What to Eat to Lose Weight Healthily
In our modern lives, we’re constantly pushed to consume foods, drinks, and meals, each more appetizing than the last. And this becomes even more difficult when you’re trying to lose weight. While the offerings keep increasing and diversifying at high speed, knowing what to eat to lose weight can prove complicated. And yet, the rules for a healthy and balanced diet are quite simple and have long-term benefits, both for weight and for general health, thus preventing many complications such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, excess weight, and others. To clarify everything, here are some tips to follow for a balanced diet and to lose weight.
Foods to privilege
The golden rule for weight loss – and for healthy eating habits in general – is to privilege natural, unprocessed foods such as:
- Vegetables: High in fibre and nutrients, they should be consumed daily and without limits.
- Lean meats – that is to say, poultry, pork, and lamb – are an important source of protein, which the body and the muscles need to stay in shape. You can settle for eating these once or twice a week.
- Fish and seafood are full of omega-3s and essential nutrients for your health. You should integrate them into your diet every day.
- Eggs are also an excellent source of protein, particularly concentrated in the white.
- Nuts and seeds, such as hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, quinoa, etc., are full of nutrients. You should eat them in moderation to compensate for their high calorie content.
- Fruits, which are high in fibre and vitamins, are essential to a balanced diet. However, they’re also high in natural sugars, and should therefore be consumed in moderation to lose weight.
- Good fats, which can be found in natural oils, yogurt, and cheese.
These elements should be integrated into a complete diet to create a healthy dietary balance in response to your nutritional needs and weight goals.
Foods to avoid
By cutting out these foods to avoid, or even banishing them from your diet, you make your food choices easier. By limiting the following foods, you facilitate weight loss and you adopt good habits for life!
- Trans fats are genetically modified fats that are extremely bad for your health. The Canadian government also plans to ban them in 2018. In the meantime, processed products and fried foods should be avoided.
- Sugar is also the source of many cardiovascular health problems. Addictive and fattening, you should eliminate it in favour of natural sources of sugar such as maple syrup, honey, and agave.
- Processed products are generally low in nutrients and contain high levels of salt, trans fats, and other chemicals.
In conclusion, to lose weight, the rules to follow in terms of diet are quite simple: privilege natural products and avoid processed products. To mitigate cravings or get through busy weeks, fast and truly healthy solutions exist. You should choose these products based on their ingredients and their nutritional content. Indeed, you should seek to balance your intake of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Depending on your weight, your physical activity, and your medical history, nutritional needs will be very different, hence the importance of consulting a professional before developing your personal diet.
