The first thing that comes to mind when discussing dieting is choosing the right foods to lose weight. Vegetables would top any dieter’s list of foods for good reasons. But how to lose weight when you hate vegetables?
Losing weight is hard enough for people who aren’t picky with food. Imagine how difficult it would be for people who love their meat and hate their greens.
If you’re 100% carnivore and need to slim down, don’t fret. Eating vegetables isn’t the only thing you can do to achieve your goal.
Shed pounds without trying to love vegetables
Count Calories
A simplistic explanation behind the principle of losing weight is not exceeding your daily calorie limit. It’s easy to go over your limit if you’re unaware of how many calories are in your favorite dishes.
You’d be surprised that even the smallest foods could contain insane calories.
An average person needs about 2,000 to 2500 calories per day. To lose about a pound a week, you’d have to lower your daily calorie requirement to 1,500 and 2,000. Of course, this will still depend on factors such as age, height, and activity level.
To start, list foods to lose weight that you’d like to try and look at the calories they have. Vegetables aren’t the only foods that are low in calories. Consider adding seafood, tofu, and fruits to your diet.
Switch to Healthier Meat
Protein is important for metabolism. If you’d like to rev up your metabolism, adding the right type of meat to your list of foods to lose weight is a good first step.
Now, not all meats are good for you. To trim down, you need to add healthy meat to your diet. The question is, what are examples of healthy meats?
Healthy meats are those that contain less fat than regular ones. Common kinds consumed by people who are trying to manage their weight are:
- Chicken (without the skin)
- Grass-fed beef
- Turkey
- Bison
- Ostrich
Limit Carbohydrates
Too many carbohydrates could make you gain weight as those you don’t burn as energy is stored in the body as fat. In addition, your body digests carbohydrates and turns them into glucose –or what we all know as sugar. When glucose is stored, it’s turned into glycogen.
When there’s too much sugar in your body, not only are you at risk of Diabetes, but you’re also at risk of gaining weight. How?
Glycogen stores a substantial amount of water. So, if you have high glycogen levels in your body, you’re also storing water that’s not supposed to be there. You could gain an extra three to five pounds.
If you’re going on a diet, limit the carbohydrates in your list of foods to lose weight.
Avoid Processed Foods
Processed foods could easily rack up calories. Not only that, but they’re also high in sodium, which isn’t good for you. To lose weight, avoid processed foods as much as you can.
Prepare your meals and bring packed lunches to work. This way, you won’t have to be tempted to eat out.
Learning how to eat healthy when you don’t like vegetables isn’t difficult. The secret to losing weight when you hate vegetables is to make a conscious effort to choose the right foods to take. Make a list of foods to lose weight and stick to it. And no, it doesn’t need to have veggies in it.
Rick Kaselj MS, is a leading kinesiologist and injury specialist as well as co-creator of the best-selling Unlock Your Hip Flexors program. Rick creates exercise programs that help people heal injuries and eliminate pain, so they can go back to living a full, active, healthy life.
