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Choosing a proper diet plan and sticking to it can be hard, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the process. Now, we could’ve slapped a 7-day worth of meals here, but we know that everybody is different, and not everyone can follow the same food schedule. Because of that, we’re going to help you devise your own best healthy weekly meal plan just for you. Here nine crucial tips you must follow.
1. Choose your level of commitment
This is one of the most important rules you have to consider when it comes to healthy eating. Do you want to focus primarily on losing weight, or living healthy? You have to know yourself psychologically. It makes no sense devising rigorous diet plan if you won’t be able to stick to it. If you make yourself suffer, your diet plan is doomed from the very beginning.
Here is one decisive thing people don’t seem to understand. Dieting is not the key to losing weight, you have to be able to change your eating habits for good. You have to create a diet plan which you’ll be able to slowly implement into your lifestyle. Otherwise, you’ll get the same results as most people. You’ll stick to a diet, lose some weight, go back to the old habits, and gain that weight all over again.
2. Start your day strong
We’ve all heard that saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It is completely true. No matter how healthy your meal plan is, and how much you’re focused on losing weight, if you don’t get a good meal in the morning, there is no way that you’ll be able to stick to your plan for the rest of the day. In the best case, you might power through one or two days, but you’re setting yourself up for failure.
So do what your common sense tells you. Get full in the morning, you’ll have all day to burn those calories, but make sure you don’t go overboard, so those calories don’t turn into fat. Here are few awesome examples of a strong and healthy breakfast – eggs, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, green tea, berries, nuts, even peanut butter.
3. Don’t break schedule with junk food
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Let’s be realistic now. It is really hard to stick to your diet plan without occasionally breaking it. The main reason is the fact that most of us have busy lives. We work, hang out with our friends, go out, go to restaurants, have an occasional drink, etc. Now, life wouldn’t be fun without all that, but this kind of lifestyle also makes it hard to stick to a certain diet.
Keep in mind that it is acceptable to occasionally eat something that’s not in your diet plan. However, you can’t let one act ruin all the results of your hard work. Always pick the healthiest thing available at the moment. Don’t let the deliciousness of junk food seduce you to abandon your healthy ways. Instead, pick the healthier option.
4. Have a balanced and moderate lunch
Now, when we say this, we’re following the same philosophy of a strong breakfast. However, keep in mind that now you don’t have all day to burn those calories so you have to eat accordingly. Good healthy lunch should never be abundant in carbohydrates and fat. While carbs are OK in for of black beans, white beans, rice, and similar, the main focus should be on lean protein and fiber.
A good example for this would be a piece of fish, turkey, lean beef or even pork tenderloin (which is high in nutrients and low in fat), and abundance of leafy greens like green salad, and other vegetables that have a moderate amount of carbs. Balance is the key here, weak lunch won’t get you through the day, especially if you exercise.
5. Make sure you pick top-quality ingredients
Nowadays there is an abundance of everything, however, there is one huge downfall to it all. Most of the “healthy” foods you can find in your nearby supermarket are farm-raised, over-processed or simply unhealthy. Did you know that wild salmon is known as one of the healthiest and most beneficial foods, while farm-raised salmon might do more harm than good?
The same goes for soybeans and other soy products. Natural soy has numerous benefits while soy we can buy at the supermarket might be bad for us, and it is known to disrupt normal hormone functions. Point is, buy natural and organic whenever you get a chance. Go to the farmers market, and buy locally, you’ll benefit more. You can get organic red onions leafy greens, carrots, tomatoes, paprika, etc. Add some olive oil to a combination and you’ll have delicious salad in 15 minutes.
6. Implement exercise gradually
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What if someone told you that you could eat pretty much everything you want as long as you exercise? It is true. Muscles burn a substantial amount of calories in weightlifting exercises, or while exercising with your body weight. Now, this doesn’t mean that you have to become a professional weightlifter, all you have to do is simply start exercising with your body weight.
Begin with sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, etc., and exercise for 30 minutes These kinds of exercises will do wonders for your body and mind, they will help you burn a good amount of calories, and help you build muscle. The best thing about it all is that when you build some muscles your body will burn more calories on day to day basis.
7. Experiment with food
One of the main reasons people stop dieting abruptly is because they get bored with the same meals they push themselves to eat every day. To create the best healthy weekly meal plan. you have to learn to keep things interesting. Thanks to the internet you can pretty much explore all the cuisines in the world and find the best and healthiest options for you.
For example, you can explore Mediterranean cuisine, which is among the most delicious and healthiest in the world. Did you know that people that eat a Mediterranean diet lower their risk for heart disease and cancer? They also have lower cholesterol and have a lower chance of developing Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases. Mediterranean diet is incredibly delicious, and it consists primarily of plant-based foods, healthy meats, and herbs and spices.
8. Finish your day lightly
As you might already know, people that overeat at dinner have a greater chance of gaining weight. But that is not all. Overeating at dinner is also bad for your digestion and it disrupts your sleep. Early light dinner can do wonders for you. Since there is no need for high-calorie intake, the best thing is to stick to soups, salads, and fruit.
Light dinner will leave you feeling good and energized for the next day because your body doesn’t have to digest massive amounts of food. Since the need for calories is minimal, your body will store less fat. Other benefits to this habit are ideal blood sugar lever, and no gastrointestinal issues like bloating and heartburn. If you decide to develop the best healthy weekly meal plan for yourself, light dinner is unavoidable.
9. Count calories but only at the beginning
Counting calories can do more harm than good. While it is good to count calories at the beginning of your diet plan, just to get the general idea of where you at, it can also become confusing and overwhelming later on. However, there are some benefits. If you keep the food log it is easier to stick to the goal, and it is easier to address other issues like high cholesterol.
But, believe it or not, it is not all about calories, it’s about health. You should pay more attention to the food calories come from that the calories themselves. In the end, you don’t want to be counting calories constantly, but it is a good way to get on the right track.
Those are our nine pivotal rules when it comes to developing the best healthy weekly meal plan just for you. Keep in mind that life is all about balance. While you can achieve great results just by adjusting your diet, it is always a good idea to implement exercise. You’ll be healthier, happier, and you’ll be able to break your schedule once in a while, without much of a consequence.
Do not make yourself, suffer by hunger, as that is the main reason people give up on the dieting goals. Eat well during the day, eat lightly in the evenings and exercise regularly. You’ll look and feel wonderful.
