In conjunction with the number of calories you eat it is important to also pay close attention to the types of food you eat. Quite simply put, 100 grams of carrots has far less fat than 100 grams of pastry.
We have many choices regarding the types of food we eat. There is high fat, high calorie, processed, and organic foods to name just a few. Each type of food will affect your ability to lose weight so be intelligent about the foods you choose. I am not saying that you cannot have foods from all the groups but I am saying that you must limit your intake of foods that are high in fat if you are serious about losing weight.
High-Fat Foods
It is common knowledge that high fat foods, on a regular basis, are not good for us.
As I discussed earlier some of the health consequences of high fat foods are stroke, heart attack and diabetes. It is true that high fat foods usually taste really good but over the long term consuming high fat foods will lead to serious health problems.
Of all the fats available in our foods always try to avoid saturated fat and trans fats.
A saturated fat is easy to detect because it will remain solid at room temperature.
Here are some foods that are high in saturated fat:
Palm oil
Hydrogenated oils
Partially hydrogenated oils
If you eat foods with saturated fats you will find it much more difficult to lose weight.
Fat Fact:
Fat contains double the number of calories as the same portion of carbohydrates or protein. Another 'rule of thumb' is that your calories intake should be no more than 30% from fat, any more than that and you will begin to gain weight.
Here are some common high fat foods:
Doughnuts
French Fries
Fried bacon
Butter
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Pastries
Mayonnaise
Olives
American and Cheddar cheese
As you can see I have included foods that you consider to be ‘junk foods’ and other foods you would believe to be healthy. Healthy foods will provide a nutritional value to your meals even though there is a fat component within those foods. As I stated earlier, you should limit your fat intake to 30% of your total daily calories so choosing healthy foods that provide the fuel your body needs and are also lower in fat is a crucial component to your weight loss success.
High-Carb Foods
There has been considerable attention given to low-carb diets and how people have had great success losing weight using this type of diet. There is merit to the low carb diet but before you embark on this path let's take a minute to look at how carbohydrates work.
When you consume carbohydrates your body breaks them down into sugar which provides your body with fuel for energy. There are two types of carbohydrates: simple and complex.
What is the difference between a simple and complex carbohydrate? A simple carbohydrate is broken down immediately by your body. This provides a quick source of energy.
The fact that simple carbs are an immediate source of energy is good under the right circumstances however if you load up on simple carbs and are not active then the sugars from the simple carbs are stored as fat. This is where the problem begins, if the sugars are not used for energy they are stored as fat and will not be used by your body until you become more active. If you are not active then the stored fat just accumulates in your body. Our bodies are very intelligent so carbs and calories are used first and stored fats are used later. Again if you are not active the fat keeps piling on.
Like simple carbs complex carbs are broken down and converted into sugar however your body takes longer to break down the complex carbs. The advantage to your body is that by taking longer to break down the complex carbohydrates your body has a more constant and even energy source. This means that the sugars derived from complex carbohydrates do not build up over time like the simple carbohydrates.
It is important for you to include both types of carbohydrates in your diet. Having said that, if you lead a relatively sedentary lifestyle you need to be aware of how your body deals with carbohydrates. Why? Because your sedentary lifestyle will not allow your body to use the energy from the carbs, instead it will all be stored as fat.
Now you can use this information to plan the types of food you use for your meals.
If you know you are going to have a relaxed, quiet evening at home plan a dinner that does not include simple carbohydrates and minimizes the amount of complex carbohydrates. No exercise, no movement means your body will not use the energy from the carbs and will store it as fat and that is exactly what we do not want.
I have provided a partial list of simple carbohydrates that we consume almost every day.