A Diet To Compliment Weight Loss
July 14, 2009
Weight loss and maintaining a healthy body seems to be on top of everyone’s to-do list. Most of are aware of foods that need to be avoided when trying to lose weight, but the awareness of what foods need to be consumed seems to be very low. The result of this is exhaustion from lack of nutrition and crash diets. Here are a few foods and food habits which will actually help you lose those unwanted pounds.
Breakfast
This is the most important meal of the day and one should never skip it especially if you are trying to shed a few pounds. A healthy wholesome breakfast which consists of protein and complex carbohydrates gives you the required amount of energy to make it through the day. A boiled egg and whole wheat toast with a glass of milk is a perfect combination of protein from the egg and milk and complex carbohydrates from bread. You can substitute the bread with a fruit. When in a hurry, you can grab a slice of cheese and eat a fruit on the way.
Snacking during the day
This is actually very healthy, provided you snack on nuts such almonds or walnuts and dry fruits such as dried prunes, apricots, plums or raisins. You don’t have to eat all of the listed at one time. 6 almonds and 2 prunes will keep you feeling full for quite some time. The key here is, never go beyond 2 hours without eating. Why? You may ask. Whether you are a homemaker or employed, all of us are continuously working and that way we loose out on energy. These small but wholesome snacks give us the bursts of energy that we require; they are like fuel for our body.
Snacking helps you maintain your blood sugar levels and keeps sending a signal to your brain that you are satisfied. This will also help you from feeling famished at lunch or dinner and stop you from over eating. Your snack time should ideally be in the middle of the day like 2 hours after breakfast and before lunch; also at about 4 pm. Chewing on a full fruit with some soy milk or cheese is a good choice, especially if you head directly to the gym after work. This will give you the energy to sustain yourself through the workout.
Main meals
Your dinner has to be light as compared to lunch. This is because our body slows down at night and stores in the calories, which then get converted to fat. Lunch could comprise of a turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes or some kind of salad with unsweetened yogurt. Substitute the turkey with chicken, or make a large bowl of salad and throw in some meat. Add some olive oil on top which is an excellent source of Omega 3, which is good for the heart.
Don’t cut out fats from your diet; add good fats to your meal. These are good for the heart and can actually help you throw out the bad fats from your blood stream. All your meals have to be a combination of protein and complex carbohydrates, such as fruits or raw vegetables, these give you the required energy and cutting out all carbohydrates is not advisable. They contain fiber, which acts like a fat magnet in your body and help you clean your system.
im allergic to milk due to my skin condition…im suffering from eczema and it causes itching on my legs…if there is a diet that you can recommend please mail me on these…thank you