The best weight loss diet is one that includes lots of fresh and nutritious foods. A low-carb diet program, for example, is most successful when you prepare in advance, and ensure that healthy food is available for each day's meals and snacks. If you want to lose weight on a low carbohydrate meal plan, you'll need to do some shopping at grocery stores, farmer's markets and maybe even health-food stores.
Weight Loss Solutions Can Be Healthy
There is a great deal of debate over the winner of the title of "Best Weight Loss Diet". If you're looking for a diet that provides the necessary nutrients for optimum health while reducing body fat and even improving your blood sugar levels and cholesterol, a low-carb plan may be for you. In addition to health, however, you should make sure that your chosen eating plan lets you experience a wide range of healthy food choices. Diets only work as long as they are followed, and an excessively restrictive diet will seldom be followed long enough to provide any health benefits, or lasting weight loss.
Low Carbohydrate Meal Plans
While a low-carbohydrate diet plan may seem like a restrictive diet, it only requires advance planning for you to enjoy a great deal of variety. There are many foods that are naturally low in carbohydrate, and virtually unlimited combinations to create luxurious low carbohydrate meals. You can also adjust traditional higher-carb menus, in order to enjoy your favorite comfort foods and recipes. Another solution, when searching for variety to add to a meal plan, is to find low-carbohydrate recipes online or in cookbooks.
Shopping for Healthy Foods
Low-carb food is typically found around the perimeter of the grocery store, while temptations are usually found up and down the aisles. By shopping around the perimeter of a store, you can find and purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, cheese, cream, seafood, chicken, pork, and beef. These fresh foods are all part of an effective diet plan that relies on ketosis for weight loss. The frozen vegetable aisle is one area of the grocery store that should not be neglected, however, since frozen vegetables cook quickly and are a nutritious addition to meals.
Try these tips for convenience and more efficient shopping:
- Eat first: When you go shopping to prepare for a reduced carbohydrate diet, wait until you've eaten before you hop in the car. If you go food shopping while you're hungry, you're more prone to making purchases that are motivated by hunger and cravings.
- Make a list: Making a shopping list based on planned recipes helps to ensure that all necessary ingredients are on hand in the home.
Bottom line, a refrigerator and pantry that are well-stocked with healthy low-carb snacks can prevent hunger, which can derail your diet. Want to succeed? Be prepared!
Sources:
Joslin Diabetes Center: Carbohydrate Counting. Accessed March, 2011
Beneduce, F., Ceriello, A., Ciotola, M., Di Palo, C., Esposito, K., Gicchino, M., Giugliano, D., Maiorino, M., Petrizzo, M., Saccomanno, F., Scognamiglio, P. Annals of Internal Medicine: The Effects of a Mediterranean Diet on the Need for Type 2 Diabetes Treatment. (2009) volume 151, pages 306-314.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and should not be used for diagnosis or to guide treatment without the opinion of a health professional. Any reader who is concerned about his or her health should contact a doctor for advice.
Updated: March, 2011
Victoria Nicks - Victoria Nicks has a Master's Degree in IT, and extensive hands-on experience with various types of hardware and software.
