Eating for Fat Loss VS. Healthy Eating – Is There a Difference?
Weight-loss Vs. Healthy
Is there a difference between eating a healthy diet and eating to lose weight?
The answer is YES.
Will eating a healthy diet make you lose weight?
Does eating a healthy diet have anything to do with weight loss?
The answer is is NO.
The “but it’s healthy” myth
Eating “healthy” alone will not make you skinny (and it will not make me skinny) – because healthy food can contain just as many calories as junk food.
Being mindful of calories however will make you lose weight (whether those calories are healthy or unhealthy).
That being said, if you only eat unhealthy food or eat too much unhealthy food (fast food, processed food, flour, sugar) then you won’t feel healthy or be healthy – these foods only give us empty calories, meaning that they provide calories (usually lots) but they give us no nutrients.
AND – if you count calories to lose weight but only eat junk food, then you might lose weight short term – but you will not be helping your body in the long run. This combination could lead to disastrous effects and you will left worse off in the long run.
The best way to lose weight is to be mindful of calories while eating a healthy & balanced diet.
A BALANCED DIET?
A well balanced diet includes good carbs, healthy protein and healthy fats – none of these are bad, they are all healthy!
(Trust me on this – I’ve tried and tested every diet out there. I’ve followed the Banting diet, a vegan diet, the Paleo diet, a grain-free diet, a low-carb diet, a high-carb diet, a high-fat diet, a low-fat diet, a high protein diet, a low protein diet. I’ve literally tried EVERY diet… and after more than a decade of dieting, I’ve realised that the best diet is a balanced diet.)
A healthy diet includes good carbs like sweet potatoes, butternut, pumpkin, quinoa, brown rice, whole rolled oats, steel cut oats, fresh fruit, berries, vegetables and leafy greens.
A healthy diet also includes includes healthy protein like lean cuts of fillet steak, chicken, turkey, fish, salmon & trout, nuts like almonds and walnuts, seeds like pumpkin seeds & chia seeds, legumes like chickpeas & black beans and eggs.
AND don’t forget about fats (you can forget about low-fat foods though) – fats are essential for good healthy (and weight loss).
A healthy diet includes fats like eggs (including the yolk), nuts like macadamia nuts & walnuts, seeds like flax seeds, avocado, olives, coconut and cold-pressed oils like coconut oil, macadamia nut oil and olive oil.
These foods are all examples of foods that offer healthy calories – calories as well as essential nutrients!
Every meal should ideally be built up of good whole (unprocessed) carbs, healthy protein and healthy fats!
And, remember that salad is not the only healthy lunch option! There are so many delicious foods that are healthy and that contain good calories! But – salad can be super yummy (check out my salad recipes for inspiration).
2 Q FOR YOU TO ANSWER
Just remain mindful of calories while eating a healthy, balanced diet and you will lose weight AND feel good!
♥ What healthy foods do you love to eat?
♥ How can you incorporate your favorite healthy foods into a balanced diet, so that you can achieve your ideal weight?
Liezl Jayne xo
Ps. I’ve also got a 3 day eating plan for weight-loss that you can download here on my blog – this is what I used to lose 40 Lbs!
Photographs by Ross Charnock – for liezljayne.com – styled by Liezl Jayne
