Have you ever heard of the 80-20 rule? It means that weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise. So working on your diet is extremely important if you want to lose weight faster.
On that note, we’ve prepared a list of 10 amazing super foods that can help you lose weight faster. But before that let’s have a rundown of what we’d be discussing in this article:
- How do men gain weight?
- Health consequences of obesity
- How men can lose weight
- 10 best foods that can help men lose weight
- Suggested diet plans
How Do Men Gain Weight?
If you do a little bit of research, you’d discover that many people are overweight. There are about 35 million overweight men and 45 million obese men in the United States.
You might ask, how do people gain so much weight? Here are some of the basic factors that lead to excessive weight gain:
- Excessive intake of sugary and fatty foods
- Little or no physical activity
- Poor sleep
- Genetics
- Hormonal imbalance (leptin and insulin)
Over the years, obesity has been traced to be the underlying cause of several diseases in the human body. Although women are known to gain weight faster than men, obesity could have lethal consequences in men too.
Health Consequences of Being Overweight
Here are some health consequences of being overweight especially in men:
1. Infertility
A study conducted in March 2012 by Harvard School of Public Health amongst men with normal weight, overweight, and obese men showed that obese men had about 39% lower sperm count than normal-weight men, while overweight men had 11% lower sperm count than normal-weight men. Several other researchers have associated excessive weight gain with low sperm count and low fertility.
2. Erectile Dysfunction
Asides from low fertility, excessive weight gain also affects your sex life. Research shows that unhealthy weight gain drops testosterone levels significantly.
PS: Testosterone is a male hormone that stimulates a man’s sexual urge. So if you’re looking to satisfy your woman in bed, you might want to cut down on those calories.
3. High blood pressure
Being overweight or obese puts a lot of pressure on your heart. It causes your heart to work harder to pump blood thereby straining your arteries. This strain causes your arteries to resist blood flow thereby leading to a rise in blood pressure.
4. Atherosclerosis
Sometimes, excess fat in the body could build up in the walls of the arteries. This could restrict blood flow through arteries and increase blood pressure.
5. Type II diabetes
This disease is known to be directly linked with obesity. About 90% of adults with Type II diabetes are obese. It is characterized by high blood sugar levels. It occurs when the body cannot produce enough insulin (a hormone that regulates blood sugar levels).
Now that you know the health consequences of being overweight, now you can burn all that excess fat.
How Can Men Lose Weight?
For those who don’t believe that weight loss routines work, I have a friend who weighed about 220 lbs., losing almost 70 lbs. in less than 10 months!
Quite an impressive transformation, right? I’ll be sharing the things he did to help him lose that much weight in such a short period.
1. Increased physical activity or exercise
Increased physical activity helps your body burn more calories than usual and it’s a great way to lower blood pressure. At least 30 minutes of exercise per day should do and you can choose to increase it with time.
2. Effective diet plan
Exercise is very effective for weight loss but it can never be enough. Working out without working on your diet is like moving in circles. You burn fat exercising but consume more fat later on. A suitable low-calorie diet can reduce the number of calories in your body by as much as 23%.
3. Reduced Food Intake
This is the major cause of excessive weight gain. When my friend decided to work on his weight, the first thing he did was to reduce his food portion. I’d advise you to eat smaller quantities more frequently.
10 Best Foods to Help Men Lose Weight
I think I’ve emphasized the importance of diet on weight loss enough. So let’s get right to the business of the day: 10 superfoods that can help you lose weight faster!
1. Avocados
They are rich in oleic acid which is good for your heart as it prevents cardiovascular inflammation. Avocados also contain beta-sitosterol (the plant version of cholesterol) which helps to lower your cholesterol levels.
Their high water and fiber content make them filling. One study showed that people who ate avocados along with their meals had a lower desire to eat over the next 5 hours compared to those who didn’t.
Plus, Avocados can help reduce LDL cholesterol levels and raise HDL cholesterol levels. NB: LDL cholesterol is low-density lipoprotein cholesterol while HDL means high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.
2. Lean Beef
Lean beef is one of the best protein foods for weight loss. It’s also an important source of nutrients like Iron, Zinc, and Vitamin B12. Iron (in hemoglobin) helps transport oxygen to all cells in the body including muscle cells and this helps to burn fat in your body. Zinc is also known to have favorable effects on reducing appetite.
Several studies show that proteins are very effective for weight loss. While consuming beef, ensure that you consume only lean beef as any extra fat could do more harm than good.
3. Nuts
Although nuts have high-fat content they aren’t as bad as we think. They have a reasonable quantity of proteins, fiber, and healthy fats such as polyunsaturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and Omega-3 fatty acids which help lower bad cholesterol levels. They are also known to improve metabolic health.
Studies have shown that people who consume nuts have a healthier weight than those who don’t. So when next you wanna grab a snack, you should try going for a bowl of nuts.
4. Fruits
Everyone knows that fruits are healthy but do you know how effective they are in weight loss? Although fruits have natural sugars, they have low energy density and take a while to chew.
Apples help burn visceral fat and their high fiber content makes them filling. Bananas contain potassium which helps reduce belly swelling. Also, they contain natural sugars which can replace all the unhealthy artificial sugars in your body.
Citrus fruits are also great fruits for weight loss. A study conducted by Arizona University showed that vitamin C helps burn fat during exercise. And citrus fruits are great sources of vitamin C.
5. Chili Peppers
Have you ever eaten spicy food and found that you felt fuller faster than usual? If you have, that’s because chili peppers help reduce appetite. They contain Capsaicin which is known for reducing appetite and increasing metabolism.
Red peppers also contain vitamin C which is very effective for weight loss.
If you’re looking to lose weight you should consider consuming peppers more often. However, you must be careful not to consume it too often so you don’t build tolerance for it.
6. Yogurt
This is my favorite food on this list. Yogurt contains probiotic bacteria that can improve the function of your gut.
Most people might think that low-fat yogurt is healthier than full-fat yogurt but what they don’t know is that low-fat yogurt has a lot of sugar in it. And sugars are huge triggers of weight gain. Yogurts are rich in protein and help improve metabolism thereby helping you burn more calories.
7. Eggs
Sometime last year, one of my mum’s colleagues at work told her that eating eggs could make her gain excess weight. On hearing this, my mum avoided anything that had to do with eggs.
I found this funny because eggs are one of the best foods that can help you lose weight faster. It contains protein and healthy fat. Eggs are also known to make you feel fuller. Plus, egg yolk is packed with choline which is good for brain health.
8. Whole Grains
Some might say that cereals are unhealthy but some others like brown rice, white rice, oats, and quinoa are healthy and effective for weight loss.
Oats contain beta-glucans. Beta-glucans are soluble fibers that help to improve metabolic health. Plus, Oats make you feel full longer than other foods. Oats are high in protein and help lower cholesterol levels.
Plus, including brown rice in your diet will help you consume less starch and lose weight faster. It is also rich in fiber and aids digestion.
Quinoa is another cereal food that is rich in fiber and low in cholesterol. You can include cooked quinoa in your salads and veggies.
9. Beans and Legumes
Beans and legumes like lentils, black beans, kidney beans are effective for weight loss. They have high protein and fiber content making them effective for controlling appetite i.e they make you fuller.
Their low-fat content makes them effective weight loss foods.
10. Salmon
Generally, seafood is a great source of iodine. And iodine helps in proper thyroid function which helps to keep your metabolism running optimally. But Salmon is particularly packed with healthy protein and healthy fats.
It also contains Omega-3 fatty acids which help to reduce the risk of obesity and metabolic diseases. You can have your Salmon smoked, boiled, or even poached.
Also, fatty fish will make you feel full longer than other types of fish. Mackerel, Sardines, Herrings, Trout are also great choices for weight loss.
This doesn’t mean that these 10 foods will automatically make you trim down within a short period nor am I saying that they are the only foods that can help you lose weight.
These foods and many others, when complemented with exercise and a proper diet, will help you lose weight faster as long as you are consistent.
Our Suggested Diet Plan
Sometimes picking what to eat could be a challenge especially when you’re watching what you eat.
Now that we’ve covered 10 amazing foods to help you lose weight, here are a few healthy, yet delicious meals you can include in your new diet:
1. Smoothies
When it comes to smoothies, don’t overthink them. You can add just about any ingredient to make it more exciting and nutrient-packed. You can add a variety of fruits, vegetables, and even yogurt.
Here’s a simple healthy smoothie recipe you can try out at home:
1 cup of chopped banana + 1 cup of chopped pineapples + 1 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice + 1 cup of liquid milk + 2 or 3 tablespoons of honey + ½ cup of ice cubes (not compulsory). Finally pour all the ingredients into a food processor and blend till smooth.
2. Vegetable and fruit salads
Fruit salads are nice healthy snacks that are super easy to make. As for fruit salads, you can add as many fruits as you want; bananas, pineapples, apples, watermelons, papaya, pears. Slice or chop all of them into a bowl. To make it more exciting, I like to add yogurt and nuts (fruit parfait).
As for vegetable salads, you can add mayonnaise or salad cream to make them tastier.
3. Oatmeal
I’m a huge fan of oatmeal. They are one of my best choices for breakfast because they are quite filling and help lower cholesterol levels. To add a bit of flavor and nutrients, you can add fruits, chocolate chips, or even vegetables.
4. Hard-boiled eggs
A snack can be as simple as one boiled egg. Due to their high protein content, eggs are extremely filling. Plus, eggs are packed with choline, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folate. And boiling them helps to preserve these nutrients.
5. Meat kebabs
For the non-Vegetarians, this is a great way to consume beef. It’s not just tasty but also nutritious. I recommend garnishing meat kebabs with chili peppers. Doing this doesn’t just make your food spicy but increases your chances of losing weight since beef and chili peppers are great foods for weight loss.
6. Smoked Salmon
Aside from being tasty, salmon is a healthy source of protein. They can be eaten boiled, smoked, fried, or baked. But I recommend smoking or baking because they help retain all the nutrients and require a little amount of fat to cook.
7. Chocolate and nuts
When I say chocolate, I mean dark chocolate, not the sugary stuff you find in local stores. Dark chocolate and nuts are a great combo for snacking up. It’s not just tasty but also good for your heart.
Plus, dark chocolate contains flavonoids which are good for your brain. Hazelnut, almond nuts, and macadamia nuts are also great choices.
In Closing
It’s one thing to lose weight and it’s another thing to maintain that weight. Unfortunately, about 80% of people who lose weight are not able to maintain that weight for up to a year. Every year about 45 million Americans go on a diet but about 70% of American adults are still overweight.
Trust me, I know it’s not easy to maintain a new habit. When I was working on losing belly fat, it was hard sticking to my diet plan. Sometimes, I let my cravings get the best of me. However, making my diets more exciting helped me a lot. Here’s how I helped myself:
- I ensured my diet was filled with varieties, to avoid monotony.
- I chose fruits and vegetables within my reach, nothing too fancy or expensive.
- Lastly, I always kept myself busy to suppress cravings.
If you must embark on a weight loss journey, you must be ready to finish it. Whenever you feel like quitting, think of the reason you started. Remember as they say, No Pain, No Gain.
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