The Healthy Weight Loss Diet

May 14, 2013 11:01 pm / Posted in Articles, Nutrition

There are two habits standing in the way of most healthy weight loss diets: First, many people eat until they’re stuffed. Second, many always make sure to finish what’s on their plate. When you combine these two eating habits with a high carbohydrate, fast-food diet it’s no wonder that we’re dealing with an obesity crisis!

Don’t get me wrong—I’m not suggesting that people under-eat. I’m suggesting that people get exactly the right calories and nutrients they need to function at 100% and still achieve their weight loss goals. And to do that, I recommend that you stop eating when you’re 80% full.

“So I’m supposed go hungry? What kind of Healthy Weight Loss Diet is that?!”

To some degree, yes. A healthy weight loss diet involves reducing your caloric intake. You might have already started losing weight

An integral part of a healthy weight loss diet.

with a number of strategies:

Veggies and protein with every meal;
Eating whole foods; and
Eating slowly

But with those three habits, you have reduced your calories and increased your nutrient intake, and increasing nutrients is what eating is all about! It’s OK to stay a little hungry throughout the day but when you eat at 80% full, you’re still getting all the calories and nutrients you need to work, think and play. That’s what healthy weight loss diets are all about!

Eating at this ratio also leads to eating more frequently throughout the day – you should feel peckish every two or three hours – which reduces the chances that you will completely gorge yourself because you’re starving mid-way through the day.

“But if I stop at 80% and there’s still food on my plate, won’t I waste food?”

We’re all told from a young age to “finish what’s on your plate” and to “not waste food.” These are important lessons. We should be appreciative of what is prepared for us, and wasting food is a real shame considering all the people in the world who go hungry. You should absolutely NOT waste food even if you’re on a healthy weight loss diet.

But here’s the thing: when you eat passed 80% full, you are wasting food. Your body stores the excess calories and over time that turns into the extra weight that you’re now trying to lose.

Finishing what’s on our plates and trying not to waste food are two powerful motivators that lead to weight gain. So let’s leverage them to work for weight loss.

Here are 2 Tips to Help You Stay on Top of Your Healthy Weight Loss Diet:

The first thing I want you to do is use smaller plates. This will trick your brain into thinking that you have eaten more than you have. Still hungry after one plate (and by hungry I mean famished)? Then go ahead and get a second serving, just make sure to stop before you’re stuffed.

The second thing I want you to do is begin loving leftovers, no matter how small. One of my Ottawa clients uses smaller leftover portions to make omelettes the next morning, or adds them to one of his snacks the next day. You should do the same.

This habit will work wonders for you if you stick to it. Most of my successful Ottawa clients have implemented it into their day to day routines and are enjoying dramatic weight loss results.

It’s OK if you occasionally eat a little more, or pig out at a family gathering. Just try to consciously control the amount of food that you put into your body by eating smaller portions, slowing down, and stopping when you’re 80% full.

Enjoy the results of your healthy weight loss diet!

Burke Cleland is an Ottawa Fitness Trainer and Nutrition Coach located in Westboro. He helps clients achieve sustainable weight loss by combining regular exercise with healthy weight loss diets. Click here to contact Burke today and get started on your fitness journey.