Healthy Weight Loss Diets Help You Achieve 2 Goals..........Your weight loss and your nutrition intake. And don't be scare off by this phrase "healthy weight loss diets" -
I know what you're thinking: "She's gonna tell me to go on a strict diet that'll put my eating habit all upside down!" Hey, relax. No such thing. I'll not ask you to go on a particular "diet" to lose weight that cannot become a way of life for you. What I'm going to show you here:
Healthy weight loss diets you can enjoy and maintain as part of your lifestyle and at the same time help you to achieve 2 goals:
Does that sound better?
Instant Or Quick Weight Loss? Is there such a thing as "instant weight loss" or "quick weight loss"? I'm sure you've seen or even tried many, many weight loss diets and fad diets that claim to be able to cause weight loss instantly or quickly. Honestly, there's no easy way out for you to achieve weight loss. "Instant" and "quick" weight loss are just gimmicks to lure you into spending money on the "diet" program. To achieve weight loss and keep it permanently, you've to exercise (toning , cardios , strength training) and stick to healthy weight loss diets. Period. So, don't fall into the trap of wanting instant or quick results because there're none and the so called "diets" could have significant drawbacks. I believe they're not good for your body and your health. Wonder Diet Or Slimming Diet? Don't ever be conned into taking this kind of diet! Just so you may forget. There're no "wonder" diets or food which can cause weight loss. Neither can certain slimming diets cause weight loss from a particular part of your body. You gain weight in the areas where excess fat has been stored, usually on the hips and thighs in ladies and around the stomach in men. To lose weight, plan out your healthy weight loss diets in such a manner that your energy intake from food must be less than your energy output from food. Try to center around the habit of eating healthy foods that'll let you enjoy nutrients as well as cause you to lose weight and stay lean. I know it's a h...a...r...d... thing to do! Try start with one small step first..... I start off by changing my breakfast first - eat fresh fruits and dink fresh fruit juices (pure fruit juices, no sugar added) in the morning. Then, gradually, I migrate to eating green salads, lean meat (without skin) and non-fried stuff for lunch. My biggest obstacle is eating dinner since I've to eat with family members. You know, the socializing part and the family atmosphere will "tempt" you to eat rich and unhealthy food! So, I set off to "educate" them to eat healthy weight loss diets too. Mind you, it isn't easy. I don't say I've completely won them over, but at least they understand my "mission"....Hee....hee....hee....
A combination of weight loss exercise and healthy weight loss diets is the only key to losing your weight and keeping off your excess body fat. Trying to lose weight by doing one without the other always results in frustration.
You've seen how weight loss exercises help you to burn off excess body fat and build more lean muscles. Now I'll zoom in on weight loss diets that help you to lose weight and give you sufficient nutrients as well. Remember when you're on healthy weight loss diets, it's important you eat food that's nourishing and that gives you life. Choose a wide variety of nutritious foods such as vegetables, fruits, lean meat, poultry, fish and low fat dairy products that'll give you all the vital nutrients you required for good health.
Fruits and vegetables are important in your healthy weight loss diets as they're low in calories and low density foods that help you feel satisfied while controlling calorie intake and curbing overeating. They're also rich in anti-oxidants substances that help to prevent degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Almost everyone can benefit from eating more of fruits and vegetables, but I want to say that variety is as important as quantity. No single fruit or vegetable provides all of the nutrients you need. Try to increase the amount and choose a variety of different fruits and vegetables. Include these in your healthy weight loss diets:
Fresh fruit also makes a good choice for a low calorie dessert. Nutritionists recommend at least 10 servings a day rather than the often-recommended 5 servings. 10 servings a day may sound like a lot but it adds up easily if you add 2 servings to your 3 meals and 2 snacks.
Current recommendations say that you're to eat not more than 30% of total calories from fat. A high fat diet has been linked to heart disease, cancer and obesity .
If you're already eating a low fat diet, including lots of fruits and vegetables, eating less fat isn't necessary. It may actually be harmful. Fat is an essential nutrient and some fat is necessary in the taste of your food, and gives a filling of fullness or satiety.
Fats are therefore important parts of healthful weight loss diets. Following a very low fat diet may lead to problems absorbing fat soluble vitamins.
If you eat a very low fat diet, you'll feel hungry all the time and this can lead to overeating and unwanted weight gain. Not all fats are bad to your health.
Eating the right types of fats actually may improve your good cholesterol levels, lowers your risk of heart disease and cancer. Let's have a look at the "good" and "bad" fats: Bad Fat - Saturated Fat When you think of "bad" fats, think saturated.
Most saturated fats increase your blood cholesterol levels and risk of coronary artery disease. Usually solid or waxy at room temperature, saturated fat is most often found in animal products - such as red meat, poultry, butter and whole milk. Bad Fat -Trans Fat Trans fat (also referred to as trans-fatty acids) along with saturated fat, may raise your blood cholesterol levels and increase your risk of heart disease. It comes from adding hydrogen to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation. This makes the fat more solid and less likely to turn rancid. Hydrogenated fat is a common ingredient in commercial baked goods such as crackers, cookies and cakes and in fried foods such as doughnuts and French fries.
Shortenings and some margarine are high in trans fat too. Next time you go shopping for food, look for the words "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" in the list of ingredients to see if trans fat is included. Good Fat - Polyunsaturated Fat Usually liquid at room temperature and in the refrigerator. Polyunsaturated fats when used instead of saturated fats, help lower blood cholesterol levels. In addition, they may help reduce the amount of cholesterol deposits in your arteries.
Food high in polyunsaturated fats include vegetable oils such as safflower, corn, sunflower, soy and cottonseed oils. One type of polyunsaturated fat - omega-3 fatty acids, may be especially beneficial to your health as it appears to decrease your risk of heart attack, protect you against irregular heartbeats and lower your blood pressure levels. You'll find omega-3s mainly in fish, particularly in fatty, cold-water fish such as salmon, mackerel and herring. Lesser amounts are found in flaxseeds, soybeans and canola oil. You can get sufficient omega-3 fatty acids by including 2 to 3 servings of fish per week in your healthy weight loss diets. Good Fat - Monounsaturated Fat If used in place of other fats, monounsaturated fat can lower your risk of heart disease by reducing your blood cholesterol levels. In addition, monounsaturated fat, unlike polyunsaturated fat, is more resistant to oxidation - a process that leads to cell and tissue damage in your body. This type of fat is usually liquid at room temperature but may start to solidify in the refrigerator. Foods high in monounsaturated fat include olive, peanut and canola oils. Avocados and most nuts have high amounts of monounsaturated fat too. When planning your healthy weight loss diets, whenever possible, include unsaturated fats instead of saturated fats or trans fats in cooking. For example, use olive oil or vegetable oil instead of butter, shortening or stick margarine. Use olive oil-based salad dressings on salad instead of creamy dressings. Try to limit your fat consumption so that fat comprises about 25% of your daily caloric intake. Thus, by choosing the right fats in your weight loss diets, you can still enjoy your food healthily.
Take away the water, about 75% of your weight is protein. This chemical family is found throughout the body. It's in muscles, bone, skin, hair, nail, blood, enzyme and eventually every body part or tissue. The building blocks of protein are called amino acids. However, our body doesn't store amino acid; it needs a daily supply of amino acids to make new protein. Protein is also a natural fat burner because it helps you feel full and satisfied but most importantly it regulates your insulin response and prevent your body from storing too many calories as fat. When planning your healthy weight loss diets, try to take in around 30% of your daily calories from lean proteins such as:
If you eat meat, steer yourself toward the leanest cuts. Choose cuts of meat that're lower in fat such as pork tenderloin, beef round steak/tenderloin/sirloin tip, flank steak and extra lean ground beef. Your weight loss diets should include plenty of beans, soy, nuts and whole grains that are without much saturated fat and rich in protein, fiber and micro nutrients.
Much research has shown the benefits of fiber on our health. Its value as a laxative has been known for hundreds of years. But in the last 40 years, research has shown that fibrous foods might have other benefits. They may help regulate blood sugar, lower cholesterol and triglycerides, reduce risk of heart disease, reduce constipation, prevent colon cancer and support healthy weight control. There're 2 types of fiber: soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Soluble Fiber Forms a gel-like material in water.
Sources include:
Insoluble Fiber Does not dissolve in water and moves through our digestive system quickly and largely intact. Good sources include:
Both types of fiber add bulk and a feeling of fullness, letting you feel satisfied with less food and fewer calories. By adding more fruits, vegetables, beans and grains, you end up eating lesser amount of high fat food and junk food.
The fewer calories you take, the more weight you lose.
Carbohydrates are vital when you're on a weight loss diet because they provide fuel for your body and are great sources of energy especially when you combine weight loss exercises with your weight loss diets. The trick with carbohydrates (carbs for short) in your healthy weight loss diets is to stick to quality carbs and strictly limit processed carbs that typically contains plenty of sugar and hydrogenated fats. Good sources of carbohydrates include:
Carbohydrate foods are digested (broken down) by your body into glucose, which is a simple sugar that can be easily absorbed into the bloodstream. Carbohydrates are classified as simple or complex.
The classification depends on the chemical structure of the particular food source and reflects how quickly sugar is digested and absorbed. Simple carbohydrates have one (single) or two (double) sugars while complex carbohydrates have three or more. Examples of single sugars from food include:
Double sugars include:
Simple carbohydrates are broken down quickly by your body to be used as energy. They're found naturally in foods such as:
Complex carbohydrates are made up of sugar molecules that are strung together in long complex chains.
They're found in foods such as:
Complex carbohydrate foods provide vitamins and minerals that are vital for your health. Majority of carbohydrate intake in your weight loss diets should come from complex carbohydrates and naturally occurring sugars rather than refined or processed sugars. Both simple and complex carbohydrates are turned into glucose in your body and are used as energy. Glucose is used in the cells of your body and in the brain. Any unused glucose is stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen for use later. The American Council on Exercise recommends that 58% of your total calories should come from carbohydrates, preferably from complex carbohydrates and naturally occurring sugars. Foods that're high in processed, refined simple sugars provide calories, but they've few nutritional benefits. You're wise to limit intake of such sugars.
Unused glucose can be converted into fat and stored in fat cells, as fat calories are more easily stored in your body. Therefore, if you eat more sugars than you need, you'll gain weight. Most beverages contain all kinds of hidden calories in the form of sugar. This sugar could be refined or table sugar, powdered or confectioner's sugar, brown sugar, raw sugar, glucose, high fructose corn syrups, maltose, etc. If you drink more than 1 regular soda per day, replace one of them with a diet soda, water or skim milk. Drink fewer sugar-sweetened beverages (such as regular soda and fruit juice) or limit the use of sugar-containing beverages. Forget fizzy drinks like coke, sprite and lemonade. Mix half juice, half soda water for a substitute or use black currant concentrate with low glucose. Limit your alcohol intake in your healthy weight loss diets as alcohol is high in added sugar which can contribute to excessive calorie intake and increase your weight. Drinking juice or sugared soda can give you several hundred calories a day without you even realizing it. Drink plenty of plain water as it contains zero calories, acts as a natural appetite suppressant by keeping your stomach full and fending off dehydration. Most importantly, water helps your body metabolize stored fat by helping your kidney to flush out waste.
Finally, I reckon that your weight loss should be gradual. Any weight loss of more than 2 pounds a week means you're losing more than fat; you're losing lean body tissue as well. Lean body tissue is not only muscle, it's all other tissues in your body. This means you'll be losing something from your skin, hair, fingernails, heart, blood vessels and..... Hey, you can't afford to lose anything from these areas, can you? Your goal of ideal body weight should not measure against charts and fashion; it should measure more against your personal goals and attitude toward body image. Aim for what is comfortable for you and don't fall prey to the "perfect-thin-body" trap. Take into consideration your genetics, your age and your health when you're on healthy weight loss diets. You'll then enjoy your food and feel relax so much.......
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