Did you know unhealthy weight increases your risk of most chronic diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular disease?1 Along with other lifestyle factors such as exercise, it’s well known that nutrition is closely related to bodyweight. For successful weight loss, your calorie intake should be less than your calorie expenditure.

While that may sound simple, many factors impact this equation. Below are suggestions and tips to help you healthfully and easily achieve weight loss without the trouble of counting calories.

Food and Nutrition Recommendations

Are you aware that many nutrition plans can help you lose weight healthfully if they include the below criteria?

  • Eat mainly whole foods, such as vegetables, fish, meat, fruit, nuts and seeds, and avoid refined food.2 Refined foods are nutrient-poor and hyper-palatable, while whole foods provide necessary vitamins but make it difficult to overeat. For example, do you think you can eat more potato chips or baked potatoes?
  • Avoid added sugars and refined grains.3 They are calorie-dense, not filling and nutrient-poor, leading to excess calorie intake and nutrient deficiencies. Refined flour bread, pastries and pasta4 are included in this category.
  • Eat 1-2 palm-sized pieces of quality protein per meal. Protein is the most filling macronutrient, contains essential vitamins, contributes to maintaining muscle while losing weight,5,6 is beneficial for bone health,7 and burns more calories during digestion than carbohydrates and fats.8 Did you also know that your body absorbs protein from meat and fish better than protein from vegetables, so you get more protein with fewer calories?9 Additionally, evidence indicates that red meat is not harmful to your health as long as you follow a balanced diet.10
  • Eat a variety of vegetables since they contain many essential nutrients and fiber, which is the second most filling nutrient next to protein.

Remember, if you follow the above points, the most effective nutrition plan to help you lose weight is the one you feel comfortable with and can stick with long term.

Tips for Healthy Eating Habits

As you probably know, changing any habit is difficult, especially eating. Below are some suggestions to make the changes as easy as possible.

  • Eliminate the idea of “diets.” Instead, adopt a mindset of healthy lifelong nutrition.
  • Shop from the perimeter of grocery stores where the whole foods are displayed.  Only buy packaged foods that do not contain added sugars or ingredients you don’t recognize as food.
  • Tell your family and friends of your intentions so they can be supportive and understanding.
  • Make healthy foods the easiest to find in your house and trash unhealthy foods, particularly your trigger foods.
  • Practice mindful eating. You consume less when you remain attentive to the process of eating and chewing your food.11 Eat with your family and friends and without screens.
  • Chronic sleep deprivation and stress lead to unhealthy eating.12,13 Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep nightly and practice stress-management.
  • Don’t let others make you feel bad about your food choices. It’s your health, not theirs.

Remember, healthy nutrition is only one part of a healthy lifestyle. Exercise, sleep quality and stress-management are also crucial for you to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.