First of all, I'm not a nutritionist. Secondly, I can only talk from my point of view about the food choices that have worked for me during this journey. However, after examining carefully a variety of nutrition plans supposedly designed for fat loss, I've found certain things in common among those claimed to be the most effective ones.
By the way, what's a good nutrition plan? In the first place, it's one that doesn't leave you unhealthy or unhealthier. In the second place, it's one that meets most of your needs, both physiological and psychological. In the physiological aspect, well, it feeds you appropriately. In the psychological aspect, it's not too difficult to stick to and it takes into account your tastes and your possibilities as regards foods available and cooking - otherwise, you'll get sort of detached and even come to feel frustrated, thus increasing the chances to give it up.
No nutrition plan will leave you 100% satisfied after every single meal 7 days a week. Hunger can be mainly physiological, but cravings can be both, physiological and psychological. You have to learn how to make the best choices for yourself as regards cravings, e.g.: taking some fruit to cure your sweet tooth. But you'll also have to train your mind not to give in to cravings, no matter if they are physiological or psychological, because if you give way to them, you'll be committing self-sabotage.
So, the most effective nutrition plans for fat loss show the following characteristics:
(Note: I'll write a summary of these, including as well a list of useful web links for you to check in order to learn more about the importance or relevance of each premise.)
(1) They include 5-6 smaller, frequent meals more or less evenly distributed (every 2.5 - 3 hours) throughout the day.
(2) They begin with a moderately large but healthy breakfast.
(3) The last meal of the day is the smallest meal.
* See: The last meal of the day
(4) They take into account all the elements of the food pyramid but in the right proportions.
(5) Starchy and simple carbs are included during the first half of the day, whilst fibrous carbs are present in any meal, but especially during the second half.
(6) A lean source of protein is consumed in every meal.
(7) They also emphasise the importance of water intake.
(8) To a certain extent, they're custom-tailored, which means:
- Calories are rationally calculated on the basis of your current weight, age, height and activity level.
- Any special needs you may have, according to your own and particular health conditions, are thoroughfully covered (e.g. diabetes, osteoporosis, hypertension, water retention, etc).
- They include foods you should have access to in your area (I've never been able to get cottage cheese or Greek yoghourt in my country).
- Choices for meals don't go against your lifestyle and timetables (e.g.: they won't prescribe a meal you won't be able to cook if you're not at home or if you can't cook it for any other reason).
- To a certain point, they're flexible and adjustments can be made without compromising their effectiveness.
- You'll be given some room for improvisation, on the ground that you'll be wise enough to make the right choices about foods.
- There'll be one or two cheat meals a week so that you won't feel deprived - but again, you'll be wise at this, too.
... We're never too aware of the catastrophic effects of fad diets, of fake self-proclaimed fitness gurus, of crash diets and of our own need to have false hopes. Even if you lose less than half a pound a week, it doesn't mean your meal plan has the wrong ingredients - it might only mean you just have to control your portions. And remember - you will NEVER lose 40 lbs in 12 weeks, unless you want to ruin your health. A pound a week (or 1.5 lbs if you work hard) is the best ratio you should be aiming at. A year has 52 weeks, so don't lose perspective, a year from now you'll have 52-77 lbs of fat gone from your body.
Mind you, weight is not lost evenly (in the same proportions) every single week. I lost 11 lbs during my first two weeks on the Fast Track To Fat Loss Program, and got stuck in a terrible plateau on the same program between December 2010 and January 2011. So you'll have to review what you're doing once in a while, you'll have to make regular -and maybe frequent- adjustments to your meal and exercise plans if you want to continue being successful in your fat loss journey. Don't fall into the traps of your own unconscious mind: if you haven't lost any pounds this week, and even if you've regained one, you haven't 'busted your butt for nothing'. Sometimes it takes your body a week, or a couple of weeks, to get adjusted to its 'new' composition and be ready for a new weight loss.
Again: if it feeds you properly boosting your energy levels AND you can still enjoy the food, then your nutrition plan is good. It's up to you to touch it up in such a way that it'll help you burn all the fat you need AND still recharge your energy. Sometimes you have to relegate or even ignore your palate in the process, but at last, your small -or even huge- sacrifices will pay off.
Again: if it feeds you properly boosting your energy levels AND you can still enjoy the food, then your nutrition plan is good. It's up to you to touch it up in such a way that it'll help you burn all the fat you need AND still recharge your energy. Sometimes you have to relegate or even ignore your palate in the process, but at last, your small -or even huge- sacrifices will pay off.
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