Top 10 Tips for Weight Loss Nutrition

If you are trying to lose weight, it is very important to keep an eye on proper weight loss nutrition to give yourself the best chance of success.

10 Keys to Proper Weight Loss Nutrition

Weight Loss Nutrition Tip #1 – Grapefruit: In a 2004 study at the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, California, researchers investigated the effect of grapefruit on weight loss and found that eating half a grapefruit before a meal can help us lose weight. The researchers studied the effect of grapefruit capsules, grapefruit juice, and real grapefruit. All three seemed to help, but eating the real grapefruit got the best results. Grapefruits also contain cancer-fighting compounds like limonoids and lycopene, and red grapefruit has been shown to help lower triglycerides. Half a grapefruit has only 39 calories. This makes it a great breakfast food, a super snack between meals or makes it a dessert!

Weight Loss Nutrition Tip #2- Sardines: Sardines are high in protein, which helps stabilize blood sugar, making you feel full and helps stimulate metabolism. They’re a great source of omega-3s, which not only strengthen the cardiovascular system but also are helpful in boosting mood. Sardines are also free of contaminants, such as mercury and heavy metals.

Weight Loss Nutrition Tip #3 – Pumpkin is considered one of the greatest weight-loss foods ever. Canned pumpkin is absolutely loaded with fiber and has only 40 calories. Dozens of studies show that high fiber intake is associated with many health benefits, including weight management. Pumpkin is also among the easiest food in the world to prepare. You can sweeten it with your favorite low or 0-calorie sweetener, sprinkle it with blood-sugar-lowering cinnamon and nutmeg for good measure, throw in some healthy almonds and make it one of the best tasting weight-loss Treats around. It’s filling and delicious. Makes a great dessert, snack or side dish.

Weight Loss Nutrition Tip #4 – High-protein diets are associated with weight loss for a variety of reasons: Protein stimulates metabolism, helps you feel full longer and helps decrease the desire to overeat. Protein is important because it allows the brain to synthesize the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, which help keep your mind attentive and alert. Excessive protein levels make the organs of digestion work much harder to process this food and rob your energy stores. Find the balance for YOU. Listen to your body! It will tell you what makes you feel good and what does not. Especially in the long term. Consider these great protein foods such as lean beef, lean pork, chicken, turkey, salmon, tuna, and sardines.

Weight Loss Nutrition Tip #5 – Carbohydrates provide glucose for energy. Excessive carbohydrates can increase blood sugar levels to dangerous levels, which then makes your body shut down to protect itself. Again, find the balance that is right for YOU. Listen to your body! It will tell you what makes you feel good and what does not.

Weight Loss Nutrition Tip #6 – If you have issues with excess heat, (sweating, red face, red skin, inflammation) look at eating foods that have a cooling nature. If you have an excess cold (cold fingers, toes, hands, feet, cold abdomen, especially below the navel), look at eating foods that have a warming nature. Neutral foods help to regulate our system.

Weight Loss Nutrition Tip #7 – Green Tea is a natural weight-loss stimulant and is a great slimming solution Green tea is rich in antioxidants, promotes heart health, assists digestion and regulates blood sugar and body temperature. It raises the metabolic rate and speeds up fat oxidation, and therefore helps people lose weight. Drink it daily to boost your metabolism. Some research has shown that five cups a day is the magic number for a fat loss. As an added benefit, the theanine in green tea is also a great natural de-stressor.

Weight Loss Nutrition Tip #8 – Apples and Pears are both great foods for boosting metabolism and weight loss. Apples contain naturally-occurring chemical compounds known as phytochemicals, polyphenols, or flavonoids, some of which have been proven to have antioxidant activity that inhibits, or scavenges, the activity of free radicals in the body. Cell damage from free radicals can be a factor in certain cancers, heart disease, strokes, and other conditions. The major antioxidant components in apples are polyphenols contained mainly in the skin known as quercetin glycoside, phloretin glycoside, chlorogenic acid, and epicatechin. Water-rich fresh fruits such as pears will dilute the calories in your foods, so you can eat more and not overdo the calories. This high fiber fruits are nutritious and keeps the digestive system on track as well as helps to steady the insulin levels, which is going to prevent fat storage. Overweight women who ate the equivalent of three small apples or pears a day lost more weight on a low-calorie diet than women who didn’t add fruit to their diet, according to researchers from the State University of Rio de Janeiro. Fruit eaters also ate fewer calories overall.

Weight Loss Nutrition Tip #9 – Soups are super! According to a Penn State University study, soup is a super appetite suppressant because it’s made up of a hunger-satisfying combination of liquids and solids. In the study, women chose one of three 270-calorie snacks before lunch. Women who had chicken and rice soup as a snack consumed an average of 100 fewer calories than those in the study who opted for a chicken and rice casserole or the casserole and a glass of water.

Weight Loss Nutrition Tip #10 – Low-Fat Yogurt has shown to boost weight loss efforts, according to a study in the April 2006 issue of Obesity Research. People on a reduced-calorie diet who included three to four servings of dairy foods lost significantly more weight than those who ate a low-dairy diet containing the same number of calories. Low-fat yogurt is a rich source of weight-loss-friendly calcium, providing about 450 mg (about half the recommended daily allowance for women ages 19-50) per 8-ounce serving, as well as 12 grams of protein. It includes calcium, protein and a ton of other nutrients as well as good bacteria for your digestive tract.

Water should be a very important part of any nutritional program. 6-8 8 ounces per day. Water allows for the cleansing and hydrating of the system. It is also filling and a good substitute for soda or sugar-laden drinks. Although it may seem counterintuitive, drinking water helps you burn fat. Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake, will cause fat deposits to increase. Without water, the kidneys cannot effectively filter out the waste products and other chemicals which build up in the bloodstream and interfere with the liver’s ability to metabolize fat. As a result, you become more likely to store fat and less likely to burn it. Ironically, drinking more water is the BEST remedy for water retention. When your body is low in the water, you retain pockets of salt and water under the skin, as a defense mechanism. For your body does not know when it will get its next drink. This stored water and salt under the skin will create puffiness and looks like fat. Drink plenty of distilled water or low sodium water and avoid high- sodium foods.

The FDA recommends limiting your intake of fat to 65 grams per day. By safely and carefully selecting your foods so that your fat consumption is about 30 grams per day, you can see a significant amount of weight loss, depending on your body mass index.

Consume lean sources of protein such as skinless white meat poultry or fish, with fibrous water-rich vegetables such as string beans, tomatoes, cucumbers. Protein shakes or meal replacement bars work well as one of your small meals. Be aware of the carbohydrates in most bars and shakes for they can be extremely high. Medium to low amounts of carbs 2-14 grams a bar is sufficient.

Reducing fat in the diet is an important component of weight loss. Foods with a high proportion of calories from fat should be eliminated or limited in the diet; these include red meat, poultry skins, dark poultry meat, fried foods, butter, margarine, cheese, milk (except skim milk), junk foods, and most processed foods. Vegetable oils should also be restricted, as should nuts, seeds, and avocados (although these foods are healthful for people who have no Weight problem). Instead, the diet should be based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and non-fat dairy products (and low-fat fish for non-vegetarians).

Hydrogenated oils are very bad, for two reasons. The first reason is that hydrogenated fats are saturated fats, and saturated fats raise total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. The second reason is that hydrogenation also produces what is called “trans” fatty acids. Although these are unsaturated, with one double bond, they act the same as saturated fats. Some margarine are now available without trans fatty acids, these are better. A lot of convenience foods are made with hydrogenated fat, like cookies, crackers, etc. This increases the shelf life of the product but is bad for human life. Good question. We need labels that show amounts of trans fat as well as the amount of hydrogenated fat.

A reduction of 25% of total calories will usually promote slow, steady weight loss. For some, weight loss is easier by changing the dietary content. By this, I mean reducing carbohydrates by 25%-30%.

In my opinion, for the long-term, it is important not to increase fat when decreasing carbs. Most people who restrict carbohydrates tend to maintain the same total daily calories by increasing dietary fat. Avoid all bread and pasta (flour-containing carbs) and unprocessed sugars.

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