What You Need to Know Before Getting Started
Weight loss can be achieved either by eating fewer calories or by burning more calories with physical activity, preferably both. To lose weight you have to be mindful of calorie intake and exhaust. This does not mean you need to eat less, but instead you have to watch and maintain what each food source you decide on contains. A great first step is to take a BMI test to help determine what your body fat is to your muscle in accordance to your height. This sort of stuff is subjective and is not required to get into shape. As long as you know what your goal is and are ready to take it to the next level. Here at 1st lift, we just want to make things as easy and interesting for you guys.
Fruits and Sugars
Fruits will help in your weight loss journey, not only will it help with hydrating, but the fruit has the right kinds of sugar as well as the right amount of sugar. Whole fruit is the best kind of fruit, so be mindful and wash processed fruit and remember to read the nutrition label on canned and prepackaged fruit as well. As tempting as it becomes, candy bars and sweets are something we all have to look out for, fruits in large quantities can hurt us but candy and “added” sugar is what we can easily look past. It's quick and easy sustenance thats right there at the checkout line. We must resist the urge.
Protein
Now time for my favorite! Protein! Protein comes in all shapes and sizes, which means many ways of eating it! Eating more protein is what can make this easier. Just by simply consuming more protein, our body works harder. The body works harder because it takes more energy to break down protein. Some people follow a rule that the protein should equate to 20% of the calorie intake of that meal. So if you're eating something that is 100 calories, there should be close to 20 grams of protein. If this is viable to you then we recommend this option! Others will try and eat a gram of protein per pound of body weight. We just have to try to avoid fatty meats like bacon, sausage, franks, ribs, luncheon meats and some cheese. Either one of these methods is a great option, it gives us a goal, and hopefully combining this with other nutritional information makes it even more easy for us!
Hydration
Our body needs water, there's no question about it, and water helps our body in several ways. While there is a plethora of drink options in this lifetime, I must ask you to examine the nutrition facts on the drink. It's hard because sometimes water just doesn't quench the same way a coke does, or maybe it’s a scorching hot summer day and you want a milkshake instead, be aware of the calorie intake of just one of these tasty beverages. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a nice cold soda pop or milkshake, but a soda water instead of a soda pop could go a long way in this journey we are on together.
Diet
There are foods that we try to attach too because not only do they taste good but they are healthy for you. Some foods we try to include in our diet are fruit and vegetables that are raw, steamed or baked. Whole grains, breads, cereal, rice and pasta. Dairy products, such as low-fat or non-fat milk or yogurt, low-fat cottage cheese and low-fat cheese. Protein-rich foods like chicken, turkey, fish, lean meat and legumes, or beans, and plenty of more options to play around with. And in doing so we begin to not only manage what we eat but how often. Eating more protein not only burns fat just from consumption, but helps feel more full after a meal. Now it's recommended that we eat slower and try to avoid multitasking so we can listen to our body and understand the “satisfied” feeling instead of the “full” feeling. In doing this we can naturally come to the point in only eating 3 meals in a day and small portions of snacks. This is a process that takes time getting used too. We won't be able to just jump into a perfect diet overnight, but there are some foods we can try to avoid one meal at a time. We listed some proteins to try and avoid earlier but high-fat snacks like nuts, chips, chocolate, and fried foods are some we like to leave out of the meals. Using less butter, margarine, oil and mayonnaise could always help, although olive oil is a great alternative. High-fat gravies, cream sauces, cream-based soups, and salad dressings are ones that are easily overlooked. Now no one is saying you can't eat these foods again, by all means if you want a slice of pizza, eat a slice of pizza, just don't be scared to push yourself harder when working out. All these suggestions are just that, suggestions and nobody is perfect, but that doesn't mean we can't try to be, nutrition is a great way of being healthy not only physically but mentally. So grab a plate and dig in, there's enough room for everyone!
Conclusion
So we just read and soaked in some information together talking about diets. The information you found here is by no means the only way to go about changing your lifestyle. There are multiple ways to accomplish the same task, you can start fasting, drink nothing but protein for 3 meals a day, the point is, everyone is different. We are happy to serve as the start of your new life. Our goal was to bring light and try to make it a tad easier for those wanting to take that step forward. We do encourage those who found this helpful to further your research. Dive deeper into macronutrients, and how protein breaks down in our body, fruits in water, or how fasting can affect the whole body.
