How to Find the Best Diet That Works for Your Weight Loss: Useful Tips

So you are trying to lose weight. The first thing that may have come to your mind at the thought of losing weight is exercising and dieting. And why shouldn’t it? Physical fitness and proper eating habits are the two parameters that decide if we are healthy or not.

In one of our previous blogs, we discussed how exercising is helpful for not just your body but also for your mind. For weight loss, however, your main focus should be your body. We already know that exercising helps you in managing your weight, however, complementing it with a properly nutritious diet speeds up the process of sustainable weight loss.

In today’s blog, we will discuss how you can find the best diet that works for your weight loss. We will share some tips that are scientifically proven to have a positive effect on weight loss.

That being said, it is important to take the advice of your fitness trainer or your doctor for a detailed weight loss diet plan.

Tip #01: Try intermittent fasting

“Intermittent fasting is a way to structure your diet in a cycle of eating and fasting.”

Here, the main focus is on when to eat and when to fast rather than what or what not to eat.

There are various patterns with which you can start intermittent fasting. The most popular ones are the 16:8 and 5:2 pattern of fasting.

In 16:8, you limit your eating to only to the 8-hour window, while for the rest of the day you fast. So for example, if you had your breakfast at 8 am, then you can take your lunch at 1 or 2 pm after which you fast for the rest of the day.

It is better to skip dinner than skipping lunch as it provides you the energy to go on for the day.

The 5:2 pattern allows you to eat whatever you want for the 5 days in a week. While for the remaining 2 days you need to limit your calorie intake to a healthy 400-500 calories a day.

It important to here know that the 2 fasting days shouldn’t be consecutive or one after the other. Always keep an eating day or two between two fasting days so that you don’t lose your energy too much.

Fasting has been a way to stay healthy and fit since ancient times. Research suggests that fasting does not only help you in weight loss but also improves your metabolism.

Tip #02: Decrease carb and fat intake and increase proteins

Proteins are the building blocks of our muscles, so increasing protein content in your diet helps you to strengthen your muscles and increases fat absorption.

When you decrease your carb intake, your body will automatically start absorbing the stored fat and convert it into energy for all daily tasks. Increasing your protein intake will keep you full so that you feel hungry less often.

Fun fact: Adding enough amount of protein to your diet will also keep your skin looking youthful as our skin is also made of 75-80% of protein.

Protein can be found in abundance in:

*    Meat (chicken and lamb),

*    Seafood (fish, crabs, etc.),

*    Dairy products (milk, yogurt, and cheese), and

*    Plant protein (soy, peanut, etc.)

To control your carb intake, you can eat low-carb foods like spinach, lettuce, and cucumber.

Tip #03: Eat Healthy fats

Many would believe that eating food with moderate to high-fat content is bad for your fitness. The reality cannot be far from it. Fat is one of the three most necessary nutrients for our body to function properly, the other two being protein and carbohydrate.

However, it is important to see what kind of protein you are eating. There’s good fat and there’s bad fat.

Bad fat or Trans fat is usually found in junk food like burger, pizza, doughnuts, and French fries. These foods need to be avoided as much as possible. Similarly eating an excess amount of saturated fat is also not good for our body. Saturated fat can be found in dairy products such as butter and cheese and red meat like pork and beef.

Monitoring your fats is important. Healthy fats from olive oil, sunflower oil, and fish oil are high in omega fatty acids that decrease the bad cholesterol (Low-density lipoproteins) and keep you fit and healthy.

Tip #04: Try plant-based diet

If you feel like eating meat, especially red meat may be the reason behind your weight gain, then you can gradually shift your diet to vegan or plant-based. If you decide to take up this diet then as the name suggests, all non-vegetarian food and dairy products will be eliminated from your diet.

It will surely reduce your saturated fat intake and so increase your heart health. However, you will need to increase your proportions of nuts and seeds to fulfill your daily requirement of proteins.

Tip #05: Maintain your hydration level

Research shows that drinking water before eating induces weight loss. However, that is not the only benefit of water. It keeps your hydrated and improves your digestion allowing your body to absorb nutrients faster.

Water can suppress your appetite so that you can control your untimely cravings that are a major reason behind weight gain.

When you go out to eat, prefer to drink water instead of any other sugary carbonated drink or fruit juice as these drinks are filled with sugar that can cause weight gain.

If you wish, use a water intake measuring application to keep a track of whether you are maintaining the required level of hydration in your body or not.

Tip #06 Increase probiotics in your diet

Probiotics are bacteria or microorganisms that are found in most fermented foods like yogurt, kimchi, or sauerkraut. These healthy bacteria help with our digestion and increase metabolism.

Studies show that probiotics can help you in reducing your appetite by releasing the satiety hormone that naturally makes you feel full. With that, you will feel less hungry thus moderating your snack eating habits.

The bacteria found in yogurt are also said to help reduce body fat by 3-4%.

Known probiotic foods include:

*    Yogurt

*    Kimchi

*    Sauerkraut

*    Kefir

*    Pickles

*    Kombucha

*    Buttermilk

You can also include these foods in your regular diet to make it healthy.

That being said, it is better to use these tips along with a proper diet as charted out by your personal trainer. Also, weight loss is not possible by only maintaining a healthy diet, regular exercising is also necessary.

Conclusion

Weight loss is a combined effort by regular exercising and proper diet. We have discussed some tips that you can try to get a better dieting experience. But, exercising and training yourself towards a healthier lifestyle is also necessary. So, hit the gym and start your weight loss journey.

There are many benefits to dieting apart from weight loss, so the next time you go to the gym make sure to get a personalized diet plan that will complement your workout routine to get faster results.