Starting off a diet can be really difficult for most people. Which diet shall I follow? What are calories and macros? Why am I always hungry? Is life even worth living?
How about not following a diet, but following a healthy lifestyle for the rest of your life. It shouldn’t be temporary, it should be permanent. Here are the two main rules that will get you leaner and healthier.
1. Eat single ingredient/whole foods.
In our modern society we’re used to eating processed foods all the time. It’s literally everywhere. Consider some of these reasons to favor unprocessed foods:
- Processed foods contain more additives and preservatives and are often high in sodium.
- Some processed foods are loaded with sugar—soft drinks, candy, sugary cereals, baked products, frozen desserts, etc.
- High–calorie, low–fiber processed foods contribute to overeating and weight gain because you don’t feel full as quickly as with high–fiber whole foods.
Single ingredient foods/whole foods on the other hand:
- contain more vitamins and minerals than processed foods
- More fiber and beneficial fats are found in whole foods, which will make you feel satiated.
- Generally contain way less calories
Examples of single ingredient foods:
- Meats and seafood
- Eggs
- Oatmeal, Potatoes, Brown rice
- fruits and vegetables
- Nuts and seeds
- Etc.
So a good meal could be: Potatoes, chicken breast and a cup of veggies. Even our airplane meals contain single ingredient foods. Start off by selecting foods without a ingredient label and you’ll quickly see results!
2. Start working out
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Training burns a lot of calories. I do advocate working out with barbells and/or dumbbells than doing cardio if losing weight is the goal, with the reason that someone with larger muscles burns more calories in a resting state than someone with smaller muscles. This is because their metabolism rises just to maintain the functioning of their muscles. Start off easy. Start off with going once or twice a week. Plan ahead so you can’t go around it, even though you don’t ‘feel’ like going.
Reference: http://www.nutritionmd.org/nutrition_tips/nutrition_tips_understand_foods/whole_advantages.html
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