Lose Weight…and Still Eat

Dieting. Is it the worst health related term during a weight loss journey? Does it bring images of drinking plain, no-calorie water and eating celery sticks all day long? What if I told you that it is possible to lose weight and still eat? No…you really can eat and lose weight. This is not a myth among dieters. In the following, I will share some dieting tips to help reach weight loss goals while also having opportunities to eat real food.

Eat More. Yes. Eat more food. By more food, I am referring to more fruits, more vegetables, more baked and more boiled. Most in the U.S. are overweight primarily due to high-caloric diet. This poor habit consists of processed food with little to no nutritional value. The idea of eating more would focus on the foods that are concentrated with nutrients but have far less calories. For example, an apple can have anywhere from 50-70 calories depending on size and type of apple. However, a delicious slice of chocolate cake can have anywhere from 200-600 calories. One apple has far fewer calories than one chocolate cake, more nutrients to fuel the body and more importantly, can help in your effort to lose weight. If the focus is on healthier options which includes fruits, vegetables, wheat bread, wheat pasta, brown rice and many more, most of us would be able to eat without feeling like we are starving ourselves during our weight loss journey.

Exercise. It is so cliche as we have all heard some variation of the more you move, the more you will lose. You want to continue to eat? Let’s apply this concept. How about joining the gym and sign up for aerobic classes where you can easily burn 300-500 calories each visit. Don’t enjoy the gym? How about going to a park and riding a bicycle to help get the heart pumping and breaking a sweat for an hour. Select an exercise/routine that will work for you. How will the working out allow you to continue to eat? For some who are overweight, their daily caloric intake barely exceeds what they naturally burn. These individuals will not have to make a change to their diet as the calories burned through the workout would be sufficient to help lose weight over the long run.

Scheduled Eating. How will scheduling meals help with weight loss? Most of us live busy lives and don’t have a lot of time to commit to counting all the calories we eat. We also may not have the time to go to a gym for some exercise. What if your dieting strategy could be as simple as the time and frequency you’re eating? Schedule the time which you eat your meals. Why? Eating breakfast will kickstart your metabolism. After sleeping for eight hours, our metabolism is slowed. Having breakfast is the jump it needs to get started again. Another reason for scheduling your meals is that our eyes oftentimes get bigger than our stomachs after going too long without eating. This results in ordering too much food. This also will not help in the effort to lose weight. The scheduled eating will help eliminate those bad habits while helping you reach your dieting goal.

Eating and losing weight should not feel like they fit like water and oil. If fully understood, they can work well for all who want to lose a few inches. Some don’t enjoy the traditional route of fasting or dramatically depleting caloric intake. For those who prefer using food without the aggressive restrictions, one of these previous three strategies can help you not only get back on track to meet your weight loss goal, but also provide healthy options to sustain a healthy and ideal weight while still enjoying foods.