The word ‘dieting’ makes you visualize yourself bidding adieu to your favorite extra cheese burger or double chocolate cake and incorporating boiled vegetables and bland salads in your life! This is why we dread dieting so much. But actually we were not born with unhealthy eating habits. We craved for milk as babies and not carbonated drinks. It is because of all the food exposure that we had later in life which led us into unhealthy eating. And eventually we have no other option other than dieting!
Dieting is regulated intake of food to cut down extra calories in order to maintain or reduce your weight. This includes diet rich in healthy vitamins and minerals along with other nutrients. However, some people indulge in crash dieting which in turn ends up crashing their own health. This way of dieting can back fire some serious health issues such as malnutrition, weakness and low immunity. Hence, you have to diet for a healthy body too along with shedding weight.
Start With Some Mental Conditioning
The first thing you need to do before dieting is prepare yourself. If you start to diet in a haphazard way, you may end up losing interest soon. So, prepare a diet plan with the help of your dietician. Set an achievable target for yourself. Remember that your aim is to incorporate healthy eating habits in your routine and you don’t want to go back to square one after your goal is achieved. So make this regime as interesting as possible.
Welcome Fresh Veggies and Fruits in Your Diet
Fruits and vegetables contain some best diet vitamins. These vitamins not only boost your metabolism but also take care of the vital functions of the body. Being rich in fiber, these keep you full for long hours and also help to digest your food better. Also you get to add lots of natural minerals and vitamins in your diet. You must go for fresh fruits and vegetables as processed foods are loaded with sugar and are less nutritious as compared to fresh foods. Apples, bananas, watermelons, papaya, plums, grapes, peaches, avocadoes are some of the best fruits. For vegetables, avoid starchy potatoes and go high on beans, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.
Say Hello to Whole Grains
Refined grains are low in fiber and nutritional value. Whole grains have more of essential diet vitamins such as Vitamin B and minerals attached to them. So swap your white rice with brown rice and white bread with multigrain one. Whole grains are rich sources of fiber and thus slow down the release of sugar in your bloodstream. This is highly desirable in dieting as instant dumping of sugar in the blood makes it difficult for your body to burn down the calories quickly. Look for whole grain variants in pastas, noodles and breakfast cereals too. Pop corns are a low cal way to include whole grains in your diet.
Stick To Small Portions
If you are hungry you tend to fill up your plate as much as possible in one go. This is the biggest mistake that you commit. As a result, you finish up everything that is on your plate not realizing that you are going overboard. Hence it is wise to serve yourself small portions of food. For this, use small bowls which fill up quickly and you don’t get tempted to take more. You may take several of such mini meals in a day. This will not only keep your huger satiated but will also improve the breakdown of food. Try to add more of B vitamins in your diet as they are major metabolism boosters.
Give Your Brain the Time to React
Overeating is the biggest reason of putting on extra weight and brain can help you deal with this problem. It just needs to be given more time! Confused? Actually, your brain takes about five minutes to make the stomach realize that it is full. So before you get up to take another serving, wait for a while. Your brain will automatically make you feel full and refrain you from taking more.
Guzzle More Fluids
Ever noticed that you feel less hungry in summers? This is because the scorching heat compels you to stuff yourself with enough of fluids leaving hardly any space for solids. Follow this trick while dieting too. Water, juices, low cal shakes fill up your tummy and also provide you adequate amounts of vitamins in your diet. Some of the best diet supplements available in the market such as energy drinks and whey shakes, are also helpful to curb your hunger with minimum calories possible. Fortified juices are good sources of important diet vitamins and minerals.
Finally, along with all the above tips, you need to exercise regularly and sleep well to attain your desired weight. Believe it or not but a good sleep can help to bring down your hunger levels by curbing some hunger instilling hormones. So, the next time you feel like devouring a bowlful of potato chips, taking a nap would certainly be a good deviation.