Healthy Weight Loss Plan: Nutrition 110 - Extra Importance of Vegetables

I don't think anyone would argue that vegetables are any important part of any diet plan, let alone our healthy weight loss plan.  I also don't think it's a secret that most people do not eat enough vegetables.  Still, there are a few lesser-know facts about vegetables that make them even more powerful for weight loss purposes than most people realize.

Many vegetables, especially leafy greens aid in the process of digestion.  By consuming them with your meals, these vegetables will help break down food completely and enable its nutrients to smoothly enter the bloodstream.  This will prevent food particles from breaking through the wall of the gut and go where they are not wanted.  By avoiding this situation, you are preventing those loose food particles from becoming toxic, and from becoming stored in the fat tissue.

OK, so it is widely known that vegetables have strong antioxidant qualities.  These antioxidants eliminate free radicals from the body and make an overall healthier environment for all of the body's processes to take place.  Any time you are eliminating bad stuff from the body, you are making weight loss much easier for yourself.

The main macronutrient in vegetables is the carbohydrate. Normally, we try to avoid carbohydrates in the diet, but vegetables have so many powerfully positive properties that we want a lot of them. This makes them one of our main sources of carbohydrates for most of the day. Vegetables typically do not have a lot of carbs, but they do have enough to provide a nice little source of energy to keep you going through the day. Of course, the bulk of your energy will come from protein and fat sources, but it's nice to get a little something extra in there.

Energy nutrition is such an underrated topic, but one that can have such a great impact on your life. I actually co-authored a book on the topic with an NYC Nutritionist.

Vegetables do not have a lot of calories, but they can provide a little bit of satiety when mixed into a meal.  It may not be much, but it's doing all the little things that can make a big difference over the course of a healthy weight loss program.

Here is a list of some of the best power veggies that should be included in any healthy diet:

• Avocado
• Carrots
• Spinach
• Onions
• Broccoli
• Sweet Potato
• Cauliflower
• Lettuce
• Cucumber
• Artichokes
• Peas

There are so many power benefits to vegetables without any real problems.  Basically, you can just keep eating the stuff without having to worry about anything.  With that said, very few people actually get enough vegetables in their diet.  I recommend 10-12 servings per day regardless of your goals.

We are trying to clean up your body, and getting a lot of vegetables in your diet are a great way to do just that.  If you have trouble getting enough, start getting creative.  Mix some in your shakes.  Put some in your omelets.  Mix some in with your chicken.  There is no reason that you cannot get 1-2 servings of vegetables in every one of your meals.

And that's exactly what you should be doing if you are following this healthy weight loss plan!