The healthiest weight-loss diet includes fresh fruits and vegetables as well as lean meat. You don't have to eat meat if you'd prefer to get protein from vegetable sources, but combining a variety of plant-based protein sources will ensure that your body can use the protein you digest. The most important point to remember when planning a healthy diet for weight loss and fat burning is to count calories and eat slightly less food than you need to fuel your daily activities.
Vegetables
Green, leafy vegetables contain insoluble fiber to help with digestion and provide a filling bulk to your diet that remains very low in calories. Making vegetables the main part of your diet will keep you full and nourished with vitamins, protein and carbohydrates. Beans and legumes provide soluble fiber, which turns into a gel in your digestive track and lowers cholesterol, according to the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University. Another health benefit of high-fiber vegetables is that they suppress the release of insulin after a meal with carbohydrates, lowering the risk of developing diabetes or cardiovascular disease over time.
Protein
While sticking to a fat-burning weight-loss diet, pay attention to the nutrient content of the protein sources you choose. Protein contains 4 calories per gram, while carbs and fat contain 4 and 9 calories per gram, respectively. Animal protein sources, such as milk, eggs and meat, provide a great deal of calories from fat, unless the fat has been removed. Fat is an excellent source of energy as well as, in certain forms, one of the healthiest nutrients. Avoid fatty cuts of red meat, which contain unhealthy saturated fat, and stick to lean meat and oily fish, which contains the beneficial polyunsaturated omega-3 fat.
Calories
Eating the healthiest food won't cause you to lose weight if you eat too much of it. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign recommends cutting calories to between 500 and 1,000 below the number you need to maintain your current weight. The healthiest amount of weight loss is about 1 to 2 lbs. per week, and a more severe diet could put your body in starvation mode, which might cause you to lose lean mass from your muscles and possibly your internal organs, including your heart, according to the University of Cincinnati Net Wellness.
Considerations
Dieting alone can be an effective tool for weight loss, but reducing calories while sticking to a regular exercise routine will burn off body fat much faster. According to Harvard Health Publications, aerobic exercise, which refers to activities such as running, swimming and biking, raises your heart rate and uses the oxygen you breathe to burn fat and carbohydrates for fuel. Additionally, anaerobic exercises, such as push-ups and weightlifting, increase physical strength, muscle mass and metabolism, raising the number of calories you'll need to eat to maintain your weight. Working out and eating a diet full of vegetables and low-calorie protein sources will ensure that you're never hungry while losing weight.
References
- Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University: Fiber
- McKinley Health Center: Macronutrients--The Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat
- Harvard School of Public Health: Fats and Cholesterol--Out with the Bad, In with the Good
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: A Diet That Works
- University of Cincinnati Net Wellness: Ask an Expert--Starvation Mode
- Harvard Health Publications: Glossary of Exercise Terms
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