Weight loss without a diet? Yes, you can get to a healthy weight and maintain that weight without a diet plan. The key to successful weight loss and maintaining a healthy weight is changing your lifestyle habits. The average woman uses anywhere between 1600 calories and 2200 calories per day, depending on her age and level of activity. However, weight loss will often happen when you stop counting calories, ditch the diet plan and start eating healthy:
- Avoid foods high in simple carbohydrates (sugar, fructose, corn syrup – read the label for carbohydrates and keep your daily intake under 25 grams per day).
- Eat at least 30 grams of complex carbohydrates per day, found in whole grain breads, pasta and cereals (oatmeal is especially good for you!).
- Avoid processed foods like white breads and pasta (read labels before you buy – there is virtually no fiber, vitamins or minerals left after the wheat has been stripped, which is why they add B vitamins and iron back in artificially).
- Avoid foods with additives (learn to read labels and avoid additives like artificial sweeteners – except Stevia, artificial flavors, artificial colors, preservatives, corn syrup).
- Eat 6-8 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. They fill you up, are low calorie and chock-full of healthy antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.
- Eat healthy fats (1/3 of your caloric intake): raw walnuts, almonds, extra virgin olive oil (great on pasta with some basil and parmesan cheese), salmon, free-range organic eggs, milk, kefir, yogurt, coconut milk by “Silk” (found with the milk products), butter (1 TB per day), natural peanut butter (no added sugars).
- Make sure you get 2 grams (or 2,000mg) of calcium each day from milk, kefir, yogurt and cheese (go light on the cheese as it is high in fat). These choices also give you protein.
- Eat at least 50 grams of protein per day: milk, kefir, yogurt, eggs, chicken, turkey, tofu, nuts, fresh lean pork (not preserved with nitrites). Whenever possible, buy free-range eggs, chicken, turkey and pork from your local farms. Limit the amount of red meat you eat to once a week unless it is free-range organic beef or buffalo.
- Stay well hydrated with plenty of water (yes, 8 glasses and more if you are exercising), and substitute tea for coffee and juice. You can sweeten the tea with Stevia and a little lemon if you like. There are a variety of delicious flavors of tea to try and enjoy.
- Finally, avoid alcohol, except one, and only one glass of wine a day – if you wish.
- On special occasions, you can indulge yourself with sweets, just watch your portion and use moderation!
By replacing unhealthy food choices with healthy ones, you will lose weight. If you add some moderate physical activity four or five days per week, you have a great plan for getting to a healthy weight without any special diet plan or expensive “diet” foods. It takes 30 days to form a new habit: In 30 days, you will have changed your lifestyle to one that supports wellness and a healthy body.
Contact me for your customized no-diet, weight loss plan. Bon appetite!