5 Keys to a Healthy Weight Loss Diet

There are currently so many different types of fad diets that it can be tough to tell the difference between them and a healthy weight loss diet. Often, it’s the strategies that could do the most harm that sound as though they have the most scientific backing.

While those might even work over the short term, it is important to avoid them in favor of a healthy weight loss diet for the sake of long term health and weight management. All too many fad diets can leave your metabolic rate in ruins, meaning that you will experience short term weight loss, only to watch it climb back on and bring additional pounds with it for the ride.

To help you to know the difference, consider the following 5 keys to a healthy weight loss diet:

1. A healthy weight loss diet doesn’t rely on your willpower

The idea behind a diet that is truly healthy and allows you to manage your weight is that you will be able to comfortably live with it every day over the long term. If your diet continually tests your willpower and motivation, you’ll fail. It’s inevitable. You may fail several times before finding your stride again, or you may fail and give up. Either way, it’s short-term, promotes yo-yoing weight and isn’t good for you.

As much as willpower used to be touted as the topmost important factor for a successful diet, that thinking is now considered to be outdated.  Indeed, you need to have the willpower to make the changes at all.  However, your success cannot be dependent upon it.  Your healthy dieting and exercise must be something you’re likely to do regardless of whether your willpower is high or dwindling on a given day.

2. You will focus on understanding nutrition

The whole point to a diet focused on health is to use proper nutrition to give your body what it needs. Then, when your body has the proper nutrient and calorie balance, your weight will balance out over the long term. This will likely require you to learn more about nutrition. A nutrition and fitness tracker such as ShareFit can be an invaluable tool in this effort.

The better you understand what you’re eating and what you should be eating, for that matter, the more you have what you need to make the right choices.  Moreover, the more you track your own nutrition behaviors, the more likely you are to hold yourself accountable to those choices.

3. You will pay attention to your portion sizes

A healthy diet will allow you to eat virtually anything as long as you choose the right portion size. In this way, you’ll eat more fruits and veggies and smaller portions of foods that are fatty or sugary. Learn about serving sizes and aim to adhere to them.

The more you know, the better you will be able to make sure you’re choosing foods you love, but in quantities that will keep your calories within a reasonable limit. You’ll also be able to make smart choices to ensure that you’re not hungry while still enjoying what you eat.  Often, it’s not as much a matter of changing everything on your plate as it is altering how much you’re eating of each type of food.

4. You will eat mindfully on a healthy weight loss diet

Instead of wolfing down whatever is in front of you and barely tasting it, take the time to pay attention to every bite. Concentrate on what you are putting in your body. What nutrients does it contain? What color is it? What does it taste like? Do you enjoy it? Why? What is the texture like? The more you focus on the eating experience and savor each bite, the less likely you are to overeat.

5. Chew your food and slow down the pace

The purpose to putting food in your mouth isn’t to get it out of the way as fast as you can so you can eat another bite. Instead, you need to slow down and chew your food. This is the first stage of digestion. Properly chewed food will provide your body with more nutrients than food that hasn’t been adequately masticated. As you eat mindfully, chew carefully. This will slow down your pace and you’ll eat less as a result.

With these five simple and common-sense tips, you can completely change the way you see results when you try to lose weight.  You’ll find that you’re naturally eating more healthfully and that it’s easier to build other habits once these ones are in place.  If you use these as your foundation, you’ll be able to build a strong healthy lifestyle on top of them and feel great while you’re doing it!

Love this post?  Then you’ll love these 5 Easy Dieting Tips to Improve Your Weight Loss Efforts.