Episode 5 – How to lose weight with nutrition and diet
The desire to achieve an ideal weight is one of the strongest motivators and driving forces of an individual’s health and fitness journey.
One of the most common questions people ask me are, “How do I lose weight fast?” or more importantly, “How do I lose fat fast?”
Which way do you go?
There are many approaches you can take to lose weight and it can get very overwhelming. Here are some of the common health and fitness lifestyle factors that drive weight loss:
- Exercise
- Stress management
- Sufficient rest
- And of course, proper diet.
In this article today, let’s focus in on how to lose fat quickly, safely, and effectively through nutrition-based interventions. (Read: lose weight with good nutrition). Remember to check with your Doctor and Dietitian to make sure that this information is relevant to you.
Tip #1: Vegetables, Fruits, Legumes First
Vegetables, fruits, and legumes are very nutrient dense.
They’ve got all the vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals necessary to keep your metabolism going in the best way. Not only that, but they’re also low energy dense and packed with fiber which makes you feel fuller for longer.
By basing your meals around these foods you’re assured that the nutritional needs of your body to perform its functions can be well met and it’s also a surefire way to put you in the right direction for your weight loss journey.
Tip #2: Focus on Good Proteins and Fats
Protein is essentially the building block for your tissues, muscles, and organs while fat is important in many roles such as transporting of fat-soluble vitamins around the body as well as laying the foundation for hormone and cell production. It is also very important to choose good sources of fats and proteins because you want to build the best body possible and of course, you’ll want to use the best materials.
You are what you eat! The best source of protein are meats — you can choose from a wide variety of fish such as salmon, snapper, tuna, mackerel, and red and white meat such as beef, lamb, chicken, and even kangaroo. There are vegetarian options as well that are also rich in protein such as lentils, beans, chickpeas, and dairy such as, cheese and milk.
Tip #3: Note The Portion Sizes
When thinking about portion sizes you simply have to remember this principle: “eat like a king at breakfast, a servant at lunch and a pauper at dinner.” Start with having a big breakfast to load you up. This will put you in a good positive energy balance to take on the activities lined up for the day.
After breakfast, follow up with a medium-sized lunch to top off your nutrients and energy requirements to get you through the afternoon.
Then finally, have a lighter dinner to give you enough nutrients to supply what you need to repair and recover your body while you sleep. If you find this difficult the next best alternative would be to stomach what you can during breakfast and then have your big meal at lunch while still keeping your dinner small.
Find out how to lose weight with good nutrition below.
Tip #4: Avoid Processed Food & Drinks
Processed food and drinks provide the body with high amounts of energy in short amounts of time.
These kinds of food and drinks can tip you over your energy requirements and if you don’t use that energy it’s eventually going to be stored on your body as fat. Not only that, too much of these processed foods add significant amounts of stress on your body systems, particularly in terms of maintaining an optimal blood sugar level. They force your body to produce a lot of insulin to counteract the surge in blood sugar and this may result in feeling sleepy and tired in the short term. Worse still, this may even lead to more serious health conditions over the long term.
Lastly, they contain preservatives, additives, and artificial sweeteners that don’t have any contribution to your nutritional needs, and these may even cause an inflammatory response in your body possibly leading to overweight and obesity.
Tip #5: Drink More Water
It is more likely for you to be thirsty than hungry.
It is a common occurrence for individuals to mistake thirst for hunger and end up eating unnecessary snacks and other fast food options. This may again result in excess energy being consumed and eventually, these excess calories turn to fat. Instead, it’s good practice to appease your grumbling stomach by drinking water first.
Water contributes no calories whatsoever and aids in the detoxification of your body so you can’t go wrong.
Lose weight with good nutrition
Nutrition based interventions are a very strong foundation for your weight loss health and fitness journey. By providing your body with everything it needs and not much more you are allowing it to perform its functions excellently and thus putting you in a better position to address all of the other components necessary for you to achieve a healthy lifestyle.
If you’re trying to lose fat fast, nutrition-based interventions like the above are a great place to start. There are more tips, but five (5) is plenty to work on for now. Try one or two that resonate with you and stick at it.
To summarize the tips again, here are the top five (5) tips to keep in mind:
Tip #1. Base your meals around vegetables and fruits and beans, lentils, chickpeas
Tip #2. Focus on good protein and good fat
Tip #3. Portion sizes – eat like a king, servant and poor person
Tip #4. Avoid processed food and drinks
Tip #5. Drink more water
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Need extra help?
- My PURITY Protocol is an amazing resource packed with 6 secrets to detox your life and supercharge your energy. It’s my personal wellbeing philosophy. Check it out here.
- The First Five Fitness program is a complete 35 day guide to nutrition, mindset, and fitness for beginners and intermediates AND it only takes five minutes blocks to start. Click here for details.
- Don’t know what or how to cook and prepare food?! Check out My Meals & Recipes book here. It’s packed with loads of practical, healthy and simple to make breakfast, lunch, dinner options as well as snacks and drinks.
- Want live coaching? Click here to contact me. I look forward to working with you soon.
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Feel free to watch the video
Bibliography
- Chek, P. (2009) How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!
- Myers, T. (2009) Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists (2nd Ed.). Churchill Livingstone
- Sherwood, L.(2004) Human Physiology: From Cells to Systems (5th Ed.) Thomson, Brooks/Cole
- Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand (website): https://www.nrv.gov.au/ Accessed: December 2015 to January 2016
- Gropper, S., Smith, J., Groff, J. (2005) Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism (4th Ed.), Thomson Wadsworth
Chris Everingham lives and breathes health & fitness.
Hi, I’m Chris Everingham.
I’m sharing the holistic performance secrets that I both personally used to overcome racial scrutiny, escape poverty and depression, AND taught others so that they too could bring proven success and happiness into their lives.
Learn more about my time competing in international sports, in front of media and speaking with live audiences of thousands of people to discover my high performance secrets. Click here to grow your mindset, rewire your habits and transform your life.
