Say no-no to yo-yo and hello to healthy weight loss |
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New Year arrives, and it gets to us all: Diet Fever. As the fridge is emptied of the last of the left-over turkey, the feelings of guilt as a result of over-indulging during the Festive Season still linger. Not to mention the left-over padding that crept up around your mid-section while you were merrily noshing on mince pies and festive treats. While ultra-strict diets promise to magically melt away the fat, we say: no-no to yo-yo; hello to healthy weight loss - with a little help from Virgin Active Health Clubs.
So if starvation diets are not the answer to losing weight, then what is? Well, our answer to weight loss may not be a popular one. We can’t guarantee that you’ll drop a dress size in a week. But in the long term, we can vouch for a more energetic, healthier you. The weight loss is just a bonus. We say, eat a balanced diet, full of all the vitamins and nutrients you need for energy and vitality. And get moving with Virgin Active to lose all of the excess calories that you would have otherwise stored as fat. Follow these simple principles and pretty soon you’ll be on your way to a healthier, happier new you.
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Sounds too good to be true? Then consider these facts. Strict ‘detox’ diets that ditch entire food groups may give you the weight-loss results you want for the first week or so. But once you start eating normally again, the weight quickly creeps back on. Often, the weight you lose on a starvation diet is due to loss of muscle and water, instead of fat. What’s more, by following these near-starvation diets, you’re actually slowing your metabolism down. In the long term, this means it becomes harder to control your weight, as your body gets more efficient at surviving under stress, storing more of what you eat instead of burning it off.
The idea behind ‘detoxing’ is that we need to periodically clear the ‘toxic waste’ from our body in order to stay healthy. Popular detox diets can last anything from one day to around one month. Typically, they include fasting for short periods of time, consuming only liquids or fruits and vegetables, cutting out wheat and dairy foods, and avoiding caffeine and alcohol.
Truth is, there is no scientific evidence to suggest that we need to rid our body of toxins by starving it of the calories and the nutrients that it needs to be healthy. In fact, by starving your body, it will ultimately start to build up chemicals called ketones. These may result in nausea, dehydration, weakness, light-headedness and irritability. Also, a prolonged lack of protein causes your body to break down its own muscle tissue and can compromise your immune system.
Instead, concentrate on developing healthy, new eating habits that you can stick to long-term, and weight loss success will come easily.
Eat for energy
Starving your body by following a very restrictive diet will deprive it from the proper fuels available to carry out sustained exercise and activity. At Virgin Active, we know how important exercise is for general well-being and healthy weight management. That’s why we believe you should follow a healthy, sustainable diet that fuels your body for movement.
Recharge to recover
The best way to take a weight off your body and mind after the Christmas rush is by giving your body the rest it deserves. What better way to relax and de-stress than by booking an indulgent beauty treatment at a HeavenV spa near you? Or luxuriating in the fabulous pool and spa facilities at your nearest Virgin Active Health Club?
Move to lose
Instead of crunching your way through a heap of lettuce leaves, why not erase all evidence of your season’s eatings with a calorie-crunching, fat-busting workout at Virgin Active? With innovative equipment like Power Plate, Nautilus Treadclimber and Cardio Wave, core-strengthening classes like Punch, Gliding and V-Core, plus Kettlebells and Drums Alive, all you need this year is a gym membership with us.
Make this your healthiest year yet!
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