By: Michael Russell
Could this be possible? Yes it is but that is solely dependant on what you consider a "diet". When most of us hear the word diet we begin to think of rice cakes, lettuce and an overall deprivation of the foods we like. If this is your definition of diet, you'll be happy to know that you can lose the weight and continue to eat the foods you enjoy.
Why do diets fail? Diets fail because they are often too drastic a change from our daily routines. If for the majority of your life, you're used to doing things in a certain manner and all of a sudden you're told to change that, it often results in shock. Don't get me wrong, many people have been successful at traditional dieting but the vast majority tends to fail. When most individuals start a diet they tend to be energetic and committed to success but as time passes they find themselves missing too many of the foods they enjoyed to be able to stick to their diet in the long run. Well I have a simple solution to this problem that plagues the vast majority of dieters.
"Change the ingredients not the menu!" Yes you read that correctly. The majority of what most of us eat can be fine tuned and converted from an unhealthy choice into a nutritious meal. There are healthy choices for almost any meal you can think of and many people can't even notice the difference.
The first replacement rule to live by is if it's not brown then put it down. What that means is if it's a food that still isn't in its natural state, don't eat it. Brown rice, whole wheat bread and whole wheat pasta are much better choices then the white versions of those same foods.
The second rule to live by is to always get the highest quality meat you can afford. It's been said that the better the meat the leaner it is. Instead of getting normal ground beef and chicken thighs, purchase extra lean ground beef and chicken breast. By cutting down on the fat you'll be saving yourself from a lot of extra calories in your diet.
Let's take these new tips for a test run. Almost everyone loves hamburgers, spaghetti and pizza. You're probably telling yourself that there's no possible way you can lose weight while enjoying these foods. Well there is! When converting an unhealthy choice to a healthy one the first thing you must consider is what makes this a poor nutritional choice? Let's examine our three entrees. Well most hamburgers are made with white burger buns and high fat ground beef! By simply switching to a whole wheat bun and extra lean ground beef you've now created a healthier choice. When most people cook spaghetti they tend to use white pasta and again a fatter ground beef. Once again change the pasta to whole wheat pasta and the meat to a leaner ground beef or if you're really adventurous you could try a tofu replacement. Pizza is usually made with white flour dough and a high fat mozzarella cheese. Make your dough with whole wheat flour and a low fat cheese and you've created a healthy pizza that you can enjoy (in moderation) while you lose weight.
By now you should realize that it's not what food we eat but rather how we prepare that food that determines whether it's a healthy choice or not. Try using these tips with some of your favorite recipes and watch the pounds come off.
