Diet foods need to include proteins, carbohydrates, sugar, fats, flavors, calcium and minerals in equal amount. You don’t have to join a gym to be healthy and fit. It’s not compulsory to carry 10kgs of weight to be healthy. Health comes from healthy food. I always hear people saying that they can’t be dedicated to their diet because they crave carbohydrates after 2 or 3 days. I would advise them to start slow and mild. Start with decreasing junk food which targets your belly and health as well. Belly fat is one of the common problems of people around the world. Sitting on the couch with chips, coke, and pizza on the table and watching your favorite television series, a scene of every teenage and adult life in today’s world and then when you see a fit and healthy person you cringe. That needs to stop, how? I’ll list down some foods that will help you control your weight. The second step is eat a lot in the morning and less at night.
A Meat and Meat Products
Chicken breast
Pork chop
Fatty fish
Consuming natural fats is very beneficial, so including meats in your diet is a can be a really good plan. These are the food that will help you build the muscles in your body. They are high in proteins, as proteins are the building blocks of our body. They will provide the body with the right amount of proteins, but having too much of it in your diet will make you more fat than usual. The chicken breast will provide 26g, while the pork chop and fatty fish will provide 30g and 23g respectively. According to science, if you include a high amount of protein in your diet, the less you’ll feel to consume it. The food with less amount of protein includes egg, bacon, chicken thigh, etc.
B Vegetables and Fruits
Spinach
Lettuce
Green bell pepper
Baby mushrooms
Green beans
When you include vegetables in your diet, it’s very important to look at the carbohydrate content. The less the carbohydrates, the more beneficial the vegetable is. Instead of high carbohydrates, look for high nutrient food. Always select the vegetables which are green. The greener, the healthier they are. Spinach contains 1g of carbohydrates, baby mushrooms and green beans contain 4g and lettuce and green bell pepper has 29 and 5g of carbohydrates, respectively. Minimize the amount of yellow onion, blackberries, raspberries, broccoli in your diet or else it will make your diet fail.
C Dairy products
Mayonnaise
Heavy cream
Aged Cheddar
Brie
Greek yogurt
Dairy products have the same theory – fewer carbohydrates, the more beneficial it is. Even though using dairy product is allowed, you should take care of not overeating it in your daily diet. The level of dairy in your diet should be moderate. Using raw and organic dairy products is always recommended. For those who are lactose sensitive, go for long aged dairy products as they have less lactose. Mayonnaise, heavy cream, aged cheddar, brie has 0g of carbohydrates, and Greek yogurt contains 1g of carbohydrates. Avoid cream, cheese and cottage cheese, as they contain a high amount of carbohydrates.
D Nuts and Seeds
Walnuts (moderate carbohydrate nut)
Hazelnuts (moderate carbohydrate nut)
Macadamia nuts (low carbohydrate nut)
Nuts provide protein in your diet, if you’re a vegetarian. Nuts are an alternative to meat. Both provide proteins and need to be included in your diet, if possible. To remove the unwanted nutrients, roast the nuts before you eat them, even in your daily use. Raw nuts are always preferred over others. While having them, make sure that you don’t eat a lot of nuts as they will affect your insulin level and slow down the weight losing process. Walnut contains 7g of carbohydrates, hazelnut contains 5g of carbohydrates and macadamia nuts include 3g of carbohydrates.
E Nuts and seeds flour
Flaxseed meal
Almond flour
Chia seeds meal
Regular flour can highly affect your diet, so instead of using regular flour, a nut and seed flour is more beneficial. Nut and seed flour are used in baking desserts. To form the base of pizza, use almond flour. Flaxseed meal contains 1g of carbohydrates, almond flour contains 6g of carbohydrates, while chia seeds meal contains 3g of carbohydrates.
F Spices
Cinnamon
Garlic powder
We use spices to flavor our food and it is important in our diet. Spices also contain carbohydrates, so while using them in your food make sure you use less carbohydrate containing spices. This carbohydrate content should be counted in your daily carbohydrate consumption. But positive side is that carbohydrates are very low in spices, so don’t worry about it. For example, instead of using regular salt, use sea salt..
G Condiments
Reduced sugar ketchup
Yellow mustard
Soya sauce
Sriracha
Condiments are used mainly as a side flavoring sauce and for dressing. Always use low carbohydrate condiments in your food. Use reduced sugar ketchup or yellow mustard. You can flavor your food by cooking it with soya sauce, marinara, sambal, etc. At the end to give your dish a wow! factor, drizzle it with sriracha or mayonnaise.
To keep your diet on track, always make a list of things you should avoid while you’re on a diet. The list includes,
Sweet substances – Soda, Chocolate, Ice-cream, Pastries
Fruits– Apples and Oranges
Starch– Potatoes
Grains– Pasta, Cereals, Rice
To avoid cravings:
- Eat seeds as mentioned above, when you’re craving chocolate.
- When you’re craving for fatty food or oily food, make sure you eat either broccoli or spinach to end the craving as mainly you’re craving for calcium.
- Feel like eating sugar? Instead of stopping your diet, eat broccoli or chicken.
- When it comes to liquid intake, always prefer water, broth or flavored water. Diet soda from your diet as it may contain added sugar and many other nutrients that are unwanted.
- If you’re craving for salty food like chips, eat nuts and seeds instead or eat fish.
