HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT WITH COFFEE (PART 4)

EATING A BALANCED DIET

1 Eat regular, nutrient-rich meals.

Your diet plays a considerable role in how much shed weight and burn excess fat. Whole foods that are high in vitamins and minerals, complex carbohyrates, and moderate amounts of fat can promote your well being and help you lose weight.

• Subtracting 500 – 1000 calories per day from your current intake is a good rule of thumb to follow when cutting calories. Remember that you shouldn’t go below 1,200 calories a day or you may not see any results (because your body thinks you are starving and is conserving energy and fat) and you will also be miserable because you’re not getting enough to eat. If you want to know an exact number, the National Institutes of Health has devised a new tool that can help you specifically pinpoint how many calories you need every day in order to lose weight.
• Incorporate different foods from the five food groups into your daily meals and snacks. The five food groups are: fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins, and dairy. Make sure to vary your choices so that you get a range of nutrients to promote your health and weight loss. Health foods often also have a lot of fiber, which can help keep you full throughout the day.
• Eat whole fruits and vergetables such as raspberries, blueberries, broccoli and carrots. Get your whole grains from foods like whole wheat pasta or bread, oatmeal, brown rice or cereal. For protein, eat lean cuts of meat like pork or poultry as well as cooked beans, eggs, or peanut butter. Your dairy will come from sources like cheese, yogurt, cow and nut milks, and even ice cream.

2 Say no to junk food.

It might taste great, but junk food is a dieter’s worst enemy. Unhealthy foods are often loaded with fat and calories that can keep you from losing weight.

• Avoid starchy foods made out of refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, rice, and baked goods. Not eating these foods or replacing them with whole wheat versions can help keep you full and lose weight.
• Read labels for hidden sugar in your food choice. Look for words such as corn syrup, sucrose, dextrose, or maltose, which are types of sugars. Any word that ends in “ose” is a sugar.

3 Change your diet slowly.

Eating healthy is not something you do for a few weeks, but for your lifetime. This can help you lose and keep off the weight. You might be excited to overhaul your diet, but doing so gradually can keep you from going back to bad habits.

• Consider beginning by replacing processed foods or junk food. For example, try brown rice with meals instead of white rice. You can also add more vegetables to your plate than rice. You could also make air-popped popcorn or bake kale chips instead of having potato chips.
• Let yourself cheat once a week or if you reach a certain goal. Cheat days can revent cravings and overindulgence.

4 Write meal plans.

Having meal plans keeps you from easily falling back into bad eating habits. It can make it easier to make sure you are getting sufficient calories and nutrients without going over your calories for the day.

• Plan three meals and two snacks every day. Vary the types of food at each meal. For example, have a cup of yogurt with fresh berries, whole wheat toast, and coffee with skim milk for breaekfast. Make a salad with different vegetables, grilled chicken, and some hummus for lunch. For dinner, have a family dinner of fish with a small salad and a side of steamed cauliflower. If you want dessert, have some freah fruit or a sugar-free popsicle.
• If you know you will be dining out, include this in your plan. Either look at the restaurant’s online menu or call ahead to see what healthy choices they offer. Select a couple of defferent healthy options from the menu and put those on your plan. Make sure to stay away from buffets, bradbaskets, dishes in heavy sauces, and fried foods. Have an espresso instead of dessert unless if’s too close to your bedtime.

Source: Internet