When you go on a diet and you restrict yourself from eating certain foods and you are cutting back on the number of calories that you consume daily, you might end up putting yourself at a greater risk of deficiency. But, if you begin taking the right vitamins during weight loss, you can reduce your deficiency risk, maintain your energy level and your overall health, and slim down at the same time.
Out of all of the nutrients out there, knowing what vitamins during weight loss are most necessary to supplement with is the key. The list below will help you when it comes to discovering the benefits of taking vitamins during weight loss, and which ones are most important when it comes to preventing an unhealthy deficiency.
Did You Know Vitamins Can Help Prevent Weight Gain?
Taking vitamins during weight loss is a great way to prevent nutrient deficiencies, but it is also a good strategy to use if you wish to prevent further weight gain. Researchers have found that there might be a connection between how much a person weighs and any nutrient deficiencies that they are experiencing. The more deficiencies, the more pounds you might end up gaining in the long run. Who knew?!
Here are a few quick facts about vitamins during weight loss and weight gain:
• During a nutrition survey conducted by experts, it was determined that obese individuals typically have anywhere from 5% to 12% lower intakes of micronutrients.
• Obese individuals tend to have deficiencies in vitamin A, magnesium, and vitamin C, as well as vitamin E, calcium, and vitamin D.
• Individuals who are obese might be deficient in vitamins because they might be eating foods that are less nutritious. At the same time, however, nutrient deficiency may be a contributing factor for obesity.
Vitamins During Weight Loss: The Ones You Need To Get More Of
Here are a few of the vitamins during weight loss that you should be focusing in on in order to prevent deficiencies—including deficiencies that might end up contributing to more unwanted weight gain:
Vitamin A: This vitamin can help regulate the fat cells in your body, as well as the hormones that those fat cells end up releasing. Therefore, getting enough vitamin A, through both diet and supplementation, might help you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight, making this one of the most important vitamins during weight loss.
Vitamin D: This vitamin can influence the release of leptin, which is a hormone that is associated with stored body fat. Leptin is also responsible for how hungry you feel, as it helps to decrease your appetite. If you are not giving your body enough vitamin D, you might end up finding it harder to lose weight because you can’t control your appetite, and your body might end up storing more fat than you want it to. For these reasons, vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins during weight loss, too.
Calcium: Even though it is actually a mineral, this is another nutrient that is important while you are trying to lose weight, so it is worth supplementing with calcium along with your other vitamins during weight loss. Plus, vitamin D and calcium work together to help your body remove excess fat. Basically, calcium can be stored within the body’s fat cells, and if a fat cell has a lot of calcium, the cell will release additional fat for the body to burn off. Plus, this mineral can also help you shed excess weight because it is able to bind to the fat within your gastrointestinal tract, thereby helping to prevent its absorption. So, in addition to ensuring that you are getting enough vitamin D, be sure that you are also eating right and taking the appropriate supplements to ensure your body has adequate amounts of calcium.
Vitamin B12: This vitamin can help give you consistent amounts of energy throughout the day, and that is very important if you are trying to exercise more in order to lose more weight. A lot of people don’t realize that vitamin B12 is actually one of the vitamins during weight loss that they can become deficient in, as it isn’t always easy to get enough of it through the foods that you eat. Thankfully, there are many vitamin B12 supplements available, so you can choose one that will be right for you. Taking this supplement daily can help give you more energy so that you can lead a more active lifestyle that will allow you to burn more calories and fat in order to lose those extra pounds.
Best Ways to Get Vitamins During Weight Loss
Ensuring that you are getting adequate vitamins during weight loss doesn’t have to be a challenge. By eating a wide range of fresh, whole food based meals, you can get the nutrients that your body needs through your diet.
• According to Prevention, you can get a good dose of vitamin A by eating a medium sweet potato or ½ cup of cooked spinach.
• To get enough vitamin E, you can have ½ cup of roasted sunflower seeds or ½ cup of raw almonds.
• A couple of ounces of dark chocolate, along with ½ cup of roasted pumpkin seeds, can give you a solid dose of magnesium.
• You can get enough vitamin D from your diet by eating healthy options like fortified foods, salmon, and eggs. However, you can also get enough vitamin D by spending a few minutes in the sunshine.
In addition to your diet, however, you can also prevent deficiencies in vitamins during weight loss by simply taking high quality supplements. You can choose from individual nutrient supplements, such as a vitamin D supplement that contains 1,000 IU, or you can take a multi-vitamin/mineral supplement that can help fill in any nutritional gaps left by your diet, even if you are making it a point to eat as healthy as possible during your weight loss journey.
Talk to Your Doctor About the Vitamins During Weight Loss That You Need
It is a great idea to talk to your doctor about any minerals and vitamins during weight loss that you might need. There are blood tests that can determine the amount of certain nutrients in your body. Those nutrients include iron, calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin B12, as a few examples. Therefore, a simple blood test can reveal quite a bit about your current state of health, including whether or not you have a deficiency or you are on your way to being deficient. And, if your doctor finds that you do need to boost your intake of certain nutrients, he or she can recommend the best supplements and the correct dosage that would put you back into a healthy range.
There you have it: taking vitamins during weight loss is more important than you might have thought. Eliminating unhealthy foods from your diet and replacing them with nutritious foods and high quality supplements can help you get the vitamins during weight loss that you need to thrive, and this strategy can also help reduce the risk of deficiencies that would otherwise lead to more weight gain. Ultimately, with the right weight loss program, you can help keep your body healthy, balanced, and strong as you reduce portions and cut back on calories and fat.
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