you one of those people who consider skipping their meals just to lose weight quickly? Trust me, as someone who dreams of having that thin and “perfect” figure, I’ve been there. Other people consider eating once a day, and because they can see the promising results immediately, they tend to just stick with that diet for a long time… Which is actually dangerous.
You see, our bodies are designed to do something; It is intended for activities. If we deprive it of the foods and chemicals that it needs, it may lead to lousiness, crankiness, and even complicate other vital systems’ functions inside our body.
Our bodies have their own healing powers to become well and stay healthy on their own- if only we provide sufficient amounts of nutrients inside them.
According to the book entitled “Fit For Life,” it is not enough to determine levels of nutrients based on chemical data and assume that we are nourished by eating something that contains these chemicals. The most important fact is that foods must be digested to be used.
The body must break down the food you eat to digest the nutrients it possesses, allowing our bodies to be nourished by it. Foods that are incompletely digested give your diet more problems since it is much more challenging to eliminate; thus, weight gain and toxicity are inevitable.
Effective Alternatives for Crash Diet
It is not healthy that we deprive ourselves of the nutrients it needs, for it is not what is on our plate that counts; it’s what we can get and use from the foods that matter. What’s the use of eating three eggs a day for a week if our body deteriorates in the long run, right?
That is why we have to be more responsible in treating ourselves when we want to lose weight. Instead of crash-dieting (which can be really harmful to your body, especially to your heart), here are two of the many alternative diets to lose weight.
1. Food Combining
This food-combining technique is not really a new weight-loss trend; it aims to balance the body through diet. Instead of adjusting or modifying the amount of food we consume, it focuses more on how these foods are eaten to get the results we want. It allows the body to break down the foods consumed and absorb it by the body.
It works when you mix and match specific foods but never combine or eat protein and carbohydrates together. It is also recommended that when you eat sweet fruits, you should eat them on an empty stomach. Drink lots of water, but not when you eat.
Here are some of the foods that you can eat when you follow this diet:
• Proteins (Just don’t eat proteins together with carbohydrates or starches.)
• Grains or Starchy Vegetables
• Fruits (As much as possible, avoid eating sweet fruits. But if you want to, eat them on an empty stomach.)
• Alcohol (Some alcohol can be consumed when on a food-combining diet)
• Sugar (However, avoid refined sugar or products that have refined sugar in it)
• Neutral Foods (Cream, Dark Chocolate, Almond Milks, lemons, butter, oil, and many more are considered ‘neutral’ foods)
Followers of this Diet believe that when you eat the wrong foods together, digestion is impaired, which means all the undigested foods will be left in your stomach and rot or ferments. This state is believed to cause illness or weight gain.
2. Intermittent Fasting
I know that you are very well familiar with this type of diet. If you did crash-dieting beforehand, then I think you’ll not have difficulty adjusting to this kind of diet. Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating (Gunnars, 2020). During the fasting periods, you eat either very little or nothing at all. Standard intermittent fasting methods usually involve daily 16-hour fasting or fasting for 24 hours, twice per week.
Here are some of the most popular intermittent fasting methods:
• 16/8 Method or Lean gains Protocol – The most common wherein you eat all of your food or consume your daily calorie within 8 hours and fast for the other 16 hours.
• The 5:2 Diet – Pretty basic! You eat a normal/ average amount of foods for five days and reduce your calorie intake to a quarter of your daily needs for the next two days. (About 500 calories for women and 600 for men)
• The Eat-Stop-Eat Method – You fast for 24 hours once or twice a week.
Remember: Every method has its own pros and cons, so as someone who is currently on their journey towards fitness, research more on what suits your body. Be responsible for every food you take and consume, exercise regularly, and never think of retreating. You made it this far; you can do it!
