Health: Nutrition Tips To Break Through A Plateau

Try these tricks to bust through your plateau:

Fewer Calories In And More Calories Out

You can work out five times a week, but if you're not eating a proper caloric intake, then you will never achieve your goal weight.

You must make sure that you are eating fewer calories than you are burning to continue with weight loss. It sounds simple, yet most people have no idea how many calories a day they eat and never pay attention to portion control.

Choose Quality Fuel: All Calories Are Not Equal

1,500 calories of processed food has a completely different effect on your body than 1,500 calories of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean cuts of meat and whole grains.

The fiber and most of the nutrients are removed from most processed foods like snack bars, crackers, bagels, chips, bread, muffins and cereal, so when you eat these foods your body recognizes them as sugar, spiking your insulin and causing you to crave more food.

I am also talking about the processed food that comes in a box with all of the health claims on the front. If a processed food claims it is fortified with this vitamin and that nutrient, keep in mind that several nutrients were also removed, that is why it is now fortified.

Organic whole foods that have not been processed are loaded with fiber and nutrients that help you feel full and satisfied and provide the building blocks to all of your living cells. 80 percent of your diet should consist of whole foods loaded with nutrients.

Eat Until You're Satisfied And Stop Before You're Full

The stomach is made of smooth muscle, and when you overeat you stretch the smooth muscle of your stomach, which in turn increases your appetite.

Always stop eating as soon as you feel satisfied to avoid stretching your stomach. You can always eat again in two hours.

Limit Complex And Processed Carbohydrates In The Evening

Complex carbohydrates are the foods that give you sustained energy to get through the day. Examples of complex and processed carbohydrates are: potatoes, pasta, rice, bread, quinoa, oatmeal, pancakes, cereals, beans and risotto. Your body needs this type of fuel in the morning and afternoon in appropriate portions to give you energy to get through the day.

If you have a medium to large serving of carbohydrates in your evening meal, you usually will not burn it off before going to sleep and it can end up turning into body fat around your belly. To maximize your fat burning, your evening meals should be loaded with vegetables, especially green vegetables (spinach, broccoli, asparagus, kale, collared greens, romaine lettuce, asparagus, etc.) and lean cuts of meat or other vegetarian sources of protein.

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (on whom be peace) said:

“It is intemperate to eat of everything one fancies.”

The Holy Quran states:

“O ye men! eat of what is lawful and good in the earth.” [Holy Quran, 2:169]


The Ahmadiyya Post, Health. Oct 08, 2011