People who want to lose weight often struggle with their chosen diet plan and this results in them giving up. If you are one of those people, I hope after reading this you will be able to master the diet game and achieve your goals.
First of all, you must understand that there are no magic foods that burn fat. In terms of weight loss, a calorie is a calorie. I see many people fall victim to believing in super foods or fat burning foods and they over-consume these without an awareness of how many calories they have eaten. Unsurprisingly, they pack on weight. In order to shape your body composition, a calorie is a calorie.
Some of these super foods may have more micronutrients than your average food, but it doesn’t mean you can over consume. There are differences between foods that are micronutrient and fibrous dense and foods that may be deemed “unhealthy”. To lose weight, make sure you track your macros and are aware of your calorie intake.
Next, and this is the most important tip, if you are trying to have a successful dieting plan you do not, I repeat do not, need to restrict yourself to an entirely “clean” food intake. Demonizing foods can be a detriment to your mental health and cause you to have unhealthy relationships with food. Moderation over restriction, any day.
If you have a plan you can only sustain for a week, and you end up overeating or binging because you’ve tried to restrict certain foods or have your calories too low, you are going to continue to spin your wheels.
A healthy relationship with food is paramount for long term success. You are setting yourself up for failure by using methods that result in a poor relationship with food. In order to set yourself up for long term success, the mental and emotional aspects of food, as well as the physical aspects, have to be taken into consideration.
7 Tips to Lose Weight
There are some very simple guidelines we can all follow to improve our health markers and lose weight.
- Eat a wide variety of fresh whole foods.
- Include the foods you love in your diet.
- Don’t over eat or eat anything in excess (including “healthy” foods). If you think you might have had enough, you have.
- Be mindful not to over eat carbs or fat from processed foods.
- Make sure you have sufficient protein with every meal and that you aren’t under-eating protein.
- Ensure you are eating enough fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes every day to have sufficient fiber in your diet.
- Make sure how you are eating is sustainable for the rest of your life.
That’s it.
-Blake Bernstein.