Food & Diet Fundamentals for Effective Weight Loss

The only way to effectively lose weight in a healthy and controlled way, is to understand the nature of food, and how your body handles it. In this article we will tell you everything you need to know about food to help you lose weight more effectively. Once you understand the basic fundamentals of food and weight loss, you will be able to shed those pounds much more easily.

Weight Loss and Dieting

Calories

First of all, you need to understand what calories are. Calories are the cornerstone of any weight loss program. The general rule is that to lose a pound, you need to burn 3500 more calories than you eat. So if you want to lose a pound a week, you will need to burn 500 calories more than you take in, a day.

Of course not all foods are created equal. While Sweets and Chocolates are likely to be banned on most diets, many diet plans treat food to lose weight quite differently. For instance, the Adkins and South Beach diets encourage you to restrict your carbohydrate intake, while allowing you to eat as much protein and fat as you like. The Mediterranean diet, on the other hand, encourages you to eat complex carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, while limiting red meat and most kinds of fats. Both schools of thought on “food to lose weight” have their fans and followers.

Food For Weight Loss

When to Eat

The next thing you need to know is that the time of day that you eat is important. The old saying “eat like a King at breakfast, a prince at lunch and a pauper at dinner” is quite true for people wanting to lose weight.

A big breakfast is a good way to start the day because it will keep you full through to lunch. Having a moderate sized lunch and a light mid afternoon snack will keep you going through the afternoon, and helps keep your metabolism going. But let’s face it, how much energy do you really need in the evening? Most people watch television, read, or surf the internet after dinner. For this reason, a light dinner should be all you need. Also, close the kitchen after dinner and don’t eat for the four hours before you go to bed.

Choosing the Right Food for Weight Loss

The types of food you eat also play an important role in weight loss. Scrambled egg whites are a great breakfast base. For lunch, you can even eat out if you know what to choose. Any of the foods on the Subway “under 6” menu are perfect. For dinner, try a broth based soup to start with, followed by a salad with low fat dressing. Have a small serving of meat with a larger serving of vegetables.

The Right Food For Weight Loss

Snacks While Dieting

Of course, you are going to want snacks, and that’s okay, provided that you know what is good to eat. Häagen-Dazs ice cream can even be in your diet, as long as it is their delicious sorbet. Chocolate Dream cookies can substitute for your favorite chocolate chip cookies. But otherwise, rather stick to fruit, pretzels, and vegetables. I like to substitute my cravings for chocolate, with a raw carrot or two, as it keeps me busy and my mind off chocolate, and has the crunch factor I like.

Sodium Intake

Another issue to consider is how much sodium you have in your diet. Your body only needs about 500 grams of sodium a day, however most Americans consume between 3000 and 6000 grams a day. All that extra salt leads to bloating and weight gain. Drinking 8 or more glasses of water a day can help to mitigate this problem by flushing some of the sodium out of your system.

The food to lose weight connection is real. I encourage you to try to learn as much as you can about what foods actually contain, including their calorie count, and their carbohydrate, fat, protein, and sodium contents, and how you can use these foods to effectively lose weight.

How about you? Have you got any dieting tips of your own, or questions regarding weight loss? Let us know in the comments below.

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