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Nutrition and Weight Loss

Losing weight and reaching your optimal weight goal requires proper nutrition. The three most important factors of a proper diet are variety, balance, and moderation. Adding a variety of healthy foods and nutrients to your diet is very important. Since no one food supplies all the nutrients the body needs eating from the five major food groups is essential.

A balanced diet provides your body the nutrients and calories it needs. However, food must be eaten in appropriate portions. Serving sizes vary according to individual’s needs based on factors like age, gender, and activity level.

Eating too little or overeating is not ideal for health or weight loss. Many people believe that they have to deprive themselves of their favorite foods or food in general in order to lose weight. However, choosing to eat certain foods in moderation is actually the key to successful long-term weight loss.

Here are some suggested guidelines to begin a weight loss program:

  • Set a realistic initial weight loss goal. A sensible decrease in body weight of approximately 10% in the first six months is attainable. It has been proven that at this rate, keeping it off for one year is reasonable.
  • Monitor your eating habits and track your calories, micronutrients, and macronutrients by keeping a food journal to familiarize yourself with your eating habits and to become more aware of your diet: how much you are eating, where, why, with whom, and what mood are you in when you eat.
  • Calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate) to understand how many calories your body burns if you sat in bed all day. Use this bodyweight planner: https://www.precisionnutrition.com/weight-loss-calculator
  • If you are eating a 2000 kcal per day diet or more, reduce your caloric intake by 500 – 1000 kcal/day to promote a safe and healthy weight loss of 1- 2 pounds per week. Do not starve yourself to avoid rapid weight loss as it can lead to dangerous side effects such as lack of energy and dizziness.

  • Follow the Food Guide Pyramid to ensure that you select foods from all six food groups when you plan your meals.
  • Read all nutrition facts on Food Labels. Be aware of the fat, sodium, sugar, protein, and carbohydrate count when shopping, You should pay particular attention to and buy foods low in fat, sodium, and sugar if you have cardiovascular disease or diabetes.
  • Choose protein sources from plants and lean meats. To select meats with less fat; look for the words “round” or “loin” when shopping for beef, and the words “loin” or “leg” when shopping for pork or lamb. Remember, when shopping for poultry, white meat has less fat than dark meat.
  • 20 to 35 grams of fiber daily is recommendedChoose foods rich in soluble fiber. Examples are oat bran, legumes, barley, and most fruits and vegetables.
  • Consider your serving sizes and avoid going back for seconds.
  • Adopt healthy meal preparation techniques to reduce sodium, fat, and sugar.
  • Plan in advance and be aware of hidden fattening and unhealthy ingredients when dining Out.
  • Drink at least eight 8-oz glasses of water every day.
  • Limit your consumption of alcohol. It provides empty calories.

Frank J Huerta

Frank J Huerta is the founder and proprietor of NetNutri and Nutricentro International, Hudson County's oldest, independent health foods store with 26 years of continuous service at the flagship location. Frank started his 40-year career in the clinical laboratory field, where he developed nutritional testing techniques utilized by top alternative medicine doctors in assessing their patients' nutritional status. Frank worked with the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) staff at Tufts University to develop an in-house test for measuring Vitamin D3, which he provided to tens of thousands of patients in the late 80s before vitamin D3 testing was a thing. Frank sponsored and contributed to many medical conventions and was a speaker at ACAM, The American College for the Advancement of Medicine. Additionally, he educated physicians on the value of nutritional testing through seminars, presentations, and as a guest speaker on prominent talk radio health shows. His early work in clinical medicine led to his current passion for nutritional supplementation, and he cofounded several brands, including a professional brand distributed by healthcare clinicians. "My contribution is to empower my customers through knowledge, encourage personal responsibility for health, and offer first quality supplements that are independently tested and verified for purity." Frank attended New York City Community College in Brooklyn, NY, and continued his education at Lehman College in Bronx, NY.

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