Losing weight isn’t easy — and it’s more complicated than just counting calories. You can’t just exercise, follow a low-calorie diet with nothing but McDonald’s food, and expect good results.
Eating the wrong foods makes weight loss more difficult than it needs to be. But before we dive into the right foods for weight loss, let’s review how weight loss works.
The Basics About Weight Loss
Consuming fewer calories than you burn = weight loss.
It sounds simple, but several factors impact how quickly you lose weight, including your gender, age, body competition, sleeping habits, medications, genes, and medical history.
Not only that, if your body goes below a certain calorie point, your body will often reject eating less calories and gain more fat. So you can’t always eat less to lose weight. Sometimes you have to reverse diet, which is a whole other thing!
Drastic diets simply aren’t sustainable. Instead, they’re like temporary bandaids — and when they fall off, people are often worse off than they were before! 95% of people who diet drastically eventually return to their original weight — and many of them will actually gain back more weight than they lost while dieting! Worse still, drastic diets can lower metabolism and lead to harmful eating habits like binge eating.
Whole, Non-Processed Foods Are The Key To Losing Weight
So, if extreme diets don’t really work, then how do you jump start change?
The real secret to losing weight is finding something you can do consistently that involves eating whole, non-processed foods. While processed foods are made to be so appetizing that you want to eat more, whole, non-processed foods will leave you feeling fuller and allow you to really take stock of your hunger and body.
Some of the best whole, non-processed foods for weight loss are:
Proteins
When it comes to proteins, you have plenty of options, including:
Eggs: Sunny side up. Scrambled. Omelets. Frittatas. Quiches. There are so many different things you can do with eggs!
Chicken: Chicken is an incredibly versatile and healthy protein. From sandwiches to pot pies to soups, chicken is a go-to protein. It’s easy to cook, affordable, and used in countless recipes, so there will always be a place for chicken in your diet.
Beef: Beef has been a staple in many households for generations — and with good reason. It’s a great source of iron, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Just make sure to eat beef in moderation!
Fish: Fish is filled with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B3, vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, and minerals like zinc, iron, potassium, and magnesium. It’s no wonder the American Heart Association recommends eating fish at least twice a week!
Shrimp: High in protein yet low in calories, carbs, and fat, shrimp is the perfect protein when you’re trying to lose weight. Like fish, shrimp is an excellent source of phosphorus, zinc, and magnesium and is equally versatile.
Turkey: Turkey isn’t just for Thanksgiving. It’s great for sandwiches, casseroles, soups, salads, empanadas, crepes, and much more. The possibilities are endless!
Fats
Just because you’re trying to lose weight doesn’t mean you can’t consume fats. Some whole non-processed options include almonds, macadamia nuts, cashews, pistachios, flax seeds, and chia seeds. Avocados, ghee, non-sugar nut butter, and olive oil are also excellent choices!
Vegetables
Vegetables should be a part of everyone’s diet, but they’re especially essential when losing weight. After all, most vegetables are low in calories and high in water content while still offering filling fiber. As a result, you’ll feel full for longer and be less tempted to reach for a snack, which is exactly what you want when losing weight. Good vegetables to work into your diet include asparagus, cucumbers, squash, spinach, broccoli, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, artichoke, carrots, kale, and peppers.
Carbs
Carbs have a bad reputation when it comes to weight loss, but there are plenty of whole, non-processed carbs you shouldn’t completely cut from your diet. In fact, experts recommend that half our total calories come from carbs. Things like sweet potatoes, quinoa, beans, lentils, buckwheat, oatmeal, and white and brown rice are nutritious and versatile carbs.
If you need help figuring out which whole, non-processed foods to work into your diet, contact me at happyhelen@gmail.com today!