Professor Michael Gleeson, a world authority on exercise, metabolism and nutrition - and author of new weight loss book, The Pick ‘n Mix Diet tells us what we need to know ...
The Pick 'n Mix Diet
Often around this time of year people tend to overindulge a little in food and drink and with COVID-19 lockdowns, some of us have also been getting less exercise, a combination that also leads to weight gain. And that is something that is associated with poor health outcomes if we do get infected with COVID-19.
The usual solution to weight gain is to go on a diet but many people find it difficult to stick to more than a few weeks because most diets restrict food choices and it is easy to get ‘fed up’ (pardon the pun) with eating the same limited food items. If you go on a keto diet you start to miss your carbs and if you go on a zero fat diet you miss many other items that you normally like to eat. And another downside is that because of their restrictions these sorts of extreme or fad diets are not good for your health because you can develop micronutrient deficiencies.
But there is a solution: don’t stick to just one boring diet but change your diet every week.
That is where the The Pick ‘n Mix Diet comes in and now is the time for you to take up this new revolution in dieting: Use multiple diets and add some easy physical activities to burn off that excess fat. By changing the diet weekly you don't get bored with it, you have fewer food cravings and are more likely to stick to your weight loss plan. Also, this approach ensures that your diet is more varied and healthier than any single diet plan.
“The great thing about the diet part of my weight loss plan is that it does not require sticking with the same boring diet for week after week. So you can wave goodbye to food cravings.”
In my book I describe a novel and effective weight loss plan that anyone who is mobile can do. The diet uses sensible, varied, non-extreme dieting (i.e., no fad diets) combined with enjoyable and exhilarating (but not exhausting) exercise that should see you lose around 10 kilograms (22 pounds) in 10 weeks. The great thing about the diet part of my weight loss plan is that it does not require sticking with the same boring diet for week after week. I utilize a variety of different, but equally effective diets that can be changed on a weekly basis. And none of the exercises I recommend should leave anyone with aching muscles or feeling sick or tired. I have also devoted a chapter to describing meal ideas and recipes so you don’t need to ‘learn’ about how the diets work (although that is all explained in the book); you can just follow the weekly meal plans. You can also pick and mix your diets and activities to personalize your weight loss plan to suit your own preferences.
Numerous scientific studies show that the most effective, safe and healthy way to lose excess weight is to both eat less and exercise more. There is no need for fad diets, fad exercise regimens or fatiguing high intensity or interval exercise. Just light or moderate intensity aerobic exercise which is scientifically proven to maximize fat burning. This means you can combine multi-diet dieting with some easy physical activities to burn more fat without hunger, food cravings or tiredness. You can lose weight and get fitter and healthier at the same time.
The Pick ‘n Mix Diet published by Meyer & Meyer is released this week and is available from all good book stores and online retailers, along with Professor Gleeson’s other books, Eat, Move, Sleep, Repeat - a healthy lifestyle guidebook, and Beating Type 2 Diabetes. Further information can be found at www.meyer-meyer-sport.co.uk
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