Foods to Avoid in Your Healthy Meal Plans to Lose Weight

People get excited about a lot of things, but I have never in my life met anyone who’s thrilled about being overweight. I have however, met folks who are sick of the up and down rollercoaster of so-called healthy meal plans to lose weight. Rather than deal with more dieting disappointments, some of these people conclude that living “large” is simply in the cards for them.
Throwing your hands up in defeat and deciding to spend the rest of your days (unhappily) overweight is no way to live. A decision like this can beat your self-esteem into the ground and shave years off of your life. C’mon, you owe yourself and your loved ones so much more than this.
There’s no magic formula to losing weight – if there were, everybody and their mama would be slim. The best way to achieve successful weight loss results is to know what types of foods to keep out of your diet.

Just Say “No” to Processed Foods

Processed foods are cheap, convenient and easy to prepare. Unfortunately, these foods are bad for your health. Of course, you’d never know this by watching those hyped up television ads. Since manufacturers aren’t going to give you the dirty on the ingredients they use in processed foods, I’ll gladly do it for them.
Let’s start with trans fat. This ingredient lowers good cholesterol, raises bad cholesterol, and can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease. Considering heart disease is one of the leading killers of men and women, trans fat is one ingredient you want to steer clear of.
If you’re wondering where that double chin came from, the high fructose corn syrup used in some of your favorite processed foods may be partially to blame. This ingredient has been getting a lot of press lately because it is believed to be a major player in the rising obesity epidemic.
Don’t even get me started on the chemicals manufacturers use in processed foods. If I tried to name some of these chemicals, I’d be tongue tied for days. Besides, you’d probably think I was reading the label on a can of bug spray instead of the ingredients in your favorite microwavable meal.

Send Sugar Packing

The average person consumes about 150 pounds of sugar per year. When you think about the fact that sugar is in almost everything, it’s easy to eat tons of this stuff without even realizing it. So what’s the big deal? There isn’t enough time in the day for me to tell you about all the damage sugar can do to your health. However, I can give you a quick rundown.
Sugar contains nothing but empty calories. When you eat this stuff, a large portion of it gets stored in the body as fat. If your goal is to slim down, being heavy-handed with the sugar isn’t going to help. This is not even the worst of it. Sugar can also depress the immune system, feed cancer cells, contribute to heart disease, raise your risk of osteoporosis and make you look decrepit.

Give Artificial Sweeteners the Boot

Before you run out and stock your fridge with a bunch of those zero-calorie diet drinks, there’s something you should know. The artificial sweeteners used in diet drinks and other low-calorie products are lab-created. Yep. You heard me right – mixed up in a lab like something out of a Frankenstein movie.
These chemical sweeteners can cause or contribute to a laundry list of neuropsychiatric disorders and chronic illnesses – depression, anxiety, migraines, mood changes, panic attacks, vertigo, memory loss, Alzheimer’s, brain tumors – should I go on? And if you think you’re going to shed a few pounds using artificial sweeteners, think again. These sweeteners stimulate your appetite and make you eat more food.
When you’ve tried diet after diet and not one of them delivers results, it can certainly make you want to give up. But you owe it to yourself and to your family to live the healthiest life possible. Processed foods, sugar and artificial sweeteners are the main culprits of weight gain. When you eliminate these foods from your diet, you greatly improve your chance of losing weight.
Make dieting disappointment a thing of the past. Let the Diet Solution Program arm you with the tools you need to create effective healthy meal plans to lose weight and live healthier.

Did you like this article? Share it with your friends on Facebook.

How to Lose Belly Fat in 4 Simple Steps

 

Embarrassment is not the worst part of having a flabby midsection. That spare tire around you tummy can increase your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes (yikes!). Thankfully, you don’t need a complicated diet plan to learn how to lose belly fat. Stomach flab may be stubborn, but it’s no match for proper nutrition, hydration, exercise, and a can-do attitude.

Believe in Yourself

The way you feel about your ability to lose weight will play a major role in your success. If you’re plagued with self-doubt and negativity, you won’t see the point of sticking it out when things get tough. In order to achieve your weight loss goal, you must truly believe you have what it takes.
Losing weight is not just about vanity; it’s also about living healthy and feeling your best everyday. One thing that will help keep you in the right frame of mind is to think of your fat burning journey as a lifestyle change rather than a diet. If you focus on healthy living instead of dieting, you’ll maintain momentum and it will be easier to shut down those negative feelings.

Eat Nutritiously

Eating a healthy diet will keep your metabolism operating properly so you burn stomach fat more effectively. If your eating plan lacks essential carbohydrates, protein, healthy fat, vitamins and minerals, it’s not nutritious. To ensure you get adequate amounts of all of these nutrients, incorporate a variety of healthy, whole foods like vegetables, fruits, poultry, lean meats, raw nuts, legumes, beans, seeds and whole eggs into your diet.
As for counting calories to lose weight, I don’t do it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very conscious about what I put into my body. However, I refuse to spend my life keeping tabs on every crumb I swallow. When I get hungry, I’m going to eat—and trust me, I won’t be thinking about calories while I’m doing it.
I’m living proof that if you eat the right foods, and stick to reasonable portion sizes, you can lose belly fat without counting a single calorie.

Drink Plenty of Water

Water is often overlooked in nutrition plans. But this element is crucial for burning fat and maintaining proper health. Water helps metabolize stored fat and rids the body of excess fat and toxins. Water also prevent bloating and constipation, and helps curb your appetite.
Most people underestimate how much water they need, so they don’t stay properly hydrated. For optimum health, drink half of your body weight in ounces of water daily. For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, you should drink at least 100 ounces of water per day.

Get Up and Exercise

When you start your healthy eating plan, you’ll automatically reduce your caloric intake and start to shed some weight. However, unless you add exercise into the mix, your metabolism will eventually slow down and ultimately reduce your ability to burn stomach fat.
There’s no way to target specific areas for fat loss. Crunches, sit-ups and other ab-specific exercises only work to tone the muscles. The only way to get the svelte tummy of your dreams is to burn the fat off. If you don’t, any muscle tone you achieve via abdominal exercises will be buried under the flab.
If you combine 30 to 60 minutes of moderate to intense cardiovascular activity with proper nutrition, the fat around your belly will melt like butter. If you’re out of shape, doing a 30 to 60 minute workout may be too much at first. It’s okay if you start off exercising for 5 or 10 minutes. Simply work your way up as your fitness level improves.
Don’t try to change your lifestyle overnight; Start by making small tweaks. In the beginning, you might try drinking more water, increasing your fresh vegetable intake and exercising three days a week. Once you get used to these adjustments, gradually build on them. Remember, small steps can lead to big results.
Sitting and wishing won’t help you get the trim tummy you’ve always wanted. Let the Diet Solution Program teach you how to lose belly fat and improve your overall health.

Did you like this article? Share it with your friends on Facebook.

How to Eat Great and Lose Weight

Snacking on dried out rice cakes and wilted lettuce leaves is no way to spend your mealtimes. You don’t have to eat bland, boring foods just to trim up. It is possible to eat great and lose weight all at the same time. If you choose quality foods and have a willingness to try new things, you can get down on delicious meals and shed pounds too.

Choose the Right Foods

You can’t possibly lose weight if the foods you use to prepare you meals are unhealthy and loaded with calories. When you avoid processed nonsense and stick with fresh ingredients, you can’t go wrong. Anything boxed, frozen, jugged or canned is considered processed and has no place in a healthy diet.

Foods that should be staples in your healthy meal plans include fresh fish, naturally raised meats, organic poultry, organic whole eggs, raw nuts, fresh herbs, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Natural foods are better for you because they are low in calories and filled with plenty of nutrients your body can use.

Also, natural foods aren’t loaded with a laundry list of additives that contribute to weight gain, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and other health problems.

Experiment with Recipes, Flavors and Cooking Methods

I love grilled chicken, but if I had to eat if every day, I’d go bananas—I imagine you would too.  Free yourself from the bondage of humdrum, tasteless meals by experimenting with recipes. Thumb through cookbooks, surf the Internet and use your imagination to whip up meals you can’t wait to sink your teeth into.

When you come across recipes that have unhealthy ingredients, simply swap the bad ingredients out for healthier ones. For instance, if a recipe calls for milk, you can replace this ingredient with coconut or almond milk. Also, don’t be afraid to switch out spices and seasonings to add a new flavor to a dish.

Vary your cooking methods to keep things fresh and give food a different taste. For instance, if you always broil your steak, try sautéing it, or covering it with olive oil and dropping it on the grill. All of these cooking methods are healthy and easy to master.

Sample Recipes to Help You Eat Great and Lose Weight

Healthy French Toast:

• 2 slices of Sprouted Grain, Spelt or Rice bread
• 1 tablespoon of real butter
• 2 whole organic eggs
• maple syrup
• cinnamon

Directions: Mix the eggs in a bowl. Dip the bread in the egg mixture until it is completely coated on both sides. Heat a pan on low to medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the egg coated bread and cook each side for 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle the toast with cinnamon and serve it with 2 teaspoons of maple syrup.
Baked Chicken a la Isabel (one of my creations)

• 1 whole baking chicken
• extra virgin coconut oil
• your favorite Italian spices (I use thyme, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper)

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a small pan and melt it over low heat. Mix 1 to 2 teaspoons of each of your spices in a small bowl and pour in the melted coconut oil. Mix all the ingredients together. Let the spice and coconut oil mixture cool.

Rub the spice and oil mixture under the skin of the chicken with your hands. Once the chicken is completely coated, place it breast side down in a glass baking pan and pop it in the oven. Let the chicken cook for 1 to 2 hours until it’s done.

There’s nothing boring or tasteless about the above recipes. If you’re creative and are willing to experiment with new recipes, you can chow down like this everyday and look fantastic doing it.
Your dream of permanent weight loss is just a reach away. Watch this video to find out how The Diet Solution Program can help you eat great and lose weight.

Did you like this article? Share it with your friends on Facebook.