Table of Contents
1. I love cheese and yogurt
And who does not love it? Everyone does. Studies show that people who consume at least 1200 mg of calcium per day are 60% less likely to gain excess weight than those who consume less calcium. Well, yogurts, among other things, reduce the amount of fat that the body absorbs from food when digested. Here is a study from the University of Tennessee: people who reduced their food intake by 500 kcal per day but added three servings of yogurt to their diet, lost 81% more abdominal fat over 12 weeks than those without calories and without yogurt.
Recipe. 1 cup of milk at breakfast, 40 grams of cheese for lunch, 1 cup of natural yogurt as a snack.
Weight loss. up to 1.3 kg in 4 weeks.
2. I love pasta and rice
Then go ahead and eat them. But here’s a thing, replace your favorite refined carbohydrates – white bread, rice, pasta, cookies – with the same products with whole grains (from single flour that has not been refined). They have fewer calories, are absorbed longer, and give you the fiber necessary for digestion. Here’s to you for motivation: in a study at the University of Pennsylvania, those subjects who reduced their food intake by 500 kcal per day and at the same time switched to whole grains, lost twice as much abdominal fat than those who simply refused to eat the same 500 kcal per day.
Recipe. Combine whole grains with lean meats, vegetables, and healthy fats.
Weight loss. up to 3.6 kg in 4 weeks.
3. I love soda
If you don’t know how to start dating after a breakup, and you want to lose some extra pounds – stop drinking sodas. Drinking fluids is one way to fill your stomach, but it’s important to keep track of what you drink. Drinks provide up to 15% of the total calorie intake in the diet of an average man aged 20-30. Moreover, if you completely remove sweet sodas from your diet, you will notice more weight loss than if you would cut your diet for a similar amount of calories from normal food.
Recipe. Do not drink Coca-Cola and the like. And if you absolutely cannot do it without taste and the bubbles, make your own low-calorie soda: one-part juice, two parts unsalted mineral water.
Weight loss. up to 1.8 kg in 4 weeks.
4. I like to chew on something from time to time
That’s fine, chew as much as you like but switch to fruits and vegetables! For example, folic acid (aka Vitamin B9). It is especially abundant in green leafy crops, such as spinach and lettuce. This substance is critically necessary for the creation and development of new cells in your body, but the body itself does not synthesize it. The average person of normal weight consumes almost 2 servings of fruit per day, while the average person with excess weight consumes less than one.
Recipe. Eat at least two servings of fruit and three servings of vegetables every day. An apple in the morning, a side dish of spinach for lunch, carrots or a piece of cauliflower crunch on the go, an orange at mid-afternoon tea, a cup of legumes for dinner. And no, super-sweet fruit juices are not a substitute.
Weight loss. up to 2.7 kg in 4 weeks.
5. I like breakfast
Well done! Eating breakfast regularly reduces the risk of obesity by as much as 78%. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t get fat by eating breakfast products. Proteins (milk, eggs, yogurt, quinoa), whole grains (oats, whole grain toasts, and quinoa), as well as whole fruits are required. Here are the results of the study for your motivation: the one who has eaten less than 1000 kcal per day and at the same time consumed eggs and toasts in the morning has lost 65% more fat than the one who consumes the same amount of kcal per day but differs in diet only when it comes to eating bagels with cream cheese for breakfast.
Recipe. Two eggs, whole grain bread toast, two slices of bacon, a cup of low-fat yogurt without additives, and some fruit – no later than an hour after waking up.
Weight loss. up to 1.8 kg in 4 weeks.
6. I love fatty foods
Fat is not poison, and even those that are losing weight need fats. So use it as an ally in the fight against abdominal fat. Researchers from Brigham Hospital (Boston, USA) put the subjects on different diets: one half on a low-fat diet and the other on a moderate-fat diet. A year later, both groups were compared against each other, and both had some success. But those who did not neglect a reasonable amount of fat lost an average of 60% more (if only because they stayed full longer after each meal). Stop eating fried dishes, reduce consumption of animal fats to the minimum (butter, cheese, fatty meat), and lean on healthy ones (those in nuts, fish, avocados).
Recipe. Eggs for breakfast, a handful of nuts at 10:00, salad with avocado for lunch, ham roll with cheese for a snack, and a medium salmon steak (190 g or less) for dinner.
Weight loss. up to 1.8 kg in 4 weeks.
