Many of us feel a little bit of resistance about following a traditional diet plan. If we fall into this category, we may be more inclined to opt for a more relaxed approach to healthy weight loss. Without the guidance and advice from a diet plan, how do we know what to eat and when and still manage to lose weight?
The tips below will provide information for a daily eating plan to promote weight loss. This is merely an example and we may want to make adjustments and adaptations to suit our personal needs and goals.
1) Always Eat Breakfast.
Eating breakfast is a very important way to start each day. It helps our body to wake up and fires up our metabolism after being at rest all night. Ideal choices for breakfast foods are those which contain complex carbohydrates, which provide immediate fuel. We should also combine these with lean protein and a small quantity of fat for energy and satisfaction. A scrambled or poached egg on whole-meal toast, a whole grain bagel spread with low-fat cream cheese, or muesli with a small piece of fruit are all good choices.
2) Eat a mid-morning snack.
Two to three hours after breakfast, we will probably begin to feel hungry again, and it is important to eat a small snack to maintain our energy levels. Vegetables are ideal for a mid-morning snack to bridge the gap between breakfast and lunch because they are high in fibre, low in calories and filling. We could keep chopped raw vegetables in the refrigerator or take a small container to work with us for a handy snack to nibble on when we feel hungry. We could also include a small container of low-fat salad dressing or a tasty salsa for dipping the raw vegetables in.
3) Lunch.
Moving on a further two or three hours after our snack, we will probably be hungry enough for lunch, so we will need to eat some lean protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fat. We could have a whole grain sandwich with lean chicken or turkey meat, lettuce, tomato and onion. We could also add sliced avocado or a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil for added healthy fat and additional flavour. We should also include a serving or two of fresh fruit for a low-calorie dessert.
4) Mid-afternoon snack.
As our lunch was probably adequately satisfying, we may not be quite as hungry as we are in the mid-morning, so we could just eat something small such as a small piece of fruit, low-fat yoghurt or even some more vegetables. This small snack merely serves to prevent us becoming too hungry before dinner.
5) Dinner.
For dinner we need to include more lean protein like fish, beef, chicken, beans or tofu as a vegetarian option, as well as complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, brown pasta or whole grain bread, with generous servings of fresh vegetables, either cooked or raw. If we want a dessert, we could opt for baked apple with cinnamon or iced melon or pineapple slices to satisfy that sweet tooth.
6) Evening snack.
If we feel the need for an evening snack, we probably still have a few calories available from our daily allowance to eat another piece of fruit or perhaps a couple of whole-meal crackers with low-fat cream cheese.
We will see that it is possible to lose weight even when we are eating plenty of food. The secret is to eat smaller portion, eat more frequently, and eat healthy good quality foods.
This plan just gives us the basic ideas, which we can adjust and alter to suit our personal tastes, lifestyle and weight loss goals. It also gives us a starting point for how a healthy eating weight loss plan may look each day. We should also make daily changes so that we are not eating the same foods day after day or we will soon become bored and tempted to give up. It is quite easy to substitute different vegetables, fruits, protein, carbohydrates, dairy and fats to add variety, flavour to prevent us from jeopardising our weight loss goal
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