Diet world is very noisy. There is a lot of controversial advice regarding what you should or shouldn’t eat and in what proportions. There is no lack of diet gurus and diet fanatics who take the whole thing just a little bit too far… All this makes you sit there thinking, what’s the real deal? Do these people really care about your health and proper nutrition or they have some bottom line such as selling you their branded supplements and ready meals? All you want is a steady healthy weight loss, a diet that you can stick with, a diet that will make you look and feel better.
This article is basically a summary of best weight loss practices. The tips listed below will help you achieve healthy weight loss and improve your health and well-being at the same time.
What’s on your plate?
You can lose weight without exercise but you can’t lose weight without a diet. You have to control what you eat – there is no workaround but it doesn’t have to be hard. Don’t allow yourself to get dragged into low-carbohydrate vs low-fat debates. The reality is that there are good and bad points to both approaches. Everyone’s body is different, some things will work for some people better than for others. Obsessing about calories / fat grams / carbohydrate grams is not healthy. In addition, focusing on food when trying to lose weight is counterproductive.
Simply do this: mentally divide your plate into four sections. Fill one section with a high quality protein, another with a starch, and the remaining two sections with vegetables and/or fruits. If you want to lose weight a little faster you can omit the starch. Remember to eat high quality food, such as lean meats, eggs, brown rices, whole-grains and fresh vegetables and fruits. Do this at each meal and DON’T think about food!
Prepare in advance
Plan and cook your meals in advance. This will help you gain control over your eating and prevent you from caving in to impulses to overeat or eat low-quality food.
Drink water
Drinking plenty of water takes up space in your stomach producing the feeling of fullness. You can learn more about how water helps you lose weight here. Water is the best drink, but some other drinks will also do the trick – coffee is a good example.
Avoid juice and sugar-sweetened beverages
While natural juice has some nutritional benefit, it is also high in calories. Just one cup of orange juice contains 120 calories and it does a poor job at keeping you full. If you substitute the fruit itself for the fruit juice you will consume about half the calories and feel more satisfied. Also see Drinks to Avoid When Dieting.
Exercise
You don’t have to exercise to lose weight, but exercise does make things quicker and easier. Once again, don’t overdo. Pick exercise routine you enjoy and can stick with. 3 hours of vigorous activity per week is reasonable and doable for most people. This could be anything from jogging and swimming to dancing. In addition remember this rule: if something is within a walking distance simply WALK there.