Can Salads Make You Lose Weight?

When it comes to losing weight, salad can be your friend or foe. In its most basic form, a salad is a nutritious food with few calories. However, the ingredients you put into your salad can add up to several hundred calories. In fact, some of the salads in the "Weight Management" section at The Cheesecake Factory have more calories than a hamburger and small fries from McDonald's. Incorporate low-calorie salads into your diet to lose weight.

Salad Before a Meal

MSNBC reports that women who ate a large salad--3 cups worth--and then waited 20 minutes before eating a meal ate about 100 calories fewer per meal than those who didn't have a salad. The salad fills you up with little calories, making it difficult to eat more of the high-calorie parts of your meal. If you're going to try this as a weight loss method, you have to take care of your hunger level. Stop eating when you are full or you can actually eat more than you normally would. You must also take care that your salad contains only low-calorie ingredients, including dressing.

Making a Salad a Meal

Salads can also make a healthy meal choice, either at a restaurant or at home. If you are going to turn a salad into a meal, you need to add some protein to it to help fill you up and sustain you for several hours. Choose low-fat meats, like chicken or turkey, or a vegetarian option, like tofu or chickpeas.

Varying Your Salads

Though eating salads can be healthy, it will get boring if you are eating the same exact salad every day. Try varying your salads so that you can get the benefits of salad without the boredom. For example, one day you may have a traditional salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and a host of other vegetables. The next day, you may want a spinach and strawberry salad with a fruity vinaigrette.

Salad Ingredients

The darker the lettuce, the more nutrition it has, so choose romaine, baby greens or spinach to form the bulk of your salad. Add a variety of vegetables. More colors means more vitamins, so add cucumbers, tomatoes, red and yellow peppers, peas, edamame, radishes or anything else that you like. Eggs, tofu, beans and meat add protein if you are making it a meal, as could a handful of nuts. A low-calorie dressing is the best choice, though you could occasionally treat yourself to a creamy dressing.

Salad Saboteurs

Watch out for items on the salad bar that can significantly increase the fat and calories in your salad without providing much nutrition. Creamy salad dressings are a big culprit, especially if you are adding several servings' worth of dressing. A single serving of salad dressing is just 2 tbsp. You should also avoid cheese and croutons, which add calories and fat. Nuts and seeds are healthy, but they are also high in calories, so limit the amount you add. When in doubt, stick to just one high-fat item for your salad.

The Best Way to Lose Weight in One Month

If your calendar is giving you panic attacks, it might be time to start seriously considering that diet. Whether you have a wedding, birthday, reunion or some other event coming up, let your calendar be your guide. Shed those pounds in just a month and prepare for the big day with confidence and a whole new look.


The Science

Fat is stored energy. Ideally, you should be able to erase the fat by working out, exercising and burning that energy. You should be able to accomplish this by eating a minimum number of calories per day, working those off and working more off to target the fat that is stored throughout your body. That should cause you to lose a pound or two a day.


The Reality

Unfortunately, our bodies are more complicated that. We need food for energy. The more energy we burn, the more we need to eat. Our bodies are more than simple machines, taking in and outputting energy. We need to be able to think clearly, articulate well and function properly. A full, healthy diet, rather than a starved one, is the only way we can do this.

Quick And Steady

Intervals of intense workouts, in the midst of steady aerobic exercise, are the quickest, most effective weight loss trips. You can accomplish this by running, jogging or swimming for 30 minutes three to five times per week. During the workout, plan five to 10 bursts of speed that last only 30 to 60 seconds. Make sure your cupboard and refrigerator are stuffed with healthy snacks. You will be hungry afterward. Don't starve yourself. Let your body tell you when it's hungry.

Stay Consistent

That date on the calendar can act as a reminder of your goal. If you stick with your plan, you will see small, but consistent, progress. Even though it is moving at a slow rate, this weight loss will be more long term. Rapid weight loss is sometimes little more than water weight, or temporary fat weight, that returns as quickly as it came off. Make your weight loss routine part of your life, even past the calendar date, for long-term, real results.

Support Yourself

Once you start getting into a routine and sticking with it, don't sabotage yourself with too many treats and large portions. Substitute breads and other starches with whole grain options, which will help support your weight loss. You don't have to deny yourself sweet treats. Look for lower calorie, nutrient-heavy options that encourage your weight loss rather than ruin it. As your big day gets closer, that chocolate cake wont be nearly as tempting as a form-fitting dress.

The Best Exercises to Help Lose Weight Fast

Weight loss is largely based on a calories in/calories out formula, where the more calories you burn, the faster you'll lose weight, according to the Mayo Clinic. While that may be a rather simplistic explanation and the truth involves a bit more--such as your body composition and genetics--the best way to lose weight fast is to focus on exercises that burn a lot of calories in a short period of time. Sure, you can lose weight by walking or doing other simple exercises, but with high intensity exercises, you can choose to work out for shorter periods or burn more calories working out in the same amount of time.

High Intensity Interval Training

High intensity interval training (HIIT) involves incorporating short bursts of very high energy into your workouts. For example, if you are a jogger, you would sprint as fast as possible for 30 seconds before returning to a slower jogging pace. An HIIT workout is short--30 minutes or less--so it is a good option for those who are busy. HIIT increases the amount of calories that you burn over less intensive activities, according to the Mayo Clinic, and you may continue to burn more calories after your workout.

Running

If you weigh around 160 lbs., running at 8 mph can cause you to burn almost 1,000 calories in an hour, according to the YuCount News from the Yuma County, Ariz., government website. Recognize, though, that 8 mph is a fast pace; it is not something you can just jump into if you are not already a jogger. When you slow down the pace, you burn fewer calories. For example, jogging at 5 mph will only burn around 600 calories.

Martial Arts

Martial arts, such as taekwondo, are also high intensity and can burn a lot of calories. You can take a class in your area. If you're not concerned about earning belts and becoming an actual martial arts master, you can look for kickboxing classes at your gym, which focus more on the fitness aspect.

Walking Stairs

Walking up stairs, whether real stairs or on a stair climber machine, can burn up to 657 calories per hour for a 160-lb. person, according to the YuCount News. If you weigh more, you'll burn more calories doing it. Additionally, walking stairs works your leg and butt muscles, which can help you to look more shapely and help to burn more calories.

Weight Lifting

Weight lifting in and of itself does not burn many calories. In fact, you may only burn around 200 calories per hour from lifting weights. However, weight training can help you to burn fat faster than some other types of exercises. The Georgia Department of Health reports that the more muscle you have in your body, the more calories you naturally burn. By weight lifting to build muscle, you are effectively increasing your metabolism. You are also altering your body's shape, which can make you look better, even though the scale says the same number.