Counter Intuitive Weight Loss Plans

5 Counter-Intuitive Weight Loss Ideas Based On Science

Here Are 5 Diet Plans That Run Contrary To What You Think About How To Lose Weight

There’s a lot of advice out there about weight loss. Some of it is counter intuitive and goes against what you would normally expect. Yet, if you give these unconventional methods a chance and examine the research behind them, you may find that they are more effective than any other weight loss plan.

Many people think you have to starve yourself to lose weight. However, there are proven methods of cutting calories that do not require you to starve—and often make you feel more energized and satisfied than ever. These counter-intuitive weight loss ideas are based on science and can help you get the most out of your diet.

Here are 5 diet plans that are counter-intuitive to what most people believe about weight loss.

#1 Metabolism Reset Diet

Metabolism Diet

A fast metabolism diet is one that focuses on eating small, frequent meals throughout the day instead of large, infrequent meals. This approach stabilizes blood sugar levels and prevents hunger cravings, both of which are important for weight loss. Most people think that in order to lose weight, they need to starve themselves or eat very little.

However, this is not the case. Eating small, frequent meals helps to stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent hunger cravings, both of which are important for weight loss. The stress is on the frequency of meals. It is more important to eat several small meals throughout the day than it is to eat 3 large meals. This will keep your metabolism going and help you to lose weight.

Here is how it works:

The body is constantly burning calories. The rate at which it burns calories is called the metabolic rate. A high metabolism means that the body is burning calories at a faster rate. A low metabolism means that the body is burning calories at a slower rate.

Most people think that in order to lose weight, they need to starve themselves or eat very little. However, this is not the case. This often slows your metabolism which makes it harder to lose weight. Eating several smaller meals throughout the day keeps the body burning fuel (food and fat) instead of causing your body to store fat.

Want to jump start and reset your slow metabolism? Here’s how in 10 seconds.

#2 Food Pairing Diet

Food Pairing Diet

This could also be called the Japanese Hormonal Synergy Diet.

Your body’s hormones change with age. The three that most affect your weight are:

  1. Insulin
  2. Cortisol
  3. Estrogen

When these three things are out of balance, your body doesn’t function properly which leads to weight gain (among other health issues).

For women, during puberty, these three hormones work to make sure you are ‘body beautiful.’ Later, they work to cycle your body for having children. 

Finally, in menopause these hormones adjust for aging

In each stage, these three hormones work to make sure your body is ready for that stage. This has a tremendous impact on your weight.

The Carb-Pairing Diet (as we will call it) is based on research done among Japanese women who live (on average) 10 years longer than women in other countries.

They are on average 42 pounds lighter than American women.

Scientists discovered the secret was their nutrition architecture. Food (or card) pairing to maximize hormonal balance.

Nutrition architecture is a set of guidelines, broken down into extremely simple food and flavor pairing rituals. The goal of each pairing is to create hormonal and metabolic balance that promotes health, well-being, strength and happiness.

For a detailed report on this unique method of weight loss, read the report here. Note: This page loads as a video, but if you prefer to read just click the ‘Prefer to Read’ link below the video.

#3 Intermittent Fasting

Intermittent Fasting Diet

This diet doesn’t focus on what you eat, but when you eat. People who follow this diet eat all their meals within a certain time frame, usually 8 hours, and fast for the remaining 16 hours.

Intermittent fasting is a dieting pattern that alternates between periods of fasting and eating. It is also known as time-restricted feeding.

There are several ways to fast but the most common is the 16/8 method, which involves fasting for 16 hours and eating only during an 8-hour window. This can be done daily or a few times per week.

Fasting works by increasing levels of the hormone glucagon, which helps to break down stored glycogen in the liver and release glucose into the bloodstream. This provides the body with energy and helps to keep blood sugar levels stable.

Fasting also leads to an increase in growth hormone levels, which can help to promote muscle growth and fat loss.

Intermittent fasting is almost the opposite of the Fast Metabolism Diet because you are NOT eating many small meals throughout the day. In fact, the Intermittent Fasting Diet allows you to eat what you want (within reason), but only at certain times.

If you’ve struggled losing weight because of food restrictions, this diet could be a good alternative.

For a deep-dive on how to do intermittent fasting successfully, read this report by Brad Pilon and check out his excellent resource on consumption cycles.

#4 The Alkaline Diet

Alkaline Diet

The alkaline diet focuses on eating alkaline foods that are thought to promote health and well-being. Proponents of the diet claim that these foods can help to alkalize the body, improve digestion, and promote weight loss. Alkaline foods help to reduce the body’s overall acidity, which in turn can help to boost metabolism and promote weight loss.

The Importance of Alkaline

Our bodies need to maintain a healthy and steady alkaline to acid ratio, which is signified by the pH level of our body. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, and anything lower than 7 is considered acidic. Processed food items, meat and meat products, sweets, and some beverages and condiments generally produce excessive amounts of acidity in the body.

Acidosis, abnormally high acidity level in the blood and other tissues of the body, is the one thing that several different diseases have one thing in common. And many health experts believe that acidosis is responsible for a lot of fatal diseases that many people are afflicted with these days.

Alkaline, on the other hand, naturally occurs in the body to neutralize excess acidity in the body, which is its main role. However, alkaline also becomes depleted at times – especially when there’s too much acid it needs to get rid of, and we do not consume foods that replenish our body’s alkalinity.

Alkaline Diet Approach

To get to the roots of these health problems, the body’s pH level must be brought back to normal. There are alkaline foods that can help replenish the depleted alkaline levels in the body while neutralizing excess amounts of acid. Through an alkaline diet, sufficient amounts of alkaline are re-introduced into the body, thus bringing back the pH level to predominantly alkaline.

Discover how you can kick start alkaline diet at Emma Deangela’s site at TheAlkalineDiet.org

#5 The Keto Diet

Keto Diet

Most people have heard of the keto diet. Yet there are those who do not give it much attention because it goes against what we are often told about good diets.

The keto diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet that is based on a biochemical principle known as ketosis. When you follow a keto diet, your body enters a state of ketosis, in which it burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.

This happens because, on a keto diet, you drastically reduce your intake of carbohydrates, which forces your body to find an alternative fuel source. In this case, your body turns to stored fat for energy. This process is known as ketosis, and it is the key to the keto diet’s success.

This is counter-intuitive because most people think that a healthy diet is a low-fat diet. However, the keto diet is a high-fat, low-carb diet.

Click here to take a Keto Quiz to see if this diet will work for you.

If you are serious about using the keto diet to meet your weight loss goals, join the 28 Day Keto Challenge. Get the details here.

Conclusion

These five diet plans are counter-intuitive to the way many people traditionally think about weight loss. 

If you have struggled with traditional weight loss plans, read (or watch) the information on each of these plans.

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Intermittent Fasting Scientific References

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev-nutr-071816-064634
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmra1905136
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4516560/
https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/article-abstract/73/10/661/1849182
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13679-018-0308-9

Alkaline Diet Scientific References
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3195546/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/the-alkaline-diet-myth
https://www.transparentlabs.com/blogs/all/alkaline-diet-claims-scientific-evidence

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