In order to have a healthy and balanced diet that favors weight loss, it is necessary to make some changes in eating habits and adopt some simple strategies that allow you to increase the feeling of satiety, reduce hunger and accelerate metabolism.
However, when you want to lose weight, the ideal is to seek the guidance of a nutritionist so that, through a complete evaluation, a nutritional plan can be drawn up adapted to the needs and goals of the person, allowing weight loss to be maintained over time. And the accordion effect is avoided.
These tips will help you have more freedom in your diet and prepare healthier meals to lose weight:
1. The basis of lunch and dinner is vegetables
Vegetables should always be the main portion of lunch and dinner, as they will give you more satiety and have few calories, which favors weight loss. The portion should vary between 1 to 2 cups of raw vegetables or 1 cup of cooked vegetables, for example.
In addition, vegetables are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals, which help improve the functioning of the intestine, favoring the health of the intestinal microbiota, improving metabolism and helping to detoxify the body, providing energy, and increasing the feeling of well-being.
2. Consume small portions of carbohydrates
It is recommended to consume small portions of carbohydrates, preferably whole, at each meal, such as bread, pasta, rice, farofa, cakes, and tapioca. As the amount that should be consumed varies from one person to another, it is possible to start by progressively decreasing the portions that are consumed. That is, if you normally consume 6 tablespoons of rice, you will consume 5 and then 4, for example.
In addition, you can replace pasta with zucchini or eggplant, for example, and you should look for other alternatives to reduce carbohydrate consumption.
It is also possible to replace wheat flour with other types of flour that contain a greater amount of fiber to prepare pancakes, pastries, and cakes, such as oat, coconut, or almond flour, for example.
3. Snacks should also have protein
It is very common for most people to eat only fruit, toast, or bread with coffee for snacks, for example, but the ideal would be to vary more and bring protein to these meals as well, as they spend more energy to be digested and increase satiety.
So, good examples of snacks are eating 1 slice of whole-grain bread with 1 egg and 1 slice of cheese, eating plain yogurt with a handful of walnuts, making a whole wheat pancake with banana, cinnamon, and oatmeal, or making a fruit smoothie with a handful of almonds.
4. Include olive oil, nuts, and seeds
These foods are rich in good fats and omega-3, which have anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant action and increase satiety, helping the body to function better. This group also includes foods such as avocados, coconuts, peanuts, almonds, peanut butter, and walnuts.
To include them in the diet, a teaspoon of olive oil can be added to the lunch and dinner plate. In snacks, you can consume one fruit with ten units of nuts or one tablespoon of peanut butter. Smoothies can also be prepared with avocado and added to flax, chia, or pumpkin seeds, for example, in salads or cereals, in egg or yogurt, for example.
5. Fruit has a limit, don’t overdo it
Despite being healthy, fruits also have calories, and some are easily digested. So, instead of eating 2 or 3 fruits in a single meal, it is better to eat one fruit with one handful of nuts, for example, or with natural yogurt, as this adds good fats and proteins, making the meal more nutritious.
The ideal is to consume the fruits in their “pure” form, without being in the form of juice, because in this way, it is possible to have the most significant amount of fiber, helping to maintain the health of the intestine and increase the feeling of satiety. It is recommended to consume 2 to 3 servings of fruit a day.
6. Drink water daily
It is important to consume 2 to 2.5 L of water per day. The ideal is not to consume liquids together with the food to avoid filling and not to consume the corresponding portions of the meals.
An excellent option is to drink water with lemon, as it helps to cleanse the palate and reduce the desire to eat a lot of sweets.
7. Consume low-fat proteins
Protein is important for the weight loss process as it helps to increase satiety and favors the formation of muscle mass. Therefore, the ideal is to include white meats such as skinless chicken and turkey, fish, and, in the case of red meats, give preference to lean cuts in your daily diet.
In addition, it is also important to consume eggs, low-fat white cheese such as ricotta or mozzarella, and skimmed milk and dairy products. Other foods that are also rich in protein are legumes such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas, for example, combined with rice guarantees a good amount of protein.
A healthy diet to lose weight.
The following table provides an example of a 3-day diet to lose weight easily and healthily:
| food | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | Unsweetened black coffee wholemeal toast with two tablespoons of ricotta with oregano and one scrambled egg | Unsweetened black coffee 30g of granola with 1 cup of coconut or almond milk 1/2 cup of strawberry | 1 cup coffee with unsweetened skim milk 1 medium banana oatmeal pancake with one tablespoon cocoa butter |
| Morning snack | Two slices of melon 10 units of cashew nuts | One banana, mashed with one tablespoon of peanut butter and a little cinnamon | Two slices of papaya with one teaspoon of chia |
| Lunch dinner | One grilled chicken breast fillet accompanied by three tablespoons of brown rice with two tablespoons of beans 1 cup of vegetables sautéed in olive oil 1 pear. | One fish fillet with tomato and onion in the oven 1 peach | One cubed turkey breast fillet sautéed with vegetables and quinoa 1 apple |
| Afternoon snack | One natural yogurt with one spoon of honey 10 units of peanuts | 1 cup of ginger tea 2 wholemeal toast and two tablespoons of mashed avocado (with onion, tomato, pepper, and a little nutmeg) | One serving of unsweetened fruit gelatin 6 nuts |
The amounts included in the menu vary according to age, gender, physical activity, and whether you have any associated disease or not, so the ideal is to seek guidance from a nutritionist so that a complete assessment is carried out and a nutritional plan is drawn up suitable for the needs of the patient.
