You will never, not once, hear me say that not eating is the best weight loss tip. In fact, many people fail in their weight loss journey due to the fact that they don’t eat enough. Eating too few calories wrecks your metabolism, which is essential to your health AND your weight loss efforts. Here are eight weight loss tips that will leave you with results and not hunger!
1. Eat for Volume
That crispy chicken wrap that is your go-to lunch? Or that dry salad that you have to choke down? Time to say good-bye to saturated fat and tastelessness and hello to deliciousness. Many times we think of salads as healthy, but sometimes we pile so many things on them to improve the taste that we might as well eat a Big Mac. However, salads truly are a great option for a meal because you can eat a lot of salad for a reasonable amount of calories. The Hi-Protein Thai Almond Chicken Summer Salad pictured above is an excellent choice consisting of only 363 calories while packing 46 grams of protein. This weight loss tip is all about how much you can eat! Just remember, you can still have too much of a healthy food just like you can have too much of an unhealthy food.
2. Eat Your Fats
Low-fat diets are not your friend. Your body uses those fats for energy, so when it is deprived of that energy you are left feeling lethargic and grumpy. No one likes to be lethargic and grumpy! Part of the problems that we have with fats is that it is so easy to eat too much fat. Salad dressings, nuts, nut butters, oils, meats, etc. are all full of fats. The key is knowing which fats to eat and how much to eat. Stick with avocados, raw nuts and nut butters, olive oil, coconut oil, and raw seeds. A good rule of thumb is to eat 1/2 a gram of fat per pound of body weight. An example would be a 150 lb person would eat 75 grams of fat per day.
3. Front-Load Your Carbs
Notice that I didn’t say don’t eat carbs. Carbohydrates are the source of energy that your body prefers to use. Why deprive your body of something that makes it run better? This does not mean you get to eat ring dings, white pasta, or worthless carbohydrates that do nothing but add that roll around your waist. The first rule of thumb for carbohydrates is to eat most of your daily carbs around your workout. Eat about 30% of your carbs before your workout and about 30% after. The rest of your carbohydrates should be eaten in the morning because we need energy throughout the day, not while we are sleeping. So avoid those carb heavy bedtime snacks! Stick with brown rice, sweet potatoes, quinoa, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, fruits, and veggies Shoot to eat about 1 gram of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight on training days and 1/2 gram of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight on non training days.
4. Eat Your Protein!
Protein is so essential to building lean muscle while losing fat. However, the key to protein is eating high quality protein that hasn’t been smothered in sauces. There are some diets out there that insist you eat a ridiculous amount of protein to make up for the lack of fats and carbs. In my experience, the money number for protein is to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. Stick with whey protein, vegetable proteins, boneless skinless chicken breast, lean steak, fish, lean ground turkey, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, and eggs. You might be sitting there reading this article like whoa, that sounds like a lot of food for losing weight. When you eat nutritional foods, you can eat a lot more food for a lot less calories. Trust me 🙂
5. Meal Prep for Success
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!” Wow, Benjamin Franklin was so far ahead of his time in the world of health and fitness ;). Meal prep an essential weight loss tip because it helps to stop you from grabbing the unhealthy choice when you don’t have time to cook a real meal. While meal prepping can be super expensive, I make it budget friendly by choosing three vegetables, three complex carbohydrates, and three meats per week. I cook them all then make meals out of each! Pick up some apples, raw nuts, and whey protein for quick go to snacks when you are on the go!
BONUS
When we start eating healthier food, sometimes we sincerely miss the flavor of that full fat burger with fries. However, if you make that chicken and rice taste like a million bucks you will have no problem sticking to your new lifestyle! Marinate the chicken in a vinaigrette or just olive oil and spices. Try adding spices to the rice and veggies. I like to find recipes, like turkey chili, that are healthier versions of my favorite foods! Check out some of my favorite recipes here! Utilize low sugar vinaigrette, spices (stay away from pre mixed spices exept for Mrs. Dash), and then utilize different methods of cooking such as the stove, oven, grill, and slow cooker!
Well folks, there you have it. Six weight loss tips that will keep you on track and give you results while creating a sustainable lifestyle for you! What are some of your weight loss tips? Drop them in the comments so that I can check them out!
