When it comes to weight loss, the facts are clear: 80% of
weight loss comes down to dietary changes.
The food choices you make on a daily basis create the biggest impact on
your weight loss goals. Nutrition is absolutely CRITICAL to slimming down; the quality of you food you put into your
system 3 to 4 times a day determines how your digestive system, metabolic
system and even reproductive system function, making food an integral part of
weight loss as well as overall health and wellness.
So what are these healthy, weight loss promoting foods?
•Fresh Fruit: Berries and citrus are lowest in sugar, which
can be helpful for those focused on losing weight, but even high sugar fruits,
such as bananas and pineapple, are an excellent source of essential vitamins,
minerals and fiber. Plus, fresh fruit can be an excellent substitute for sugary
saboteurs such as cakes, cookies and candy.
•Vegetables: Sneak as many greens into your daily meals as
possible. Loaded with nutrients and fiber, they promote internal AND external
health while keeping your energy stable and your belly satisfied. And eat a
variety of vegetables to keep your taste buds engaged, your meals interesting
and your fat-burning potential humming.
•Lean Protein: This can mean lean animal protein from wild
caught fish, free range beef, cage free chicken and organic turkey or also lean
plant protein from sources such as lentils or spirulina.
•Healthy Fat: Avocado, olive oil, coconut or seeds add
flavor and satiety while encouraging the body to burn fat. A little goes a long
way, so think moderation when it comes to health fats.
To get the most fat-burning, weight loss results from food
changes, avoid the following:
•Processed Food: As Michael Pollan says: ‘If came from a
plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.’ Take a peek at the ingredient
list of packaged food and you’ll immediately see all the additives, sugar and
chemical fillers that sabotage weight loss plus lead to serious, chronic
illness and disease.
•Refined Sugar: Ah, sugar; the cause of much distress for so
many. And rightfully so; refined sugar spikes blood sugar, leading to energy
crashes, sugar cravings, poor metabolic function and hormonal imbalance.
Satisfy your energy and ‘sweet’ cravings with fresh fruit, sweet potatoes and
coconut shreds.
•Alcohol: While moderate alcohol intake can be part of a
balanced life, it’s also one of the biggest hindrance to weight loss. Try
reducing or substituting alcohol intake while focusing on weight loss to boost
your slimmer body efforts.
In addition to weight loss benefits, you also want to think
about the long term effects of your food choices when it comes to diet vs.
exercise. Consider the stories you read about people who lose weight by eating
McDonald’s once a day. They’ve restricted their caloric intake so much that yes,
they’ve lost weight even though they’re eating Big Mac’s. However the negative
health effects of such a diet reach far beyond the initial weight loss. For
starters, this is not a sustainable diet. And secondly, on a diet such as this,
the body is not getting adequate nutrients, vitamins and fiber, leading to
malnutrition. And finally, the inflammation and internal distress caused by
eating this way can and will lead to serious health problems such as heart
disease, high blood pressure and even cancer. This is not health. The scale may
temporarily report a lower number, but the damage done to the body will reduce
your quality of life, prematurely age you and lead to an earlier death.
So eat clean to lose weight, energize your body and
accomplish your health goals!
Guest blog post by Jodi Geigle.
Jodi Geigle is a board certified nutrition counselor and
founder of Eat Clean Health, a holistic nutrition company that specializes in
weight loss, digestive problems, women's health and sports nutrition. Jodi
works with clients who are interested in transforming their health through
clean eating. The nutrition programs offered by Jodi via Eat Clean Health
encourage clients to develop a deeper understanding of food and nutrition,
leading them to implement lasting changes that improve energy, digestion,
balance, and overall health and wellness. For extra support and information,
reach out directly and talk with Jodi about your personal health needs and
concerns. eatcleanhealth.com
I agree that dieting is generally more effective for weight loss. It's easier to lower your calorie intake to a greater degree than it is to burn more calories through increased exercise.
ReplyDeleteMost people who exercise to lose weight and don’t restrict calories shed only 2 to 3 percent of their weight over 6 to 12 months. Why? It’s much easier to deny yourself 500 calories a day—the amount you typically need to cut to lose a pound a week—than to burn that much through exercise. For instance, to work off almost 500 calories, a 155-pound woman would have to spend an hour pedaling a stationary bike at moderate intensity. Compare that with swapping a Starbucks Grande Caffé Mocha with 2 percent milk (200 calories without whipped cream) for a plain brewed coffee (5 calories) and eliminating a nightly bowl of ice cream (about 200 calories in a half cup) and a handful of potato chips (almost 160 calories).
ReplyDeleteLove the clean diet approach.
ReplyDeleteDiet is far more effective and easier in producing weight loss.
ReplyDeleteYes, the foods you intake is more important, especially the calorie have to careful each
ReplyDeleteday on your intake. Do is right will lose weight and health.
Honestly, I'd rather diet than exercise. Exercising requires time I don't have and effort I don't want to put out. But what sort of things could you eat instead of lentils and meat for protein? I'm looking to become a vegetarian, and I want to be healthy doing it.
ReplyDeleteA healthy eating plan that helps you manage your weight includes a variety of foods you may not have considered. If healthy eating makes you think about the foods you can't have, try refocusing on all the new foods you can eat.
ReplyDeleteDiet, diet and again diet.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post and a really informative comparison between diet vs exercise and their overall relation to weight loss. You think that it would be common sense that a bad diet will prevent you from properly losing weight despite the fact that you work out, but I see so many people who work out at the gym and then go and eat something full of fat or that's just unhealthy in general, and then complain when they don't reach the goals that they've set for themselves, not making the changes to their diet that will actually get them there. Thanks for the breakdown of good foods as well and how they help in different ways.
ReplyDeleteThis was my problem a while back. I was working out often and not eating the healthiest of foods. I tried to eat healthy, but it wasn't easy for me. I worked out every day, but I realized I didn't need to workout so much, I just needed to eat healthy and workout at least three times a week and now I'm as healthy as ever.
ReplyDeleteTo get the best out of life it's best to get in a good diet and a good workout routine for life. Eating healthy is obviously much better because we are what we eat. That's how I see it anyways. The more healthy we eat, our body has more energy and therefore we do more stuff. Working out on a poor diet, is frowned upon because it's not healthy and you or I could get injured.
ReplyDeleteI always thought it was a good balance of both. Even those commercials for diets say they work best with a "balanced diet", right?
ReplyDelete