Do I need to eat super healthy to lose fat?
It’s always essential to make an effort to consume the majority of your calories from whole nutrient-dense foods.
The reason is not only to lose weight but also to improve one’s health. If you tell yourself you’re striving to consume largely unprocessed foods for your health, and if health is a major priority for you personally, it shouldn’t be difficult to accomplish.
Additionally, you might establish a guideline for how much of your food will come from unprocessed sources.
While some strive for 90%, 80% is a pretty reasonable target. Then, you can eat whatever you want for the remaining 20% of your calories as long as it fits within your calorie budget.
You could even set a 70% or 75%. The important thing is to begin by consuming most of your calories from unprocessed foods if you believe that is a feasible goal.
If not, a smart place to start is to establish a goal to consume more vegetables, fruit, and unprocessed foods than you already do.
Consuming mostly unprocessed foods aids in fat loss. That’s because most processed foods are higher in calories, particularly those containing sugar and fat.
You usually consume fewer calories when you eat primarily whole foods, even if you do not count or track calories.
That being said, you can lose weight regardless of the quality of the food you consume as long as you are in a calorie deficit.
Calorie restriction equals fat loss. The calorie deficit is the only non-negotiable aspect of fat reduction.
If you consume a lot of processed food, it is even more critical to keep track of your calories. Additionally, protein is the most critical macronutrient for achieving a healthy body composition.
Just keep in mind that eating for health purposes is also necessary. If you focus primarily on calories and protein and are not overly restrictive with food choices, you can and almost certainly will lose fat with that simple approach.
It’s much better to identify the highest priorities and ensure they are met the majority of the time.
Consuming the appropriate amount of calories and protein are two of those high priorities.
While it’s ideal for calculating macros and knowing the amount of protein to aim for daily, sometimes starting with a simple behavior goal can work wonders.
For example, “I consume a lean protein food with every meal”. Concentrate on establishing that as a habit.
Also, you may track your caloric intake using an app. Or by creating a daily food plan in advance with an adequate calorie target, which is excellent.
As far as the food quality goes, setting a simple goal like “I am focusing on eating more vegetables than I am now” is a great start.
It also focuses on something to add or do more of. Not putting your focus on taking something away or thinking about what you shouldn’t have.
Finally, a fantastic habit to cultivate is “I eat a vegetable or fruit at every meal.”
Eating a protein plus a veggie or salad or fruit with every meal and making some effort to control calories or keep high awareness of portion sizes and stomach fullness can not only get you started. It’s like 80 percent of the battle to eat healthy is already won.
I hope some of these suggestions on how to eat healthy prove helpful.
