You love eating, but also want to lose weight? A commonly heard complaint from all those who struggle to maintain a healthy weight.
The good news, however, that is you can keep your taste buds satisfied without gaining weight. It is a misconception that eating carbohydrates increases your weight- even more amusing is the fact that eating makes you gain weight.
Our body needs all forms of energy to perform effectively, which includes both fats and carbohydrates. The only trick is to eat which is easily digested and converted into a form of energy.
Below we have complied a 3 day meal plan that would help you maintain a healthy weight. Switch the recipes around the week and follow.
Day 1
Breakfast:
Oatmeal (no sugar)
Consider taking a switch from a dry cold bowl of cereal to hot full grain cereal with fruit. It helps you reduce around 100 calories. It is a simple trick that sums up to a reduction of 10 pounds in a year. Moreover, a hot bowl of whole grain cereal leaves more energy in your body- fills you up faster than dried cold cereal.
If you need to, have a cup of tea or coffee without sugar with nonfat milk
Snack:
Steamed vegetables with tortilla (green bell, tomatoes and onions recommended)
How to prepare:
Warm up the tortilla with moistened paper towels for 1 minute in the microwave. Add topping with salsa & vegetables.
Option 2 is to have any of your favorite 2 citrus fruits
Lunch
2 cups of mixed greens
1 cup of chopped vegetables with balsamic vinegar
Salad preparation:
Slice tomato and lettuce. Add one fruit of your choice to the salad. Add any of the other diced vegetables like yellow squash, bell pepper, cucumber, carrots or sweet potatoes. Avoid adding too much olive oil. 1 tbsp would do.
Snack:
Option1:
1 cup of yogurt without sugar
Berries of your choice
Greek yogurt is popular amongst majority of the best diet plans. It not only adds flavor to your meal, but fulfills your energy intake.
Option 2:
Option 2 is to make a farmer style salad seasoned with fresh herbs. If desired you can add red wine vinegar or sprinkled olive oil for taste.
Dinner:
Salmon with Mustard Coating
How to prepare:
In a bowl add garlic, mustards, wine and shallots. Coat all sides of salmon with the prepared paste. Cook fillets in a medium, non-stick pan. Cook each side for approximately 7 minutes. Flip to cook the rest of the mixture on the other sides. Sprinkle with mint or dill.
Tip: It is healthier to grill or bake.
Baked potatoes on side
Potatoes help you lose weight by increasing your energy intake, while not taking much storage space in your body.
Day 2
Breakfast
Avocado Egg Toast:
– A slice of bread (whole grain)
– 1 egg cooked with tsp of olive oil
– ¼ avocado
– A pinch of salt and pepper on the egg for flavor
How to prepare:
Toast the bread with ¼ mashed ripened avocado. Spray cooking oil in a non-stick pan and fry the egg. Place the egg on the avocado toast. Add salt and pepper for flavor.
Morning Snack
– 7 walnuts/ almonds
– 3-5 dried apricots
Lunch:
– Soup (vegetable or ravioli)
– 1 clementine/mandarin
Evening snack:
– Any fresh vegetable (cucumber or carrot)
– 2 tbsp of hummus
Dinner:
Vegetable burger Pattie in a whole-wheat bun
The greener your diet, the healthier you are. When it comes to losing weight the best way to add more calories to your diet without gaining is to increase the vegetable intake. Vegetables like broccoli, asparagus, cauliflower and carrot are most recommended for dinner.
Option 2 is to have ½ cup of curry with brown rice.
Day 2:
Tip: If you are buying packed museli, buy the one that comes without sugar. Sugar in whole grain foods takes away the goodness of the meal.
Breakfast:
– 1 cup of yogurt
– ¼ of fruit of your choice (berries preferred)
– ¼ cup of museli
Snack:
– 2 citrus fruits
Lunch
– 2 Cheese toast with tomato
– Half cucumber
– 2 cups of mixed greens
– ¼ cups of carrot (grated)
– 1 tbsp of almonds or walnuts
– Mix all ingredients and sprinkle half spoon of vinegar and olive oil
Snack: (70-80 calories approx.)
– 6 almonds or walnuts
Dinner:
Spinach Salad
Spinach salad with other vegetables like potatoes and tomatoes gives you good energy with a balanced calorie chart. Add no salt. Toss the spinach salad with rice vinegar and ½ tsp of wasabi.
Baked chicken with tomatoes and brown rice
How to prepare:
Season your chicken with garlic, chili and onion powder. In a preheated non-stick pan spray a little cooking oil. Bring the heat to medium and cook the chicken for 3 minutes each side. Add tomatoes with lemon juice to the pan. Blend the tomatoes with chicken and add desirable vegetables. Cook for 8-10 minutes.
Day 3
Breakfast:
1 cup of any of your favorite fruit
1 cup of yogurt with no sugar
½ toasted bagel (whole grain) with fat-free cheese
Snack:
1 cup of beans/vegetable soup
It is recommended that you prepare a homemade soup, for they contain a low amount of sodium. Compared to the home soups, canned soups have 1,200 milligrams of sodium which dramatically increases your calorie count and is injurious for health.
How to prepare:
Add 1 cup of red beans to a soup pot. 4 cups of vegetable juice. 2 cups of sliced/chopped vegetables like carrots and celery. Add salt and pepper to your taste.
Lunch:
Tuna Sandwich
Prepare for yourself a tuna sandwich. It is recommended again to smear it at home, as an alternative to canned tuna. Add 1 tbsp of yogurt or non-fat mayo. Combine chopped vegetables like onions, celery and peppers. Put tuna in a whole wheat bread that is low in sodium.
Pineapple and Carrot salad
Add sliced carrots and pineapple slices to a bowl. Combine it with a low fat cream cheese.
Snack:
Sweet Potato
Potatoes are rich in potassium that helps you maintain a good flow of energy throughout the day. Sweet potatoes are great in flavor, easy to cook and healthy in nature.
Bake a batch of sweet potatoes for 425 degrees. Cover in foil before baking. This can be microwaved and used for 1 week. Dress with salt, yogurt or cream cheese (low fat).
Dinner:
Curried Quinoa & Tofu
Salad with mustard and honey dressing
How to prepare:
Quinoa and tofu is a delicious dinner. This is one of the few diet recipes that does not sound boring. Filled with nutritional riches, it is both waist friendly and great in taste. Tofu contains 1/3rd calories of poultry and meat with no saturated fats.
Clean 1 cup of quinoa. In a saucepan add the quinoa with 1 tsp of turmeric and curry powder. Add 2 cups of chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boiling point. Simmer and cover till the water is absorbed by the quinoa. Add 1 cup of cubed tofu and carrots. This can be refrigerated for 1 week.
For salad, cut lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and other desirable veggies. Add 1 apple or 3 pineapple slices. Dress with honey and mustard.
How to add deserts?
There are many ways to add deserts to a meal without compromising health. To make dieting easier there are many low fat delicious deserts that can curb taste buds. Some of these recipes are:
Sautéed Strawberry Sundae
1 tsp of vinegar
¼ cups of strawberries
½ cups of vanilla ice cream (low fat)
1 teaspoon of honey
Saute all vinegar, strawberries and honey for 3 minutes. Top with ice cream and berries.
BlackBerry and Peach Crepe
1 chopped peach
¼ cup of cottage cheese (low fat)
1 crepe (premade)
100% blackberry fruit spread
Mix together cottage cheese and peach. Roll the paste in crepe. Microwave for 30 seconds and drizzle with the blackberry spread.
Ice cream
½ cup of light ice cream
Graham Crackers
4 small rectangles of graham crackers
2 tablespoon of chocolate chips
Microwave the chocolate chips for less than 30 seconds. Put the graham crackers in the melted chocolate till the chocolate hardens.
Weight loss diet is not as scary as it sounds. The only trick is to maintain a calorie chart and consume a diet full of nutrition. Dieting is never about starving oneself. Instead, consider the body as a machine which requires fuel to work. Without depriving your body of this fuel you can easily break down the stubborn fat. Always remember that a diet plan works well with a combination of physical fitness routine.
