The following is assuming you are already active and have a daily exercise plan. If not, please read the Weightloss using Exercise section. Much of the advice here may fly against everything you have heard about diets. As long as you have an open mind and would consider a healthy weight loss diet, then read on.
In fact, for most people a ‘diet’ as such is a bad way for weight loss. Yes, some people may claim it will work wonders, but what about six months down the line? What then? Many will just give up because its too hard, they get bored or cave into the temptation of ‘treats’ like sweets and fatty junk foods.
Lets start by taking a look at a different way of thinking. Not revolutionary, just common sense.
The first rule is to eat more. That’s right. When you’re hungry – just eat. Why? If you are following an exercise routine and need to lose weight, you will need more (not less) calories. By not eating more, you will be starving your body and it will begin to destroy your muscle tissue, instead of building it up. Weight lost from muscle tissue, will mean no fat loss. And, you will also very likely make yourself ill. The key here for any healthy weight loss diet to work it has to be sustainable. You’re certainly not going to do that by starving yourself.
The real key to weight loss through diet management is deciding on what you actually eat. To begin, increase your protein intake. While it’s true that many diets will promote healthy foods like fruit, salad and yoghurt, and yes fruit and vegetables should be eaten for nutrition and energy, its protein which will help replenish your muscles. And don’t just choose any old protein, go for lean cuts of meat that are not floating in grease. Add taste with healthy flavourings like marinades. Find other sources of protein like meat, beans and nuts.
Make sure you have plenty of complex carbohydrates like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, which are ideal for weight loss, as they will keep you feeling full up and at the same time still light on the calories. Empty carbohydrates such as white bread should be avoided. They may not be too bad themselves, but don’t offer any nutritional value and leave you needing more food than you actually need. If you feel like a snack, dried fruit, nuts, whole grain pretzels, carrot sticks, etc. are the way to go. Sugars (candy, sweets (M&Ms), cake, soda) are much worse than empty carbohydrates.
You won’t need to abstain from them completely, you should not have more than one sugary food serving each day. Research has found people eating artificially sweetened snacks or drinking diet soda actually put on weight. Most cans of soda are packed with sugar, so actually count as two servings. Non-sugar sweeteners should be avoided, e.g. Aspartame, Splenda
Of course, stay away from fatty, greasy foods. They may not give you direct weight gain, but certainly slow down your metabolism, meaning its harder for you to lose weight, and are unhealthy in general.
Maintaining Weight
As with exercise,he need to find my balance. Maintaining good eating habits for a healthy weight loss diet can sometimes be a struggle, so you need to include treats at regular intervals. Let’s say if before you lost weight you had desert every two days, now that you have a regular weight loss plan, it’s certainly Ok to have a small desert everyday. An occasional bag of chips is acceptable too, but just don’t go crazy and have the same thing every day. Essentially, it’s all about moderation, help yourself to some treats every now and then, but keep it in check, don’t go overboard. Just stay away from the fatty greasy foods, even though they may seem tempting and most importantly, enjoy your food.
After Losing Weight
What happened after you lose weight using a healthy weight loss diet is just as important as what you do while you’re losing it. It’s all about maintaining your routine and keeping sensible. For instance, losing 50 pounds through healthy eating and exercise deserves a treat, so you should be ashamed of having a beer or a slice of cheese cake. Just make sure that the can of beer doesn’t turn into a crate, and the slice of cake doesn’t turn into a whole one. By enjoying your food you’re more likely to keep up with your routine. Maintaining a regular exercise routine whilst eating healthily will make sure you strike a happy if not healthy medium.
Maintaining Weight loss
As soon as you’ve reached your main target, you should make changes to your exercise routine. Your main priority should be to maintain any success that you’ve achieved. It’s now time to incorporate some Cardio into your program. Whether that’s joining a step class, boxer sizing or just running, biking or swimming. It’s up to you, to find what works best in your own circumstances, something that maintains your heart rate and keeps you motivated. As well as cardiovascular exercise, try incorporating strength training in order for you to achieve overall general fitness and maintain your muscle tone. He may also wish to focus specifically on weight training or bodybuilding, but this is only if you feel up to it. However, your main focus should be cardio, so you could have four days of cardio and one day of weightlifting.
If you want to lose weight fast it will mean making changes to your life style. Keeping the pounds off using a healthy weight loss diet means you will have to make changes which would only be temporary. By feeling better and looking better, you will have more energy and be able to enjoy life even more. You know you can do it.
