How to Eat Healthy and Lose Weight By:Lyzabeth Lopez

While exercise is very important and not to be neglected; what you eat will account for about 70% of what you look like, as well as how you feel, and the state of your overall health. In this article I will discuss:

• Healthy Food Choices and Alternatives
• Good Snacks to Have Around the House
• How the Time of Day That You Eat Affects Your Weight
• What Happens When You Cut Your Calories Too Drastically
• How to Lose Weight Successfully
• What I Eat on a Typical Day On and Off Season

Healthy Food Choices and Alternatives
It is actually very easy to eat a healthy diet without a lot of sacrifice. What makes it tough is convenience. Healthy food is not nearly as accessible as it’s not so healthy counterpart. When was the last time that you were at a restaurant and couldn’t get white rice because they only had brown rice?  This is not a very likely scenario. Knowing this; to eat healthy sometimes you need to plan in advance. The good news is that big businesses and corporations are starting to come around and offer some healthy choices. Now with that said, this is how you determine a healthy choice from a not so healthy choice.

CARBOHYDRATES:
Not all carbs are bad or fattening. The reason that they have gotten such a bad wrap is the choice of carb and portion sizes that people generally choose. Limit the amount of over processed, refined or ‘white’ carbs. Here is a list of some healthy alternatives:

Why the change?
White and processed carbs, also called simple carbs, affect your system the same way sugar does. The affect that it has causes you to store it a s fat. The healthier choices are called complex carbs. They take much longer to digest and don’t affect your system in the same way. They will not be immediately stored as fat.

FAT:
All fat is not bad! There are different types of fat; some are bad including saturated, and transfat. These are what you want to stay away from. They are generally found in fatty cuts of meat, diary products, and some processed food. Try to stay away form these products. The good fats are monosaturated and polysaturated fat. They can be found in foods such as, nuts, olive oil, flax seed and hemp seed. These are not only good for you, but they area actually essential. They are therefore called essential fatty acids (EFA's); because our body needs them and can't make them on their own.

Don’t be fooled by fat free labels. Usually they double up on the sugar to make up for the absence of fat. As well, fat free labels somehow make us think that since they’re fat free, we can eat the whole box. Generally these fat free treats have the exact same amount of calories as the regular fat ones; so it’s best to go with the regular ones and have them in moderation. Another choice is to go to the health food store and try a healthy substitute.

PROTEIN:
Protein is so important to every healthy diet but it is often neglected for extra carbs. Protein is especially important for the health of your hair, nails, skin and muscles. Protein can be found in meat, poultry, fish, nuts, seeds, beans, dairy and eggs. Try to have a serving of protein and carbs at each meal. Some healthy substitutes include.

If you are a vegetarian, please make an effort to include protein in every meal. I'm sure you already know the regular protein sources such as, tofu, nuts seeds and beans. But look into some other options such as: soygart, and Eves products are great; they have everything from veggie dogs, soy cheese, veggie ground round and veggie sausage links. As well try things like a good protein powder, you can get it with a whey (dairy base) or a soy base. Kamut pasta is much higher in protein than regular pasta. There are no excuses for not getting enough protein.

Good snacks to have around the house:
Remember, eating healthy is a lifestyle. If you are planning on removing the chips and brownies from your cupboard only until you lose the weight with the intention of putting them back again once you’ve reached your goal; you will be in for an unpleasant trip of yo-yo dieting. Instead, find healthy snacks that you enjoy to keep in your cupboards all the time, and indulge in a brownie on a special occasion. If it’s not in the house, you’ll be less likely to snack on it and ruin all of your hard work. Also, you’ll find eventually you’ll actually crave crispy minis or natural peanut butter on celery.

Great Healthy snacks for around the house:

Good luck and train safely.

 © 2004 Pro-Bound.com All Rights Reserved.