What if you could eat what you wanted, within reason, and still lose weight? That’s the claim made by hundreds of diets, dietary product manufacturers, and self-help health authors. That claim has a ring of truth to it, though. In general, by dieting the right way and exercising, you can eat a lot of food, and a lot of tasty food, that you didn’t think you could ever eat if you wanted to keep off the pounds.
Now, there is a caveat, of course, and that’s that you can’t eat all you want. Even if it’s healthy, natural, unprocessed whole food, and you’re staying away from all processed junk food, you can’t just eat to excess. The problem, though, is that so many people think excess is just adequacy when it comes to the number of meals they can eat or portion sizes. Once you have the right idea of how frequently, and how much, you can eat, you’ll feel relieved because it should be plenty of food to keep you sated and energized. If you’re eating enough of the right kinds of foods, you’re not going to have as many cravings for the wrong kinds of foods, which is a bonus. There’s no need for calorie-counting, but a good rule of thumb is that your portion sizes shouldn’t be any bigger than your fist – whether it’s for animal protein, nuts, starchy foods like rice and potatoes, or fruit. You don’t have to stick to just three meals a day either, and if you’re exercising strenuously, you’re going to need more calories, and the increased food intake and exercise is going to increase your metabolism, which will probably lead to weight loss. It’s about a change in diet and lifestyle, not just restricting calories.
Eating the right way doesn’t entail eliminating high-fat foods either. Some high-fat foods are good for your weight loss efforts, including a saturated fat called coconut oil, which is a great alternative to vegetable oil for cooking. Foods that are high in fat which are great additions to your weight loss plan include extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, almonds, and walnuts. When you eat these kinds of foods, you get that feeling of something fatty in your mouth, which is delicious. You don’t halt your weight loss efforts when you eat these kinds of foods, but you do satisfy that “fat tooth”, which is sort of like a “sweet tooth”, in theory.
It’s not a good idea to try to out-train a bad diet. You might have gorged on pizza and liquor over the weekend, but trying to erase it with a tough workout isn’t a smart move. It just doesn’t work that way. The number one most important thing in weight loss is diet. If the diet is carried out properly, almost any fitness plan can work for fat loss. Don’t think about killing yourself at the gym as a type of penance for that binge you had last weekend. It’s a better idea to try to get back on track as fast as you can and concentrate on your diet.
Another myth is that you need a whole lot of supplements. The only thing you really need is real natural food. Whatever diet plan you’re on, the idea of shakes, potions, powders, and pills for weight loss is a myth. Our ancestors around the world didn’t take any packaged supplements, and their steady diet of whole foods kept their obesity at bay almost completely. A solid nutrition plan that focuses on real food is a much better choice, and it’s really the only one.
