There are various ways to diet regarding fat loss, far too many to list and discuss. What I will tell you is the basics of diet, and how to incorporate it into your daily dietary plan.
A diet in the most simplified of terms, is what and how you eat. Now, many people like to refer to a diet as a short-term idea of eating less to lose weight (not necessarily fat) in a short amount of time. For the purposes of this article, I will refer to the diet as a long-term change in dietary habits. What you should expect is 1 kg of fat loss per month. It is slow, but consistent.
Unless if you are: 1) getting married soon, 2) is an athlete trying to qualify for a lighter weight class, or 3) really obese to the point of being unable to move, or 4) have the time to train 2 hours a day, and sleep at least 8 hours a night and have the strongest of discipline, for the most part you do not need a warp speed fat loss plan. Make fat loss a long-term endeavor.
The most important part to understand your diet is to understand that you should design your diet to suit you purpose. Are you a sedentary individual who does not perform any physical activity? Are you an athletic sportsman involving a large amount of aerobic activity? Are you more of a strength athlete? You can either 1) choose to suit your activities to your dietary plan, or 2) choose to suit your eating habits to your activities. The latter is invariably easier.
Next is understanding the nutrients you'll need:
Carbohydrates
Protein
Fats
Vitamins & Minerals
Carbs
Carbohydrates are what is typically eaten the most by Malaysian people calorie-wise. But what is the function of carbs? They're eaten solely for energy, and anything left over is stored as liver and muscle glycogen, as well as fat.
In my opinion, most people who are fat do not need more carbs. Why? It's because the same fat people are either the most sedentary, or are endomorphs (I'll touch on this a later time). If you do not need energy, you do not need carbs. Put 2 groups of people on different islands, 1 given only carbs as food, the other given protein and fats as food. Guess who will survive after 1 year.
Does that mean eliminating it altogether? The answer is no. Carbs are needed for proper mental function. In normal physiological states, the brain uses carbs as energy, and in starvation, severe starvation, may use ketone bodies. But the transition to ketone body use is gradual. That's why diabetics who accidentally enter an insulin "overdose" get into a coma. Carbs also play a role in helping you sleep, if you're an insomniac related to hypoglycemia.
Carbs are also what regulates the hormonal function of the body. Prolonged carb depletion is associated with a reduction in thyroid hormones, one of the main factors that influence how much energy you burn at rest. This is why those on a crash diet, typically involving very low carb intake, become lethargic.
And if you're going to be involved with intense activities, you'll need carbohydrates just to perform. Without carbs, your energy levels and strength will suffer. When I mean intense, I mean involving sprinting or lifting heavy weights. Jogging does not count, and neither does lifting a kitten.
But carbs are also the biggest factor that influence insulin secretion. In the absence of lean mass synthesis/depleted glycogen stores, insulin secretion signals only 1 thing: fat production.
What contains (significant) carbs? Well, in simple terms, anything plant-based that isn't a vegetable or a liquid-based fruit. Rice, cookies, bananas, cakes, bread.
So how much do you need?
Since our goal is fat loss, understand that you need to reduce carb intake, to a level that will induce gradual fat loss. But at the same time, you need carbs for your mental function and support of vigorous activities. So here are simplified guidelines to use as regards to carbs (for the purpose of fat loss):
1) Carbs are to be severely limited to either breakfast or pre-/post-workout. Eat adequately during these times, but not in excess. Take only a very small amount if you have to (more on this) during lunch/dinner.
2) Remember that carbs are carbs, regardless of the source. If you've eaten rice, then no bread for you, and vice versa.
3) Since you are in carb depletion, you will experience severe hunger/lethargy if such a diet is continued for more than a week. Therefore, set 1 day of the week in which you will eat a typical person's carbs in all meals diet. I don't have to tell you that this isn't the same as binge eating, just your previously "normal" eating. This is termed as a reload, to prevent a reduction in thyroid function during dieting. And since you are partially carb-depleted anyways, the sugar will go to your depleted muscles and liver mostly rather than fat.
4) Always take carbs with substances that reduces carb digestion. This can be either protein, fats or fiber. But you want to avoid taking carbs with fat whenever possible, which I'll talk about in a later time.
When undergoing a reduced carb diet, the first thing to be lost is not fat; it's your glycogen stores. Where glycogen goes, water follows. Once glycogen is gone, you'll begin to use more fat as your body energy source. This explains why you quickly lose and regain weight at the start and end of a diet, as well as a smaller rise and fall correlating with your refeed day, even if you did not eat excessively by normal standards. The key is to keep your diet consistent with a small caloric deficit weekly.
Now the issue is that most people say that they cannot live without carbs specifically rice. My response is: you can. Since eating for most of us is a matter of habit, you can change them. Make it a gradual process, gradually reducing rice intake at times you do not need them. And you still have your 1 day to eat rice in every meal, the only difference is that on other days it's either nil/minimal during lunch/dinner. And if you are unable to sleep due to a too steep reduction in carbohydrates during dinner, take a higher number during dinner, along with a high amount of fiber. This slows down carb absorption, which in turn blunts the insulin response. This will lead to a gradual lowering of sugar levels, like a hill, instead of a rapid rise followed by a rapid fall in sugar levels like a mountain.
Which brings me to an impromptu thought: I'd say the 3 reasons in my opinion why Malaysia is the fattest country in Asia is because 1) we live a sedentary lifestyle, enforced by our climate, 2) we have a religious affliction to sugar, and 3) we eat too much rice. We can't change the hot and humid climate, but we can certainly control the rest.
I'll talk about the other nutrient groups in another post. Typing this already takes hours (including proofreading).
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