Little Black Dress Diet

We can’t quite believe that there are just less than five weeks to go until Christmas. The men will be dusting off their best suit and polishing up their shoes – easy! But for women the most important thing is finding that perfect little black dress to see us through the party season. 
This can be somewhat difficult though, especially if you have been enjoying ‘comfort’ food to see you through the shorter, darker autumn days but in return gained a few unwanted pounds. 
So we have a few tips below that may help you get into shape so you feel and look fantastic in your little party number. 

Forget the tedious calorie counting challenge

The first bit of advice, don’t be fooled by low fat and low calorie foods!  Let us forget about calorie counting, it can mean that you choose the wrong foods that contribute to fat gain rather than weight loss. 

Nature knows best is a good rule of thumb Your body knows how to breakdown, digest and utilise natural foods to use for energy. 

Diet foods on the market tend to contain chemicals such as the sweetener aspartame which although are low in calories can still cause you to gain weight as they end up being stored in fat cells as toxins.

Ignore ‘low fat’ labels   always check the label, low fat tends to mean that lots of sugars and dubious ingredients are added instead to make up for the lack of fat added making the food palatable.   These foods can end up being harder for the body to breakdown and therefore require more energy expenditure to burn them off.

Think about a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrates and you are on your way to having a far easier time with your diet. A diet rich in protein causes less water retention and makes you feel fuller for longer   

Low Calorie diets that follow a diet of 1,800kcal high in protein and low in carbohydrates lost more weight than those following a diet of 1,200kcal that was low in fat and rich in carbohydrates.  This suggests that the calories are not the factor but food choices are^[i].  

 Metabolism and improved muscle to fat ratio

Garcinia Cambogia  is an Indonesian fruit that contains Hydroxycitric Acid (HCA). HCA is a natural ingredient used to support weightloss as it helps to suppress the appetite and encourage fat and carbohydrate metabolism[i],[ii]. 

N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is an amino acid found naturally in poultry, pork, yogurt, ricotta and cottage cheese, egg yolks, red peppers, garlic, onions, broccoli, Brussels sprouts.  NAC is involved in metabolism and supporting blood sugar levels to support weightloss from fat and building muscle tissue. This is also a powerful antioxidant that protects the body from toxins which then allow fat cells to breakdown[iii].

Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) dietary sources include red meat, organ meats, spinach, broccoli, potatoes, yams, carrots, beets, and yeast. ALA increases metabolism; encouraging carbohydrates to be used as fuel rather than storing the food source in fat cells[iv].

Whey protein improves body mass index (BMI) in individuals participating in exercise programs^[ii], affects satiety, attenuates fat gain, accelerates fat metabolism, and affects nutrient partitioning between fat tissue and muscle ^[iii].

Coconut Oil contains CLA which has been found to reduce fat deposition, possibly through decreased fat uptake in adipose tissue [vi].

Exercise

Plenty of weight bearing exercise is the key here.  Running for hours alone on a treadmill is not going to be as effective.  The more muscle groups that you work on at one time the better the results as it will encourage more energy output. Using weights as part of your exercise program encourages a higher muscle to fat to increase your metabolism and will make you look trimmer.  If you are a gym member, it can be motivating and helpful to have a personal trainer put together a program that is tailored to you. 

Flat tums:

Celery seed extract acts as a diuretic, which can be useful to remove bloating caused by water retention during pre-menstrual tension, or poor potassium and sodium balancing.  In addition the celery seed cleanses the system of bad fats and toxins which allow other fat cells to breakdown[v].

Magnesium has an involvement in water retention by modulating the water hormone; aldosterone activity. Therefore having a healthy level of magnesium during menstrual bloating can be really effective in helping to keep a flat stomach

Digestive enzymes help breakdown food groups so that they do not cause bloating. Before each meal have either a table spoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to encourage stomach acid. In addition have a salad each day as raw foods naturally contain digestive enzymes to help breakdown a lot of problematic foods.

Supporting satiety

Fibre Although a high protein diet is effective at balancing blood sugar levels for satiety so are complex carbohydrates. Fibre can interact with appetite signals in the gut to tell them that you are full.   Therefore make sure you include vegetables and one or two complex carbohydrates (brown rice, quinoa) a day.

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Reeferences

[i] Gary D. Foster, Ph.D., Holly R. Wyatt, M.D., James O. Hill, Ph.D., Brian G. McGuckin, Ed.M., Carrie Brill, B.S., B. Selma Mohammed, M.D., Ph.D., Philippe O. Szapary, M.D., Daniel J. Rader, M.D., Joel S. Edman, D.Sc., and Samuel Klein, M.D (2003)  N Engl J Med 348:2082-2090

[i] Onakpoya I, Hung SK, Perry R, Wider B, Ernst E. (2010) The Use of Garcinia Extract (Hydroxycitric Acid) as a Weight loss Supplement: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Clinical Trials.

J Obes. 509038.

[ii] Heymsfield SB, Allison DB, Vasselli JR, Pietrobelli A, Greenfield D, Nunez C. Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid) as a potential antiobesitynagent. JAMA 1998; 280: 1596–600.

[iii] Oner G, Muderris II (2011). Clinical, endocrine and metabolic effects of metformin vs N-acetyl-cysteine in women with polycystic ovary syndrome,  Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 159(1):127-31..

[iv] Br J Dermatol 2003;149:841-9.

[ii] Burke DG, Chilibeck PD, Davidson KS, et al. The effect of whey protein supplementation with and without creatine monohydrate combined with resistance training on lean tissue mass and muscle strength. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab 2001;11: 349-364.

[iii] Zemel MB. Mechanisms of dairy modulation of adiposity. J Nutr 2003;133:252S-256S.

[v] [v] Mansi K, Abushoffa AM, Disi A, Aburjai T. Hypolipidemic Effects of Seed Extract of Celery (Apium graveolens ) in Rats. Phcog Mag 2009;5:301-5
[vi].Am J Physiol.  1999;276 (4 part 2): R1172–9.