10 Facts About Weight Loss and Food That Nobody Told You

It can be a real challenge with weight loss and food. It can be very difficult trying to buy and eat healthy weight loss foods. What foods are good for you and what foods should you avoid? Take a look at these 10 facts about weight loss and food that will help you with your diet.

1. Some Foods Actually Combat Belly Fat.

Cruciferous vegetables, like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussels sprouts, radishes and kale all contain nutrients that help counteract elements that trigger the body to deposit fat around your stomach.

2. Give Your Diet Variety.

Bland or plain food can make sweet, high calorie alternatives more tempting. To liven up your meals, you can use spices and herbs for flavouring without adding loads of calories or fat. Cook on an open flame to add flavor to meat, fish, and poultry.

3. Eat More Water Rich Foods.

Foods that are high in water and fibre but low in calories will help your weight loss diet. These include cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, watermelon, berries and apples.

4. You Can’t Just Eat Negative Calorie Foods.

Negative calorie foods are those where you use more calories in eating and digesting the food than it is made actually up of. Celery is the most famous variety but if you ate celery all the time you would not receive the nutritional requirements that your body needs and you might even starve.

5. Eat Healthy Fats.

Fish and raw nuts provide good sources of healthy fats. You need to eat healthy fats to develop the brain, provide the body system with energy and help to produce hormones. Healthy fats also enable your body system use vitamins more efficiently.

6. You Need Protein.

The protein rich foods for weight loss are fish, beans and poultry. Without protein you will have issues with exhaustion, sleeping difficulties, and weakness.

7. Eat Smaller Portions Of Food More Often.

Eating smaller portions will help your weight loss diet plan. The body really only needs about 300-400 calories in one sitting. Any more than that is turned into fat stores.

8. Eat At Least One Portion Of Fruit Or Veg With Every Meal.

Have some fruit with your breakfast, some salad or steamed vegetables with your lunch and vegetables with your dinner. Doing this will supply your body with a healthy stream of natural carbohydrates right through the day.

9. Substitute An Unnatural Carbohydrate For A Natural Carbohydrate.

If you eat a candy bar and a bag of crisps on a daily basis, dump one and substitute it with a natural carbohydrate like an apple or an orange. Doing this will reduce some calories from of your day and increase your intake of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients.

10. Avoid Processed Foods.

Processed foods are those that come in a box, can, bag or carton and often altered to prolong shelf life resulting in little or nutritional value. Watch out for the ‘fat free’ versions of processed foods as well. Manufacturers take out the fat but frequently add extra sugar to boost the taste which usually results in additional calories.

The Trauma of Weight Gain

Weight gain can occur for many reasons, however the effects of drastic weight gain can be extremely devastating.

In the United States today, three quarters of the population are overweight to some degree or obese. The numbers of overweight people are staggering, and they are rising every year. Of the three quarters of the population, approximately one third are children under the age of eighteen.

Being overweight can be devastating, especially for children. They are teased more often which can lead to low self esteem, anger, and depression.

School systems around the country have recognized that the problem is growing. They have initiated changes in the menus that they serve to include healthier choices. Many schools no longer serve cheeseburgers and fries or even pizza. They, along with pediatricians and nutritionists have created menus that the children will like however they do not contain the fat and calories of previous menus.

Everyone agrees that it is difficult to loose weight. There are thousands of fad diets, and diet pills and supplements available on the market today. All claim to be the fastest weight loss product available. Many of them do work, however, once you stop taking them, you will gain the weight back and in many cases, more weight than you lost.

Experts agree that this occurs because the necessary dietary choices and exercise routines were not made. You cannot sustain weight loss if you do not change the dietary habits that caused you to gain weight to begin with.

Loosing weight is not an overnight process, nor will it only take two weeks. It took time to gain the weight it will take time to loose it.

Physicians, nutritionists, fitness trainers, and nearly every other professional in the health care industry agree that there is a certain routine that you must follow in order to lose weight.

· Set realistic weight loss goals for yourself – do not set your goals to high, when you do this, you are risking failure if you do not achieve your goal.

· Make healthy menu choices both at home and when you dine out. – Consult a nutritionist to assist you in creating a menu that you will like.

· Introduce an exercise routine that is not too strenuous and stick with it. – Many fitness centers have personal trainer that can assist you creating the perfect routine for you.

· Walking around your neighborhood for half an hour a day – this is not only good for your health, it may also relieve a lot of stress and help you sleep better.

Losing unwanted weight can be a very difficult process, however it can be done. You not only have to commit yourself to losing weight, you also have to create a program that works for you.

Are Your Relationships Fat?

Successful weight management requires a lifestyle change that includes healthy eating patterns and lots of activity. Making far-reaching changes may be even more challenging if you are involved in relationships that promote or support an unhealthy approach to eating and exercise.

For example, does your best friend agree to go to the gym with you but, once there, grumble and complain the entire time? After an hour with a whiner, who wouldn’t avoid the activity again?

Does your mother tell you that you need to lose weight but constantly push fattening food at you when you visit?

Common saboteurs to a healthy lifestyle are the relationships around you. After all, change can be frightening or threatening within a relationship.

Take the spouse or partner who becomes nervous or argumentative when you being to lose weight. This partner may have his/her own weight problems or simply feel more comfortable when you are lacking self-esteem. When one partner begins to actively work on lifestyle issues and loses a few pounds, the saboteur may accept an invitation to a lavish party, or bring home chocolates, or simply insist on restaurants that lack healthy food choices.

Their actions may be entirely unconscious – they may actually believe they are rewarding the dieter for their efforts. Suggesting to your partner that a non-food reward would be more positive and encouraging is important. Clear and effective communication is often the cure for many ripples in fat relationships.

Parents and relatives offer a special dilemma when they have a long-standing history of aiding and abetting various food transgressions: Aunt Millie, who loves to bake dozens of your favorite cookies; Grandpa, who has always secretly smuggled candy bars in past Grandma’s watchful eye; the ever-present mother who shows her love by cooking and feeding her brood.

The longer the habit or ritual in family life, the harder it is to break. Also, it is difficult to be assertive when you realize the person is not consciously attempting to harm you – in fact, they often see their actions as loving or affectionate.

The hidden bonus in these often guilt-ridden situations is that they are the perfect ground to practice boundary-setting. Try to see your well-meaning relatives, spouse, parents or siblings as built-in practice participants.

Start with easy boundaries. Do you only see Aunt Millie once or twice a year? Gently tell her you want to visit her and spend time with her, but your tastes have changed and you are not as fond of cookies as you were as a child. If she insists on making them, simply do not eat them – not even one!

When you notice other people interfering with how or what you eat, look for agendas like guilt, jealousy, fear, control issues, resentment, and loss of socialization. Changing the status quo of a relationship when a great deal of the relationship is built on eating together always stirs up some complicated emotions.

When embarking on a healthier lifestyle, it’s important to foresee these issues arising and be prepared to address them. Here are some tips for doing that:

(1) Be clear and direct about what concerns you. Don’t let resentments or jealousy grow.

(2) Be curious. Ask questions of your friend, relative or partner. Rather than accuse them of jealousy, try “What’s going on here?” or “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

(3) State your needs without emotion, accusation or blame. Try “It would mean a lot to me if I had your support for what I’m doing” or “If you reserve your judgment about what I eat, it would allow me to make my own choices and learn from them.”