What to Eat for Healthy Long-Term Weight Loss

Especially when you reach a plateau phase in your diet, you might nearly grow desperate over the question what to eat to lose weight. This question isn’t so easy to answer.

The habits that you formed over the course of your life can’t just disappear overnight and so you might feel hungry and have less energy while keeping a diet. However, there are some weight loss foods that you can eat to help you getting across such phases.

Also, some foods that may seem healthy may contain more calories than you think and so they are not what to eat to lose weight.

What should be your goal to lose weight?

The medical aspect of losing weight is very simple: You need to take in fewer calories than your body burns across the day. In reality this proves to be a lot more complicated than on paper.

Many people have different metabolism rates and use up a different base amount of calories. However, the basic rule remains the same. Eating less and exercising will help you lose weight.

Don’t worry; you don’t need to spend hours a day at the gym. Even a short walk of half an hour will help you burn some calories.

For example, according to studies, a 30 year old male weighing 200 pounds and being 6 foot tall uses about 1900 calories a day, if he doesn’t exercise at all. If he only exercises three times a week, this rises to 2600 calories a day.

This way, even if he eats the same diet as always, he will start to lose weight.

Weight Loss Foods that will help you reach your goal

Those were the bad news so far. While there are many weight loss products on the market that promise to help you in your efforts, you still have to do the main job. And, if you ask yourself what to eat to lose weight, then there is some good news.

Sticking to your goals and keeping your diet is hard, when you hear your stomach rumbling all day long. But there are some foods that you can eat to sate your hunger that won’t interfere with your goal of losing weight.

Raw vegetables, whole-grain bread and products, for example will keep you sated for many hours and because they contain a lot of fibers they are also healthy for your digestive system.

Nuts are also an often neglected food that you can eat to lose weight. They are a counter-intuitive choice, because they contain a lot of fat and hence calories, but they also provide you with a lot of healthy nutrients like unsaturated fatty acids.

Just half an ounce of mixed nuts is enough to sate your hunger for a healthy snack between meals.

Weight Loss Mistakes To Avoid

What mistakes you should avoid when you decide what to eat to lose weight?

You may have formed a lot of bad habits over the years that led you to your overweight in the first place.

For example, a lot of things that you serve to your meals may add a lot of unnecessary calories. Ketchup contains a lot of sugar and mayonnaise a lot of fat. That is why you should reduce them as well as other fatty sauces. Vegetables are also the healthiest when you just eat them without any sauces, just blanched.

It is not only a decision of what to eat to lose weight, you also need to think about what you drink. Water or teas without sugar are the best choice. Fruit juices are, while they seem to be very healthy, a bad choice. The most important parts of the fruit have been removed and they contain a lot of sugar and calories. It’s better to just eat an orange or an apple for a snack and stay with sugar-free beverages across the day.

Some other things that you should keep in mind

Now you have a general idea of what to eat to lose weight.

Losing weight is a journey that takes some time and effort as old habits have to be replaced with new ones.

If you enjoyed eating huge portions, then it is time to think again and stop eating when you don’t feel hungry anymore. Also, many people just eat when they are bored.

• Is the bag of chips in front of TV really necessary?
• Do you really need to eat those dinner remnants before going to bed?

Looking for foods with low calories, high protein and fiber and low fat and sugar is a good rule of thumb when you need to choose what to eat to lose weight.

• Keep your goal in mind and be disciplined and persistent.
• Try to steadily reduce your calorie intake and exercise more to burn more calories.

You’ll see that it becomes easier over time as your body adjusts to your new habits.