How do you use food to fight hunger and improve your health and fitness? During my most recent fat loss journey on March 26, 2018, I kept a journal of my experience with foods that fight hunger and lead to fitness.
My fat loss journey lasted for 21 weeks. This blog is about that experience and what I learned from my experience. A fat loss journey has many twists and turns that require using your mind, body, and emotions.
Many factors contribute to fat loss, even though the fat loss is as simple as eating less. Eating less is a simple part of the process, but how you eat less is the real question.
The process is unique for everyone, but there are common factors that apply to all of us. For example, eating less food and being more active causes fat loss.
Diet –
During week one, I focused on micronutrients and water. Water is the most critical nutrient for fat loss. Therefore, I made it a habit to drink plenty of water. During the week, I noticed that my energy levels, satiety, and digestion of food improved because of drinking water.
Also, I ate high-quality, nutrient-dense foods such as spinach, eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, salmon, avocado, ginger, garlic, and turmeric.
Also, I discovered as long as I ate high-quality foods and used spices, my taste buds and satiety improved. So I used ginger, garlic, basil, olive oil, and salt to create poke bowls.
Finally, I made the poke bowls with chopped-up baby spinach, eggs, tomatoes, scallions, shrimp, salmon, and avocado.
Listen to your taste buds and appetite to determine when you get the right amount of food and nutrients. There are two types of hunger and cravings. The first type of hunger and cravings comes from not eating enough food. The second type of hunger and cravings comes from insufficient nutrients and water.
Activities –
I learned about week one that I had a lot of bad habits. The habits were small, but they were destroying my metabolism. So the first thing I did was focus on standing, walking, and sitting correctly. After that, I increased my energy levels by forcing my body to perform daily activities better.
I incorporated some lessons that my mom had taught me as a child. The lessons were to sit straight, stand tall, and walk like a king.
As a result, I improved my posture and increased my energy outflow by performing these daily activities correctly. I did not know but later found out that a sedentary lifestyle is one of the major factors for obesity. The world health organization stated that the leading causes of obesity are calorie surplus and a sedentary lifestyle.
Results –
One week into my fat loss journey, I recorded my height, weight, and waistline. My height was 5’5”, weight 193 pounds, and waistline was 41 inches. After the first week, my waistline was 39 inches, and my weight was 190 pounds. I lost two inches on my waistline and three pounds of weight. My results for the first week were encouraging. However, while the weight loss was actual, I suspect the waistline measurements were incorrect.
An empty stomach had more impact on my waist than body weight. Bodyweight is a measurement that reflects your entire body. When food moves from one part of the body to another part of the body, this does not affect your weight. Your waist is a measurement that reflects your stomach fat—sucking in your stomach because of hunger changes your waist measurements. I did not realize that time affected my results and analysis at this point.
The Last Word on How to Use Food to Fight Hunger and Improve Your Fitness
In conclusion, I begin week two by learning how to cause fat loss. I was curious if there was some correlation between fat loss and non-exercise activities (NEAT). So, I separated people into two groups. The two groups were those with healthy body fat and those with too much body fat. As I observed the two groups, a pattern emerged.
I found that the group with a healthy amount of body fat was good at spending energy and the group with too much body fat was good at saving energy. Little things like how the groups walked, stood, reached, or sat were vastly different.
The group which was good at spending energy was more active in performing the same activities as the group which was good at saving energy. I thought of energy, like money, based on my observations. Just as money could be spent or saved, so could energy.
It took a few weeks before I could use and understand how time affected fat loss. Time does not cause fat loss, but it makes fat loss easier.
I learned that there was a difference between belly fat and body weight. Just because weight is lost does not mean it is belly fat. Weight loss happens when body fat, belly fat, water, or muscle is lost. Losing weight too fast causes long-term damage to your metabolism and other systems.
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