WEIGHT LOSS: QUANTITY OR QUALITY?

Despite the proliferation of diets in the world today, weight loss is really just about two basic rules. The first is that you must burn more calories than you consume in order to lose weight – so it’s not what you eat, but how many calories you eat, that matters. The second rule is quality over quantity, meaning the quality of the food you eat is more important than the number of calories you eat.

At first, these two rules may seem to contradict one another, but they work best hand in hand. If you over-eat healthy foods, you can still gain weight.  But there are important points to be made for the quality of the food you eat as well. Poor quality food is bad for your body. The following tips can help with an understanding of how these two rules work together:

Poor quality foods lead to chemical and hormonal reactions
We know that cake, soft drinks and fried foods are considered detrimental to weight loss. But can we lose weight while eating those foods if we limit our quantity to just 1,500 calories per day? Yes, we can! But non-nutritious foods trigger chemical reactions in the body that work against weight loss and good health.  Eating too much sugar, for example, results in an overproduction of insulin, which promotes weight gain. The food choices you make tell your body to release hormones and chemicals that can have a direct impact on your state of health and your weight.

Poor quality foods can slow your metabolism
Another factor to consider is the density of calories in fattening foods, and how few of them you would need to eat to reach your daily calorie limit. This necessitates the consumption of only very small amounts of food each day, which can cause your metabolism to slow down to conserve energy.  Conversely, choosing several small meals each day that feature low-calorie, healthy foods keeps your metabolism running at its optimum rate.

Poor quality foods lead to nutrition deficiencies
Finally, eating nothing but junk food has a negative impact on your overall health because junk food contains almost no nutrients. When you eat foods from all food groups, you provide your body with the protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals it needs to function efficiently.

While it’s possible to lose weight while eating nothing but junk food, a non-nutritious diet cannot promote health and boundless energy, which is the reason most of us want to lose weight in the first place. If you want to feel good and look great, a balanced diet with plenty of nutritious foods chosen alongside an active lifestyle is the best way to get there.

At Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary & Holistic Spa on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand, you can learn how to make healthy changes in your lifestyle and diet that make it possible for you to reach your ideal weight and stay there.