Traffic light diet: green, yellow and red foods for weight loss

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There are millions of diets to lose weight. Some are more extreme (remember that these extremes are harmful to health) and others more balanced, but all of them agree to consider some foods beneficial and harmful others of them. Of course, the traffic light diet also fulfills this premise.

But what exactly does this kind of regime consist of? In Diario Femenino we tell you all the details about this weight loss plan.

What is the traffic light diet?

The traffic light diet is a kind of food that groups foods as convenient or not included in a diet to lose weight. In this way, food falls into one of these three groups corresponding to the colors of the traffic light:

Red foods

Stop! Within this group are all those foods that are better to avoid consuming if you are looking to lose a few extra kilos or maintain optimal health. It includes:

+All fried. If you like them, consume at most 1 time a week.

+Cereals with a lot of sugar at breakfast or snack.

+Dairy: milk, yogurt (except if skimmed), cheese and cream.

+Meats: pork, lard, bacon, lamb, duck, goose, hamburger.

+Sausages.

+Confectionery: sweets, pastries, chocolate…

+Alcoholic beverages and sugary soft drinks.

+Salted and smoked.

+Sauces: mayonnaise, béchamel, aioli…

Yellow foods

Precaution! Within this group are those foods that you can consume but always in moderation. Moderation refers to controlling daily amounts or servings, as well as frequency throughout the week. They are the ones that we indicate in the following list:

Dairy: 2 to 3 dairy products a day, such as milk, yogurt, and cheese.

Meats: reduce red meat (veal) mainly, like the rest of white meats.

Cereals: bread, pasta, rice, flour. Choose preferably the version of any cereal but whole grains (whole meal pasta, brown rice, quinoa, amaranth).

Nuts: walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, dates, pistachios…

Legumes: beans, chickpeas, lentils…

Oily fish and white fish: 2 to 3 times a week, it is an excellent source of omega 3.

Avegetable ceite mainly EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), you can also combine with other oils such as flaxseed, coconut, sunflower, corn, etc.

Eggs: combine this excellent quality protein with others of your preference such as fish or white meat if you are omnivorous or with legumes, tofu, seitan, tempeh if you are ovolactovegetarian. The egg is very versatile and you can prepare it in omelette, scrambled or passed by water. Never fried!  

Green foods

Free way! These foods are 100% recommended for any type of healthy eating. These foods are satiating, full of antioxidants, vitamins and fibers and are ideal for health care and help weight loss. Notes:

+All vegetables: chard, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, eggplant, pumpkin, zucchini, artichoke, tomato, cucumber, pepper, beets, asparagus, carrots, turnips, leeks, peas, broad beans, celery, endive, radish, beets, cassava, endive…

+Fruits: pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, apple, pear, peach, cherries, grapefruit, tangerine, orange, melon, watermelon, nectarine, pomegranate, grapes, apricot, plum, kiwi.

+Natural water and infusions without sugar.

+Aromatic spices: vinaigrette, pepper, cayenne, curry…

+White fish.

+Skinless chicken or turkey meat.

  • You can also read: “What is a diet: types of diet”

Recommendations for the traffic light diet

As you may have seen, the traffic light diet proposes a healthy and balanced diet. In addition, it is a very simple diet to follow and remember since it is only necessary to have a little memory to associate certain foods with the color of the traffic light that corresponds to them. If you follow the diet of the recommendations that we indicate below, you can get to your ideal weight before you know it and most importantly maintaining a healthy state of health. It will be a success!

+As for the frequency of meals a day, it is not necessary to maintain 5 a day. It is important that you observe your rhythm of life, your feelings of hunger, appetite and establish a frequency that is comfortable for you.

+Drink approximately two liters of water daily.

+It is recommended to put into practice some type of exercise, if you do not usually exercise raise something that is within your reach a minimum rhythm of dedicating 1 to 2 times a week to some activity. If you already exercise you can consider routines mainly with strength exercise

+It is advisable that you cook food in a healthy way, that is, it is always preferable that you make them grilled, steamed or baked (with little oil and without fat) than that you make them fried, battered or breaded. In this way, they provide many more calories and in the long term end up having a harmful effect on health. Also, try to do without sauces, stir-fries, butters and vegetable fats.

+It is important that you consume the foods of the amber or yellow zone in moderation, that is to say that in your plate the vegetables have to be protagonists and in smaller quantities the foods of the yellow zone.

How much weight can you lose with the traffic light diet?

Actually, this diet, being a balanced diet, does not have a certain duration. The fact of lengthening it in time will not cause damage to health, on the contrary, it is extremely beneficial for the body.

In fact, more than a diet, it is a lifestyle. This plan will help you learn to eat, feel good about yourself, and modify certain harmful eating habits. You will begin to bet on those quality foods with a high nutritional content and a lower amount of calories.

Other healthy diets besides the traffic light diet

Do you want to know other healthy diets? Here are some of the ones you can put into practice to lose weight:

+Mediterranean diet: one of the diets most recommended by nutritionists. It closely resembles the traffic light diet, however, unlike this, the Mediterranean diet does not restrict the intake of oily fish and other foods rich in Omega fatty acids.

+Raw vegan diet: a type of diet to which more and more people join. It is a type of regimen which is based on the intake of raw fruits and vegetables.

+5-5-5 diet: this type of diet is based on making five meals a day giving special importance to fruit and vegetables. Its only requirement is that the food consumed is high in fiber and low in carbohydrates.

All diets require time and perseverance (there are no miracle diets). If you try and put everything on your part in the end you will end up achieving your purpose: lose weight.

And you? Have you heard of the traffic light diet? Have you ever done it? Tell us about your experience in the comments. 

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