The Right Nutrition, The Perfect You: The Best Diet To Lose Weight Quickly
You Have To Want To Shed The Weight
You really need to take a hard look in the mirror and think about whether or not you really want to lose those excess pounds. I’m not going to lie, it probably took awhile to put on the weight, it will take some time to lose it. With the correct diet, you can scorch that unwanted fat and weight and do so as efficiently and quickly as possible. The first step in your diet journey should be to make the commitment. If you are ready to commit, then what follows is the best diet to lose weight quickly.
Understand What You Eat, Understand The Key To Weight-loss
Food Can be broken down into three main groups:
- Protein
- Fats
- Carbohydrates
Protein is the building block that our body uses to repair, maintain and build new lean tissue or muscle. Protein is also fairly low in calories and eating foods with protein will help you stay satiated. This means you’ll be fuller longer and not crave foods that are low in nutrition but high in calories. There are probably a gazillion food choices that have protein in them, we will focus on the best ones to help you shed those unwanted pounds.
Fats have gotten a bad rap but the tide is slowly turning. The key to fats is to realize that not all fats are created equal and the right fats are great for our health and will actually help you lose weight. Our bodies need dietary fat to survive. So diets that are “no-fat” or too low in fat are not a good idea. Fats allow our central nervous system to function properly, they help our bodies absorb certain vitamins and they help keep our hormone levels stable. The good fats are known as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. In fact, these fats will help lower LDL, your bad cholesterol and raise HDL, your good cholesterol. The polyunsaturated fats are also a wonderful source of Omega-3 fatty acids which are great at:
- Reducing blood pressure
- Aiding the body in releasing and burning stubborn fat
- Helping protect the nervous system and our brain
There are bad fats, too, as you already know. These are the saturated fats and trans fats. Saturated fats are bad because they will clog your arteries over time and raise your bad cholesterol levels. They can be found mostly in meat and dairy products. The trans fats are the worst fats and they are also known as hydrogenated fats because they are created during the hydrogenation process which takes a liquid fat such as vegetable oil and converts it into a solid. Trans fats are found mostly in processed foods such as cookies, donuts, candy bars and french fries. These “solid” fats increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. So remember, the more solid the fat (a trans fat), the more artery clogging it is and bad for your health and weight-loss goals.
Carbohydrates are also vitally important in our diets. They are our main source of energy. They also provide many of the nutrients, minerals and vitamins that are necessary for our health. Like fats, there are also good and bad carbohydrates. According to the National Academies Institute of Medicine, high-sugar carbohydrates cause or blood sugar to rapidly rise and fall. Eat high-sugar, also known as fast-digesting carbs, regularly and this roller coaster ride that we put our blood sugar on will lead to:
- Weight gain
- Fatigue and moodiness
- Hormonal imbalances and Metabolic Syndrome
- Memory loss
- Increased hunger
- An increased risk of type 2 diabetes
Carbohydrates will either be slow-acting (good) or fast-acting (bad). Some examples of carbohydrates that are fast-acting and that will cause a large insulin release and a spike in blood sugar include potato chips, candy, ice cream, most processed foods and sugary sodas. Slow-acting carbohydrates include foods like beans, most fruits and vegetables and pasta.
Smart Nutrition: Putting Together the Best Diet To Lose Weight Quickly
So now you have an understanding of what the foods are comprised of: protein, carbohydrates, and fats. Armed with this information, let us take a look at how you can put together the best diet to lose those unwanted pounds quickly and efficiently.
Utilize Protein, Good Fats and Good Carbohydrates For Weight-loss
Don’t get into a fad diet such as the Atkins diet (low carb) or a no-fat diet. You will set yourself up for failure and in all likelihood will put on more weight in the long run and will harm your overall health. Think of the best diet as a nutrition lifestyle, something that you can conform to without too much effort. You also don’t want a diet that is too low in calories. This will zap your body of nutrition that it needs, it will slow your metabolism and again set yourself up for failure and possible binging on the wrong foods.
The best diet for weight-loss will have protein as its cornerstone. Have a good source of protein with each meal. Some super protein sources include:
- Eggs (I like hard boiled)
- Fish (salmon, tuna, trout, sardines to name a few)
- Chicken
- Low fat dairy
- Lean red meat
Next, add a source of good carbohydrates. Focus on carbohydrates that are lower in sugar and slower digesting. Some of my favorites for keeping weight in check, my energy up and my metabolism super-charged include:
- Sweet potatoes
- Leafy vegetables (broccoli, spinach, celery)
- All other vegetables
- Beans and legumes (kidney, black, chickpeas and lentils are examples)
- Fruits (apples, grapes, grapefruit, bananas, pears to name a few)
- Whole wheat pasta
Finally, add some healthy fats to the meal. There are a variety of healthy fats. The best diet for losing fat and weight will stick to these:
- Nuts (almonds are my favorite)
- Natural peanut butter
- Cold-water fish (good source of Omega 3′s)
- Dark leafy veggies
- Oils such as flaxseed, olive and canola
To tie it all together, it you will want to have a good understanding of calories in versus calories out. The calories out is what you burn each day through all of the activities you do daily. The calories in is what you eat. To lose weight quickly and shed the fat, you cannot eat unlimited quantities of the above foods, even if they are the “good” versions. It is best to eat portions that can fit into the palm of your hand for each and to eat more meals throughout the day. I tend to stick to five or six meals. By eating more frequently, you will keep your metabolism stoked and burning and you will feel more satisfied and able to keep hunger at bay.
Now, what makes this diet the best is the fact that you can utilize a cheat day. This means, one day a week you reward yourself with the foods you love. It doesn’t matter what it is. I love chocolate, pizza and pie. On my free day, once a week, I’ll indulge in some of these. What you’ll find is that it will actually aid in weight-loss. This is because it signals your body that you are getting adequate calories, it keeps your metabolism raised and it keeps you from falling off the wagon and going back to a lifestyle of eating poorly on a consistent basis. The idea is to eat cleanly at least 90% of the time.
If you can do this, you will find this diet to be the best there is at helping you lose weight, get healthy and look great!