Lose Weight With Cooking

You'll hear any fitness expert say it: 'if you had to choose only one thing to shed some fat, it starts with your diet.' Whether it's a saggy butt, flabby arms, or pudgy stomach - your diet needs to be taken seriously and followed religiously. But cooking to lose weight doesn't have to be a chore. Once you understand what a proper diet consists of, you'll be cooking up healthy delicious dishes with your eyes closed. Your 6 pack diet starts here.

First lets put the facts on the table. Nutrition 101: We all need carbs, proteins, and fats. Any diet or meal plan that exempts one of these is detrimental to your health. However, carbs and fats do become the source for most dieting problems; because most people aren't aware of which ones are beneficial or complete crap. I'm hear to give you the down low to help you cook to lose weight.

Lets start with carbs. Your immediate energy source. Carbs are found in almost anything you eat, quite a large part of the human diet. Refined flours, foods they create, and high sugar foods are the no-no's when it comes to bad carbs. White bread, white pasta, white rice, donuts, cakes and biscuits are a few examples of bad carbs. These aren't exactly doing anything beneficial for your 6 pack or any other fat reserve area on your body. They can cause bloating, poor digestion, and lead to the accumulation of fat. On the contrary, good carbs include whole grain bread, oatmeal, brown rice, and vegetables. All of these offer great health benefits and if you're serious about getting that 6 pack, should be included on a regular basis when cooking to lose weight.

On to proteins. Your best source of protein is lean meats. This includes chicken, turkey, egg whites, and fish. All of these have 0 bad fats. I'm a strong advocate of free range organic eggs (not just egg whites), but for some reason 'whole eggs' have a bad rep for being 'fatty'. I'll touch on that in another article. Your heavy meats, like beef, contain saturated fat - the type associated with atherosclerosis or clogging of the arteries. Lean meats should be the bulk of your protein intake for cooking up a 6 pack. Don't forget about the protein found in other foods as well: nuts, soya, oatmeal, beans, and dairy (again dairy is another product that has a bad rep). These complimentary protein foods definitely give you some flexibility and creativity when cooking to lose weight.

Lastly, the controversial fat topic. Back to Nutrition 101: Your body needs fat. But distinguishing healthy fats from unhealthy ones can be a challenge. The best fats to incorporate when cooking to lose weight are extra virgin olive oil and fish oil which can easily be thrown into any pan while in the kitchen. Natural peanut butter also offers extra nutrient value while containing no unhealthy fat product. These are the most effective fats that you can easily implement when cooking for your 6 pack. Also, nuts and seeds offer a good source of healthy fats as a snack or to toss in a salad.