The real problem with losing weight for most people is that they reduce the consumption of their food intake way too much in the first weeks. Doing this triggers the body’s survival mechanism to kick in to gear slowing your metabolic rate down. You may be aware that you are living in the 21st century with an abundance of food to access, but your body doesn’t. By reducing your food intake too much, your body naturally thinks that you are going to starve, so it slows your metabolism and energy consumption to preserve fat stores just in case you need them.

Now the biggest problem comes down the track in a few weeks or a few months when you may not be seeing the weight loss results you expected. You may feel disheartened so lose interest, or just fall back into your previous lifestyle routine and eating habits. If this occurs, you may find you put weight back on faster and sometimes even more weight. The reason this occurs is that your metabolism is now much slower and your energy consumption is greater giving you a positive energy intake which will be stored as fat.

The above summary outlines in very basic details why nearly 95% of diets fail. Your body is just trying to do the right thing by preventing you from starving, but its actions are making it more difficult to achieve great results.

I know how hard it can be losing weight, as I personally lost over 30kg after losing balance in my life. I worked too hard, had a bad lifestyle and just lost focus in other areas of my life. I know how easy it is to do, but I also know that if you are determined enough, you can achieve just about anything. I reduced from my weight from just over 100kg at my heaviest to a constant range weight range now of 70kg-75kg. I have gone also one step further by getting my fitness to the point that I can attempt to climb the 7 highest summits on each continent around the world. My best mate of I have completed 2 of the summits with 5 more to go. Having been overweight and not having the right balance in my life, I can now say that it is hard to ever imagine how I lived life my life before. The benefits of how I feel now are priceless, and I know there is no amount of money that can ever buy the feelings and the energy for life I have now. In the end, it was just plain hard work and determination, but the results and benefits are definitely worth it.

There are ways to combat the body going into the survival mode by slowing the metabolism, but I will cover these training and fitness methods in future posts on this blog under Weight Loss & Healthy Lifestyle, so stay tuned.

Most people unfortunately skip breakfast for sake of weight loss and sometimes to save time on their way to work. Actually, this is one of the worst things that you can do to your body. A research done by scientists showed that when the body doesn’t start with a healthy breakfast, the metabolic rate will drop down considerably and thus this will also cause a spike in your blood sugar levels. This will also cause you to eat bigger meals and unhealthy snacks during the day and because your metabolism has reduced itself in the morning, you will be able to burn less calories. Thus, you will not only gain weight, but your body will also be thrown in an imbalance when you don’t eat breakfast.

However, eating breakfast will solve your problems as your body will feel full and satisfied. Your metabolic rate will increase along with thermo genesis (the rate of energy burning by your body). Your blood sugar levels will balance out and you will not feel the craving for extra snacks and foods for 4-5 hours.

In any case, you should take care to eat a healthy breakfast. However, it will need to be balanced in order to be healthy. This means that a huge plate of scrambled eggs and lots of bacon is out of the picture. You should take care to eat things like fibres, proteins, and in general nutritious food. Here is a list of things that you can eat in order to make a health breakfast. In total, what you eat for breakfast should not be more than 2 or 3 servings

1. A bowl of cereal (wholegrain).
2. A bowl of oatmeal.
3. An apple or an orange (or apple juice or orange juice).
4. Hard-boiled egg (don’t fry them for health and weight loss purposes).
5. Skimmed Milk.
6. Low-fat cheese.
7. Brown bread – toasted (never eat white bread).
8. Walnuts, pecans and any nuts in general.
9. Any raw vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, peppers etc.
10. A low-fat protein shake or a nutrition shake.
11. A cup of tea with no sugar.

As you can see, a healthy breakfast is comprised of healthy food. Eating a balanced breakfast will also help you in your quest for losing weight. It will restore the balance of your body, so you will not feel the need to eat snacks or huge meals during the day. Moreover, you will also feel better during the day, compared to people who skip breakfast.