Losing weight is a matter of eating the right foods–and avoiding the wrong ones. The problem is that those “wrong” foods always look and taste so good. If you are ready to commit to getting healthy, you need to take a good look at your diet. There’s room for the occasional treat, but you should avoid eating unhealthy foods on a regular basis.
Calorie Density
When deciding which foods to cut out to lose weight, consider looking at the calorie density of the food. Your goal should be to eat foods that have a low-calorie density–those that you can eat a lot of for few calories. Good examples of these foods are vegetables and fruits. High-density foods have a lot of calories when you look at the amount of food that you get. Candy bars and potato chips are high-density foods, for example. Avoid foods that have high calories and little nutritional value.
Fiber to Feel Full
Foods that are high in fiber will help you feel full longer, but the fiber is missing from many foods. You’ll find fiber in foods that use whole grains, but in the foods that contain refined–white–flour, there is little fiber. For example, eating a sandwich made from whole grain bread will keep you fuller than a sandwich on white bread. The same is true with white and brown rice. Avoid these processed grains when you want to lose weight.
Junk Food Junkies
Junk foods are high in calories and low in nutrition. You may also tend to overeat them if you tend to take the full package of junk food to eat in front of the TV or the computer.
Fat
The calories in fat are more concentrated than the calories in protein or carbohydrates. A gram of fat contains 9 calories while 1 gram of protein or carbohydrates contains just 4. Still, fat can keep you full longer. Try to eliminate saturated fats and trans fats, but keep the unsaturated fats in your diet to control hunger.
Moderation
Strict rules about which foods you should and shouldn’t eat when trying to lose weight can often lead to failure. If you forbid yourself from eating a certain type of food, you may find that you are craving that food and could potentially overeat it when you decide to let yourself have that treat. Instead, allow yourself to eat any food, as long as you focus on healthier choices and save the treats for special occasions.
