Typically avoid foods that are neither "wholesome" or "natural/ organic". Have your diet revolve around fat/ protein foods such as whole eggs, whole milk, cream, red meat, poultry, organ meat, fish, nuts, seeds, coconut products (milk, fat etc), oils (like flax seed)and complex carb foods such as whole grains and vegetables.
Avoid most foods that are pre-packaged, high in trans fats, rancid oxidated oils/ fats (such as hydrogenated oil), excess sugar, salt and additives. Avoid microwaving and frying your foods with vegetable oils, instead steam and stew foods (like meat), or cook them at lower temperatures in water or the oven over a longer period of time so as to avoid denaturing the nutrients and reducing their benefits.
Combine carbohydrate foods with fats and proteins so that they take longer to digest and increase the satiety of the meal (leave you feeling "fuller" sooner and reduces the feeling of hunger only 1-2 horus after the meal). Don't structure your meals to the point of being inflexible i.e. 5-6 meals 2-3 hours a day, if you aren't hungry at the time of the next meal, or are too full for the 3rd or 4th meal of the day. Listen to your body when it is hungry or satieted.
Stop eating when you feel full, and snack on wholesome, organic foods when you feel hunger inbetween meals (snack of seeds, nuts, low GI fruits such as 'berries, cheese, whole grain bread etc). Try to avoid drinking large volumes of fluid with your meals as this dilutes the acids in your stomach that aid in digestion, but rather inbetween meals. Chew certain foods like red meat more thoroughly so as to increase the surface area for enzymes to act on for digesting the bolus of food.
Rather than rely on the scales to inform you of progress, look in the mirror to monitor your appearance to see where you are visibly loosing "fat", and monitor how your clothes feel on you after a period of weeks or months - trousers feel looser at the waist and thighs, shirt feels not as tight across the abdominal region or back etc. Your body mass alters *considerably* during the day, and even during the week, so for a realistic check of your mass stick to weighing yourself fortnightly or even monthly, same time of day (morning, before a meal).
Keep a diary of what you eat, use it as a tool to help you estimate how many calories you need to eat daily to lose 1lb of *mass* per week. Typically, aim to cut 500kcal a day, either through reducing the amount or frequency of meals, or by cardiovascular exercise. The amount of calories you require daily to fuel your vody yet maintain gradual fat loss is very personal, and only you can gauge it by trial and error.
Cut down on stress if possible - don't fret about keeping a clean diet too much if it results in you loosing sleep, missing out on the occasional social event or if it is curbing your enthusiasm to lose weight and exercise. Practice common sense in your dietary needs, and keep a balance between a positive mood and your personal nutrition.
- B.A.
