The time of the bulk is one of joy. There is some discipline required to maintain a consistent calorie surplus, but this adversity is offset by the muscle and strength gains you receive. Yet once the bulk is finished, it’s time for the cut. This is a time of cutting calories and extra cardio. It’s a time highly dreaded yet highly necessary. Learn how to make the weight loss journey of your training and diet as simple and painless as possible.
Basics of weight loss
While we condone consuming a healthy diet in order to promote healthy weight loss and wellness, the only real requirement to losing weight is to maintain a calorie deficit over the course of several days or weeks. To achieve this requires the calories you burn in a day to be greater than the calories you consume. Fewer calories often conjures up images of starvation and miniscule portion sizes. We’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be this way.
Getting your food choices in check, packing your diet full of quality lean protein, and filling up on whole foods will put you on the right track for shedding body weight and achieving your weight loss goals without too much of that dreaded hunger.
Essential foods for healthy eating
The key to picking foods is to select high protein options as well as high volume options. Protein preserves muscle mass and maintains satiety. Some great sources of craving-controlling proteins are chicken, lean ground beef, or low-fat greek yogurt. If you’re wanting something more plant based, then chickpeas, quinoa, black beans, legumes, or a high-quality protein supplement are other useful options.
Larger volume foods with low calories are also great for controlling hunger and increasing health benefits: most veggies, leafy greens, low-calorie fruits such as blueberries, or things like popcorn work well. These foods are typically also high fiber, meaning they help with digestion, another great way to assist in weight management. Gut health keeps bloating down, which will keep you motivated during your weight loss plan.
Our final recommendation is foods that take a while to eat. These include soups and other hot meals that take time to consume. The slower you eat, the better your body is able to avoid overeating.
Superfoods in action
Weight loss diets don’t have to be hellish. There’s no requirement to get rid of carbs or throw out every gram of saturated fat. It all just comes down to calories in and calories out. At the end of the day, listen to your body and just stay aware of how the food your eating makes you feel. Eat what makes you happy and what gets you closer to your goals.