Healthy eating is a must in every diet plan. Reducing your calorie intake is necessary if you want to lose weight, but just reduce it without considering your nutrient intake will create many bigger problems namely lack of nutrients, hunger, and fast weight gain if you trying to eat normally again.
A healthy diet plan will include proper portion of foods with nutrient in its program so you can lose weight AND STAY HEALTHY at the same time; that is the lose weight – know the best way. Here are samples of four meals within a day of a healthy diet:
First meal:
Apple cut in slices
Roasted unsalted cashews
Fat free cottage cheese
Second meal:
Roast beef
Tuna mixed with Miracle Whip
Steamed broccoli
A can diet Barq’s rootbeer
Third meal:
Broiled orange roughly filet with lemon pepper and parsley
Unsalted walnuts
½ hour yoga and brisk walk
Fourth meal:
Small shrimp with lemon and cocktail sauce
English cheddar cheese
Pinto beans
Note:
* 64oz water throughout the day
* Keep in mind to space 2.5-3 hours before you have another meal
* There is no portion limitation; the rule is to eat until you satisfy
Based on the plan above, there are some facts about healthy diet plan that can be seen:
1. Eat enough calories
Reducing calorie intake drastically will create great impact to your ability to perform daily activities . When you’re on a diet, most of the time you’ll have less calorie intake than your normal day, but do remember NOT to take less than 1,200 calories per day.
Meal plan like the plan above will give you 1200-1600 calories per day which is enough to support your body throughout a day activities. It is really not recommended to cut less than that unless you are under doctor supervision.
2. Eat balanced diet
Although you are on a diet, ban one or more food groups from your meal plans are not advised. It is highly recommended that your diet allows various foods from different food groups to be served in proper portion.
3. Keep adequate meal portions throughout the day
Some diet force the dieter to cut their meal portion drastically, but lack of food will results in hunger and various side effect like hard to concentrate, anxiety, headache, etc. From the example above, you can see that even the portion is small, the plan include four meals with short interval, thus you can avoid hunger.
If you are somehow forced to eating out and can’t stick to the diet plan, just stick to the regular portion no matter how much the restaurant discount or promote their super size packet.
4. Control your milk and dairy foods intake
Milk and dairy foods have high saturated fat content, so it is not advisable to consume them in large quantities. However, they are good calcium source which is important for bone and teeth. Remember to choose the one that comes from grass-fed cattle and watch your portion while consuming dairy products.
5. Make sure to includes meat, fish, eggs, and beans in your meal plans
This food group is major protein source, which is needed for growth and repairs. Check the meal plan example above and you’ll find that it includes them all. Be very careful for red meat since it contains high level of saturated fats.
6. Limit saturated fat, trans fat, and sugar
A healthy diet plan must still includes fat in it meal plans, but avoid saturated and trans fat as much as possible since these two type of fats are associated with many chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease. It should also avoid too much sugary foods since it will make your weight management difficult.
7. Including exercise session
Exercise is a must in a healthy diet plan. You don’t need hours of cardio or weight training although those sure can help; instead, mild exercise such as yoga or light jog will do. The key in exercising is consistency; hours of weight training and sprinting for a week won’t be much use if you’re giving up on the next week.
With so many restrictions, you may think that your diet won’t be as effective as before, but don’t worry, you CAN have fast weight loss even with a diet that fulfill all those requirements, read more about it at fast fat burning method.
An advice: being in a diet doesn’t mean that you can’t eat your favorite foods or snacks that contain high saturated fat, sugar, or salt. Following your diet too strictly (especially if it ban all your favorite foods) will only result in depression and there is high possibility that you’ll quit before seeing any result at all. Occasionally, it is okay to have them as long as you keep it at low portion; it is even better if your diet include this (also known as ‘cheat day’) in its program.
If you are going for a diet, make sure you choose the right diet plan that not only will make you lose weight, but also keep you healthy in the process. Meal plans that fulfill those seven criteria and good exercise menu are the key; read more about a program that can give you those at another look at Fat Loss 4 Idiots.