There are a lot of schools of thought about how to eat to lose fat and keep up your energy levels. Many people have opinions, and there have been a lot of studies about the obesity epidemic. While almost everyone has their own views, what most people agree is that starving yourself in an attempt to lose weight is a losing proposition.
Losing weight needs to be done in a way that you’re losing fat, not muscle. To do this, you need a reasonable number of calories. Many people also say that you should get your calories in a controlled manner throughout your day, instead of grazing. Stuffing your face for one massive meal during the day can cause problems, especially if you feel hungry a few hours later and are guilty of eating anything else.
Snacks and Metabolism
One theory about early humanity is that during hunter-gatherer days, humans might go days without eating much because of how hunting works. Not every day is going to see you bring down a creature. Because of this, human metabolisms adapted to slowing down when there was no food for a while. This can happen in as little as 3 hours, and it can hamper your weight loss efforts.
Snacking does more than just reduce how hungry you are. When you snack, you’re letting your body know there’s food available, and that your metabolism can continue at its full speed. This way, you can keep burning fat steadily, instead of having your body panic and conserve every last calorie.
Snacking also works by preserving your muscles. Even if you’re not a massive athlete with rippling muscles, you do have some muscles, and they do burn calories. When you don’t eat for hours, your body begins to slowly eat away at what muscles you do have, which actually causes you to burn fewer calories passively later on. Snacking gives your body something to work with, instead of just cannibalizing your muscles.
Having Food Available
To start with, snacking involves actually having ample amounts of food available to you regularly. This means that having dry meats, fruits, nuts, seeds, and other easy-to-keep foods on hand is vital. Ordering in bulk is an excellent way to preserve your budget while you add some variety. This way, you can diet effectively and snack well without your taste buds becoming fatigued.
Once you have the food in quantities, you can measure it out for the right number of calories - however much protein you need or how many carbs you’re allowed to have. This way, you don’t need to be struggling to think clearly while hunger is turning your brain to mush, and your stomach into a war zone. You can just enjoy your snack while you go about the business of your day and continue to lose fat steadily, without crash-dieting or doing anything that requires a montage straight out of a Rocky movie.
