Low carbohydrate diet; fat free; cayenne pepper and cabbage soup; tight yellow dragee and water. It seems like every day there's a new weight loss meal plan that promises fast results, from the clever to the insane. Proper nutrition for weight loss is something that many of us have tried to do at least once. . . or twice. . . or, let's face it, many times.
Important things about proper nutrition
Your cousin swears that giving up bread for a few weeks helped her lose weight before she entered university. On the other hand, you can't eat a piece of bread for five years and still not lose the last few pounds. As soon as you learn the intricacies of one diet, another appears, threatening to be more effective.
Take, for example, a study conducted in August 2015. It found that for obese adults, cutting down on fatty foods helped them lose weight 68% faster than cutting down on carbohydrates. Good news!
But before you start ditching your favorite full-fat dairy products, check out another study from just two months later. According to this study, following a low-carb diet as well as a Mediterranean diet is more effective in weight loss than restricting carbohydrate intake. Scientists say that no diet works well in the long term, and low-fat diets for weight loss can even be harmful.
However, hope dies last. In fact, there is an optimal diet plan that will help you lose weight. This is the meal plan that is right for you. Not in the case of your partner, brother or colleague, but one that suits your body's needs and, combined with regular exercise, makes you feel great.
So what is the right diet to lose weight? A meal plan should not be seen as something to follow for weeks or months until you reach your target weight, after which you can go back to your old habits. In fact, going back to old eating habits is why researchers say diets don't work.
Instead, a healthy eating plan should be a lifestyle change you can stick to because, unlike a strict diet or fancy way, it's sustainable. The way you eat should make you feel better, providing your body with the nutrients it needs so you can live a long, happy and healthy life.
The right way to eat to lose weight
Below is information about the best healthy eating plans for weight loss that can help you make the most informed decisions.
low carb diet
By following a low-carb diet or a ketogenic diet (low-carb diet), you drastically reduce or eliminate your glucose intake. Once your body runs out of glucose and there are few or no carbohydrates in your diet that your body uses for energy, your body will start using stored fat for that purpose, helping you lose weight quickly.
Advantage:
- You may experience rapid weight loss, especially in the first few weeks and months. When we eat food with sugar and carbohydrates, our body releases insulin, a hormone responsible for storing energy and body fat. It sends a signal to your cells to store as much energy as possible in the form of glycogen. By drastically reducing carbohydrate intake, our body produces less insulin. Lack of insulin in our blood means that glycogen is used by our body for energy and not stored, and when it runs out, fat starts to be used.
- You can reduce your risk of diabetes. When you switch to a low-carb diet, you naturally consume less sugar and starch. Conversely, a high-carbohydrate diet can increase the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity.
- Because you're ideally replacing grains and other carbohydrates with foods rich in protein and healthy fats, you'll feel fuller and less hungry. Fats and proteins are known for their satiety effects, while cutting back on carbs helps turn off ghrelin, the "hunger hormone. "
Weakness:
- Reducing or completely eliminating carbohydrates from the diet can lead to lack of energy and fatigue. If you are very active (for example, you play sports), a low-carb diet can reduce your endurance, which is very necessary during training.
- Carbohydrates hide in unexpected places like fruits, beans and quinoa. Eliminating them completely from your diet can negatively affect your intake of essential vitamins and minerals.
Low fat diet
Nutrition for weight loss in the form of a low-fat diet reduces the amount of fat used, both from vegetables and animals. This diet became very popular in the US after the release of the federal government's dietary guidelines in 1980, which led to the introduction of low-fat foods.
Advantage:
- Foods high in fat are also usually high in calories. If you're on a calorie-restricted diet, cutting back on high-calorie foods may help you lose weight.
- Limiting your intake of unhealthy fats (such as trans fats) found in sweets, fast food, processed foods and other processed foods can help you lose weight; Additionally, it will heal your body.
Weakness:
- Low-fat foods are often processed foods that contain refined sugars and unnatural ingredients designed to make low-calorie foods look like naturally high-fat foods. These additives can actually cause weight gain.
- Giving preference to lean food, people often abuse it. This happens for two reasons: low-fat foods can't match the taste and nutritional value of regular foods, and we're more likely to eat more because we know they're low in calories.
- Our body needs fat! Although foods like avocados or butter can be high in calories, they contain healthy fats that our bodies need to function properly. Which do you prefer: butter made from cow's cream or "stuffed butter" created in a lab?
Mediterranean diet
The Mediterranean diet originates from Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Spain, Greece, etc. The Mediterranean diet cannot be called a diet per se - it is a regular diet that contains fresh fruits and vegetables, healthy fats such as olive oil, high - quality homemade chicken and seafood, all natural and grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, food, etc.
Advantage:
- Since this diet focuses on natural foods, you will consume very few processed or sugary foods. You're more likely to snack on nuts than cookies, for example.
- Many foods rich in healthy fats help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Weakness:
- Although healthy fats are good for us, we need to control our food intake. Because it's so delicious, it's easy to give in to eating less, which can lead to overeating.
- Although the Mediterranean diet is good for your body in the long run, if you want to lose weight quickly, it may not be for you.
Vegetarianism or veganism
Although there are different degrees of vegetarianism and veganism, most vegetarians avoid eating meat, including seafood and poultry. What do vegans eat? Well, they avoid all animal products, including dairy and eggs.
Advantage:
- A plant-based diet is naturally low in fat and high in fiber. You don't have to count calories when you eat a salad.
- A vegetarian diet has been linked to lowering blood pressure and lowering cholesterol levels. If you want to control this condition naturally, cutting out meat can help.
- Quality meat can be expensive! Eliminating them from your diet can really help save money in your budget.
Weakness:
- Avoiding animal products does not guarantee that you will eat healthy and nutritious food.
- High-quality animal meat provides the body with important nutrients that are difficult to obtain from plant-based foods. Vegans especially need to be careful with their dietary deficiencies and should consider taking supplements.
paleo diet
What about the paleo diet and veganism? These are the two most fashionable diets. "Go paleo" is something we hear more and more these days, especially in the sports community. Paleolithic diet, consists of food eaten by our ancestors - natural animal meat (natural food for them), wild fish, nuts, roots, vegetables and fruits.
Advantage:
- Switching to a grain-free diet can be very beneficial because you're cutting out the carbohydrates found in insulin-raising grains and replacing them with more vegetables.
- Following a hunter-gatherer diet can help you get more minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, protein and healthy fats from your food. In fact, if you follow the Paleo diet correctly, it can help improve autoimmune conditions and help you lose weight naturally.
- Along with eliminating grains, sugar (a major cause of chronic inflammation and disease) is also completely eliminated from the diet. Instead, this diet is filled with popular anti-inflammatory foods like wild salmon (or similar fish), blueberries, leafy greens and nuts.
Weakness:
- Unfortunately, many who follow the Paleo diet often consume too much meat, as well as some toxic substances of animal origin.
- In addition, people often consume non-organic foods, including meat, butter, vegetables and fruits. Unless you can afford to buy exclusively organic food, this diet cannot be considered a Paleo diet.
Remember that you don't have to follow certain diet rules, form a strict menu of proper nutrition for weight loss. Some aspects of certain diets may appeal to you, while others may not.
For example, you might want to go vegan one or two days a week to give your wallet a break and encourage your family to try different seasonal vegetables.
Or you can reduce your carbohydrate intake for a few weeks to even out your insulin levels and then switch to a Mediterranean diet where whole grains are eaten in moderation. All this is very good!
It is not necessary to consume specific foods for weight loss day after day, week after week. It is important to just eat right, eat mostly organic products and exclude any factory-made foods and sweets whenever possible. At the end of the day, "best" diets (diet systems for weight loss) come and go, but advocating a diet based on natural vegetables and fruits, meat and fish, nuts and whole grains never goes out of style.