If your diet needs some work, these 3 tips will definitely help you fix your diet and get on the right track. Nothing crazy, just a few lifestyle changes to help you eat healthier and feel better.
The Revised Food Pyramid
The old food pyramid was very carb heavy (from grains). We now know that this is NOT the way to eat and that eating carbs in these high quantities leads to obesity (not what we want!). Nutrition Australia has released a healthy eating pyramid (see below). It focuses primarily on vegetables and fruit. I personally think that the grains and protein should be swapped around, but overall it is much better than the previous version.
Generally if you stick to this, and the majority of your foods come from vegetables and fruit, you will be in a MUCH better place and so far ahead of where you were previously.
Cut Out Gluten
I know this must sound a bit counter intuitive since I just said to follow the food pyramid, which contains grains. But it is fairly well known in the fitness and nutrition communities that gluten should be minimized as much as possible. Gluten causes your blood sugar levels to spike, which leads to fat storage and a greater chance of experiencing hunger pains and sugar cravings after a meal.
Gluten is also one of the most common food allergens. Eating allergens causes your body to produce the stress hormone cortisol, which also leads to fat storage. Try to avoid gluten as much as possible and see how much better you feel!
Increase Your Protein And Fiber Intake
Most females are deficient in both of these. Both of these have the highest thermic effect of food, meaning your body will use up more calories to digest these types of foods. Both are really great for keeping you feeling full for longer and will stop you from wanting to snack on the bad stuff. Fill your diet with lots of healthy sources of protein and fiber!
High protein foods include lean meats, eggs, nuts, protein powders, soy and dairy. High fiber foods include fruits, green vegetables, avocados, lentils, soy, chia seeds and other nuts and seeds.
It’s FREE
Hi Rachael, I’m too obsessive and think about food all the time. All I want to do is to eat..but I still want to lose fat at my thighs. I am generally thin in my upper body..my face is thin and I my boobs are nonexistent but I have big thighs and butt which shows immense inproportion weight gain..what do you suggest for me to do? I want to lose thigh fat badly! Appreciate your help <3
Hi SJ, I’m sorry to hear this. This is not a healthy behaviour and I would definitely try to fix this; if not on your own, you could always get someone to help! I would definitely recommend doing some walking and running to slim down your lower body and also do some resistance training or exercises such as boxing and swimming to tone up your upper half. Good luck! xx
Hello,
I wanted to ask you if you could answer me this one thing. For about 6 months i started doing bodyweight exercises as well as cardio and lost a bit of weight but i am aiming for a more toned body. i have to say i am a vegan and very careful about my diet. the question is more towards the exercise part – should i do split my cardio and bodyweight am/pm style or do them in some particular order to see better results? right now i am usually doing around 30 min cardio every day followed by bodyweight(abs one day, legs another and so on). Thank you so much
Hi Alex,
If you’re after more of a toned body, I would focus the majority of your exercise program around HIIT training. I would do HIIT 3-4 times per week, and steady state cardio 3 times per week also. Good luck! xx