This is the third of a three part series dealing with numbers in fitness.
We all need to eat. And for many of us, our weight (and fitness levels) are directly correlated to how well we eat. There aren’t many people my age who can eat whatever they want without having to deal with the consequences at a later date. When it comes to losing weight, you really have to pay attention to what you’re eating. No matter how much you exercise, you can easily out-eat the calories you burnt during your workout if you’re not careful. Here’s some numbers to help you avoid this problem:
- Hunger Scale–One of the keys to eating in moderation is to avoid the extremes of the hunger scale. On a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the fullest you’ve ever felt, you should eat when you’re at a 3 and stop eating when you’re at a 6. You should never allow yourself to get too hungry because you’ll overeat. Similarly, you should never let yourself get too full, because if you do you’ve probably consumed too many calories already.
- Servings of Fibrous Vegetables–Research shows that fibrous vegetables are good for your digestive system. They’re also very filling and less energy dense. These are both good things if you’re trying to eat fewer calories each day. The best part about fibrous vegetables is that you can eat lots of food without consuming too many calories–a real bonus if you’re trying to lose weight.
- Servings of Bad Foods–Everyone knows what the bad foods are: refined grains, added sugars, processed foods, sodas, and bad fats should be avoided if you’re trying to lose weight. Obviously, the more of these foods you cut out of your diet, the better off you’ll be. And since these foods are usually high in calories, if you eliminate them, you’ll be able to increase your calorie deficit and lose weight faster.
The goal for this series was to show you some alternative numbers that you can use to help keep track of your fitness and weight loss goals. There’s no reason that you have to be chained to your scale to monitor your progress. But keep in mind that your scale can still be used as a tool in conjunction with some of the other numbers described in the previous articles. Whatever numbers you choose to use, if you’re mindful of what you eat and how much you exercise, you WILL reach your goals!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I think you mean eat when you’re a six and stop at three (higher is hungrier, right?). But yeah, avoiding that binge is important. As for point #2, carrots are my friend in this regard, though I’ve been lax about eating them recently.
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Yep, you’re right. I fixed it. Hopefully it reads better now. Thanks for pointing it out.
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Just by avoiding any sweetened drinks and juices and sticking with only water, mineral water, herbal teas and unsweetened coffee for drinking and sticking with it, you can certainly loose weight. And not only weight, your hormonal imbalance stabilizes more by lower swings of insulin levels and you feel much, much better over the day and your performance goes up too.