Developing good eating habits and know when to eat and what to eat is the first step to a healthy weight loss diet.
Conventional wisdom has us eating 3 meals a day. However the secret to any successful and healthy weight loss diet is to eat 5 meals a day.
This is the way to help the body increase metabolic rate that will burn fats faster and efficiently.
In any healthy weight loss diet sufficient nutritional intake of carbohydrate, protein, fat and water is essential.
1. Carbohydrates
Better known as carbs for short, are sugars and its main function is to provide the body with energy.
It is stored in the liver and muscles and are known as glycogens. Too much intake of carbs will force the glycogen to turn into fats.
In any healthy weight loss diet eating the right carbs is essential. There are 2 types of carbs namely low-glycemic and high-glycemic carbs. Low-glycemic carbs releases glucagons into the body and utilizes fats as an energy source. High-glycemic carb foods includes baked potato, french fries, sugar sweetened beverages, candy bars, sugar and others increases the amount of glycogen levels in the body that converts to fats.
Eat the right carbs to avoid weight gain is the 1st nutritional guide in any healthy weight loss diet program.
2. Protein
Protein aids in the development and repairing of muscles, red blood cells, hair tissues and generates a healthy immune system.
Consuming high protein food is a good healthy weight loss diet that accelerates the development of muscles in the body that increases the metabolic rate and burns fats faster.
Healthy weight loss diet should include egg white, fish, meat, poultry, milk, vegetables and seeds
3. Fats
Fats have been given a bad reputation for years as it is always associated with weight gain. However fats are important for the formation of cell membranes, production of hormones and basic energy needs.
Knowing what type of fats to eat is essential in any healthy weight loss diet.
Eating good fats such as monosaturated fats helps reduce cholesterol level. Foods such as cashew nuts, almonds, avocados, virgin olive oil, pistachio nuts are well balanced healthy weight lost diet foods.
Polyunsaturated Fats, Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids, are needed by the body as it is unable to produce them on its own and is obtainable from our diet. They are essential in brain development, preventing heart disease, lower high blood pressure and increase HDL ‘good’ cholesterol level and maintain bone health. Healthy weight loss diet should include fish such as salmon and tuna, kiwifruit, walnuts and hazelnuts, meat and others.
Trans Fatty Acid is the worst fats that can be consumed. It is counter productive to any healthy weight loss diet as it increases the LDL (bad) cholesterol level and reduces the HDL (good) cholesterol level. Trans fatty acid are found in margarine and processed foods.
4. Water
Water is an essential part of a healthy weight loss diet. It helps transport nutrients throughout the body, regulates the body temperature and aids in digestion.
Water should be made a part of a health weight loss diet as it helps to burn fats because :
a. the body will automatically retain and store water in the cells thus increasing body weight if it lacks water. Once there is sufficient water then the stored water will be released into the body system.
b. without water the kidneys are unable to function efficiently and the liver has to assist. Therefore it is unable to burn as much fats thus storing them in the body instead. Drinking plenty of water will free the liver and burn the fats.
