Key points to a healthier diet that can be used for weight loss or muscle building:
Ø Eat plenty of Fruit and Vegetables
Ø Eat plenty of Lean Meat & Fish
Ø High protein and High Fibre
Ø Balanced Diet including Fat
Ø Plenty of Water
Ø Controlled Portion Sizes
Ø Small Alcohol Intake
Ø 4 to 6 small meals a day
Eat plenty of Fruit and Vegetables-
Fruit and vegetables contain important vitamins and minerals that your body requires to function properly, without them it will not function as it should to its full potential. Also take note that vegetables don’t contain many calories compared to other foods so you can eat a lot more of them.
Lots of lean Meat & Fish-
Lean meat and fish contain high amounts of protein, which help repair and build your body and low amounts of fat. Please note your body still needs fat to work sufficiently.
High Protein and Fibre-
Protein takes longer to digest than
carbs and fat so if you eat high amounts of protein you will feel fuller longer, also high fibre foods will make you full up for longer as fibre
isn’t digested and helps with digestion.
Balanced Diet including Fat-
Fat is a very important part of a diet and we all need a small amount, omega 3 and 6 types are very important and can be found in oily fish like salmon and mackerel.
Plenty of Water-
Water is used in every system in the body and is vital to a healthy diet. 80% of muscle is made up of water so if your looking for bigger muscles make sure you drink enough. Keeping yourself hydrated is also important when trying to lose weight.
Portion Sizes-
Portion size plays a very important role in weight loss. Sometimes when you serve food on a plate you don’t realize how many calories are in the food. For example 100 grams of wholemeal pasta uncooked has 316
kcal in it which is a lot considering if you had a medium size bowl of pasta you could have up to 300 grams which is nearly 1000
kcal more than half of your daily requirements and that
isn’t including the sauce or meat. So its important you make sure your portions are reasonable so you don’t over eat.
Alcohol Intake-
Also linked with portion size, for example instead of having two large glasses of wine have to small glasses of wine and always sip and take your time to make the drink last longer.
Try eating 4 or 5 Small Meals a day-
Eating small and regularly has many benefits including raising the rate at which you burn calories at rest, as your body will be working all day digesting the food. When done correctly it also takes away the feeling of hunger, which will then stop you over eating at meal times or between meals. This will then improve overall maintenance and running of the body.
Helpful Tips:
Ø Eat Slowly and chew food properly, there is a chemical in your body that tells you that your full. This chemical takes between 10 and 15 minutes to be released and gives you that feeling of fullness so if you eat more slowly than usual you won't eat as much.
Ø When eating a meal always have a drink of water with it, after every mouthfull try sipping some water. This will increase the time of your meal and fill you up quicker as you will be drinking more water than usual. Or maybe try using a smaller plate to trick yourself into eating a smaller portion.
Ø Only eat when you’re hungry never out of boredom. If you do snack try eating fruit or nuts.
Ø Try reading nutrition labels on food to help find out what you are actually eating and try to stay away from processed foods that are usually loaded with saturated fat (Bad Fat) and high amounts of salt and calories.
