LOSE WEIGHT BELLY

Losing weight is a serious problem for many Dutch people. This is evident from the fact that I get the question every week:  Mirjam, how do I lose belly fat ? Figures from the CBS show that 50% ( source # 1 ) of the Dutch population suffers from excess weight. In many people, this excess weight is visible around the abdomen in the form of belly fat.

Too much belly fat does not look beautiful but causes major health risks. Overweight and especially excess belly fat increase the risk of dangerous diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease. On the website of the diabetes fund you can read that the risk of these dangerous diseases can be reduced by 50% by living healthier ( source # 2 ). Losing a few pounds can make a big difference and reduce the health risks.

The good news is that belly does not have to be difficult. In this article you can read exactly what it takes to burn belly fat. Less belly fat means better health, better balance and more energy.

In this article you read:
Do I currently run health risks?
To determine whether you are currently running health risks, you can do a free test here . Discuss the results with a GP if there is reason to do so. The test indicates whether you are at present at risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and kidney damage. It is a scientifically based test developed by general practitioners.

If you do not want to do an extensive test but do know if you run health risks as a result of excess fat, then you can use the accompanying guideline. The guidelines below are based on the NHG standard Obesity ( source # 3 ).

You can measure the waist circumference as follows:
Grab a tape measure or tape measure. Then measure the waist circumference by placing the ribbon just above the pelvis and below the lower rib. Then do not pull the ribbon too tightly while you have exhaled. The number of centimeters that remains is the size of your belly.

A BMI measurement can also provide insight into any health risks. However, a healthy weight does not mean that there is no excess belly fat present. Therefore, the measurement of the abdominal circumference is a better method for estimating risks due to abdominal fat. However, it does not hurt to also gain insight into your BMI.

If you run health risks, it is important to do something about this right away. Meanwhile, I have gained a good understanding of why abdominal discomfort often fails. Given the large risks associated with abdominal fat, we quickly move on to the question of what you can do to quickly lose belly fat. The answer to this question starts with an insight into the fact that weight loss does not succeed so often.

Lose weight belly: where does it go wrong?
Lose weight belly health risks
Below are the two main causes why abortions often fail.

Too little food
People stop eating to lose weight as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, weight loss does not work in this way and food has two major negative consequences that ensure that you do not become slimmer around the stomach.

By stopping food you get hungry and this can cause you to eat (more) unhealthy snacks. The hunger feeling can not be permanently suppressed. Compare it with breathing. There comes a time when you literally start to smell for air.
Too little food can not be sustained in the long run. Much less food for weight loss is also known as the crash diet . It is known that this does not lead to sustainable weight loss results. This is because such a strict diet can not be sustained. In the beginning you usually lose a lot of kilos. However, there comes a time when you fall back into the old eating habits. Since these eating habits do not change, the lost kilos are there again.
By stopping food the metabolism decreases. Although there is no scientific evidence for this, the human body shoots into a kind of 'survival mode' and saves as much energy as possible. It is very economical with the energy that is available. Are you going to eat more then the metabolism remains low. The result is that the body burns fewer calories. The result may be a weight gain, for example around the abdomen. Fortunately, this metabolism can be increased again.
Wrong food
The main cause of overweight and abdominal fat is wrong nutrition. This often goes very unconsciously. You are under the impression that something is healthy and contains few calories while the reality looks very different. As a consumer, we are constantly being misled in the supermarkets and commercials.

Think for example of light products. This means that the product contains 30% less calories, sugars or fats compared to the regular product. You understand that the light product can still be very high in calories. This can be very misleading.

In reality, food from the supermarket is often packed with fast carbohydrates and saturated fats. They deliver a lot of calories, but your body has little or nothing. You get only short energy and it delivers few healthy nutrients.

The consequence of this is that you arrive, do not fall off and constantly fancy something tasty. The cause is the (too?) Commercial food industry. Everything must be cheap and long lasting and also taste and smell good.

Sometimes people try to lose belly fat with diet shakes. This is certainly possible but good insight into the advantages and disadvantages is important. In the article about  losing weight with shakes you can  read more about the advantages and disadvantages of diet shakes. In the article I have included a table in which well-known diet shakes are compared on the basis of price and quality.

Lose weight belly fat and nutrition
Nutrition is the most important button you can turn to quickly lose belly fat ( source # 5 ). Nutrition determines 70% of your body weight. After all, every form of food is burned differently by your body. One food digests very quickly and stimulates the burning of belly fat. Other food actually causes belly fat. Below you can read what is and what not to eat.

What do not eat if you want to quickly lose belly fat
Do not be tempted by products in the supermarket that claim:

Products with 0% fat. This says nothing about the amount of sugars.
Light products. The question is always: l ight to what? Light products contain 30% less calories than the original product according to the standard. So there can still be a lot of calories in it.
No added sugars. The product can still contain many sugars (calories). In addition, your body burns all the sugars in the same way. The body breaks down sugars into glucose which serves as fuel for your body. Sugars and added sugars deliver the same amount of calories.
Healthier choice.

Smoking damages the brain

Smoking is bad for your brain. Researcher Frank-Erik de Leeuw of Radboud University has now discovered why exactly: smoking damages the white matter, the neural pathways that transmit information between different brain areas. As a result, the thinking ability deteriorates. A cigarette makes you sharper in spirit anyway? Frank-Erik de Leeuw: 'Yes, that's it [...]

Smoking is bad for your brain. Researcher Frank-Erik de Leeuw of Radboud University has now discovered why exactly: smoking damages the white matter, the neural pathways that transmit information between different brain areas. As a result, the thinking ability deteriorates.

A cigarette makes you sharper in spirit anyway?

Frank-Erik de Leeuw: 'Yes, that is the acute effect of nicotine in your brain. But long-term smoking, as you get older, makes your cognitive functioning come in a faster descending line. A cigarette makes you sharper for a moment, but less sharply than before you started smoking. '

Do smokers notice something of that decline?

"No, the process is going too slowly for that. But they rather reach the lower limit of cognitive functioning: smokers are more likely to become demented. '

If you can not stop, is it worth it to at least smoke less?

'Yes, the fewer cigarettes you smoke in total, the less serious the damage to your brain.'

You discovered that the harmful effect is completely gone twenty years after you stopped. Does the damage also recover faster?

'Unfortunately not. We do suspect that a certain genetic predisposition makes your brain less vulnerable to smoking. '

Cigarette is smoking
'If you continue to smoke ...'

Quitting smoking can be extremely difficult, even for those who are really motivated: less than 10 percent of the stop attempts succeed.

British researchers now say they have found something that increases the chances of success: personalized risk information. More than 2,600 smokers who had already indicated that they wanted to stop, received a letter in which their GP explained how big the chances were that, given their current state of health and smoking habits, they would get a serious condition. They also read how much that risk would drop if they now renounce the tobacco.

People from this group were twice as likely to respond to the invitation to quit smoking as people from the control group who were only given a standard invitation. They also finished the course twice as often, and kept on smoking almost twice as often for at least a week. Men in particular were sensitive to such a personal risk calculation.

You can learn weight loss

Do you want to lose weight? Do not focus on the number of pounds you want to lose, says psychologist Arjan van Dam, but in the way you want to do that.

About half of the Dutch population is too fat: 51 percent of men and 42 percent of women. And those who are too fat have to exercise more and eat less - a message that is brought in many ways by nutritionists.

Psychologists naturally want to know why we eat too much. That is because we are bombed by signals that instruct us to eat. And because most people are not able to wonder after every bite if they already have enough. Moreover, the signal of saturation is only received after twenty minutes. Most meals do not last that long.

Every day we make about two hundred decisions about our food. What kind of sandwiches, how many sandwiches, what are we drinking, bragging, or no dessert? Most of those decisions go unconsciously.

It is therefore that most diets are so successful in the first instance. Whether we limit the number of calories, delete carbohydrates or just eat tomato soup, those who are dieting consciously think about every bite. That that works, and that everyone can lose weight, proved an American professor to his students in a personal experiment. Healthy is different, but it worked: on a diet of biscuits and pretzels he became thirteen kilos lighter in two months.

Fallacy

A recent publication shows that 95 percent of all people who lose weight after a diet come back just as much. In addition, the speed at which they lose weight is directly related to the speed with which they gain weight again. Anyone who loses five kilos in a miraculous way in a week will also receive another five kilos in a miraculous way in a week.

So far the bad news. The good news is that lasting weight loss is something that can be learned. It only takes a bit longer than we would wish. This is because becoming lighter is a learning process and not a one-off performance. That is exactly the fallacy of everyone who tries so hard to get rid of some kilos, says psychologist Arjan van Dam, author of The Art of Failure. When losing weight, he argues, it's not about the ultimate goal - the achievement - but about the learning goal.

What is the difference between the two? A performance target can easily be translated into numbers. For example: I want to be four kilos lighter in a month, or lose ten kilos before the summer. If that goal is not achieved, the attempt is basically unsuccessful. There you are on the beach with all those extra pounds. Too fat and a failure.

With a learning objective, you do not initially focus on what you want to achieve, but on what you want to learn to achieve it. And failures are also part of learning. Those who have put themselves on a ration of three dry crackers and an egg-cake learn little about healthy food. Whoever tries to learn to eat healthy, may also make a mistake in the form of a piece of chocolate. Because mistakes, says Van Dam, are part of the learning process. And, more importantly, mistakes also yield something. They encourage you to do your best, or to adjust your strategy.

The conclusion: do not get obsessed with the final goal, but focus your attention on the process of behavioral change. Losing weight is a process of change in your head. Moreover, it is something you can learn. And that is just a matter of trial and error.

Steam course to lose weight: the first steps

1. Remember that losing weight consists of different skills

Losing weight is not a skill in itself. It is something you achieve when you master other skills well, such as self-control, the motivation to exercise enough, and insight into a healthy eating pattern.

2. Focus on the process, not on the result

Compare with the performance of a top athlete. In order to be able to deliver a top performance, an athlete must not concentrate on the price, but on what is needed to win that prize. When you lose weight, it does the same: do not focus on the number of kilos you want to lose, but on how you can learn to permanently change your diet.

3. Set up learning goals for yourself

What do you want to improve? Formulate it as a learning goal. More often say no if someone offers you a pastry, more exercise than just walking up and down to your car, eating fruit and vegetables every day: you can learn it all.

4. Think about different strategies

If you want to learn something, it is useful to try out different strategies. For example, if you can not eat healthier every day, try it every other day, or only on working days. If that does not work either, then move more - keep looking for a way that is most suitable for you.

5. Reward the efforts, not the results

When you are learning something, it is more important that you exert yourself for it than what the outcome is. Results can sometimes be disappointing despite the effort. Reward the effort, not the result. Remember: you are learning!

6. Make it fun

Try to imagine for yourself how you can make the whole process more fun. Find a sport that you like to practice, or go dancing. Make food that you like and that is healthy too. If you like something, you can keep it up for longer.

Low Carbohydrate Diet Plan - Activate Your Fat Burning

In this article you can read exactly what you can eat to successfully lose weight with the low-carbohydrate diet.

With the low-carbohydrate diet plan from this article you will learn how much and which carbohydrates you can safely eat. If you follow the tips and recipes from this article, you can lose up to 2 kilos per week without starving yourself or taking expensive supplements.

A known mistake  that you can make with a low-carbohydrate diet is that you eat too little or accidentally too many carbohydrates. Consequence: you do not fall off or even gain weight.

With the low carbohydrate diet plan from this article (including explanations, recipes, weekly menu, tips and shopping list) you are assured of the right amount of carbohydrates, so you are guaranteed to lose weight and lose fat.

In this article you read:

Explanation and substantiation
How many carbohydrates you can eat per day
Low carbohydrate diet weekly menu
Additional tips for not experiencing any inconveniences
Free shopping list (pdf)
Let's start!

What is a low-carbohydrate diet?
A low-carb (low carb) diet is a diet where you eat between 50 and 100 grams of carbohydrates per day. With this diet you mainly eat fats and proteins, in combination with raw vegetable products such as fruit, vegetables and legumes.

With a low-carbohydrate diet you only eat carbohydrates from fresh, unprocessed products. That may sound easy, but it is unfortunately no longer.

The Dutch food watchdog Foodwatch examined the three largest supermarkets in the Netherlands. The study showed that more than 70% of the diet is highly processed (1). And processed food means very often: extra carbohydrates .

More than 70% of the food in the supermarket contains unnecessary sugars, fast carbohydrates or harmful oils. These are all fat makers because they obstruct fat burning. In fact, they stimulate the production of new fat. These products therefore do not fit within the low-carbohydrate diet.
Do not be alarmed, because there is good news. There are still many healthy products that you can enjoy during a low-carbohydrate diet.

Tip: download the free shopping list here . This contains all unprocessed products that fit within a low-carbohydrate diet. With the shopping list you can be sure that you do not get the wrong products.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates can be found in bread, pasta, noodles, potatoes, rice, grain products, fruit, vegetables and all sugary products such as sweets, pastries, cookies and ready-to-eat sauces. There is a difference between slow (good) and fast (bad) carbohydrates. You can read more about that later on.

Fats
Healthy fats are found in nuts, seeds, seeds, avocado, oily fish and coconut and olive oil. These fats help you lose weight, improve your cholesterol level and prevent your hunger during weight loss.

Proteins
Proteins (proteins) are the building blocks of your body and are found mainly in meat, fish and egg. Nuts, seeds, beans and cottage cheese also contain a relatively large amount of proteins. Proteins are indispensable for the production of, among other things, bone, cartilage, blood, hormones, tissue, hair and nails.

With a low-carbohydrate diet, you get your calories mainly from healthy fats and proteins . In addition, you eat a small amount of carbohydrates from fresh products such as fruit, vegetables, oats and legumes. This ratio ensures that you burn maximum fat.

You do not have to calculate the fat-protein-carbohydrate ratio yourself. In the free week menu at the bottom of this article we have already sorted this out for you. You only have to follow the recipes. With the recipes you stimulate fat burning and you fall off.

Do you still feel comfortable eating more fats, and are you afraid that you will get fat from eating fat? Then read the next piece (or continue to: how many carbohydrates you can eat per day ).

Does fat food make fat?
You would think that you store body fat by eating fats. That is partly true, but it is mainly the carbohydrates that provide excess fat.

The American cardiologist Robert Coleman Atkins already answered this question 40 years ago during his investigations. For years, Dr. was Atkins contradicted and ignored, until his work was accepted worldwide about 10 years ago.

For you this means that you have been misled for a long time about the truth about carbohydrates and fats. Healthy fats and proteins do not cause overweight. Too much of the wrong carbohydrates though.

We can not ignore it nowadays. There is unquestioning evidence that eating too many carbs is the main cause of excess body fat and a big belly. Below you can read briefly how many scientific studies have reached this conclusion.

Research
In a study, people were divided into two groups:

A group that ate low carbohydrate
A group that ate low in fat
Both groups were allowed to eat as many calories as they wanted. After 12 weeks, the low-carbohydrate group had lost 9.9 kilos, while the low-fat group had lost only 4.1 kilos (2).

Conclusion : the low-carbohydrate diet was 2.3 times more effective than the low-fat diet.

Other independent studies confirm the effectiveness of a low-carbohydrate diet (3,4,5,6).

In addition to losing a low-carbohydrate diet, this way of eating also provides other important benefits. For example, low-carbohydrate food can prevent the yo-yo effect (7) and even cause a reduction of excess and dangerous abdominal fat around the organs (8,9).

Overview of scientific studies on low-carbohydrate diets

Weight loss can be achieved in many different ways.

In this article we provide scientific evidence for the effectiveness and safety of a low-carbohydrate diet. We also discuss the criticisms of this diet.

The low-carbohydrate diet (or rather: diet) has different types. The absence of carbohydrates does not say anything about the rest of the diet.

At Pure Figure we use the following form of the low carbohydrate diet to promote weight loss:

Moderate low carbohydrate : 50-150 grams of carbohydrates per day, depending on your weight loss goal
Protein rich : 25-30% of the daily calorie intake consists of proteins
Rich in plant food : each meal contains at least one fruit or vegetable variety
Fiber-rich : at least 30 grams of fiber per 1800 kcal
Rich in healthy fats : omega 3 fats, unsaturated fats and saturated fats
Controversy around saturated fat
Saturated fat is an essential fatty acid. That is to say: you can not survive without saturated fat.

Since we have discovered how we can measure cholesterol, it is thought that all cholesterol is bad and that saturated fats have a negative effect on heart and blood vessels.

On the website of the Nutrition Center (consulted on September 14, 2018) it says: " Saturated fat increases the LDL cholesterol of the blood. Too high LDL cholesterol is not good for the blood vessels. "

We think differently about that. We think it is not that simple.

There are a number of critical factors for a good cholesterol level, namely 1) total cholesterol, 2) the ratio between LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol, 3) the hardness of LDL-cholesterol and 4) the oxidation of cholesterol. in the blood vessels.

Saturated fat in breastfeeding
Breastfeeding of Dutch women consists of 38% to 52% of saturated fat ( source ). There are strong indications that breastfed babies are less likely to be overweight later in life, have a higher IQ and are better protected against various diseases and allergies.

Mother Nature has thought that babies should mainly consume saturated fats and cholesterol. That is why we at Pure Figure are not convinced that all saturated fats are bad.

We believe that saturated fats have an important place in our diet, but in the right context (lots of vegetable, fresh and unprocessed food).

In this article we list scientific research on the low-carbohydrate diet and its effect on cholesterol levels.

Investigations about low carbohydrate
Research
Samaha, FF, Iqbal, N., Seshadri, P., Chicano, KL, Daily, DA, McGrory, J., ... & Stern, L. (2003). A low-carbohydrate as compared to a low-fat diet in severe obesity. New England Journal of Medicine .

The study:  132 people with severe overweight were randomly divided into two groups. One group followed a low-fat diet and the other group followed a low-carbohydrate diet. The group that followed a low-fat diet received a calorie-restricted diet, the group that followed a low-carbohydrate diet did not. The study lasted six months.

Result:  The low-carbohydrate group lost three times more weight than the low-fat group. On average, people from the low-carbohydrate group lost 5.8 kg per person, while people from the low-fat group lost an average of 1.9 kg per person.

The people from the low-carbohydrate group also improved their health in various areas. So they reduced their triglyceride values, they increased their insulin sensitivity and they had lower insulin levels.

Research
Sondike, SB, Copperman, N., & Jacobson, MS (2003). Effects of a low-carbohydrate diet on weight-loss and cardiovascular risk factor in overweight adolescents. The Journal of Pediatrics, 2003 .

The study:  30 young people with overweight were randomly divided into two groups. One group followed a low-fat diet and the other group followed a low-carbohydrate diet. The young people did not have to pay attention to the number of calories  they received. The study lasted 84 days (12 weeks).

Result:  The young people from the low-carbohydrate group lost an average of 9.9 kg per person, while the youth from the low-fat group lost an average of 4.1 kg per person. After 12 weeks, the young people from the low-carbohydrate group had better cholesterol levels than the youngsters from the low-fat group.

The results of this study can be found in the image below.
* Image free to use: Pure Figure gives permission to publish the above image on other websites, provided that "www.puurfiguur.nl" is included as a source.

Research
Brehm, BJ, Seeley, RJ, Daniels, SR, & D'alessio, DA (2003). A randomized trial comparing a very low carbohydrate diet and a calorie-restricted low fat diet and cardiovascular risk factors in healthy women. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2003 .

The study:  In a six-month study, 53 overweight women were randomly divided into two groups. One group followed a low-fat diet and the other group followed a low-carbohydrate diet. The group that followed a low-fat diet had to pay attention to the number of calories. The low-carbohydrate group received no calorie restriction.

Result:  Although the 'good' HDL cholesterol increased in both groups, the women in the low-carbohydrate group lost an average of 8.5 kilos per person in 6 months, whereas the women in the low-fat group lost an average of only 3.9 kilos per person. .

The researchers report in their paper that the low-carbohydrate group has successfully lost weight while important cardiovascular functions have not declined. This research supports the claim that a low-carbohydrate diet is a safe way of losing weight for women.

Research
Aude, YW, Agatston, AS, Lopez-Jimenez, F., Lieberman, EH, Almon, M., Hansen, M., ... & Hennekens, CH (2004). The national cholesterol education program is lower in carbohydrates and higher in protein and monounsaturated fat. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2004 .

The study:  In this study the results of the recommendations of the American National Cholesterol Education Program were compared with results of a low-carbohydrate diet with many unsaturated fatty acids. 60 people with overweight were randomly divided into two groups. One group followed a low-fat diet and the other group followed a low-carbohydrate diet. The study lasted 12 weeks.

Result:  The people from the low-carbohydrate group lost an average of 6.2 kilos per person, while the people from the low-fat group lost an average of only 3.4 kilos per person. In addition, people from the low-carbohydrate group lost more  belly fat , improved their triglyceride levels and improved the density of LDL values.

7 possible inconveniences with a low carbohydrate diet (and how to solve it)

A low-carbohydrate diet is one of the healthiest ways to quickly and permanently lose weight. But in the beginning it can take some getting used to, both mentally and physically.
Most people experience some discomfort when they start a low-carbohydrate diet.

This article is there to reassure you: it is not 'strange' to experience inconveniences in the beginning. Below you can read the seven most common inconveniences when you start with a low-carbohydrate diet, and you will find tips on how to reduce or resolve these side effects.

Rejuvenating carbohydrates
Your body has to switch from the burning of carbohydrates to the burning of fat. That changeover can be accompanied by a lot of sputtering, and you can suffer from that. Fatigue, headache, poor bowel movements and hunger are complaints that can occur when starting a low-carbohydrate diet.

You can compare these symptoms with a withdrawal period. The withdrawal period of carbohydrates lasts on average from a few days to two weeks. The less carbohydrates you eat, the more intense the side effects can be. This is annoying, but once you get through this, you will feel a lot more energetic, no longer suffer from 'snare attacks' and will not experience any hunger (even if you eat fewer calories). And not entirely unimportant: you fall off!

Are you considering eating less carbohydrates, but do not know where to start? Then read our article about the low- carbohydrate diet.


I am often tired
It may well be that you feel tired or even exhausted during the first few days. When you get up, you feel lethargic, you are not able to burn ahead and you have no energy for fun things. Fatigue is very annoying, but rest assured: it's all part of it.

Your body was used to the fact that energy was quickly available from carbohydrates. Now that you are getting fewer carbohydrates, your body has to learn to get energy from fats. In the meantime, you feel tired. This feeling can last for several days to two weeks. Eventually this feeling, often suddenly, disappears like snow in the sun and you will suddenly experience a lot of energy. At that moment you know that your body has learned to burn fat to get energy.

Tips for more energy
The most important thing is not to give in to the urge for sugar (for fast energy). Instead, follow the tips below to feel more energetic.

Tip 1: Drink green tea
drink in the morning and afternoon green tea : the theine in green tea gives you a subtle energy boost.

Tip 2: Take broth
In a low-carbohydrate diet you often eat less salt. Sometimes your body needs salt, for example if you have lost a lot of fluid. A cup of broth can help you to pep up.

Tip 3: Eat more slow carbohydrates
Do you still feel tired and limp after two weeks? Then you may need more carbohydrates. In that case add more slower carbohydrates to your diet.

I have a headache
No worries: headache is a common side effect of a low-carbohydrate diet. As soon as you lose weight and burn fat, waste substances are released that were stored in your fat cells. Your liver can handle this perfectly and will remove the waste. But in the meantime you unfortunately experience the unpleasant side effects. If you are prone to migraine, you may even get a migraine attack. Headaches can also be caused by a lack of fluid, exactly as is the case with a hangover.

Tips for headaches
Headaches can block your day. Follow the tips below to get rid of headaches.

Tip 1: Drink plenty of water
When it comes to headaches it is important that you drink a lot of water. Often, headache is a sign of fluid deficiency. Water with lemon is very tasty, and also herbal tea such as chamomile or star mint tea can alleviate headaches. You can drink unlimited herbal tea.

Tip 2: Relax
Taking a rest is just as important as drinking water. Only when you relax can the headache ebbed away. Sit or lie down with your eyes closed. Also a walk or other kind of quiet movement (such as yoga) can help to drain waste more quickly and reduce headaches.

Tip 3: Paracetamol
Does the headache last for hours? Paracetamol can provide relief and stop the vicious circle. Obviously do not take too much medication and dissolve headache preferably with rest and moisture.

I have a different bowel movement
If you follow the low-carbohydrate diet of Pure Figure, your body will receive enough fiber (which helps prevent bowel problems). Yet it can happen that you experience a different bowel movement. After all, you eat differently than you are used to. You can suffer from constipation or the opposite: diarrhea. This may have to do with your moisture balance or the amount of fiber or fat that you ingest.

It is important to drink a lot. Most stool problems arise because of lack of fluid. If you drink enough, the fibers get the chance to travel smoothly through your system. This loosens your constipation. Even if you have diarrhea, it is important to get enough fluid, but it is also important to eat enough salts. An extra pinch of sea salt with your meals is a good idea if you suffer from diarrhea.

Tips for a good bowel movement
Follow the tips below to solve a different bowel movement.

Tip 1: Drink lots of water
Make your water better by adding a little lemon juice or mint. Also regularly put a tasty herb tea (such as mint tea or chamomile tea) and pour your empty cup every time.

Tip 2: Eat high fiber.
Are you following a low-carbohydrate diet that contains little fiber? Then add products with fiber. Vegetables, fruit, legumes, oatmeal and linseed are very high in fiber. The best thing is to eat a high fiber breakfast : you benefit from it all day!

Tip 3: Get moving
Do you suffer from constipation? Then do a few yoga exercises to 'get things going', or go for a nice walk or jog. Movement stimulates your gut activity.
I often go hungry / hungry
A low-carbohydrate diet is the best diet to experience little hunger. Once your body is accustomed to burning fat for energy, you will hardly be hungry. Yet it can occur in the habituation phase that you just get hungry or hungry. Your body is whining about carbs because it is used to getting a lot of it.

We distinguish between hunger and appetite. With hunger you have a grinding stomach, and when you are hungry you have the urge to eat something (sweet). It is important that you do not give in to (sweet) appetite. The more steadfast you are in this, the sooner you will reach the stage where your body is no longer nagging about snacks. If you are hungry, that is a different story. A low-carbohydrate diet should be fun, and you should not suffer from it. If your stomach is rumbling or if you feel a bit dull or dizzy, eat a small low-carbohydrate snack.

Tip against hunger and appetite
In our low- carbohydrate snacks article you will find no less than 60 healthy snacks that you can eat between your meals. Did you know, for example, that you can eat almost unlimited snack vegetables? You can find them all in the article, along with other tasty snacks that are rich in fiber, proteins and healthy fats.

How do you eat low-carbohydrate outside the door?

A low-carbohydrate diet can be perfectly maintained at home, but can sometimes be difficult outside the door.

In this article we give you tips on how to maintain a low carbohydrate diet if you eat outside the door.

Do you have to be out for a longer period of time or are you often on the road? Not feared. With the tips below you can keep your low-carbohydrate lifestyle in every situation.

Thanks to this article, you can eat low-carbohydrate ...

Eating low on carbohydrates at work
Bread is easy to take with you to work, but is not convenient to eat if you want to lose weight with a low-carbohydrate diet. Below you can read our best tips for low-carbohydrate food at work.

Prepare your food in advance
Prepare your low- carbohydrate lunch the night before, so that you do not have a time problem in the morning. In English they call that 'mealpreppen'. You can even prepare meal for several days, for example, by making lunch for lunch on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

Lunch box with vegetables
Instead of taking your bread with you, you now fill your lunch box with vegetables, proteins and healthy fats. Actually exactly as you would eat at home. The only thing that differs is that you do not put your meal on a plate, but bring it in a container.

No idea what to do? Get your inspiration from the following options:

Steamed vegetables with fried chicken and unsalted cashew nuts
Green salad with smoked trout and cooked quinoa
Raw vegetables with chickpeas, with honey-mustard dressing made with quark
Kidney bean salad with celery, tuna and lemon juice
Omelet with smoked salmon, spinach and tomato
View our low- carbohydrate recipes here.

Rice waffles instead of bread
Rice waffles are lighter than bread and therefore contain far fewer carbohydrates. Replace two sandwiches with three rice cakes and fill them liberally with low-carb spreads, such as:

Hüttenkäse
Egg
Avocado
Chicken breast
Smoked salmon
Hummus
Sugar-free nut paste
Wrap your rice cakes in a container or bag and store the siege separately. This will prevent your rice cakes from becoming soft or wet.

If you need more carbohydrates, you can increase the portions as desired. In this article you can read how many carbohydrates you can eat per day .

The cabbage wrap is the new sandwich
Cabbage wraps are a low-carbohydrate replacement of the sandwich. Very suitable for those who enjoy the ease with which you eat a sandwich: you can simply eat them with your hands. Fill your cabbage wrap with smoked salmon, avocado and cottage cheese, or how about smoked chicken, courgettes and pesto?

Use good quality lunch drums
Leaking trays are your biggest enemy if you want to eat low on carbohydrates outdoors. There is nothing worse than a bag full of pickles, not to mention damaged equipment that is also present in your bag. Therefore, purchase containers of good quality that are 100% airtight. Give yourself good material. It is an investment in your health and your body.

Leftovers from the previous day
Do you have leftovers from your evening meal? You can take this with you to your work! Add some fresh vegetables, lettuce or a hard-boiled egg and you have a low-carbohydrate lunch.

Do not forget your cutlery
You're going to happen once: you've made a delicious salad and wrapped it in your nicest airtight drum, but once at work you find out that you can not eat your salad with your hands. You're still in 'bread mode'! Now you can often conjure a fork from somewhere, but it's a lot easier if you just think about it yourself. Put your cutlery in your bag the night before.

Take pepper and salt
A boiled egg is delicious as a snack, but a bland bite without pepper and salt. Your lunch salad is also extra tasty with some seasonings, especially if you do not use a greasy dressing. Buy a small can of pepper and salt and take it with you in your bag. There are even pepper and salt key chains!

Say no to cake
It is also important to say no, for yourself. Is there someone's birthday or is there just a box of biscuits in the kitchen at work? Ignore it. You have a mission: you want to lose weight and a healthy body. The only thing that free cake and cake gives you are free extra kilos. Choose a healthy snack, like this one below!

Low-carbohydrate snacks for your work
Do not just prepare your lunch, but also your snacks between meals. Stop two healthy low-carbohydrate snacks every day in your bag. Choose:

Boiled egg with pepper and salt
Half avocado with pepper and salt
150 grams of Greek yogurt with cinnamon
3 gherkins rolled in a slice of smoked meat
3 chicken fillet rolls filled with Hüttenkäse
20 grams of unsalted nuts
Slices of cucumber with hummus
Strips of red pepper with hummus
Radishes
Cherry tomatoes