Are you obsessed with your dietary intake or always on a diet, watching your weight in expectation to get slim? Or, are you a diet fanatic? Fanaticism in any form is not a good idea, same is applicable to dieting. Diet is just a manifestation of the food and healthy tricks and should be avoided. If you are one of those ladies who think cutting calories of your food will make you look attractive and help you avoid that plump body, if you think diet is the only option left to shed those bouts of fats, then rethink.

Weight gain is either caused because of excess fat accumulation or high water content in the tissues. You need to first figure out it is weight gain or fat gain. If the add on is because of fat, you need to be diet conscious and cut down calories but if it is aided by the water then avoid dieting.

Also Read: Effective Foods For Beating Calories

No, it’s not Fat gain its Water gain.

Human body weight is particularly sensitive to water balance and anything that act upon your body’s ability of water intake or excretion can affect your body weight and make you look plump. Are your hands, feet and ankles puffy next morning? If yes, it is likely that your weight gain is water related. If you find a gain of more than half a pound next morning, it is probably a water weight and you can reduce it by cutting down on salt consumption at night and increasing plain water consumption in lieu. Some episodes that retain water level in your body and make you look fat are-

• Table salt– Salt is the most common cause of water retention. Excess sodium makes the body hold extra fluids in the cells. Read labels of your foods and snacks to avoid excess intake of sodium.
• Sugar- Too much sugar raises insulin levels, which in turn slows down the body’s ability to expel sodium.
• Alcohol– Alcohol possess diuretic property, which can make you feel dehydrated that makes the body hold on more fluids conversely.
• Menstrual cycle- Many women are prone to water retention and bloating due to fluctuations in female hormone levels during menstruation. Such women gain an appreciable amount of weight. Once the hormones settle down, the weight is reduced. To avoid bloating, exercise regularly during menstrual cycle.Related: Food Addiction or Binge Eating Disorder?

Stop being obsessed about calories of your food

Dieting fosters your body to retain the water and induces obesity. You would be shocked to hear that the process of dieting itself increases your body’s propensity to gain weight.  Eating less than 1,200 calories per day can cause your body to retain water. Scientists call this “dieting-induced weight-gain”. Research suggests that women who are on diet are more likely to get obese. The weight-amplifying effect of dieting was evaluated in a novel study done on over 2,000 persons from Finland, aged 16 to 25 years old and it was revealed that dieting amplifies the amount of weight gained as compared to a non-dieting person.

Also Read: 8 Amazing uses of cucumbers in your diet

If you think that exercise will offset the effect induced by dieting, research tells us another story. A study on over 1,800 athletes (doing weight cycling exercise) evaluated the impact of repeated losing and gaining weight and found a positive correlation between subsequent weight gain and the risk of obesity.

Absolute value is a myth

Another reason for not recommending diets is that you cannot figure out how much calories you take while eating something or how much you burn while doing exercise. When we try to derive an absolute value of calorie intake or calorie burn, we are generally working with the broad guidelines and not with absolute values. The basic principles of nutrient intake, weight loss and exercise are all based on approximate values, not absolute ones, and you need to use moderation in your approach to these values since you cannot measure the parameters giving and fuelling the energy from food and exercises respectively.

A conglomerate of Diet fanatics sand Fitness fanatics

Sierra Mackintosh is a walking advert for her healthy lifestyle -being a huge advocate of work-outs and superfoods. As well as her passion for exercise, Sierra follows a healthy diet regime, too. She loves going green and understands the importance of cleansing for health and skin benefits. She drinks juices for cleansing but loves a healthy lunch boxalso with loads of protein and vegetables packed in it.

Related: 7 Foods That Fight Inflammation and Belly Fat

Without a combination of healthy food and appropriate exercise, you will not be able to reach your goal. It is important to have a balance of food and exercise to coordinate your challenge. Even a great exercise will have limited effects unless it is supported by a good diet and conversely a good food habit will not yield such good results without exercise. Here are some diet tips to help you boost your fitness:

1. Don’t skip meals

If you don’t fuel your body you will not get energy enough to finish your workouts properly. A workout that ends up due to hunger or lack of energy is ineffective.

2. Eat within 30-40 minutes after your workout

Once you are through with your workout, your body demands recovery and proteins are known as building blocks of the body. After finishing the workout, have protein-rich foods for a quick recovery of muscles. Also, add on carbohydrates as it is excellent in resilience of energy that you exhaust during workouts.

3. Keep hunger at bay with proteins

After a morning workout, take in proteins. It will act in two ways- rebuilding and recovering the muscles cells and secondly it will make you feel a full stomach throughout days making it easier for you to stick to healthy eating plans. Think omelettes, a boiled egg, smoked salmon or Greek yoghurt and berries.

Reconsider sports drinks
It is crucial to keep hydrated during workouts but it does not mean going on sports drink, just plain water is sufficient. Sports drinks are loaded with high sugar content which is meant for providing the energy in high energy deprivation states. Unless you are running a marathon or completing a multi-hour gym workout, don’t drink sports drinks or else it will undo your workout gains.

Only you can be the expert of you – Reject the Diet Mentality
No diet or meal charts planned by others could possibly “know” your hunger and fullness levels, or what satisfies you. Dieting interferes with your intuitive eating making you weak or obese, so reject the diet mentality.

Also Read:  10 Foods That Will Boost Your Immune System

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