The Secrets of the Best Diet to Lose Weight!

The best diet to lose weight is not a diet.

Yes, you heard me. A diet is exactly what the name suggests - a diet.

It's temporary, and you will give up at some point. If you are looking for a short term diet, then you might want to click your browser's 'back' button right now.

The best diet to lose weight is a lifestyle, one that you can continue indefinitely. It's a 'diet' in which you eat healthy, and cheat once in a while, because you are human.

Thats exactly what I do, as a professional personal trainer.

Drawbacks of the so called 'best diets to lose weight'.

(a) They usually emphasize too much of one nutrient at the expense of another . For example, a high protein diet is, as the name suggests, high in protein and fat. By default, this means that it's hard to get an adequate supply of complex carbohydrates and essential vitamins and minerals with such a diet. (I will agree that certain diets such as the South Beach diet strive to 'create a balance', but it's still a diet. Don't get me wrong, if you find a diet that serves as the best diet to lose weight for you, go for it to boost your weight loss efforts.)

If your eating habits are not healthy and balanced, you will gain the weight back, and more.

(b) Many diets require some degree of starvation. Starvation does not work! If you don't eat enough, your metabolism shuts down so your body gets used to eating little calories. Your body develops a tendency to store fat, instead of lose it.

(c) When you resume your normal eating habits after the magical 'best diet to lose weight', you regain most of the weight , and some more. (Have you been there?)

(d) They are hard to sustain (an ordeal for some individuals), can affect your social life (you can't eat what your friends are eating), your state of mind and even your health. Any food restriction in diets (and if you find a best diet to lose weight, you can bet it involves some type of restriction) can be harmful because the body does not obtain a sufficient variety of nutrients. Also, if you give up on the diet, you not only regain the weight, but tend to 'binge' on the foods you missed and may even become worse in your eating habits!

As you probably know, there are several diet plans in the market. I have reviewed them to help you decide the best diet to lose weight.

Register with your name and primary email to get free diet plans (low carb, low fat, low cholesterol), free ebook "Healthy Eating Made Easy" and much more.

The secret to the best diet to lose weight.

The best diet to lose weight is healthy, something you can live with, and from which you can deviate once in a while.

It includes:-

(a) Nutritional density.
(b) Consistency.
(c) Occasional cheating.
(d) Understanding serving sizes.

What is nutritional density?

The best diet to lose weight includes a variety of 'nutritionally dense' foods. Some foods have a high nutrition value that others.

In general, a 'good food' is one that is not just 'low in fat', but also 'nutritionally dense'. This means that a food should provide more 'bang for your buck' in terms of calories. For example, a typical soda would provide you 'empty calories', i.e sugar, artificial colors and preservatives.

On the other hand, 2 pieces of fresh fruit may provide you with the same number of calories but will provide you something valuable that the soda will not - an array of vitamins and minerals. A 'nutritionally dense' food generally provides a balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, vitamins and minerals.

Examples of such foods include high fiber vegetables (carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions), high fiber fruits (watermelons, strawberries, raspberries, peaches, pineapples), beans, lean meats (chicken, turkey), low fat diary products (yoghurt, cottage cheese) and complex carbohydrates like whole wheat breads annd brown rice. Refined carbohydrates and sugary foods such as white breads, croissants, pastries, wafers, and chips should be avoided.

Eat fats in moderation, and eat the right kind of fats.

The right type of fats are important. Believe it or not, some types of fat are good for you. Monounsaturated fats, in olive oil are best for cooking and as salad dressings. At the supermarket, be sure to look for extra virgin cold pressed olive oil. Unsaturated fats found in fish have unique health benefits. A common mistake is to try and cut out all fat in the diet. Don't do it. Fat contains an essential nutrient called polyunsaturated linoleic acid. You body can only produce other fatty acids when this nutrient is present. Fat also contains vitamins A, D, E, and K, which are necessary for the body to function properly. So add some nuts here and there, olive oil to your stir fry, or olives to your salads.

Consistency with good food habits.

The best diet to lose weight is one you can sustain. In such a diet;

Half of the grains must be whole grains.
The vegetables must be varied.
Fruits should also be varied, with an emphasis on fresh fruits instead of juices.
Calcium rich foods are abundant- milk, yoghurt, cottage cheese. All protein meat sources are lean i.e low fat.

Good food habits don't stop there. Food must be savored and enjoyed. Your motto should be dietary enhancement, not deprivation. When you enjoy what you eat, you feel more positive about life, which helps you feel better. An added bonus is that you eat less when you eat food you love, and that helps control weight and reduce cholesterol levels.

Drink enough water. Never ever starve yourself. In the best diet to lose weight, you feed your body regularly.

As a personal trainer, I am not ashamed to admit that I tried starvation diet (as a teenager trying to lose weight). Not only did it not work, it was downright harmful and I fell sick. Skipping meals can be counterproductive and lead to overeating.

Eating five to six mini-meals is the best way to control blood sugars, burn fat calories more efficiently, and regulate cholesterol levels.

Occasional cheating is allowed.

Do you like chocolates? You can eat them in moderation, not more than once a week. Do you like cakes / ice creams / pastries? The good news is, you can eat them once a week, or better yet, once every other week, but in moderation.

Research has shown that deprivation is counter-productive. In other words, if you deprive yourself off your favorite foods for a long time, you will 'binge' on them.

In other words, cheat once in a while, but don't deprive yourself so much (or cheat so often) that you are cheating all the time!

Understanding serving sizes is important to find the best diet to lose weight.

Choose smaller serving sizes of the foods you love. Eat more serving sizes of the good foods. (Wow that was easy, wasn't it?)

SERVING SIZES