Healthy Weight Loss & Dieting Tips

Hi guys, I get this question a lot about how to lose weight? Which meal plan is the best? And all that stuff. Well I have research a lot for you guys to answer your questions.

I know that following a diet is difficult. Maintaining a healthy weight can be tough and losing weight even tougher. Many of you have tried and failed to lose weight before or you have followed a diet and gained the weight back. 

But instead… SKIP THE DIET AND EAT CLEAN & HEALTHY ALL THE TIME… why? To provide the necessary nutrients that your body needs to create new cells, clean toxins, strengthened immune system; improved body weight, energy and physical strength; improved emotional health and extended life expectancy and to just function every day!

If you want to eat healthy, it is important to make healthy choices in what you eat all the time -- meals and snacks.

Traditional diets don’t work or at least not in the long term!! THEY ARE TEMPORARY.

Eating clean is something you must do for your entire life. Of course you can have a small cheat every once in a while (in moderation guys ;) !!).

According to Cassey Ho from Blogilates “having cheat meals helps you to have a more positive relationship with food. Making things forbidden or labeling them as “bad” makes you want them even more. It can even lead to some level of an eating disorder and even binging. By allowing yourself exposure and indulgence in such foods, you teach yourself how to react and handle being around tempting delicacies.”  I TOTALLY AGREE with Cassey! If you aren't training for a competition and just trying to live a healthy lifestyle, you shouldn't have to follow a strict diet with so many restrictions. That’s already a red alert for failure because your temptations will eventually give in or you’ll go crazy!!...

NOW let’s talk about the key to successful healthy weight loss!

Since 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat, if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'll lose approximately 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories). Simple, right? So If you eat more calories than you burn then you gain weight. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.

So why is weight loss so hard?

All too often, we make weight loss much more difficult than it needs to be with extreme diets that leave us cranky and starving, unhealthy lifestyle choices that undermine our dieting efforts, and emotional eating habits that stop us before we get started. By making smart choices every day, you can develop new eating habits and preferences that will leave you feeling satisfied—as well as winning the battle of the bulge.

How to get started with healthy weight loss? 

Think lifestyle change, not short-term diet. 

Permanent weight loss is not something that a “quick-fix” diet can achieve. Instead, think about weight loss as a permanent lifestyle change—a commitment to your health for life. Various popular diets can help to jump-start your weight loss, but permanent changes in your lifestyle and food choices are what will work in the long run.

      Find a cheering section. 
Social support means a lot. Seek out support—whether in the form of family, friends, or a support group—so that you can get the encouragement you need.

      Slow and steady wins the race. Aim to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week to ensure healthy weight loss. Losing weight too fast can take a toll on your mind and body, making you feel sluggish, drained, and sick. When you drop a lot of weight quickly, you’re actually losing mostly water and muscle, rather than fat.

      Set goals to keep you motivated. 
Short-term goals, like wanting to fit into a bikini for the summer, usually don’t work as well as goals like wanting to feel more confident or become healthier. When frustration and temptation strike, concentrate on the many benefits you will reap from being healthier and leaner.

      Use tools that help you track your progress. 
Keep a food journal but don’t weigh yourself regularly because if you do strength training you must know that muscles weight more than fat (this is so true so don’t worry about the weight, the most important thing here is that you feel more confident and look better). Take a before and after picture!, by keeping track of your weight loss efforts, you’ll see the results and it will help you stay motivated.

PS: Click HERE to see fitness apps to track your progress. And click HERE to see Helpful Weight-Loss Tools. 

You should keep on mind that reducing calorie intake promotes weight loss—type of diet isn't important.

T I P S 

Avoid common pitfalls!

Diets, often set you up for failure because:

You feel deprived. Diets that cut out entire groups of food, such as carbs or fat, are simply impractical, not to mention unhealthy. The key is moderation. Eliminating entire food groups doesn't allow for a healthy, well-rounded diet and creates nutritional imbalances.

You lose weight, but can’t keep it off. Diets that severely cut calories, restrict certain foods, or rely on ready-made meals might work in the short term. However, once you meet your weight loss goal, you don’t have a plan for maintaining your weight and the pounds quickly come back.

After your "diet", you seem to put on weight more quickly. When you drastically restrict your food intake, your metabolism will temporarily slow down. Once you start eating normally, you’ll gain weight until your metabolism bounces back—another reason why starvation or “fasting” diets are counterproductive.

You break your "diet" and feel too discouraged to try again. Just because you gave in to temptation doesn't mean all your hard work goes down the drain. Healthy eating is about the big picture. An occasional splurge won’t kill your efforts. Diets that are too restrictive are conducive to cheating—when you feel deprived, it’s easy to fall off the wagon.

The person on the commercial lost 30 lbs. in 2 months—and you haven’t. Diet companies make a lot of grandiose promises. Most are simply not realistic. Unfortunately, losing weight is not easy, and anyone who makes it seem that way is doing you a disservice. Don’t get discouraged by setting unrealistic goals!

Put a stop to emotional eating

We don’t always eat simply to satisfy hunger. If we did, no one would be overweight. All too often, we turn to food for comfort and stress relief. When this happens, we frequently pack on pounds.

Don’t underestimate the importance of putting a stop to emotional eating. Learning to recognize the emotional triggers that lead you to overeat and respond with healthier choices can make all the difference in your weight loss efforts.

To start, consider how and when you eat. Do you only eat when you are hungry, or do you reach for a snack while watching TV? Do you eat when you’re stressed or bored? When you’re lonely? To reward yourself?

Once you’ve identified your emotional eating tendencies, you can work towards gradually changing the habits and mental attitudes that have sabotaged your dieting efforts in the past.

PS: SOMETIMES WE CONFUSE HUNGER WITH THIRSTY!!

 Strategies to combat emotional eating

 If you turn to food at the end of a long day, find other soothing ways to reward yourself and de-stress. Relax with a book and a steaming cup of herbal tea, soak in a hot bath, or savor a beautiful view.

If you eat when you’re feeling low on energy, find other mid-afternoon pick-me-ups. Try walking around the block, listening to energizing music, or doing some quick stretches or jumping jacks. Another alternative is taking a short nap—just keep it to 30 minutes or less.

If you eat when you’re lonely or bored, reach out to others instead of reaching for the refrigerator. Call a friend who makes you laugh, take your dog for a walk, find a fun activity to do, or go out in public (to the library, the mall, or the grocery store—anywhere there’s people).

If you eat when you’re stressed, find healthier ways to calm yourself. Try exercise, yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises. Better manage stressful situations by either changing the situation or changing your reaction. See related articles below to learn more about stress management.

Tune in when you eat 

Pay attention to what you eat, savor each bite, and choose foods that are both nourishing and enjoyable. Mindful eating will help you lose weight and maintain your results.

Mindful Eating weight loss tips:

Pay attention while you’re eating. Eat slowly, savoring the smells and textures of your food. 

Avoid distractions while eating. Try not to eat while working, watching TV, reading, using a computer, or driving. It’s too easy to mindlessly overeat.

Chew your food thoroughly. Try chewing each bite 30 times before swallowing. You’ll prolong the experience and give yourself more time to enjoy each bite.

Stop eating before you are full. It takes time for the signal to reach your brain that you've had enough (about 20 minutes). Avoid the temptation to clean your plate.

Fill up with Veggies & Fruits

To lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories. But that doesn't necessarily mean you have to eat less food. You can fill up while on a diet, as long as you choose your foods wisely. The key is to add the types of food that can keep you feeling satisfied and full, without packing on the pounds.

Fiber: the secret to feeling satisfied while losing weight

If you want to lose weight without feeling hungry and deprived all the time, start eating foods high in fiber. High-fiber foods are higher in volume, which makes them filling. They also take longer to chew, which makes them more satisfying to eat. High-fiber foods also take a long time to digest, which means you’ll feel full longer. There’s nothing magic about it, but the weight-loss results may seem like it.

High-fiber heavyweights include:

Fruits and vegetables – strawberries, apples, oranges, berries, nectarines, plums, leafy salads, and green veggies of all kinds.

Beans – black beans, lentils, split peas, pinto beans, chickpeas. Add them to soups, salads, and entrees, or enjoy them as a hearty dish of their own.

Whole grains – Try high-fiber cereal, oatmeal, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, whole-wheat.

Fruits and vegetables to eat in moderation

Fruits and vegetables of all colors, shapes, and sizes are major players in a healthy diet, but you still need to watch out for the following potential diet busters.

Veggies that have been breaded or fried or doused in heavy sauces are no longer low-calorie, so tread with caution. Opt for healthier cooking methods, such as steaming, and use low-fat dressings and spices for flavor.

Salads are guilt-free—unless you drench them in high-fat dressing and toppings. By all means, add some nuts or cheese, but don’t overdo it. As for dressing, a little fat is healthy (try a vinaigrette made with olive oil), but again, moderation is key.

Dried Fruit. Be careful when it comes to dried fruit, which is high in calories and, often, in added sugar. You can eat a whole lot more fresh fruit for the same number of calories. If you do choose to snack on dried fruit, keep your serving size small.

Fruit Juice. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a glass of juice every now and again. But remember that the calories quickly add up, without doing much to make you feel full. Also make sure that your drink of choice is made from 100% fruit juice and contains no added sugar.

MORE & MORE TIPS ;)

Start the day with breakfast. People who eat breakfast tend to be thinner than those who don’t. Starting your day with a healthy breakfast will jumpstart your metabolism, plus, it will help keep you from binge eating later in the day.

Serve yourself smaller portions. One easy way to control portion size is by using small plates, bowls, and cups. This will make your portions appear larger. Don’t eat out of large bowls or directly from the food container or package, which makes it difficult to assess how much you've eaten.

Plan your meals and snacks ahead of time. You will be more inclined to eat in moderation if you have thought out healthy meals and snacks in advance. You can buy or create your own small portion snacks in plastic bags or containers. Eating on a schedule will also help you avoid eating when you aren't truly hungry.

Cook your own meals. Cooking meals at home allows you to control both portion size and what goes in to the food. Restaurant and packaged foods generally contain a lot more sodium, fat, and calories than food cooked at home—plus the portions sizes tend to be larger.

Don’t shop for groceries when you’re hungry. Create a shopping list and stick to it. Be especially careful to avoid foods at the ends of the aisles and along the perimeter, where grocers tend to sell high-calorie snack and convenience foods.

Out of sight, out of mind. Limit the amount of tempting foods you have at home. If you share a kitchen with non-dieters, store snack foods and other high-calorie indulgences in cabinets or drawers out of your sight.

Fast for 14-16 hours a day. Try to eat your last meal earlier in the day and then fast until breakfast the next morning. Early studies suggest that this simple dietary adjustment—eating only when you’re most active and giving your digestive system a long break each day—may help you to lose weight. After-dinner snacks tend to be high in fat and calories so are best avoided.

MAKE HEALTHY LIFESTYLE CHANGES!!

Get plenty of sleep. Lack of sleep has been shown to have a direct link to hunger, overeating, and weight gain. Exhaustion also impairs your judgment, which can lead to poor food choices. Aim for around 8 hours of quality sleep a night.

Turn off the TV. You actually burn less calories watching television than you do sleeping! If you simply can’t miss your favorite shows, get a little workout in while watching. Do easy exercises like squats, sit-ups, jogging in place, or using resistance bands or hand weights.

Get plenty of exercise. Exercise is a dieter’s best friend. It not only burns calories, but can actually improve your resting metabolism. No time for a long workout? Research shows that three 10-minute spurts of exercise per day are just as good as one 30-minute workout. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or park in the back of the parking lot. Every bit helps. (My daily routine is 10km running for cardio OR Elliptical Trainer/Machine for 30-40 minutes and 1-2 hours of toning & strength exercises!)

Drink more water. You can easily reduce your daily calorie intake by replacing soda, alcohol, or coffee with water. Thirst can also be confused with hunger, so by drinking water, you may avoid consuming extra calories, plus it will help you break down food more easily.

EAT CLEAN, TRAIN DIRTY ;)

Sources: Helpguide (by Melinda Smith, M.A., Maya W. Paul, and Suzanne Barston), blogilates (Cassey Ho), Livestrong.