Losing weight is more than a matter of counting calories. Good nutrition during weight loss keeps you healthy while you diet, accelerating how fast you lose weight. According to Dr. Mehmet Oz, co-author of "You: The Owner's Manual," poor nutrition can cause food cravings that slow your progress. It can even trick your body into thinking it's starving, causing your metabolism to slow down.
Weight Loss Basics
Weight loss is a matter of applied physics. If you take in more calories than you burn through activity, then you store that extra energy as fat. If you burn more energy than you consume, your body harvests it by burning stored fat and you lose weight. Diet resource website Weight Loss for All reports that you need to burn 3,500 excess calories to lose 1 lb. of fat.
Making the Most of Your Calories
Harvard nutritionist Walter Willett recommends making the most of what calories you do take in. The first step he suggests is to cut out sweets, fruit juices, sodas, starchy foods and refined grains. According to Willett, these foods give little nutrition as compared to their calorie load. Because a weight loss plan limits how many calories you take in, the nutrition those calories bring with them is important.
Metabolism and Nutrition
Your metabolism is an expression of how fast your body burns energy. A high metabolism burns more calories with every activity, even sleeping or watching television. A slow metabolism burns fewer calories, making weight loss that much harder. According to fitness website MyFit.ca, proteins and some fats can boost your metabolism and stimulate natural weight loss. MyFit.ca recommends whey protein, whole grain oats, beans, spinach, poultry and eggs as good sources of protein. Yogurt, peanut butter, extra virgin olive oil, fish and almonds make their list of sources for healthy fats.
The Starvation Reflex
According to Oz, people who attempt crash diets often encounter the starvation reflex. As your body's calorie and nutrition intake go down, it may trigger your natural response to starvation. Your body will alter how it functions in order to preserve energy at all costs. This means slowing your metabolism so as to burn fewer calories. In many cases, writes Oz, your body will go so far as to eat your energy-demanding muscles before it taps into your energy-storing fat. To counter the starvation reflex, simply observe solid nutrition throughout your weight loss program.
Multivitamins
Both Oz and Willett recommend a multivitamin for people on a weight-loss diet. As you restrict your food intake, you will inevitably leave holes in your nutrition. The multivitamin acts as an insurance policy, filling those holes. Besides the general health benefits, these nutrients can prevent the cravings that often accompany early stages of malnutrition.
References
- "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy"; Dr. Walter Willett, et al; 2006
- "You: The Owner's Manual"; Michael Rozien & Mehmet Oz; 2005
- Ben Cohn; Fitness Coach; Hillsboro, Oregon
- WeightLossforAll.com: Calories per Pound of Fat
- MyFit.ca: Foods That Speed Metabolism
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