The craze of weight loss is not just affecting those who are either obese or overweight. Even people of normal bodyweight are looking forward to dropping a few pounds, for they “feel” that they are overweight. The funnier part is how most people start their weight loss journey.
They would go around hunting for the latest and best weight loss and fat burning tips available out there. However, once they find those tips, they would do nothing and hope to find another, better way. It is as if they believe that merely finding the best weight loss tips and then just the act of knowing it is going to help them get rid of fat.
Folks, weight loss can happen only when you wake up from your inaction and take ACTION. Taking action doesn’t mean hunting for the latest fat burning tips or fad diets; rather, it means making a few simple changes to your current lifestyle. This means that you should stay away from bad foods – bad carbs, bad fats, etc., and focus on good carbs and good fats.
So What Are Bad Foods?
Chips, cookies, biscuits, cakes, candies, aerated drinks, colas, sodas, beer, alcohol, packaged fruit juice, fast foods, burgers, pizzas, white bread, sugar, white rice, white pasta, etc. They are called “bad” foods because they are:
a) High on calorie
b) Low on nutrition
c) Rich in saturated fats (a.k.a. “bad” fats)
d) Rich in simple carbs (a.k.a. “bad carbs)
Now What Are Good Foods?
Good foods are foods which are generally rich in nutrients like iron, calcium, vitamins, zinc, protein, etc. They are also rich in complex carbs and unsaturated fats, and low on calories. Generally speaking, your diet should consist of:
a) Protein: Basically, protein builds our body. The more protein you consume, the more muscle you are able to build. More muscle not only means a stronger but also flatter body, since muscles burn fat.
Foods such as eggs, lean chicken meat, etc., are rich in protein. As a rule of thumb, you should have these foods either in roasted or steamed form. Never fry them with fatty oil or all the nutrition would fly out of the window and what you would gain is fat.
Apart from these foods, you can also have protein shakes and protein supplements.
b) Unsaturated fats: These fats would provide ample nutrition to your body and unlike fast foods, won’t make you over either. Fishes (esp. oily fishes), a few types of nuts, etc., are rich in unsaturated fats. Some people prefer to have a fish oil supplement in addition to these foods, which is fine as well. Just make sure that the oil supplement is free from toxins and other poisonous substances.
c) Complex carbohydrates: Unlike simple carbohydrates (as available from junk foods) which get converted into glucose quickly and raise your blood sugar as well as fat level, complex carbohydrates take time to digest and as such, don’t make you fat. Foods such as whole grains, chicken, sea foods, tuna fishes, natural fruits and vegetables, etc., are all rich in complex carbs.
As you can see, you don’t eat to cut down on your food intake for the purpose of weight loss; instead, you need to cut down on the “bad” foods and focus on the “good” foods.