Losing weight can often seem like an impossible (or at least overwhelming) task. Confusion can also be a part of the process since there are endless amounts of programs, advice and products that promise success.

However, losing weight isn’t all that difficult. There are basic methods for losing excess pounds that work every time. You just need to know what they are and employ them. Once you gain the keys to weight loss, you can begin to lose weight quickly and efficiently and that’s the goal.

Build a Weight Loss Diet Plan

A large part of a successful weight loss plan is learning what to eat. Your body requires certain nutrients that provide the building blocks it needs for proper growth and maintenance and the energy it needs to complete required daily functions. By giving your body these nutrients via a nutritious and well balanced diet, you cause your body to work you in the task of losing weight and getting in better shape.

When sculpting your weight loss diet, there are three main nutrients that you want to focus on: protein, carbohydrates and fats. All three of these elements are critical for losing weight, giving you sufficient energy, and keeping you healthy throughout the weight loss process.

However, you can’t simply gorge yourself on these foods and expect the body weight and belly fat to fall off. You need to eat such foods in specific amounts in order to reap the greatest benefits. Let’s take a look individually at the best protein, carb, and fat foods, and how to utilize them effectively in a nutritious weight loss diet plan.

Top Protein Foods

Protein is the most important of the three diet foods and should be included in every meal. Various proteins are necessary for the proper function of the body. Protein is used by the body for the growth and repair of muscles and bones and for strengthening the immune system.

Include these top protein foods in your nutritious weight loss diet:

• Lean red meats
• Lean white meats (chicken, turkey, and pork)
• Fish (especially tuna, anchovies, salmon, halibut, and snapper)
• Seafood, i.e. crustaceans (especially lobster and crab)
• Lintels, beans, and other legumes
• Eggs
• Low-fat or non-fat dairy products
• Nuts (especially peanuts, almonds, and cashews)
• Seeds (especially sunflower, pumpkin, and squash)
• Whey protein

Top Carbohydrate Foods

Carbohydrates are an essential part of a nutritious diet and good health because they provide fuel for the body (and the only energy source for such vital organs as the kidneys, brain, and central nervous system). Carbs are also broken down by the pancreas into glucose, which is assisted by insulin to penetrate and be used by cells throughout the body.

Even though carbs should be limited and gleaned from certain healthy foods, low-carb diets often eliminate essential carb foods and provide too little portions of the carbs necessary for proper bodily function. Therefore, the trick is to eat the right kinds of carb foods that you consume everyday. Limit your carb food choices to those on the following list for the best weight loss results.

Include these top carbohydrate foods in your nutritious weight loss diet:

• Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, and bok choy)
• Green leafy vegetables (spinach, kale, beet, collard, turnip, and mustard greens, alfalfa sprouts, leaf lettuce, endive, and chlorella)
• Colorful vegetables that include carotenoids (squashes, bell peppers, beets, eggplant, chili peppers, parsnips, and carrots)
• Beans and legumes (all varieties)
• Potatoes and yams (with skins)
• Select fruits such as all berries, apples, pomegranates, grapefruit, and acai.
• Brown rice
• Whole wheat breads and pastas
• Whole oats (not rolled oats)

Top Fat Foods 

Dietary fats have often been considered the boogiemen of the health world. However, certain types of these micronutrients play important roles in your optimal health such as protect your body’s cells, provide you with energy, improve cholesterol levels, balance insulin levels, and prevent coronary artery disease. You want to avoid saturated and trans fats that can produce harmful health effects. Instead, you want to consume monosaturated and polyunsaturated (including omega-3) fats, which provide good health benefits.

Once again, the idea is to add foods containing healthy fats into your nutritious weight loss diet. This way, your body gets the proper amount of these healthy fats to function properly while being denied the fats that can cause health problems. Limit your food choices of healthy fats to those on the following list and limit the amount you eat as well for the best weight loss results.

Include these top monosaturated and polyunsaturated foods in your nutritious weight loss diet:

• Fatty fish (especially salmon, tuna, trout, herring, sardines, and mackerel)
• Avocados
• Olives
• Oils such as canola, peanut, soybean, corn, olive, sunflower, safflower, and sesame
• Nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, cashews, and macadamia)
• Seeds such as flax, sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame
• Tofu
• Soymilk

Add Exercise to Your Weight Loss Plan

The rule of thumb that you cannot escape when it comes to losing weight is that you must burn more calories than you consume…period. There are no magic weight loss formulas, gels, jellies, or other fancy “lose weight fast” products that will provide long lasting results. Therefore, there are only a couple of diet plan choices that really work to drop weight and keep it off.

1. Eat fewer calorie
2. Exercise more
3. Combine an exercise program with a healthy diet plan

Of course, the best choice is option #3. If you simply eat fewer calories then you won’t be in the best physical health and can lose the willpower to continue your diet. If you simply add exercise without modifying your diet, you either will soon grow too tired to continue your exercise program, or you won’t meet your weight loss goals, both paths of which are quite discouraging.

However, if you combine both a high intensity exercise program with a balanced, nutritious diet plan, you will make rapid strides in weight loss, significantly reduce that nagging body fat, get in the best shape of your life, and increase your energy reserves. When you reach this point, you will eagerly continue your exercise program and diet plan because they, together, cause you to look and feel better than ever.