Being obese shatters your self-esteem and puts you at risk for type 2 diabetes and other health problems. Unfortunately, there is no magic potion to lose weight. The most efficient way to shed a few is to skip the fad diets and follow a healthy eating plan instead.
A Fad Diet is Not Healthy Eating
Every time a new fad diet hits the market, people line up in droves to try it out. Once consumers realize the diet is a waste of money, the fad quickly fizzles. Severely restricting carbohydrates or starving yourself to lose weight can be dangerous and these types of diets only yield short-term results.
Carbohydrates provide the body with the fuel it needs to get things done. If you don't get enough carbohydrates in your diet, you will be weak, fatigued and simple tasks will feel impossible.
Grains are not the only source of carbohydrates. This compound is also found in fruits and vegetable. These foods are rich in a number of vitamins and minerals that work in unison to help the body tick. When you reduce or eliminate your fruit and vegetable intake, you put yourself at risk for malnutrition.
A liquid diet is designed to severely restrict your caloric intake in order to force your body to shed pounds. Unfortunately, this type of diet has the opposite effect. When you don't get the calories your body needs to function, it goes into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down in an effort to conserve energy.
Even though you lose weight in the beginning stages of a liquid diet, you'll likely gain it all back once you start eating solid foods again. You may even end up plumper than you were before you started dieting.
Liquid diets can put you at risk for nutritional deficiencies that can lead to bone loss, organ damage, lowered immune function, muscle weakness, anemia and mental and physical fatigue. Overly restrictive diets can also cause cholesterol to accumulate in the gallbladder and eventually lead to gallstones.
Even popular diets that encourage you to eat pre-packaged, frozen meals are no good. Although you see success stories from these weight loss programs, the frozen foods included with these diets have no nutritional value and they are littered with chemical additives that can cause health problems later down the line.
Foods to Include in a Healthy Eating Plan
When you eliminate the processed foods and replace them with fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, lean meats, whole eggs, fish and poultry, you will get the complex carbohydrates, protein, iron, calcium, healthy fats and other nutrients that are essential components of a healthy diet.
Buy organic foods whenever possible. Doing this will reduce your risk of ingesting the pesticides, growth hormones, herbicides and antibiotics that conventional farmers use to grow and raise food. Over time, these chemicals can accumulate in your body and contribute to health conditions.
Maintaining Nutritious Eating Habits
Even though you're trying to shed a few pounds, never think of yourself as being on a diet. The term "diet" makes you feel restricted and implies that healthy eating is a punishment that will end as soon as you lose enough weight.
Instead, think of your new eating plan as lifestyle change that's designed to improve your health. When you look at nutritious eating this way, you are more likely to stick with it for the rest of your life.
No matter how desperate you are to lose weight, going on some crazy diet is not going to give you the kind of results you're looking for. If you skip the fad diet and opt for a healthy eating plan, you'll get a greater return from your weight loss efforts.
A Fad Diet is Not Healthy Eating
Every time a new fad diet hits the market, people line up in droves to try it out. Once consumers realize the diet is a waste of money, the fad quickly fizzles. Severely restricting carbohydrates or starving yourself to lose weight can be dangerous and these types of diets only yield short-term results.
Carbohydrates provide the body with the fuel it needs to get things done. If you don't get enough carbohydrates in your diet, you will be weak, fatigued and simple tasks will feel impossible.
Grains are not the only source of carbohydrates. This compound is also found in fruits and vegetable. These foods are rich in a number of vitamins and minerals that work in unison to help the body tick. When you reduce or eliminate your fruit and vegetable intake, you put yourself at risk for malnutrition.
A liquid diet is designed to severely restrict your caloric intake in order to force your body to shed pounds. Unfortunately, this type of diet has the opposite effect. When you don't get the calories your body needs to function, it goes into starvation mode and your metabolism slows down in an effort to conserve energy.
Even though you lose weight in the beginning stages of a liquid diet, you'll likely gain it all back once you start eating solid foods again. You may even end up plumper than you were before you started dieting.
Liquid diets can put you at risk for nutritional deficiencies that can lead to bone loss, organ damage, lowered immune function, muscle weakness, anemia and mental and physical fatigue. Overly restrictive diets can also cause cholesterol to accumulate in the gallbladder and eventually lead to gallstones.
Even popular diets that encourage you to eat pre-packaged, frozen meals are no good. Although you see success stories from these weight loss programs, the frozen foods included with these diets have no nutritional value and they are littered with chemical additives that can cause health problems later down the line.
Foods to Include in a Healthy Eating Plan
When you eliminate the processed foods and replace them with fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, lean meats, whole eggs, fish and poultry, you will get the complex carbohydrates, protein, iron, calcium, healthy fats and other nutrients that are essential components of a healthy diet.
Buy organic foods whenever possible. Doing this will reduce your risk of ingesting the pesticides, growth hormones, herbicides and antibiotics that conventional farmers use to grow and raise food. Over time, these chemicals can accumulate in your body and contribute to health conditions.
Maintaining Nutritious Eating Habits
Even though you're trying to shed a few pounds, never think of yourself as being on a diet. The term "diet" makes you feel restricted and implies that healthy eating is a punishment that will end as soon as you lose enough weight.
Instead, think of your new eating plan as lifestyle change that's designed to improve your health. When you look at nutritious eating this way, you are more likely to stick with it for the rest of your life.
No matter how desperate you are to lose weight, going on some crazy diet is not going to give you the kind of results you're looking for. If you skip the fad diet and opt for a healthy eating plan, you'll get a greater return from your weight loss efforts.
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