Secret to Losing Weight without Tears & Pain

It has been a really strange week of coincidences for me. I have always been talking about weight management on and off and just as it was that "off" time for me that I met a few people who pushed me back into thinking about weight management.


It all started last week when I was in the office pantry that I saw at least 2 of my colleagues drinking some meal supplement. They were part of a group of girls in the office who have just signed up with an Multi Level Marketing company to purchase the meal replacement package. This is not the first time this group of girls are taking some form of meal replacement or special diet to reduce weight. They have also taken the British Heart Foundation Diet (which the British Heart Foundation didn't not endorse haha) which did warn that prolonged consumtion of this diet will actually cause harm to a person.

British Heart Foundation Diet Plan

This diet is not recommended

Breakfast

5 ’snax’ biscuits (dry crackers)
1 slice of cheddar cheese
1 small apple
1 cup black tea/coffee/water

Lunch
1 boiled egg
1 slice of dry toast
1 cup black tea/coffee/water

Dinner
1 cup of tuna
1 cup of beetroot
1 cup of cauliflower
1/2 melon
1/2 cup of diet vanilla ice-cream
1 cup black tea/coffee/water

The British Heart Foundation diet is a very low calorie diet (approx. 700 calories per day), and is often only used for a few days. It is unsustainable. The meal plan should not be undertaken for any length of time without medical supervision.

Then, a day later, I met with an ex-colleague who is a very successful multi-level marketeer and he shared his list of food supplements plus diet plan which have helped many people. He showed me the testimonials of these happy people. Well, there is definitely something called the Carbo-blocker from his list which I would like to consider.

After that, a long lost friend came on MSN on Friday and wished me a belated Birthday. At the same time, he asked if we could meet to catch up. I agreed to meet him up this morning (Sunday) and guess what, a little way into breakfast, he shared his weight management plan with me. He does have a very interesting plan and basically it is about food supplements and special menus. The difference is that his plans suggests that the person eats 3 main meals plus 9 snacks a day. Wow.. this definitely sounds like my kind of diet plan haha. He promised that he will send me more details of the plan.

In the midst of all this, I have also stumble across something called a 3 Hour Diet Weight Management Plan. How many of you have heard of this? There is actually a website called the 3HourDiet.com. The guy who created this diet is Jorge Cruise (no relation to Tom, I think). The secret of his diet " lies in eating the "right foods" every 3 hours to stabilize your blood sugar, which controls your appetite. This steadies your moods and boosts your energy all day long."

When you click through the tour, it is really fantastic. You could even live on meals from McDonalds (my fav fast food) and still be able to lose weight. Wow.. this is fantastic.

I read that some research papers which says that the biggest mistake a person can make in trying to lose weight is to skip meals. When a person skips meals throughout the day, the blood sugar plummets, causing cravings and the potential to overeat later. When the person overeats, the even more weight is gained. Seems logical.

There is also this Starvation Prevention Mechanism that the body triggers whenever it senses that there is insufficient food coming in. It will start to automatically preserve fats and starts consuming the precious fat-burning lean muscles (*ouch). Now I understand how come people who are on diets and meal replacements put back the pounds immediately they stop their diets and meal replacements.

There was also one more scary fact I found during my search on the internet. It is this thing called the Belly Bulging Hormone Cortisol.

Extracted from About.com - Cortisol and Stress,
Cortisol increased abdominal fat, which is associated with a greater amount of health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body. Some of the health problems associated with increased stomach fat are heart attacks, strokes, the development of , higher levels of “bad” cholesterol (LDL) and lower levels of “good” cholesterol (HDL), which can lead to other health problems!

A study conducted in Toronto, Canada, found that participants who eats frequent small meals, as opposed to three large meals that contained the same calories, reduced their cortisol levels by more than 17%..

Okie.. that settles it. I am not going to go on any replacement meals (not that I ever had before - I dislike all forms of liquid foods like that) and I am not going to try the Heart Foundation Diet ever again (ya ya.. I admit, I did try it but then I cheated. I will always double up the rations haha). I will however, consider the carbo blocker, the supplements (as whether or not i am on a diet, I do believe in supplements) and I am definitely going to start eating every 3 hours...(wow.. I can't believe it... a diet that finally allows me to eat regularly). Anyone want to join me in this journey towards a fitter and healthier body?

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