It is pretty safe to say that everyone in the world wants to live a long and healthy life. It is also safe that to say that we all would like to feel comfortable in the skin that we are in. Not everyone will be a size 2 like those models for some high-fashion designer because that is not how life is meant to be.
However, with this said, the average person wants to be at a healthy weight where the risk of “overweight diseases” will not be as high. This seems like a simple task, right? If you want to have a healthy body and life, simply eat better and make sure all of the right things are going into your body.
But what does it mean to “eat better”? What are the things you should allow into your body? There are tons of commercials promoting supplements that will help you lose up to twenty pounds in two weeks. Is that really good for you, though? Yes, you may be at a decent weight, but will you really be healthier? Probably not. Maybe for some, but not for all. The guide below is here to show how ANYONE can lose or maintain their weight in a natural way using superfoods!
What are Superfoods and Why Should I Use a Superfoods Diet?
One may think that a superfood is some other-worldly food that is hard to come by. There is really no formal or scientific definition for a superfood. These foods are simply described as foods that are high in essential vitamins and minerals. You are able to find these foods in virtually any grocery store that you visit, and you can usually get them at a reasonable price. Below is a list of a few superfoods that you can use to get back on track to a healthy lifestyle.
1. Blueberries: Blueberries can be found at the top of almost every superfood list around. The magic of blueberries lies in their color which comes from the flavonoids within. Just like many other berries, blueberries have a high water content, which allows them to keep your cells hydrated through your journey to health. These berries not only have outstanding effects on your physical body, they are also great “brain food”. The flavonoids in blueberries are great for protecting your brain from memory loss or any other brain damage.
How to Incorporate Blueberries into Your Diet: Blueberries can be a great alternative for those oily chips that you are eating in the middle of the night. Instead of eating a handful of chips you could eat a handful of berries. Try eating blueberries on the side instead french fries or other oily foods. Also, if you are just needing a quick snack in the middle of the day, blueberries are a perfect grab-and-go snack.
2. Salmon: This fatty fish is very high in easy-to-absorb proteins, which are essential for basically every function in your body and especially beneficial for cells, tissues, enzymes, and hormones. When it comes to weight loss, salmon has three components: omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and selenium, which increases insulin production making your metabolism run a little faster. Salmon is another superfood that not only helps your physical well-being, but also your brain. The omega-3 fatty acids are good for things like memory and energy.
How to Incorporate Salmon into Your Diet: Imagine the biggest piece of steak or the biggest hamburger right in front of you. Now imagine all of those juices flowing out of it. What are those juices? Fat. Not the good fat that comes from salmon, but those fatty fats that are not so easy for your body to digest. The next time that you want to go and get one of these steaks or burgers, substitute them for a piece of salmon. For almost any meal that involves meat, you can use salmon instead.
3. Kale: You could almost think of kale as the big brother of spinach. Yes, spinach is another great green leafy food, but Kale is just a little more “super”. Kale is a great source of low-calorie fiber, calcium and iron. There are components in Kale that are said to reduce the risk of cancer like vitamins K, A, and C, as well as flavonoids and other compounds.
How to Incorporate Kale into Your Diet: As stated before, Kale is simply the big brother of spinach. You can use kale, instead of regular romaine or iceberg lettuce, when you make your salads. Kale can also be prepared in the same ways as spinach.
4. Green Tea: Green tea is an important superfood when it comes to weight loss. this is due to the polyphenols and EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), both of which are vital to your body’s weight loss efforts.
Superfoods Rx Diet
A lot of diets nowadays promise that you will lose weight quickly by simply taking a pill or drinking their shakes. These may work for some people, but The Superfoods Rx Diet can and will work for everyone. I am sorry to say that this diet is not a quick fix for your journey to health. However, in the long run, you will feel better knowing that you had to work for your results instead of taking a shortcut that may not be very healthy for your body. This being said, you will still start to see some changes very quickly.
In the first two weeks you will notice:
- More energy
- Healthier looking skin
- Rapid and safe weight loss
- Loss of inches, especially around your waist
- The ability to control your cravings and appetite, which will also help boost your brain activity making it easier to reach your goal.
To start this diet, you first need to understand that it is not like other diets that may tell you to eliminate food, instead you are to increase your consumption. When you increase your food intake, you will not feel like you are being “deprived” of food like in other diets. With The Superfoods Rx Diet, you are to increase your intake of whole food and superfoods, and decrease your intake of frozen or processed foods. According to The Superfoods Rx Diet some of the superfoods you increase are:
- Proteins: turkey, soy, salmon
- Fruits: apples, blueberries, oranges, kiwis, cranberries, raspberries, boysenberries, strawberries, blackberries, cherries, currants, lemons, grapefruit, tangerines, kumquats, limes
- Greens: broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, turnips, kale, collards, cauliflower, Swiss chard, mustard greens, bok choy, spinach, kale
- Beans: low-sodium canned beans, dry beans, string beans, green peas, sugar snap peas
- Dairy: low-fat yogurt, kefir
- Grains: oats, wheat germ, flaxseed, barley, wheat, buckwheat, bulgur, amaranth, quinoa, rye, millet, triticale, kamut, spelt, couscous
- Nuts: walnuts, pistachios, almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pine nuts
- Seeds: pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, chia
- Teas: green, black and oolong tea
- Superspices: cinnamon, cumin, garlic, oregano, thyme, turmeric
If you are not a fan of the foods on this list, there are many other superfoods in each category, so find what works best for you. Simply reading the labels of your favorite foods will show you whether or not you can consider them a superfood. Be sure to look and see if they are high in more than two essential vitamins or minerals. Another consideration The Superfoods Rx Diet talks about is though certain superfoods are beneficial on their own, they work even better in conjunction with each other. A few of these pairings include:
- oranges and green tea
- broccoli and tomatoes
Another thing that a person will need to know when starting this diet is that is that there are four phases:
- The Prep & Practice Week: This week helps you get into a better eating “groove” by increasing your fluid intake, revising your kitchen, shopping for superfoods, starting an easy exercise plan, starting a food diary, and planning your meal menus.
- The SlimDown: This phase will last as long as it takes you to reach your goal of how many pounds you wanted to lose, but is recommended for at least 2 weeks. You will also increase your exercise in The SlimDown.
- The FlexPlan: Once you have lost the initial weight you wanted, the flex plan helps you lose at a slower pace with a more relaxed approach that allows for cheat days. In the FlexPlan, you can start to add dessert, wine, an additional snack, etc.
- The LifePlan: This is now the phase that you maintain forever. You will have the benefits of a superfoods diet plan.
Just like other diets, The Superfoods Rx Diet recommends that you make time in your schedule to exercise daily. Make sure that you are exercising in a way that is enjoyable to you because if you are not interested, more than likely you will not continue. A few other considerations for making this a lifelong change are learning how to deal with restaurant portion sizes, how to maintain your diet during travel, the importance of not skipping meals or snacks, and monitoring your success, mood and behavior. This diet takes a lot of work, but the results are priceless.
Raw Food Diet
The raw food diet is exactly what is sounds like, you simply eat raw food. Eating raw food will allow you to get all of the vitamins and minerals that are usually lost when you cook them. This takes a lot of effort and may be difficult for someone who is used to eating out or someone who is not used to eating uncooked food. With this diet, you will not only lose weight and become healthier, you will also be able to learn new ways to prepare your food, thus discovering a new hobby. While you are using the raw food diet, you may use a blender or dehydrator to prepare your food. Just because you can’t cook them, does not mean that you can’t get creative with your meals.
People who practice the raw food diet usually do not have a problem eating raw fruits and vegetables, but animal products are a different story. The thought of eating raw animal products can be a little scary and many people do not trust it. With this, however, some people who follow the raw food diet have issues getting enough protein, calcium, iron, and other essential nutrients found primarily through animals. People who choose to eat the raw animal products have a higher risk for food poisoning or other illnesses that come with eating raw meats. Because of this, the raw food diet is not recommended for babies, children, or people with weakened immune systems.
If you are willing to put in a lot of work, the raw food diet will be perfect for you. There are many books and websites available to show you how to get your raw food kitchen started. To get all of the benefits from this diet, you must have the correct tools, such as the correct blenders or the best juicer. With these tools, you will be able to cleanse your body of all the added ingredients of foods you have previously eaten and replace them with the natural nutrients of your favorite foods.
Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live Program
Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live Program is another diet plan that is a perfect fit for superfoods living that involves a nutritarian lifestyle. A nutritarian:
- Eats nutrient-dense, natural plant superfoods such as fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, and seeds.
- Reduces or completely eliminates animal products. If you aren’t eliminating the animal products, you limit them to 1-2 servings per week at maximum. Eliminates foods that are nutrition-dense like processed sugars, white flour, processed foods, artificial sweeteners, and fast food.
- Dr. Fuhrman also promotes his Health Equation, which is H=N/C (Health=Nutrients/Calories). This means that your overall health is determined by your nutrient consumption divided by your calorie consumption. Dr. Fuhrman’s book highlights the American obesity epidemic, and even goes so far as to state that many actually die from their “destructive nutritional extravagances.” His recipes are designed to fight chronic disease with plant-based (superfoods) nutritional intervention in lieu of prescription medications or surgery. Dr. Fuhrman is famous for his anti-cancer soup recipe.
Daily Guidelines for Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live Program:
- Large Salad
- At least ½ cup serving of legumes or beans in soup, salad, or any other dish
- Minimum of 3 fresh fruits
- At least 1 oz. raw seeds or nuts (however, you need to limit them to 1 oz if you’re trying to lose weight and not just maintain)
- At least 1 large, double-sized serving of cooked green vegetables
- Avoid: red meat, barbecued, cured and processed meat, fried food, full-fat dairy (such as fatty cheese, ice cream, whole milk, 2% milk, butter and margarine), soft drinks, sugar and artificial sweeteners, and white rice or white flour products.
A Few More “Tarian” Diets to Think About
It is sometimes scary to think about making dramatic lifestyle changes but remember, we are trying to get you on the track to healthier life. Below are a few “lifelong” diets. Unlike the other diets mentioned above, you may be more willing to use the following diets for long term use instead of just short term use. All three of these diets work perfectly with superfoods.
Vegetarian: According to the Vegetarian Society, a vegetarian is defined as someone who lives on a diet of grains, nuts, pulses, seeds, veggies and fruits with, or without, the use of dairy and eggs. A vegetarian doesn’t eat any meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, game or by-products of slaughter.
If you are are someone who has grown up eating meat with every meal, it may be hard for you to transition to this lifestyle. You can slowly transition into this life by cutting out meat at your own pace. If you choose to not eat meat, you must remember that you have to find a substitute for the proteins you will no longer receive from the meat.
Flexitarian: Flexitarians are also known as semi-vegetarians, meaning that, though they enjoy vegetarian meals, they sometimes eat meat. Often times, a flexitarian cuts out red meats and will only eat fish making them seem like a pescatarian. They will eat meat a few times a week/month, but primarily will eat vegetarian meals.
Vegan: The vegan diet may be one of the hardest to become accustomed to. Vegans do not believe in consuming any kind of animal product. They live completely off of sources from the plant kingdom. Along with being a physical journey, veganism is also considered a spiritual journey. Vegans believe that they have an “enlightened concept of repairing and maintaining health” – Super Inside Equals Super Outside.
All in all, there are diets out there for everyone. Some diets are for those who want quick results without very much work and there is nothing wrong with that. For others, long term benefits are what they are looking for. The diets that are listed above all involve superfoods and hard work.
You will be able to lose weight and live a healthy lifestyle if you are willing to decrease your intake of processed foods or foods with empty calories. All you have to do is put your mind to it, and substitute the old, bad cravings for the new, good ones. Good luck with whichever superfoods diet you choose!
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