When it comes to getting back into shape due to the lack of exercise you may have experienced during the lockdown, it’s important to avoid any judgement concerns.
As with any successful push to live a better, healthier, life, you need to do so for yourself, for your own personal well being, and not because you feel compelled by society or individuals who have forced you into action.
We’ve now spent over a year dealing with the COVID-19 virus and the ramifications of the pandemic have had mental, and physical, effects on all of us.
Whether it’s down to a change in lifestyle imposed by the lack of freedom of movement or a general lack of desire to motivate yourself to stay in shape, this once in a century situation has hit us all hard in some way or another.
As we appear to be heading towards the end of the tunnel with the implementation of vaccines and the gradual reopening of society, there may be a renewed push within yourself to get back into shape.
It’s key to take things slowly, especially if you’ve been out of the loop in relation to your diet or exercise regime for a number of months, and a realization of the coming weeks and months, as you look to recalibrate your lifestyle should be tempered by caution.
The Complexity of Weight Loss Plans
No two individuals are the same and as such the approach we take towards weight loss are not a one size fits all matter. Fortunately there are a myriad of websites, services and diet plans that will help you in your quest to lose the weight you desire.
Below are five of the most common types of weight loss plans and what you can expect in relation to their success rate and requirements.
Low-Carb Diets
A low-carb diet is something of a catch-all term and can be associated with common diets such as Atkins and Keto diets. And essentially each variant has a slightly different approach to just how little carbs you might typically look to consume.
The idea is to replace carbs with protein intake, to improve metabolism and in turn lead to your push for weight loss. In very low-carb diets your body will begin to use fatty acids rather than carbs, for energy.
The additional benefits, as well as weight loss, of a low-carb diet can include reducing risk of heart disease and reducing blood pressure.
Paleo Diet
The paleo diet works along the premise that you, in many ways, reduce your intake to one that is similar to the ‘hunter-gatherers’ we originated from, many centuries previously.
In this diet you cut out processed foods, unnatural sugars, dairy and stick to a diet composed of lean meats, whole food, fruits, nuts and seeds.
This diet is very effective when it comes to losing pounds and as well as the additional benefits similar to those achieved through a low-carb diet, you should also see a reduction in your cholesterol levels.
Plant Based Diets
These are again something of a catch-all term and include vegan and vegetarian approaches to weight loss and as such are handy for those who are looking to adopt such approaches for ethical reasons.
Plant based diets assist with weight loss and the additional intake of fibre, connected with such diets, can make you feel fuller and as such will reduce the amount of calories you consume with each meal.
As well as helping with issues such as heart disease and high blood pressure, this diet is better when it comes to types of cancer and diabetes. You may find however that you are missing out on some key vitamins, due to the lack of some food stuffs, however this can be remedied with relevant supplements.
Fasting
Whereas the diets above relate exclusively to the types of foods you consume, a fasting diet is specifically about the times that you take your meals and the amount you eat.
Again, the fasting technique comes in different shapes and sizes but you may have heard of the 5:2 or the 16:8, which relate to the times you might adopt the fasting approach.
I.e. 5:2 build a regime that means that five days of the week you’ll greatly reduce your overall calorie intake (eating whichever foods help you to stick to that calorie total) and a 16:8 basically means you can only consume the requisite calorie intake over the course of eight of the hours in a day.
In many ways this type of diet requires even more discipline than earlier examples but does give you more control over the actual food you can consume, within reason. You are wholly in control over the substance of the diet itself and you will have to work on a system that best serves your needs.
There are some, albeit minor, concerns about this form of dieting as it can be taken by extremes if not administered effectively and you should always discuss such plans with your physician or nutritionist before embarking on such a diet.
Low Fat Diets
Similarly to fasting, a low fat diet is less restrictive than earlier options, in so much as it’s instructional in its goals. Effectively this diet seeks to reduce your overall fat intake by a set percentage, which in turn will typically lead to weight loss.
The diet itself tends to be formed mainly of plant-based food though can also be accompanied by lean meats and fish.
This diet may take longer when it comes to seeing results and indeed those results may not be as pronounced as with other diets but this is perhaps an easier, less intensive option, than others laid out.
A diet such as this should be well controlled in so much as attempting to reduce the level of fat in too marked a manner could prove problematic, therefore you should always discuss your dietary plans with the relevant medical professionals.
When it comes to adopting a weight loss plan you should do your research and seek out a plan that best fits your needs and goals.
There are many services and providers out there that offer great practical advice on the matter of weight loss and we’d recommended you go over here to see one such service which could fit your specific weight-loss targets.
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