You will never lose those excess pounds and become fit if you don’t eat healthily.
If you have tried dieting before, you certainly will agree that eating right isn’t easy.
Everything from your cravings to the stress of preparing meals may make it difficult for you to keep up with your diet. The cost of buying expensive healthy foods may also deter you from making the big decision to eat healthily.
See, the reason you have been struggling to keep up with your diet is likely because you aren’t armed with some valuable tips on putting together a weight loss diet.
Contrary to popular belief, not all healthy foods that can help you lose weight are super expensive. It may surprise you to know that some common foods that can be found in grocery stores can help you lose weight.
This article is going to unveil some of these foods and some tips that will prepare and help you stick to a healthy diet.
Planning a weight loss diet
To successfully lose weight, you have to pay close attention to quantity and the type of foods you eat.
Presently, there are a lot of healthy diet plans that can help you lose weight. If you do a little digging, you will find out that many of these plans have something in common. They all revolve around creating a caloric deficit (1) (2) (3) (4).
The obvious reason why these diets are tailored toward making people eat below their caloric requirement is that weight gain can still occur if you overeat healthy foods.
Below are some key things a good diet should consist of.
Includes lots of protein and fiber
Eating foods that are rich in protein and fiber can make you feel fuller and less likely to overeat.
Unlike carbs, which may leave you hungry and even crave unhealthy foods after a short while, protein-rich foods can help reduce cravings and even boost your metabolism (5) (6) (7).
Limits sugary and processed foods
Highly processed foods are usually very high in calories and low in nutrients. What’s more, you may not feel full and satisfied even if you consume a lot of them (8) (9).
Includes different types of veggies
Foods like vegetables are rich in powerful antioxidants that can improve your health. They are also loaded with fiber, an important nutrient that will make you less likely to overeat.
Common foods that you should consider adding to your weight loss diets
See, you don’t have to splash a lot of money buying super expensive healthy foods just because you want to lose weight.
Below are some healthy foods that can improve your health and help you lose weight.
Whole eggs
Eggs are high in protein and a few other nutrients that our body needs (10) (11).
Eating eggs for breakfast can help reduce your cravings for junk food and make you less likely to overeat.
One study in obese women found that eating eggs for breakfast canincrease satiety and fullness. The participants of the study who ate eggs instead of bagels for breakfast consumed fewer calories for the next 36 hours.
Eggs are an excellent addition to any diet because they are nutrients dense and low in calories.
The fact that eggs are great and loaded with protein, and other important nutrient doesn’t mean you should over eat them. Overeating eggs may raise your LDL cholesterol.
Lean beef
Most people won’t add beef to their diet because they have the notion that it is linked to a lot of health conditions.
New studies show that unprocessed meat isn’t as bad as many people think. These studies pointed out that they do not increase the risk of diabetes or heart disease (12) (13).
Meat is an excellent addition to any weight loss diet, as it is rich in protein.
Multiple studies have shown that eating high-protein foods like meat can help you burn between 80 to 100 calories daily (14) (15).
To get the most out of protein, you have to eat a sizable amount of it daily. Increasing your protein intake by 25% can help reduce your carvings by 60%.
Cottage cheese
Cottage cheese is a high-protein food you can find at most grocery stores and supermarkets.
Adding cottage cheese to your diet not only increases your protein intake but will also make you feel fuller.
Because cottage cheese is relatively low in calories, you can eat it without the fear of you gaining weight.
Besides making you feel fuller, cottage cheese can also make you lose weight.
One study found that dairy products like cottage cheese are high in calcium, an important nutrient that can increase fat burn (16).
Nuts
Nuts are rich in fat, fiber, protein, and a few other important nutrients.
Despite being high in fat, eating nuts won’t make you fat.
Several studies have shown that eating nuts can promote rapid weight loss and improve your metabolic health (17) (18).
Eating nuts can do a lot more than help you lose weight. One study found that people who eat nuts are usually healthier than those who don’t (19).
To get the most out of nuts, you should eat them in moderation, as they are fairly high in calories.
Salmon
Salmon is a fatty fish that is rich in essential nutrients, protein, and healthy fat that can help you lose weight.
Just like many other fish, salmon is rich in iodine, an important nutrient that can increase our metabolism (20).
One study found that many people are lacking these essential nutrients (21).
Salmon is also rich in omega-3 fatty acid. Several studies have shown that omega-3 fatty acid can help do everything from reducing inflammation to preventing metabolic disease (22) (23).
Below are other fish you should consider adding to your weight loss diet.
- Mackerel
- Sardines
- Trout
- Herring
- Snapper
- Tuna
- Tilapia
How to stick to a healthy diet
Sticking to a healthy diet is by no means easy, especially if you have been eating junk food all your life.
Below are some timeless tips that can make it easier for you to keep up with your weight loss diet.
Remove unhealthy food in your home
After making the big decision to eat healthily, the next thing you should do is to get rid of the unhealthy foods in your home.
If you have a roommate or you live with your family, tell them about your plan to eat healthily and that they should keep their unhealthy foods out of sight.
Several studies have shown that people who live in homes where unhealthy foods are displayed in open areas have a higher chance of becoming obese (24) (25).
Avoid the all-or-nothing mentality
Regardless of how disciplined you are, there may come a time where you will make poor dietary choices like eating a large serving of cake at a party or drinking a high-calorie beverage or snack when you are hungry at your workplace.
If you have the all-or-nothing mentality, you are likely going to beat yourself up, sob for endless hours, and even label yourself as a failure.
Realizing that you aren’t perfect and can make mistakes will go a long way in helping you overcome this problem.
Learn to put your mistakes behind you and keep pressing forward until you achieve the results you so badly desire.
Keep in mind that even if you make a few poor dietary choices along the way, you will still be able to achieve your weight loss goals.
Carry a healthy snack
One of the main reasons many people eat out of their diet is that they don’t plan.
A great way to plan ahead is by preparing what you are going to eat for lunch.
People who cannot do this may settle for unhealthy foods that are rich in sugar and unhealthy fat just to satisfy their hunger.
One study found that eating a high protein snack can reduce appetite and cravings (26).
So make out time from your busy schedule to prepare what you are going to eat for lunch during the week.
Below are some high protein foods you can eat for lunch.
- Greek yogurt
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Cheese
- Turkey roll-ups
- Cheese slice
- Nuts
- Hummus and vegetables
- Protein shakes
The bottom line on how to prepare a weight loss diet to avoid weight gain
Even if you exercise every day, it will be difficult for you to lose weight if you don’t eat the right foods.
As mentioned, not all healthy foods are expensive. So you don’t need to be rolling in cash before you can eat healthily.
Ensure that your weight loss diet consists of foods that are high in protein and fiber, as they are very filling and can help reduce cravings.
If your present diet plan isn’t giving you the results you want or you can’t put together a healthy weight loss diet, you should consult a registered dietitian.
