How much food are you consuming daily? How much high-calorie or fatty foods are you eating without truly knowing it? The best way to identify where things are going wrong in your eating habits is to begin looking at the nutrition facts on the packages of the food you’re eating and to record them in a daily log for about a week. By doing this, you will be able to analyze where you are going wrong and where you will need to improve to get the results you want.
The unfortunate reality is that we cater to our taste buds instead of worrying about proper nutrition. This is what leads to weight gain and ultimately, obesity. What’s worse is that fast-food is far more convenient for most people than spending time in the kitchen cooking up a good dish. Society’s need for convenience is a big reason for the growing statistics of obesity which is still rising.
This is why it’s so important as a first step to take note of the foods you are putting into your body so that you can analyze the areas which require the most attention. You will discover by observing the nutritional value of the foods you are consuming exactly what is causing you to pack on the pounds. From there, it means you can then begin diminishing your fat intake and replacing the fatty foods with slightly healthier foods.
A pound of fat consists of 3500 calories so in order to lose a pound of fat weekly, you would need to cut off 500 calories from your daily diet. If you are eating approximately 3000 calories per day, you could lose weight by wiping out 500 calories from the 3000 which you are consuming by either replacing your unhealthy meals with healthier meals and/or incorporating some exercise into your daily regime.
By taking out those 500 unhealthy calories, you are then down to 2500 and on top of that, you decide to put in a half hour or 45 minutes of running, biking or an elliptical.
Another 500 calories off puts you down to 2000 calories for the day just with less than an hour of cardio-training and a healthier choice of meal. At the end of the week, that will be 2 lbs of unnecessary weight off your body…and chances are you’ll be feeling much better both mentally and physically.
Not only do you build up a great sweat during your training, your heart and entire body gets a great workout in the process which means heading toward a healthier lifestyle.
As always, eating less or picking out a healthier choice of foods crossed with a bit of exercise can get you some seriously good results which not only gives you more self-confidence but also a vote of confidence from your family and friends.
The worst thing you can do is crash diet which is the drastic measure of going on a food strike in hopes that you’ll drop excessive weight quickly! This only leads to disaster as you experience hunger pains, causing your body to feast off your muscle tissue and then eventually, you go into a serious eating binge.
The tried and tested method of eating healthier foods and incorporating exercise into your day will always guarantee results for the better.
A Healthier Choice
Once you’ve discovered the amount of unnecessary calories you are consuming on average, you will then need to decide where to make adjustments in your diet so that healthier foods will prevail over fatty foods.
If you were to take the example of McDonalds’ Big Mac which packs not only a ton of calories but a lot of bad ingredients with it, you may consider downsizing to a hamburger which, although still not a healthy food by any means, is much lower in calories and easier on the health.
Let’s also take the example of a flame-broiled Whopper at Burger King which is actually bigger than the Big Mac. A single Whopper with cheese contains over 750 calories and almost 50 grams of fat. One could save 480 calories and about 36 grams of fat simply by downsizing to a mayo-free junior-sized Whopper. Discard the larger-sized fries for a smaller portion and you will have saved yourself from consuming a lot of excess calories. If you’re still feeling a little bit hungry, why not go for a bowl of grapes or an apple instead of a second burger?
Some fast-food restaurants have been making an attempt to offer healthier food including KFC which offers not only fried chicken but also grilled chicken.
A KFC grilled chicken breast and drumstick mixed with mashed potatoes and gravy can go for well under 400 calories and just over 12 grams of fat. On the flip side, the extra crispy chicken breast which taste-wise is not particularly better than the regular fried chicken according to some, goes for nearly 500 calories and over 30 grams of fat after having sat in the deep fryer for a longer amount of time.
If you need a quick fix but also something tasty and you find pizza as a very pleasing convenience, try a thin-crust at Domino’s with ham and pineapple instead of pepperoni. That will be around 200 calories you’ll have just saved from entering your body.
One must also not disregard the joy of quenching thirst with a massively-calorie- ridden milkshake! It tastes amazingly good but thankfully they are offered at different sizes which means despite the fact that you can still enjoy your favourite milkshake, you can also go for a smaller sized cup. Alternatively of course, you could just hydrate properly with water!
For example, a triple-thick strawberry shake at the king size goes for over 1000 calories! A small-size goes for 420 calories. If you need your shake, go for the small size. If you want to trim your waistline then discard the shake and order an orange juice!
Let’s also not forget breakfast! People during the early-morning rush hour need a decent breakfast to energize themselves and gather their bearings for another long day in the office mixed with a tedious commute back and forth.
The very popular Egg McMuffin is a popular breakfast amongst Americans but it also contains 300 calories. On the other hand, the English Muffin is half that. This is when you make the choice of going for the relatively less-fattening order. Despite the fact that none of it is healthy, even making a choice of down-sizing your portion or going for the healthier dish can make all the difference on the road to losing weight.
Americans have a deep fascination with fast-food. Fast-food means not just food on the go but also convenience because it’s much easier to go into a drive thru as opposed to rummaging through the fridge and trying to put together a decent meal. So why go to the trouble of cooking your own food when fast-food is so easy to get access to considering it’s all around you, wherever you go.
As before, even if fast-food is convenient, one can still pick out healthier foods on the menu. Much like downsizing portions from large-sized to small-sized, you can slowly pick out healthier foods or mix your usual choices up from time to time.
Every food contains the nutritional value on the package so it’s always best to analyze what you are putting into your body. When you keep a close eye on what you eat, there is really no excuse for blaming the fast-food industry or anybody else for your unhealthy shape or inability to lose weight.
Fast-food is a convenience but you alone are responsible for what you eat and you have a choice which is why it’s best when starting off on the path to a healthier lifestyle to keep a close watch on the foods you eat.
Furthermore, losing weight is only the beginning. Weight can creep back up if you neglect your improved eating habits after a while. Snacking on junk food is ok if it’s limited while you still maintain a quality healthy diet.
Satisfying a craving is not at all a bad thing but making sure you stick to a reasonably healthy diet while doing some exercise daily is essential to improving your shape on the road to ultimately a healthier body and a healthier lifestyle.
