Healthy Eating to Lose Weight

THE HEALTHY WEIGHT LOSS CALCULATION:

First you should understand this simple formula:  If you eat more calories than you burn, then you gain weight. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight.
Since 3,500 calories equals about 1 pound of fat, if you cut 500 calories from your typical diet each day, you'll lose approximately 1 pound a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3,500 calories).
All too often, we make weight loss much more difficult than it needs to be with extreme diets that leave us cranky and starving, unhealthy lifestyle choices that undermine our dieting efforts, and emotional eating habits that stop us before we get started. But there’s a better way! You can lose weight without feeling miserable. By making smart choices every day, you can develop new eating habits and preferences that will leave you feeling satisfied.

Following are some points that’ll help you to understand the proper way to lose weight healthy;

• Our body uses food for energy and any excess energy is stored as fat in our body, causing weight gain. So it’s simple you need to get your body to use these fat stores to lose weight, and for this you have to, reduce the amount of calories you eat and increase the activity levels, this is how you lose weight in terms of controlled diet and exercises.
• Introduce changes gradually in your diet, don’t expect over night change!!  You should change your eating habits permanently and this will happen only if you slowly and gradually start eating health, like swapping full-fat milk for semi-skimmed or making time for breakfast each morning than a diet that sets rules for all foods.
• Try to incorporate more veggies, fruits in your diet. Beans are good source of proteins with lots of dietary fiber. Besides adding whole grains into your diet will give you fullness for longer.
•  Eat slowly, savoring the smells and textures of your food. Also take time to chew food, prolong chewing will help you not to eat a lot.
• Breakfast is very important meal of the day and you should never skip it, have a proper and healthy breakfast followed with smaller portions of meals for the whole day, this will keep your energy levels maintained.
• You can easily reduce your daily calorie intake by replacing soda, alcohol, or coffee with water. Thirst can also be confused with hunger, so by drinking water, you may avoid consuming extra calories, plus it will help you break down food more easily.

BEING ACTIVE REALLY HELPS!!

• Increasing activity level really works, No matter if you hate gyms – even light exercise, such as a short 20 minute walk, will be beneficial if done most days of the week, as every single time you exercise more than usual, you burn calories and fat. Team sports, racket sports, aerobics classes, running, walking, swimming and cycling will all improve your fitness levels.
• Get out and about at the weekend. Leave your car on the drive and walk to the shops. Try to incorporate longer walks into outings to the park, coast or countryside and take a picnic, so you're in control of what you are going to eat that day.
• Every extra step you take helps. Always use the stairs instead of the lift, or get off the bus a stop before the usual one and walk the rest of the way.
• Use commercial breaks between TV-programs to stand up and do exercise, or consider using an exercise bicycle in the living room while watching your favorite program.

KEEPING A FOOD DIARY:

If you're not sure what's wrong with your diet, try keeping a daily diary of everything you eat and drink. You can use a notebook for this.

• At the end of the week, review your entries for problem areas.
• Look out for processed foods, alcohol, fast food, roasts, creamy sauces and fried foods.
• If your diet seems largely healthy, look at portion sizes.

A food diary is an excellent first step in assessing how you eat. It can also help you understand how you eat  the way you do, which is often just as important when it comes to long-term weight management.
The most important factor in keeping an effective food diary is to make it an honest one. Why go to the trouble of keeping a food diary if you aren't going to be honest with yourself? Remember, no one has to see it but you, so do yourself a favor and stay truthful.