Doctors usually recommend a healthy diet together with regular exercise to lose weight and stay slim and healthy. The many changes in lifestyle have contributed to excessive weight gain in men and women and people are looking for smart ways to restore their toned looks. According to experts, the diet chart for men and women are different when they aim for weight loss. The calorific and nutritional requirements are different for men when compared to women.
The US FDA recommends an intake of approximately 2,500 calories a day for men aged 19 years and above and 1,800 calories for women – more muscle mass being the deciding factor. Men are more prone to suffer from lifestyle disorders such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes and this has to be taken into account when planning the diet.
Here are some food habits healthcare specialists recommend for men who want to lose weight.
- Instead of eating three heavy meals a day, change your plan to several small servings throughout the day. This would improve your metabolism and impart a feeling of fullness. Avoid having heavy food after the gym session even when you feel very hungry. Stick to water for the first half an hour and then have a moderate meal. Taking small portions of food and eating in smaller bites is a better option.
- When you are on a weight loss plan, boiled and steamed items are preferable to fried stuffs. When you go out for dinner or lunch, better start off with soup or salad so that you end up eating less than what you intended to.
- Men should be careful about their drinking habits. You may limit the drink to once in a week or so. Also, make sure that you are not exceeding 3-4 units of alcohol. If you have a choice, then it is better to drink a glass of red wine as it has fewer calories than most other alcoholic beverages.
- Limit intake of red meat in your diet and if possible avoid it or else you may be consuming more calories and will have higher cholesterol. A good intake of protein is always recommended for men than women as they weigh more. However, choosing lean protein sources like fish, chicken breast on a daily basis is good.
- Don’t take up too much milk or curd a day. Three cups of milk or curd can fulfill the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin D. So if you have already met the daily requirements, then don’t include cheese slice or other milk made stuff on the day.
- Aim for nine servings of fruit and vegetables everyday. Compared to women for whom 5 servings will meet the requirement, the fiber requirement for men is more. This also helps men in lowering bad LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol, which helps to stay healthy.
Men can consider these extra tips in addition to the general food habit recommendations to shed their weight fast. See that a proper exercise regimen is followed in conjunction to meet your goals faster.
