When most people think of dieting, they think of deprivation, being deprived of the foods they enjoy or not being able to eat enough to feel satisfied. Nothing could be further from the truth!
As I mentioned earlier, losing weight and keeping it off means changing your lifestyle habits for life.
If I told you that in order to lose weight you would never feel satisfied after eating a meal for the rest of your life, you’d give up before you even started. Game over. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Remember, you are trying to change lifestyle habits and if you aren’t on board with those lifestyle changes, you won’t succeed.
The key to losing weight and keeping it off for life is to find the foods you enjoy that are also healthy diet foods and incorporate them into your diet as much as possible.
Incorporate more fiber into your diet. Foods that are high in fiber aid in digestion. If you tend to be constipated, fiber will help keep you regular. Fiber is a complex carbohydrate, but it does not elevate your blood sugar or become absorbed by the body like other carbohydrates do. When you eat fiber you won’t experience a “sugar crash” the way you will with other carbohydrates that turn to sugar in the bloodstream.
Because fiber calories do not react with the body the same way regular calories do, you can actually subtract fiber calories from your total calorie intake. This means that you can snack on the high-fiber foods that are also high in good fat and nutrients, like almonds and walnuts, without it going against your diet.
There are a lot of foods that have high amounts of fiber in them. For instance, you could start the day with a high-fiber cereal. Most cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals. The total calories for 1 cup of cereal may be 150 calories. But if you subtract the amount of calories associated with fiber, the actual amount of calories your body will absorb may only be 110 calories. Those 40 extra calories can be used later in the day during another meal.
By incorporating high-fiber foods in each meal you can eat more calories without gaining weight. In fact, because fiber gives you a feeling of fullness, you will feel satisfied longer and be less likely to overeat or cheat.
There are some foods that actually burn more calories than are in the food itself. It’s almost as if eating them has a negative calorie effect! That puts you ahead of the game, even before you include exercise in your weight loss program.
A negative calorie food has several benefits. It allows you to eat more and feel satisfied without feeling like you need to run an extra mile to burn off your dinner. What’s more is that the amount of energy your body burns trying to digest the food will continue long after you’ve eaten it.
Take a food like celery. A celery stalk is about 5 calories. It’s crunchy and full of water, but also has a high amount of fiber. It takes more than 5 calories to chew that stalk of celery and for your body to digest it. At the end of the day, if you’ve eaten 5 stalks of celery as a snack, your total calorie intake is 25 calories. But since you’ve burned more than 25 calories to chew and digest the celery, you’ve actually consumed a negative amount of calories.
While it is true that the act of eating and digesting does burn calories, not all foods will give you a negative calorie effect.
In my next post, there are a list of fruits and vegetables that are negative calorie foods. There are enough of them to incorporate into your daily diet so you won’t get bored. Eat as much as you’d like until you’re satisfied without worry you’re going over your daily calorie allotment.
As I mentioned earlier, losing weight and keeping it off means changing your lifestyle habits for life.
If I told you that in order to lose weight you would never feel satisfied after eating a meal for the rest of your life, you’d give up before you even started. Game over. But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Remember, you are trying to change lifestyle habits and if you aren’t on board with those lifestyle changes, you won’t succeed.
The key to losing weight and keeping it off for life is to find the foods you enjoy that are also healthy diet foods and incorporate them into your diet as much as possible.
Incorporate more fiber into your diet. Foods that are high in fiber aid in digestion. If you tend to be constipated, fiber will help keep you regular. Fiber is a complex carbohydrate, but it does not elevate your blood sugar or become absorbed by the body like other carbohydrates do. When you eat fiber you won’t experience a “sugar crash” the way you will with other carbohydrates that turn to sugar in the bloodstream.
Because fiber calories do not react with the body the same way regular calories do, you can actually subtract fiber calories from your total calorie intake. This means that you can snack on the high-fiber foods that are also high in good fat and nutrients, like almonds and walnuts, without it going against your diet.
There are a lot of foods that have high amounts of fiber in them. For instance, you could start the day with a high-fiber cereal. Most cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals. The total calories for 1 cup of cereal may be 150 calories. But if you subtract the amount of calories associated with fiber, the actual amount of calories your body will absorb may only be 110 calories. Those 40 extra calories can be used later in the day during another meal.
By incorporating high-fiber foods in each meal you can eat more calories without gaining weight. In fact, because fiber gives you a feeling of fullness, you will feel satisfied longer and be less likely to overeat or cheat.
There are some foods that actually burn more calories than are in the food itself. It’s almost as if eating them has a negative calorie effect! That puts you ahead of the game, even before you include exercise in your weight loss program.
A negative calorie food has several benefits. It allows you to eat more and feel satisfied without feeling like you need to run an extra mile to burn off your dinner. What’s more is that the amount of energy your body burns trying to digest the food will continue long after you’ve eaten it.
Take a food like celery. A celery stalk is about 5 calories. It’s crunchy and full of water, but also has a high amount of fiber. It takes more than 5 calories to chew that stalk of celery and for your body to digest it. At the end of the day, if you’ve eaten 5 stalks of celery as a snack, your total calorie intake is 25 calories. But since you’ve burned more than 25 calories to chew and digest the celery, you’ve actually consumed a negative amount of calories.
While it is true that the act of eating and digesting does burn calories, not all foods will give you a negative calorie effect.
In my next post, there are a list of fruits and vegetables that are negative calorie foods. There are enough of them to incorporate into your daily diet so you won’t get bored. Eat as much as you’d like until you’re satisfied without worry you’re going over your daily calorie allotment.
