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Shedding Off the Extra Pounds with Healthy Food: You Are What You Eat!

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by: blainedewitt
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Word Count: 507
Date: Fri, 17 Jun 2011 Time: 2:29 PM

Can you remember that well-known adage, you are what you eat? Perhaps you merely thought people used this phrase to encourage healthy eating but, actually, you are what you eat. If you eat a tuna sandwich, the tuna is broken down and the amino acids (proteins) from it are used in your body muscle building and cell generation! Your physical appearance reflects what you eat, and when you consume junk food you will notice that your skin looks worse and you appear bigger than you do when you eat healthier foods. Hence, when you want to slim down the first thing you should do is take a look at your diet. There's no point in exercising if your diet is not healthy! You must ensure your diet comprises of meals that are nourishing!

The next step is to determine what healthy foods you should include in your diet plan for weight loss. The aim is to cut back on calories so that you lose weight, but without going with no food or causing yourself to binge on junk food. Try to gradually change, don't drop your calories and eat healthy all at once. Bit by bit replace your meals and snacks with newer, more nourishing foods. Protein is the first thing to add to your diet. Protein is essential for restoring cells and building muscle, in addition to a few other things. You can obtain enough of protein in your diet through foods such as meats (chicken, pork, beef), eggs or soybean products. The next crucial food macronutrient you will need is carbohydrates. You must be careful, however, not to overeat carbohydrates any any unused energy created by them simply turns into fat. Go for foods including whole grain bread and brown rice for your carbohydrate requirements. Last, you must add fats. Surprisingly, your body needs fats in your diet even when you're attempting to slim down. Opt for healthy fats that are present things such as nuts and fish. In addtion, ingest a great deal of fresh greens and fruits so that your body gets all the vitamins and minerals it needs.

You should also be aware of the sorts of foods you must not eat. It goes without saying that you must decrease your intake of the empty calories of junk food, and it's smart to just consume lean meats. Stay away from processed (or simple) carbohydrates (things like processed bread and pasta), go for complex and whole carbs, like the brown rice mentioned earlier. Stay away from alcoholic beverages as much as you can since it will impede your weight loss efforts.

So now you know what you need to have in your diet and what you need to stay away from. Look at your diet and come up with some healthy meals that are good for you. If you're having trouble with portion size try eating 5 or 6 small meals a day because your tummy will shrink, meaning you will feel fuller faster and therefore eat less food.