Fitness4Her

Women's Fitness

Lose Weight and Never Miss a Meal

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The best way to lose weight is to eat nutritious food, in sensible portions, several times a day. Eating frequent, small meals will help to keep you from overeating at any meal and from making unhealthy food choices.

Going for long periods of time without eating causes your metabolism to sort of shut down to conserve fat and energy. A slower metabolism burns less calories. When you eat three large meals per day, you will often eat more food at each meal to satisfy your hunger. If you have a slow metabolism, it will be more difficult to burn off those calories.

Large meals can make you feel tired and sleepy after eating, as your body works to digest the big meal. The idea is to keep your body satisfied with food, but not overindulge yourself which leads to weight gain.

If you are active, five meals will not only satisfy your hunger but will sustain energy longer, keeping sugar levels from falling and rising which may cause you to become hungry, tired and irritable.

A sample meal schedule might look something like this: 7 am: breakfast. 10 am: snack. 1 pm: lunch. 4 pm: snack. 7pm: dinner.

Below are some sample meals for two days. As you will see, the portion sizes are adequate and with the frequency of five meals per day —you should never feel hungry.

Breakfast:
Fresh fruit salad sprinkled with wheat germ or 1 tablespoon flaxseed

Morning Snack:
½ whole wheat pita
2 egg whites
¼ avocado
1 thin slice tomato

Lunch:
5 oz grilled salmon
½ long-grain brown rice
1 cup spinach and garlic

Afternoon Snack:
½ whole wheat pita
1 scoop humus
1 cup raw carrots

Dinner:
Italian-style turkey meatballs (small portion, baked)
Whole grain pasta with tomato sauce (small portion)
Tossed salad with balsamic vinegar

Day Two

Breakfast:
½ cup of cooked oatmeal
½ cup of blueberries or strawberries
Add flaxseed, wheat germ or bee pollen

Morning Snack:
½ cup low fat, plain yogurt
½ cup fresh fruit
1 teaspoon granola with nuts and raisins

Lunch:
Black bean burrito
1 small apple

Afternoon Snack:
Grilled chicken or turkey breast
Whole wheat wrap
Add some veggies like carrots, cucumber or tomatoes

Dinner:
Grilled or baked halibut or other small white fish filets
such as red snapper, tilapia, sea bass, or cod.
1 small sweet potato (seasoned with cinnamon)
1 cup steamed broccoli

Choosing the Best Diet for You

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With so much information and disinformation regarding food choices, it’s sometimes difficult to know what to believe when choosing the best diet for losing and maintaining a healthy weight. One thing that is important to remember is that food is not the problem, food is the answer. Eating healthy, delicious food is the best way to bring you closer to your ideal weight and help you maintain it for life.

Food gives us the energy we need to sustain life. Choosing a diet that promotes not only losing weight but provides the sustainability needed to maintain a healthy weight is most important. It’s about behavior modification, nutrition education and portion control. Simply put, it’s about knowing what foods to choose and when to push away from the table.

The science of losing weight dictates that we must burn more calories than we are consuming. The tricky part to this equation is that you must eat in order to maintain a healthy weight. While it might seem logical to reduce calories, there are other factors to consider such as the nutritional value of the foods you eat. Some foods provide much more energy and will sustain you longer than lower calorie foods that might not be doing much for your health.

Strive for a variety of healthy foods. Fresh foods, anytime you can get them are the best sources of nutrition. Choose from a variety of lean proteins such as plant protein, chicken, fish and beef. Minimize the condiments and be sure to include them when keeping a journal of your food intake. Those tasty sauces can contain lots of sugar and sodium, so be aware before adding them to your meal.

Be mindful of how much you are eating and know when to back away from the table. Portion control is key to losing weight. You can eat many of your favorite foods, but if you want to lose weight, you must reduce the amount that you eat.

If you are still feeling hungry, eating more frequent meals may do the trick. Rather than the traditional three meal a day plan, you may have better success and feel more satisfied by increasing your meal plan to five meals per day and reducing your portions for each food.

Take time to enjoy each meal, making a connection between mind, body and soul. You will reap the benefits of a nutritional diet that will help you lose pounds and maintain a healthy weight.

Design Your Own Diet Plan

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Design a diet plan that will work for you and your lifestyle. It takes a dedicated plan, but by designing your own diet, you can take control over your eating habits and find great success in your weight management goals.

Examine your current eating habits, including what you eat and your preparation methods. Keep in mind the amount to time you want to devote to preparing your meals as well as planning them. While eating healthy make take a bit more planning and prep time, you will also want to come up with quick eating solutions for those times when you are on the go or in a hurry.

If your goal is to lose weight, I have found that the best diet for losing weight is to eat every 21/2 to 3 hours. Eating frequent, small meals will help to keep you from overeating at any meal and from making unhealthy food choices. Avoid going for long periods of time without eating, which causes your metabolism to all but shut down in an effort to conserve fat and energy. A slower metabolism burns less calories.

The secret to success with this diet is to plan your meals each day. If you work away from home, pack a lunch with healthy snacks of fruit, vegetables, cheese or crackers. Make sure you are getting enough protein, too. When eating up to five times per day, be sure to keep the portions small. You can weigh each serving or estimate your portion by the size of the palm of your hand.

The key to portion control is to stop eating when you are full. Learn the language your body is speaking. Don’t take another bite past that satisfied feeling. Keep in mind that your next meal is only a few hours away.

The real secret to adjusting your portion size is knowing you will be eating again in less than 3 hours. Give it a try. Nutritious food, in sensible portions, eaten several times a day really will keep your hunger satisfied and help you to lose those excess pounds.

Seven Super Diet Trends

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Anyone anxious to lose weight will be excited about these seven super diet trends. Each one is safe, practical, and if you are willing to follow them, you will lose weight. A well-balanced diet is always the best choice, but be careful of added ingredients that can add more calories than you are burning off daily. Never sacrifice your health in order to lose a few pounds.

1. The Clean Eating Diet focuses on eating clean with no added sugars, salts or chemicals. This diet may be difficult for some to adhere to. Transition slowly, eating less salt, sugar and processed foods. The diet abstains from processed foods and encourages lots of vegetables, fruits, water, and lean meats.

2. Dash Diet is a very good diet that focuses on healthy foods, particularly, heart-healthy foods. It’s a plant-focused diet—rich in fruits and vegetables, nuts, low-fat and non-fat dairy, lean meats, fish and poultry. Developed as a diet to help lower blood pressure, it’s also a diet that will help you lose weight.

3. Fitness4Her Diet the no-calorie counting diet that will help you love healthy food in a whole new way. You get to indulge in 5 meals per day. Smaller portions are the key to losing weight, but you’re never hungry because your next meal is only a couple of hours away. Based on the Fitness4Her principles of healthy eating, this diet encourages lots of vegetables and fruits, lean meats, and low fat and non-fat dairy. It discourages alcohol, caffeine, added sugars and salts. Processed foods are replaced with fresh, nutritious foods. This diet plan comes in 3 parts, diet, exercise and journaling. Keeping a fitness journal instills accountability and is more likely to help you succeed than dieting and exercise alone.

4. Flexitarian Diet for vegetarians who eat meat occasionally, the Flexitarian adds flexibility to your diet. It claims to be healthier for you than a strictly vegetarian diet because eating small amounts of meat will supply the protein needed for a more nutritionally-balanced diet.

5. Mediterranean Diet is popular for those who enjoy healthy, flavorful food. Emphasis is given to replacing fats like butter with healthy olive oil. A diet that consists mostly of vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains with smaller portions of lean meats and very little red meat. Replacing table salt with fresh herbs and spices to season your food.

6. New Nordic Diet isn’t really new, but it is a diet that offers a wide variety of foods. It’s based on whole foods that are filling and keep you satisfied from meal to meal. The diet includes foods that are rich in fiber and protein and while the Mediterranean diet is based on olive oil, the New Nordic diet is built around heart-healthy canola oil. Limited salt and sugar is key to this diet that has been proven to improve cardiovascular health.

7. Weight Watchers Diet is one of the oldest and most successful diets, and offers wonderful support. Working with a nutrition-point system, rather than calorie counting, it gives members a sensible and healthful eating plan with a variety of recipes that can be made at home and pre-portioned foods that can be purchased.

Every year there are a dozens of claims from celebrities and spokespeople, exclaiming the success they have had with the latest diet that is trending. It’s sometimes difficult to know what to believe. Some diets are extreme and should be avoided. Be sure that the diet you choose includes the proper nutrition you need for a healthy body.

Eat Delicious Foods and Lose Weight

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If you are thinking about dieting but love to eat flavorful foods, then the Fitness4Her diet won’t disappoint your taste buds. Based on eating rather than skipping meals, the Fitness4Her diet includes everyday foods that are easy to find, simple to prepare and very satisfying so you never have to feel hungry.

Dieting is not something that should be approached as a temporary fix. Redesigning the way you cook and eat must be something you can live with on an on-going basis. If you can’t live with your diet, then chances are you won’t follow it for long. The problem with many diets is the food or the amount of food that you are allowed to eat. If you are hungry all the time, then it is not a diet that you can live with.

Your diet of healthy foods must sustain you for a lifetime. The Fitness4Her diet includes foods that offer more than just taste, although there is no reason to eat any foods that taste bad. However, you must be open to new flavors and new ways to prepare your old favorites. In order to change one thing in your life, like your weight and your health, you must be willing to accept change in other areas, too.

Along with a good diet, like the Fitness4Her diet, the best way to eat delicious foods and lose weight is to begin exercising. If you exercise moderately now, but aren’t seeing the results you would like, take your workout up a notch and go to the next level. Adding weights or more repetitions gradually, trying new exercises or even hiring a personal training coach can help to make significant changes in your weight and body shape.

The secret to successful dieting is by understanding the role that food plays in our lives. Food is more than just something to satisfy hunger. Food provides comfort; it brings us together with family and friends and is a universal offering of friendship. Food satisfies the soul as well as the tummy.

A healthy diet full of delicious foods will keep you sustained and satisfy your needs both body and soul. Practicing healthier ways to prepare your foods means you don’t ever have to eat different foods than the rest of your family. You will be able to share your food with everyone else. I cook the same foods for my family as I do for myself and I never get any complaints.