This recipe led to my life-changing fat loss:
I shed 14 pounds in only a few weeks.
EditEating Right
-
Choose lean proteins instead of fatty ones. Protein is important for organ function and building muscle. Select lean cuts of beef or extra-lean ground beef when you're eating red meat. Remove skin from chicken before cooking.[2]
- Skip the fatty deli meats like bologna and salami. Choose lean turkey or roast beef as a replacement.
- Vegetarians can get plenty of protein from soy, nuts, beans and seeds. Lentils, legumes, and beans are excellent sources of fiber and protein.
- Eat low-fat dairy for a source of protein, including low-fat cheeses and nonfat yogurt. [3]
-
Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables. Fruit helps to satisfy your sweet tooth thanks to its natural sugars, while fresh vegetables help your stomach fill up more quickly. Fruits and vegetables contain fiber to help you feel full quickly.[4] Try some of these tips to introduce more fruit and vegetables into your diet:
- Eat what is in season and eat fruit and vegetables for snacks or, for dessert. When you eat apples in the fall, for instance, or cherries in late summer, it might as well be an indulgent dessert. Cut up celery, carrots, peppers, broccoli or cauliflower and dip them in a light salad dressing or hummus.
- Use vegetables as a main dish. For example, make a stir-fry or a hearty salad and add just a few ounces of cooked chicken, salmon or almonds.
-
Eat more whole grains and cut simple carbs. Whole wheat bread, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, sweet potato, and brown rice are all excellent sources of energy and sources of nutrition. Combined with the right combination of proteins and vegetables, whole grains are perfect all-around nutrition.[5]
- Simple carbs are things like white bread, processed flour, and white sugar. This gives you energy quickly but then comes with a crash. It turns into fat very quickly.
- Substitute whole wheat flour or oat flour into pancakes or baked goods. You might need to add additional leavening ingredients, like baking powder or yeast. Put barley in your soup instead of rice or try a pilaf with barley, wild rice or brown rice.
- Eat only naturally-occurring carbohydrates instead of processed carbohydrates. Avoid processed foods, like white bread, semolina pasta or crackers, or processed sweets like candy bars or sugary vegetables.[6]
-
Try a formal diet plan. If you like the idea of following a more specific diet and putting the planning into someone else's hands, try following a new diet and exercise:
- Follow a paleo diet and eat grass-produced meat, fish, and seafood, fresh fruits, and vegetables, eggs, seeds and nuts, just like paleo-humans did. Eat nothing prepackaged or processed.[7]
- Try sticking to raw foods. The Raw Food Diet requires 75 percent of your dietary intake to be uncooked. Most people eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and beans.[8]
- Join a commercial diet plan. If you prefer to eat whatever you want and to meet weekly with other people who are losing weight, then try Weight Watchers. If you prefer prepared meals so that you don't have to cook, try Jenny Craig or NutriSystem.
-
-
-
EditLosing Weight Basics
-
Control your portions. One reason why you might have gained weight is due to eating portions that are too large. To start losing weight, you will need to eat smaller portions. Eating smaller portions can also help you to keep eating some of your favorite foods while still losing weight.[10]
- For example, before loading up your plate with half a frozen pizza, check the label to see what a portion size is and only put this amount on your plate.
- Or, if you want to have a bowl of cereal, check the box to see how much you can have for one serving and use a measuring cup to get the exact amount.
-
Write down everything you eat this week. People who keep food diaries, according to a study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, lose an average of 6 pounds (2.75 kg) more than people who don't keep a record of everything that they eat.[11] So force yourself to write down the good, the bad and the ugly. Keep these tips in mind:
- Be complete. Write it all down, including beverages, condiments, and a description of how the food was prepared. Don't pretend you didn't have that extra glass of wine after dinner. If it goes into your stomach, it goes into the journal.
- Be accurate. Record your portion sizes in your food diary. Don't eat too little or too much - keep track. Also, read the ingredients list so that you can be accurate about serving sizes.
- Be consistent. Carry your food journal everywhere that you go. As an alternative, you can use a diet-tracking app on your smartphone or tablet.
-
-
Make a meal plan, and stick to it. Decide what you're going to eat this week before you're standing at the fridge and trying to figure it out on the fly. Buy the right healthy ingredients to eat the way you want to eat, and plan it out by the calorie.
- Be realistic. If you like to eat out a lot, don't try to totally eliminate eating out. Instead, plan on eating home-cooked meals six days a week.
- Cut down on the snacking, or try to make them healthy snacks. Fresh vegetables with guacamole, unsalted almonds, or fruit make for great weight-loss snacks.
- Let yourself have non-food treats. Promise yourself that if you can follow this for six weeks and exercise (if that is one of your goals), you will treat yourself to a pedicure or a massage.
- Work indulgence foods into your calorie plan. If you do want to have something that is a little higher in calories, then make sure that you work it into your overall calorie goal for the day. For example, if you are following an 1,800 calorie plan, and you want to have a brownie that is 300 calories, then you would only have 1,500 calories left for the day.
-
Eat fewer calories than you burn. The only surefire way to lose weight is to eat less than you burn over the course of a day. Sounds simple, but it takes work and consistency. That means exercise. If you want to lose weight and stay healthy, you need to start exercising. Aim for 30 minutes of exercise 3-5 times a week to get started.
- Try to tally your energy-output each day. It's helpful to keep track of these with pedometers, or other weight-loss tracking apps that you can use to make this easier. Read the section about exercise for more specific tips.
- Set mini-goals. Instead of thinking that you need to lose 20 pounds, think that you want to lose 1 to 2 pounds this week. Or you can focus on non-pound goals like skipping after-dinner snacks this week or only drinking alcohol on weekends.
- It is important to understand that weight is entirely a function of input and output. The input is the food you eat and the calories contained therein. The output is your energy output. To lose weight the output needs to be greater than the input. It is that simple. Do not believe any of the diet fads. If you are currently not gaining or losing weight then just burning 300 extra calories per week or eating/drinking 300 calories less per week (2 sodas for example or a small burger) WILL make you lose weight - in this case around 5 pounds of fat per year.
-
EditExercising
-
Start doing basic aerobic and cardio exercise. Start with a small goal of 30 minutes, 3 times per week if you aren't exercising at all currently. Try these steps to get yourself going:[15]
- Buy a pedometer. Attach the pedometer to your belt and try to take 5,000 steps daily. Move up to a goal of 10,000 to 15,000 steps as you get in better shape.
- Start by walking. Walking around your neighborhood costs nothing and is a great way to start moving. You can also try other low-impact exercises like swimming, riding a bike or jogging.
-
-
-
Get into strength training. Start small, aiming for one or two 15-minute sessions per week until you feel motivated to do more. Exercise large muscle groups to burn more calories and lose weight, instead of focusing on specific muscles. Try some of these examples:
- Start with squats paired with an overhead dumbbell press to work your lower body and upper body at the same time.
- Perform resistance exercises while sitting or reclining on an exercise ball. You'll strengthen your core while simultaneously working on other areas.
- Use machines and free weights. These tools tend to focus on particular muscle groups like the arms, shoulders, thighs, glutes and upper back. Do these more focused exercises after you work on exercises for multiple muscle groups.
- Rest at least one full day between strength training workouts so that your muscles can recover. Recovery will help you to avoid pain and injury.
-
Play a sport. If you're not into the idea of exercise for the sake of exercise, try finding a fun activity that you enjoy, which has the added benefit of getting you moving. Find an intramural league in your town, or just get together with some friends to play a pick-up game every now and then.
- If you don't like competitive sports, try doing something that you can do by yourself. Swim, or play golf, or go hiking instead of playing a game with a ball and a net.
- Get a bicycle if you want to find a great way to get around and exercise at the same time. Don't spend all that time sitting down in your car when you could be burning calories.
EditStaying Motivated
-
-
-
Eat at home. Going out to eat makes it too easy to cheat. Food sold at restaurants is commonly much higher in fat, sodium, and other weight-loss killers. The portions are also often much larger than what you might usually eat at home, as well. Instead of heading out, try to make your own meals.
- Eat in a small group, instead of a large one. Some research shows that people eating at big tables tend to eat more than people eating alone.[17]
- Don't eat while you do other things, in general. Watching television, or reading, or working while you eat often causes people to eat much more food than they normally would.
-
-
No comments:
Post a Comment