There are lots of myths and misconceptions people have in their mind about diet for reducing extra fat. Many of the fitness pros, dieticians will suggest you low carb, low fat, high protein diet for losing fat super quick. However these diets may not be as good as they brag about and don't produce effective result in the long run.
Doing heavy exercise (cardio and weight training) helps you burning the extra calorie you get from daily food. However even after doing the most effective workout and cardio exercise you won't see any result if your diet is full of junk food. It's not possible to lose weight if you reduce calories in one way but increase them in another. You have to follow a balanced diet besides doing workout.
- Calculate your daily calorie requirement according to height, weight, sex and age. Do not exceed the daily calorie requirement to maintain your body weight. For reducing extra weight safely take 450 to 500 calorie less than the total requirement daily basis. Check calorie chart for calorie contents in different food items.Better not to follow any crash diet as it can reduce your lean body mass which in the long run will cause adverse effect to your weight reducing effort.
- You should divide you daily food intake into 5 to 6 small meals. Large meals with long gap in between leads to store more food (in form of fat) into your body cells unlike frequent small meals. Another advantage of increasing the meal frequency is it increases the calorie burning because every time while digesting the food we spend some amount of calorie. This is called thermic effect of food.
- Take carbohydrates that are rich in fiber. Instead of taking the fruit juices try to eat the fruit itself so that you get the fiber also. Focus on the carb (carbohydrate) foods which are low in GI (glycemic index). Carbs with high GI will increase blood sugar level faster than low GI carb. Natural, not refined carbs which are high in fiber are having low GI. For example most fruits and vegetable, whole grain, sprout grain are having low GI.
- Protein works as body building food as it promote muscle growth. Eat lean protein daily but you don't need to take excessive amount of protein.I personally suggest to have protein in your every meal as protein is having the highest thermic effect.
- You won't become fat eating fat as long as you are taking healthy fat and not over eating. Fat rich in omega-3 fatty acid is healthy for our body and actually helps losing body fat. Fish fats are rich in omega-3 fatty acids if the fish is raised naturally, not a farm raised fish. Eat salmon and other fatty fish to get adequate quantity of omega-3 fatty acid. Stay away from processed food, deep fried food. These are high in trans fat which seriously inhibits us to maintain a lean body.