Nutrition

Achieving Body Goals: Flexible Dieting

Food is a safe haven and eating is a stress reliever. Some people try to cope up with their stress through eating food. It’s an easy way out for the people who have their stress pent up from school or work. Moreover, food is everywhere. Buffets, cafes and fast foods can be seen on every corner of the city.

However there are some people who are overly conscious of their figures that they try to avoid every temptation. They try to eat as little food as possible and try to count the calories of everything they see on their plate. Moreover, you have to sacrifice eating your favorite foods, especially fast foods. (Goodbye, burgers and milkshakes)

Eating and dieting aren’t that bad. It’s a way to keep healthy. However, when is it too much? People mostly have no idea when they eat too much or diet too much. The only time they stop their activities is when they have reached the extremes like obesity due to overeating or anorexia due to too much dieting.

If your goal is to achieve a certain body composition, flexible dieting is an ideal. Flexible Dieting or If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) can help you calculate your macronutrient ratios based on your age, weight, height, gender and level of activity that you do each day. Using the calculator, it will compute your macronutrient ratios and count the macros to lose, gain or maintain your muscles.

This is a huge help for people who wish to know if they are still in the safe zone or extreme borderline already. This would also be helpful to those who can’t stick to a strict diet. In flexible dieting, you can eat anything you want as long as it is within the range of your macros. This is an easy way to keep healthy, and you still get to eat what you want. (You can still eat your pizza!).

In fact, flexible dieting is the type of dieting used by bodybuilders. This can help them calculate the muscle they have accurately and help them decide on whether to add, subtract or maintain the amount of muscle in their body.

Why count macronutrients instead of calories you may ask?

In flexible dieting, macronutrients are counted instead of calories because macronutrients help you focus on improving your body composition. You can get the sexy body you want while giving in to cravings and learning to have a moderate food intake. You just have to calculate the amount of carbohydrates, protein and fat your dish has.

.This is more effective since losing calories just reduces your weight, but it doesn’t help much with your body composition. Moreover, it’s flexible. You just have to reduce or increase the amount of food you take without sacrificing your favorites in the list.

It’s not easy to diet as it takes discipline and self-control. It takes the mind and the body in order to achieve the ideal body shape you’ve been dreaming of. So if you want an easy and healthy way to diet, then Flexible Dieting could be right for you.

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Hunger Hormones: How They Work

Did you know Hormones are at work whenever you feel hungry? These are called “hunger hormones.” At least six hunger hormones are working together with other minor hunger hormones in signaling your brain and your stomach. In this article, you will learn about three of the major hunger hormones that affect your willpower to lose weight.

Leptin

This hunger hormone is your “fullness” signal. Fat cells release this hormone. Leptin tells your brain that the calories are enough for your body. It acts as a brake for overeating. That’s why when you are on a diet, leptin levels are low. Low levels of leptin trigger you to eat more until leptin reaches a normal level. It closely works with insulin and thyroid hormones to keep your body at a healthy weight.

Once your body develops resistance to these hormones, you are at risk of overeating and constant pangs of hunger. You will find it hard to stop eating even if your stomach is full. Ultimately, this will cause you to gain weight. Scientists have found that obese people have higher levels of leptin. Ironically, their brain and bodies cannot process the signals that the leptin hormones send to stop overeating.

Thus, leptin sensitivity is essential in keeping a healthy weight. Other hormones such as insulin and thyroid hormones are also important to weight management. These hormones tell your brain to stop eating because when your caloric intake is enough to carry out your body's metabolic processes.

Ghrelin

This hunger hormone activates hunger. It induces appetite. The levels of ghrelin increase when you are hungry and decrease once you are full. For people who suffer appetite loss, their ghrelin levels may not be enough to induce them to eat despite being hungry.

Ghrelin is essential in keeping you alive. Without a sensitivity of the brain to this hormone, you may not experience hunger pangs. You do not know when to eat to keep your body nourished and healthy.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY)

NPY is a stronger hunger hormone than ghrelin. Similar to ghrelin, it triggers hungry mode and delays the “fullness” signal from leptin. Since body mechanisms are created in a complex manner, leptin still inhibits ghrelin and neuropeptide hormones. But with a decreased sensitivity to leptin, your brain and stomach may have delayed reactions from this inhibiting factor.

When these hormones do not behave as they should, you might feel hungry even eating after two hours. This vicious cycle is the culprit of weight gain and obesity. Aside from these hormones, emotional and stress factors can also be triggers. Medical conditions such as hypothyroidism are also factors in weight gain problems.

Can you control your hunger hormones? Yes. Scientists have proven that eating nutritious moderately fat enriched foods is helpful in keeping your hunger hormones at bay. Food products that are high in protein and have a moderate level of carbohydrates are beneficial in keeping you sated until the next hunger pangs occur. This is a period of about 4 to 5 hours in between meals.

These hunger hormones are essential in keeping you healthy. Hunger is good since it tells your body that it’s time for nourishment. However, when hunger pangs occur more often than is necessary, seek help before it’s too late. It might be something more serious.

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5 Reasons Having A Meal Prep Service Will Change Your Life

Signing up for a meal prep service can be a daunting task to many. The upfront cost seems scary, and you always tell yourself "I could just cook at home". The reality is, most of us end up with expiring food, piles of dishes, and take-out meals that are unhealthy and expensive. Here's how Movement Food can really change your life.

1. Calorie Controlled Meals

When it comes to weight-loss or weight gain, the calories you consume is the deciding factor. Take-out food often doesn't have the calories listed, so you're left guessing. Weighing everything out at home just makes cooking even more of a hassle. Take the guesswork out and scan the barcode on Movement Food meals to keep track of your caloric intake, and you will smash your fitness goals like never before.

2. Healthy Food

Movement Food sources its meat from ethical free-range, antibiotic-free, hormone-free suppliers. A wide variety of protein choices are available, and there are always clean carbs and fibre-filled vegetables included in each meal. Whether you are training to reach your next deadlift PR, prepping for a marathon, or just trying to lose some weight, quality nutrition is the most important factor.

3. Time Is Money

It might appear that a meal prep service is more expensive than cooking at home, but when you look at the reality, it might not actually add up that way. The time you spend every week planning for meals, shopping for groceries, cooking, and cleaning is staggering. And of course, when you're having a lazy day that whole budget gets blown when you order a single takeout meal for $30. Realistically, if you value your time as money, you will be saving money by investing in a meal prep service. Spend your time doing what you love!

4. Coaching

Movement Food was founded to help people reach their goals, whatever they are. With the purchase of a meal plan, we are happy to consult you with nutrition and fitness advice to help you get where you want to be.

5. It tastes Amazing

Our chef has crafted over 30 dishes, each infused with unique spices and complimented with the appropriate garnishes, dips, carbs, and vegetables. There's always a wide variety of options for you to switch it up every week, and even a plant-based menu for taking your health to the next level.