Losing weight can be a challenging and daunting experience, no different than overcoming a fear or healing from a traumatic event. A plethora of diet plans promise fast weight loss, and yes, you may be tempted to believe those claims.
However, the truth is that there’s really no shortcut to losing weight except to eat a healthy calorie deficit diet and to engage in plenty of exercise.
But what exactly does a healthy diet look like, and how does it promote weight loss? Read on to find out.
What Does A Healthy Meal Plan Look Like?
An average man expends about 2500 calories per day while a woman expends about 2000 calories. Of course, these numbers fluctuate based on various factors such as age, occupation and individual activity levels.
To achieve weight loss, calorie demand has to be higher than calorie supply. For example, a healthy meal plan for a man who expends 2500 calories a day should be around 1800-2300 calories per day. While a woman who expends 2000 calories should consume between 1200 to 1800 calories daily.
But a meal plan, despite being relatively low in calories, is only healthy if it supplies all the essential nutrients. That’s why a professionally planned healthy meal can be immensely beneficial. Essentially, it allows a trained dietician to plan meals which contain all your daily nutritional needs while providing the caloric deficit needed for weight loss.
A meal planned by an expert, such as those offered by ReCulture, typically eschews refined carbohydrates for non-starchy vegetables, complex carbs from low GI fruits, lots of green & leafy vegetables (for vitamins and fibres), as well as protein from sources like chicken, fish and eggs. Saturated/trans fats and highly processed oils will be eliminated from the meals.
How Can a Healthy Meal Plan be Beneficial?
Healthy meals can contribute greatly to your weight loss journey, as well as other parts of your health and daily life. Here are the benefits of adopting healthy meal plans for weight loss:
1. Satiety and Hunger Management
Contrary to popular belief, when trying to lose weight, you should avoid starving yourself or adopting unconventional diets, such as a liquid only diet, without consulting your doctor or a specialist.
Starving yourself, or limiting your food to liquid only diets, for example, will leave you feeling hungry most of the time. Eventually, this may lead to binge eating due to persistent hunger.
A healthy meal plan, rich in essential nutrients such as fibres allows for low-calorie snacks between meals, helping you feel full and avoid overeating.
2. You’ll Have Adequate and Balanced Nutrition
Many people sacrifice the nutritional aspect of their diet while trying to lose weight. In doing so, they deprive their body of essential nutrients that are vital for the body’s systems to function properly.
By consuming a healthy meal plan, rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and a smidgen of fat, you equip your body with the resources it needs to sustain and nourish the body’s systems.
This translates to improved brain function, enhanced metabolic function, greater immune response, reduced risk of chronic diseases and more.
3. You Can Save Time
When you have healthy meals planned for you by an expert, you spend less time on research or meal preps.
You’ll have more time to yourself, to rest and spend on improving both your physical and mental state. Being relaxed and well rested is important to weight loss too, as it ensures that your metabolism is functioning at its best.
4. You Can Improve Portion Control
Portion control is an integral part of losing weight. Ideally, the amount of food you eat should keep you full and provide the necessary nutrients, and not more than that. Therefore, knowing when to stop eating and how much to eat is important.
A healthy meal plan lays out how much you can eat, and trains your body and mind to know when you’ve had enough. This not only aids in controlling your appetite in the present but also establishes healthier eating habits for the future, thereby reducing cravings and the tendency to overindulge in food.
5. You Can Save Money
Adopting a health meal plan can lead to significant cost-savings. By having a clear list of specific foods to purchase and consume, you can eliminate waste and prevent overspending on unnecessary items.
In the long run, this strategy supports the achievement of your weight loss objectives with minimal expenditure, freeing up your finances for other priorities.
Seek A Meal Planner For Weight Loss
The best way to get the most out of your weight loss meal plans is to have them planned by an expert. That way, you don’t have to worry if you’re doing it right or not.
Since our launch, ReCulture has sought to inspire, encourage and support every person who wants to live better by improving their overall wellness.
Our structured programmes are designed to promote healthy eating habits by detoxing and resetting the body’s many systems. Weight loss may (and usually does) occur.
Reach out to us for a complimentary consultation, or browse through our various programmes to discover how we can champion your weight loss efforts.
From the ReCulture 5 all the way to our ReCulture 60 plan, we have several healthy options tailored to different needs and goals.