Nutrition

Issue #29

Nutrition

I remember the days when I was growing up...pizza, sweets, and chips were strictly reserved for special occasions. We'd have friends over for Saturday dinner and there'd always be something special. Or if you were lucky, on the weekly shopping trip you'd get an ice cream. My mother was very big on nutrition. But if all this seems to you like a long, distant memory, chances are your nutrition is suffering.

Nutrition versus Weight Loss

You probably suspect that it's important to eat 7 serves of grains a day, several serves of vegetables and fruits, and to eat fats, oils, and sweets sparingly. But what does good, sensible, healthy eating and weight loss really have in common? And is eating healthy foods equally important for weight loss as it is for nutrition?

Eat junk food and lose weight

You may be surprised that nutrition actually has very little to do with losing weight. It's quite possible to eat a diet solely based on chips and cakes, and still lose oodles of weight. Of course, the amount of each of these delectable foods would need to be rather small, but the point still stands that healthy foods are essential for your general health, not for your waistline.

Do healthy foods play an important role?

Although living on nothing but desserts sound enticing, observing the rules of good nutrition does have a major advantage - you can eat more of them. If you ever feel hungry when dieting, the chances are that the foods you're choosing aren't doing their job, that of helping you trim down plus filling you up. The properties of healthy food, particularly fruits and vegetables, allow you to eat enormous amounts before they will impact on your weight the same way as a few slices of cake will.

Good nutrition for the long term

As well as allowing you to feel full, a diet of healthy food does have a second, important advantage - it's sustainable. Although not essential to your waistline, nutrition is absolutely essential to your ongoing health. Remember, a diet has to ultimately teach you a permanent way of eating. And although you can successfully lose weight on chips and donuts, your body isn't going to last the distance. Anyone call for an ambulance?

Putting it all together

Although good nutrition isn't essential for weight loss, it is essential for ensuring you keep the weight off for the long term. And after all, this should be your overall aim. Only select diets based on healthy, balanced eating principles, like Slim for Life. Perhaps your mother's advice had relevance after all.

For more information on nutrition, keep watching The Weight Loss Slimmer.