Yes, weight loss can be healthy… Actually, a healthy weight loss program is nothing else but the one that helps you maintain a balanced diet, supplies you with enough energy to see the day through without fatigue and, at the same time burns fat ASAP!
Adhering to your healthy weight loss program while at a restaurant might seem to be a tall order but there is a simple way you can do it. While eating home cooked food is ideal, I realize it is not always practical. So when you must visit a restaurant, order your food and also order an extra empty salad plate. Transfer half the food to the empty plate and request that the rest be bagged. A typical restaurant entree has anything from 1,200 to 2,400 calories and I’m not even counting the appetizer, bread, beverages and dessert.
Here are top 10 tips to help you with your healthy weight loss program
- When eating at home or at your office cafeteria, use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate. The small size salad plate will fill faster and contain less food (while still appearing full) than a large dinner plate.
- Always eat from a plate instead of from a tub, carton or bag.
- Always start your meal with the vegetables. Most people dislike eating vegetables so eat your vegetables first and then progress to items you like. Eat the food you like best, last.
- Your healthy weight loss program should ensure that your plate has food from no less than three food groups. It should therefore contain vegetables, fruits, whole grains and proteins. The quantity should be descending order i.e. maximum space should be occupied by vegetables and then fruits and so on.
- Have either a small (8oz) glass of low-fat milk or home-made yogurt.
- Include plenty of water in your healthy weight loss program
- Fruits should always be eaten fresh – not converted into a juice. Fruit juice has zero oxidants because the moment fruit is cut, it begins to lose the oxidants. Fruits should therefore be washed and eaten fresh; the cutting should happen in the mouth and the oxidation in your stomach, not in a blender in some factory. If for medical reasons you need to have fruit juice, drink it fresh – within minutes of pouring it from the blender.
- The ideal healthy weight loss program ensures that your calories come from fresh home-cooked meals and not from pre-packaged foods or fizzy beverages.
- Chew your food well. The saliva has important digestive properties and helps break down the food before it even reaches the stomach. Remember, that digestion begins in your mouth. Well digested food helps prevent the bloated sensation.
- Any good healthy weight loss program requires you to pay attention and listen to your stomach. Just as your stomach informs you when it is hungry, it also informs you when it is full – pay attention and stop eating the moment you begin to feel full.
If you follow these 10 tips, instead of adopting some ready-made weight loss program that is doomed to fail, you can make your own custom healthy weight loss program in no time 😉