What does the word Diet conjure up in your mind? To me it implies deprivation, hunger, unpleasantness and, most of all, a temporary situation.

I really dislike the word diet. Who isn’t familiar with the concept of going on a diet? But surely, if you go on a diet, at some stage you will come off the diet? Because dieting is, at best, a temporary state.

To lose excess weight and keep it off you have to form a lifestyle that you can follow most of the time for the rest of your life. For some people this might entail making quite a few changes initially and it might be quite challenging, for others it may mean just having to tweak a few things. Some people make lots of changes quickly, for others it is a more gradual transition.

It really doesn’t matter how long it takes, as long as you are moving in the right direction.

Some people will start and stop, with a few hiccups along the way, others will be totally focused and hardly put a foot wrong. Your progress is your progress; the main thing is to keep going and to not give up at the first hurdle. There will always be challenges and you will do things you wish you hadn’t, but you can’t change what has happened so just move on and make the next meal (or day) a better one. Attitude is everything.

Low Carb, High Fat Lifestyle

When talking about forming the right kind of lifestyle, if you didn’t read my newsletter last month you may like to read my blog on the low carb, high fat lifestyle where I explain how lowering the carbohydrates in your diet and increasing dietary fat works really well for fat loss and also to kill hunger.

Clients who have started following the low carb, high fat lifestyle have reported back the following benefits:

• Weight loss
• Better sleep
• They feel calmer
• Less PMS and night sweats
• Less inflammation (joints, etc)
• Rarely hungry

One of the best resources for living the low carb, high fat lifestyle is www.dietdoctor.com. There is so much information on the website from best foods to eat, recipes and a whole lot more.  I'd highly recommend you have a read if you are interested in finding out more about LCHF.
 
A high carbohydrate diet (remember all carbs break down to sugar) can lead to storing excess fat in the liver and an Otago University researcher reported recently that around ¼ of New Zealand adults have a fatty liver without knowing it.

You don’t have to drink excess alcohol to have a fatty liver. The fat around your organs (inside your abdominal cavity) is called visceral fat. The best indicator of visceral fat is waist circumference. Your waist measurement should be no more than half your height. For instance if you are 168cm tall, then your ideal waist measurement would be no more than 84cm. Go on, get your tape measure out and do a check!

The fat around your mid-section is the most dangerous fat to carry. It produces inflammatory chemicals and is also a source of estrogen.

Need help to reduce excess fat or start developing healthier habits, please get in touch. I am here to help.