You will see lots of pamphlets and blogs on the internet for losing seven pounds in a week or flattening stomach in a week, which is crazy and impossible ways to lose weight. There are some myths and misconceptions regarding weight loss and nutrition management. Here are some very basic information which may be handy for better understanding of the weight loss strategies, nutrition and healthy lifestyle.
Fad diet will not work and may harm your internal organs, proceed slowly
Fad diet plans are very low calorie diet plans. Some diet plans even have fewer than 800 calories per day which may cause serious cardiological complications. These diet plans may help to lose weight fast, but you will not get enough nutrition. Moreover it’s very difficult to continue this type of diet plans. Losing more than three pounds in a week increases chance of developing gallbladder stone. You should rely on low calorie diet and physical activates both for losing weight and maintaining good physique. After the first few weeks of weight loss you should avoid losing more than two pounds in a week.
Healthy eating for weight loss
Natural fiber is the best. So you should go for fresh fruits and vegetables. Half of your plate should contain fruits and vegetables. For fruits and vegetables rainbow is the best. That means it should have combination of all possible colors so that your plate is packed with fiber, minerals, and vitamins.
| Color | Fruits and vegetables |
| Red | Bell peppers, cherries, cranberries, onions, red beets, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon. |
| Green | Avocado, broccoli, cabbage, cucumber, dark lettuce, grapes, honeydew, kale, kiwi, spinach, zucchini. |
| Orange and yellow | Apricots, bananas, carrots, mangoes, oranges, peaches, squash, sweet potatoes. |
| Blue and purple | Blackberries, blueberries, grapes, plums, purple cabbage, purple carrots, purple potatoes. |
To limit eating you can go for smaller plate, it will help you to eat small portions. Using kitchen weighing scale and being aware of nutrition facts from food label is a must do task for healthy lifestyle and weight loss process. You need to decrease daily calorie consumption and increase physical activity to lose weight. Along with fruits and vegetables you need to consume low fat or fat free milk and low fat proteins. Low fat proteins include: beans, eggs, fish, lean meats, nuts, and poultry. At the same time you need to avoid added sugars, cholesterol, salt, and saturated fat.
You can eat fast foods also
There is no need to avoid fast foods while dieting. Yes, many fast foods are unhealthy. Their high calorie content may led to weight gain. But you can carefully select items both at home and away. You just need to avoid high calorie items and go for nutrient rich items. Opting small portion size is another tactic to avoid weight gain. While purchasing from shop you can check nutrition facts on label. Some restaurants also mention nutrition facts on menu and their websites. So before going to a specific restaurant, it’s always better to check the nutrition facts from their website.
In most of the cases nutrition facts don’t include sauces and extras like regular mayonnaise, tartar sauce, salad dressings, bacon, and cheese. So you should avoid or limit these things. There are few more techniques you can follow:
- Instead of fried items you can go for steamed or baked items,
- Take fresh foods to avoid canned items,
- Instead of soda you can drink fat-free milk or simple water,
- Take non-fat yogurt as desert.
Low cost option for healthy foods
Actually healthy foods doesn’t cost much. There are low cost options also. In the previous section I have advised to avoid canned food items. In some cases you can go for canned and frozen items also. They may be a lot cheaper and can have nutrient value similar to fresh ones. But you may need to rinse food items with water to remove salt. So before consuming canned items you should check added ingredients from the label first.
You are on a diet plan but still you can eat your favorite food item
You can still eat your favorite high calorie foods. Simply you need to be aware of calorie content, portion size and total calorie consumption per day. There are some ways to limit calorie content; for example baking instead of frying.
Some people eat whatever they want but still not obese
Yes, there are some people who never gain weight. But the basic principle of weight loss is you must burn more calories than you take. May be those guys have very active lifestyle. There are some other factors like age and genes. Please never forget that only diet restriction or only physical exercise will not work. You need both. Please consult with professionals to know which diet plan and exercise is most applicable for you.
Eating meat doesn’t necessarily make weight loss harder
Meats have some useful nutrients like iron, protein and zinc. Chicken, fish, pork and red meat contain some cholesterol and saturated fat. So you can limit eating those. But please don’t forget the fact that eating lean meat in small amounts is part of weight loss diet. In the butcher shop you can select cuts of meat which are lower in fat. After that before cooking you can try to trim fat as much as possible. Portion size is also important. It shouldn’t be more than three ounces. Chicken breast, pork loin and beef round steak, flank steak, and extra lean ground beef all have lower fat content.
Don’t avoid dairy products
In the road to losing weight, besides limiting calorie intake you must also make sure you are getting necessary nutrients. Dairy products are an easy option to get nutrients. These food items have protein which is essential to build muscle, these also offer calcium and vitamin D which are required for stronger bone. At the same time these food items have high fat content which means high in calories. You just need to consume fat-free or low fat milk, cheese and yogurt. These are as healthy as whole-milk products. Per day three cups of fat-free or low-fat milk or other dairy products are recommended.
Low-fat or fat-free doesn’t necessarily mean low calorie food item
There are some processed low-fat or fat-free food items. But in many cases ingredients like sugar, salt, flour and starch are used to prepare these foods. These ingredients add extra calories. In many cases low-fat or fat-free items and full-fat items have nearly same calorie content.
On next page: pros and cons of vegetarian diet, physical activities to lose weight and dangers of skipping breakfast.
