Whether you are a mom looking to drop a couple pounds, a guy trying to slim down or an athlete looking to shed off some serious weight, there are a few all around tips that are applicable to every diet. The term “diet” is usually received negatively and thought of as salads and bland food, but this is not the case. It is too difficult to set a meal plan for everybody out there for free, but what I can do is lay out all the basics of a good healthy diet and allow you to build your own meal plan based on these tips or you can feel free to contact me through, Instagram (@taytayfos), with any questions or a more precise diet, focused more on your own goals.
The first rule for weight loss is not in what you eat, but what you drink. For some people, this may not be a problem, but for others, that sweet tea and Gatorade is their weakness. Any drink other than a nutritional shake or water is usually not good for you to lose weight. Most energy drinks, juices, milk and sweet teas are loaded with sugars and calories that are stored in the body because they are not a necessity. These kinds of drinks are considered “empty calories and sugars” which are unhealthy sugars and calories that you could be obtaining from a healthier food source instead of a drink. Water is always your best friend and should be all you’re drinking along with any nutritional shakes you may be having. Anytime you are hungry, try to have a glass of water before eating. Drinking a lot of water will make your metabolism speed up, which is the rate at which your foods digest. If you’re a coffee person, you could try to switch to a hot tea that is much better for you, but if you really need it, one cup of coffee is okay. I’ve always said why drink your calories when you could be eating them?
The second rule for weight loss is to make sure that you’re eating. You won’t lose weight when you’re not eating. This is usually thought of in opposite and to lose weight you must not eat. This is simply not true and will actually make your body hold onto and store more weight than it would when you are eating. Starving yourself and dieting do not go together at all. If you do not eat, your body will go into a hibernating state where it will hold onto and store any food that it absorbs because it doesn’t know when it will be able to receive food again. This stored food becomes fat. Whereas if you are eating a smaller meal at least once every two hours, your body will not hold onto the food it absorbs because it knows it is being fed often and does not have to worry about when it’s next meal will be. Not only will your body not store the food it absorbs, but when you’re digesting food your body is burning calories from the internal work that is required to break down food into usable nutrients. Therefore, when eating smaller meals more often, your metabolism is constantly running, or in other words, constantly burning calories, even when you are not physically doing anything.
The third rule is to eat smaller portions. Eating more often has been addressed, but how much during these intervals? It will vary depending on each person’s goals and metabolism but to keep it very basic, you should always be having a lean protein with your smaller meals. Lean proteins include chicken, turkey, fish, black beans, eggs, Greek yogurt, and soybeans. A protein shake is an excellent source of high protein with very little carbs, calories and/or sugars that can be used for a meal to keep your metabolism moving. Along with a small portion of lean protein, you should also have a source of vegetables with most of your smaller meals. When dieting you can have as many vegetables as you want because they contain very little calories, healthy carbohydrates, and very little sugar. Your best veggies would include your dark greens like spinach and broccoli. Fruit is good to also have but it is very high in sugar so I recommend only consuming one to two servings a day either with breakfast or before your workout. Last to mention are carbohydrates and fats. Carbs and fats are not bad when eaten rationally, but too much of them will cause your body to gain weight. This means that you need to cut out all the junk in your diet— the grease, fried food, anything breaded, mayonnaise, potato chips, pasta, bread, candy, etc. You don’t need it. There are good sources of fat that can be obtained through nuts, cheeses, and your lean meats. There are even fewer good sources of carbohydrates which are limited to baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, hummus, quinoa and rice. To lose weight you need to limit your carbs and fats especially because these are the first energy sources used by the body but also the first things to be stored as fat when obtained in excess. Depending on your goals and how much weight you need to lose, you should aim to not have any carbs after 5:00 p.m because of how easily they are stored when not used. Eating anything four hours before bed unless it is a protein shake or some vegetables is also a bad idea because it will sit in your stomach while sleeping and be stored as fat because it is not used.
While you can see that this is a broad overview of dieting, it is not an awful thing and it is better to have a healthy body than it is to have crappy food. I lost 42 pounds in two and a half months healthily by just changing my diet and not my workout intensity or adding cardio. It is, of course, a good idea to supplement your diet with a healthy workout regimen, but it is more important that your diet is on point. Abs truly are built in the kitchen. You can still eat and you can still eat some great and tasty meals. I personally love experimenting with salsa and other spices to make my food explode with a healthy flavor. For example, I love using slightly spicy salsa, turkey breast, some parmesan cheese, spinach, and wrapping it all up in a spinach based tortilla. Do some research, give it a try and in no time you will see for yourself that dieting is not as bad as you think is!
