To successfully lose weight and keep it off, it is necessary to improve your eating habits with good diet nutrition (and to increase your physical activity). Below are 7 little-known diet nutrition facts:
1. Appropriate Fat Intake
Your total fat intake should be 15 - 30% of your total calories.
2. Bad Fats Versus Good Fats
Saturated fats and trans fatty acids should be avoided and replaced with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats for optimal health and weight loss. Saturated fats found in dairy products such as butter and cheese, red meat and hardened oils, such as margarine, can increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and obesity. They should be excluded from your diet.
Healthy fats can be found in fish, soybeans, olive oil, sunflower oil and canola oil. They can actually decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease and help you maintain a healthy body weight.
3. Avoid Refined Sugars
Refined sugars found in desserts, and processed carbohydrates found in white bread, white rice and white pasta, should be replaced with whole grains found in wheat bread, whole grain pasta and brown rice. Make sure your intake of refined sugars is less than 10% of your daily calories.
4. Potassium Increases Metabolism
Potassium helps with weight loss by helping to build muscles. The bigger your muscles become, the more calories they will burn. With a healthy intake of 1600 - 3500 mg of potassium per day for healthy adults, your muscles will get bigger, and burn more calories--all day, every day. Potassium also helps balance sodium in your cells, which helps with weight loss and blood pressure regulation.
5. Vitamin D Helps With Weight Loss
Vitamin D can help you lose weight by aiding your body with insulin secretion and metabolism. Recent research has linked obesity with low levels of Vitamin D. Vitamin D is found in milk, salmon, sardines and cod liver oil. Vitamin D also comes from sunlight.
6. Try Agave Nectar
Agave Nectar is a healthy, natural sweetener that is gluten free and allergen free. It has a low glycemic index, so it will not over stimulate the production of insulin the way refined sugar does. Agave Nectar should be substituted for refined sugar for help with weight management, insulin regulation and other health benefits.
7. Sweeten With Honey
When honey is consumed with warm water, it can help in digesting the fat stored in your body. Honey has also been proven to help maintain blood sugar levels. Athletes often consume honey to help maintain blood sugar levels after a workout. Honey also helps with muscle recuperation and glycogen restoration. Honey contains several vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B1, B2, C, B6 and B3. It also contains magnesium, potassium, calcium, sodium, chlorine, sulfur, iron and phosphate. Honey is easily digested and converted to glucose. It is beneficial to your intestinal tract and kidneys, and it promotes rehydration. Substitute honey in your cookie dough to bake healthier, moister, naturally sweetened cookies.
Take these 7 facts into consideration, and get on a road to a healthier body today!
