by possum21 on Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:56 am
The big problem when trying to lose weight is that we tend to think that if we eat less then that will fix the problem and often that can make the problem worse. Eating infrequently, especially large meals with large time gaps between those meals kicks in the bodies famine response where it tries to store fat because there will be a long period before the next meal.
Professional bodybuilders have an indepth understanding of metabolism and they use that knowledge to achieve exceptionally low bodyfat levels for competitions. There are a couple of good books that detail the methods they use which are based around eating smaller meals every 3 hours. By eating smaller meals at regular intervals the body has no need to store fat because it is getting a regular supply. Smaller meals also have a less drastic effect on blood sugar levels and actually increase metabolism and that is why bodybuilders achieve there amazingly low bodyfat levels.
Another problem is eating the low-fat foods because they are often high in simple carbohydrates and so have high GI levels which spike blood sugar. Lowering saturated fat intake is best but include poly and mono unsaturates. Fish oil and flax seed oils are good and can be purchased in capsule form.
When it comes to the exercise component for anyone who is considerably overweight it is best to start with walking for say 20-30 minutes but make it regular such as every day. Once you have improved your general fitness enough then you can achieve the most significant results for losing bodyfat by starting some form of weight training. Weight training is superior to aerobic training because when you tone and build muscle then those muscles then burn calories even when you are asleep and therefore help to raise your metabolism whereas aerobic exercise only burns the calories when you are actually doing the exercise.
Hope this helps
Col