What Is The TLC Diet And Is It For You?
TLC diet stands for Therapeutical Lifestyle Changes. This is a diet plan that was developed by the National Institute of Health to help in lowering the levels of LDL cholesterol. This diet plan has received endorsements by different associations. The TLC diet tries to reduce the risk of heart diseases and also encourages the adoption of a healthy way of living.
Unlike other diet plans, the TLC diet plan does not only result to weight loss but also encourages the maintaining of an ideal body weight and maintaining a standard daily calorie intake. It also aims to lower the content of fat you will take in your daily meals. This important part results to lower cholesterol levels in your body.
The basic guidelines that are involved in the TDL diet are as follows: the total content of saturated fats that you take should not exceed 7% of the total calories you take. It also advocates that daily cholesterol intake should be below 200mg. like the DASH diet plan sodium daily intake should be bellow 2400mg. the TLC diet also recommends that around 27% of calories you intake should come from fats.
TLC diet also encourages a lifestyle that favors physical exercise. This should be maintained alongside the recommended diet. The stipulated time is 30 minutes every day of pure physical exercise. The saturated fats in our bodies become solid at room temperature; this in turn increases cholesterol levels. With the help of TLC diet you can replace these saturated fats with unsaturated salts which are considered healthier.
When you choose to adopt the TLC diet, the first thing you have to do is to select you target calorie level. For those who are only concerned with lowering their LDL cholesterol, the ideal goal is 2500 per day if you are a man and 1800 for women. If you want to lose weight you will have to go lower in that for men it will be 1600 and for women it will be 1200. If you adhere to the diet you should have results by the 6th week.
The TLC diet has a lot of pros in its favor. The diet is explained in an easy way to follow for everyone. If you follow the TLC diet as guided you can lower your cholesterol level easily. This TLC diet is also recommended to everyone in the family. There are no known records of anyone who would have an issue using this kind of diet.
However nice the TLC diet is, it has it cons too. According to the way the diet is designed, it shows that it’s more for people who are after lowering their cholesterol levels that those who want to lose weight. For those who have followed the diet strictly they have reported instances where they have been hungry. When using the diet plan you have to learn to use nutritional labels and calculate saturated values of foods you take. There is also the need to take drugs that will aid in lowering cholesterol values.
If you are one of those who want to lower their cholesterol level or lose weight quickly, then there are some bad news for you. The TLC diet is a slow process and cannot be used as a quick fix. But if you are patient enough to follow the guideline, you can lose weight over time and at the same time lower your cholesterol.
For you to experience the best results when using the TLC diet, you have to adjust your lifestyle to a decent one. This is where you will have to exercise regularly and avoid excessive use of alcohol. You should also avoid smoking. You should also visit your personal doctor to get you regular cholesterol levels and also other useful tests like blood pressure.
You will have little hustle if you stock your kitchen with the right and needed types of foods. You should not miss whole grains and other basic properties that are very essential in the TLC diet. You should try and eliminate all the previous foods that may have led to the accumulation of cholesterol in your body. You may also add some healthy basics of your own.
Different people respond in their own ways when they are under the TLC diet. Those who are able to lose weight experience the best outcome when using this diet plan. The TLC diet also advocates that you change your diet before you start taking medicine to lower your cholesterol level. In fact the medicine works better if supported by a decent diet plan.
As mentioned earlier, you should avoid saturated fats as they are the main cause of cholesterol levels. You should also try and replace every animal fat with unsaturated fats e.g. olives or peanut oils. This will ensure that the LDL cholesterol is lower and maintaining a high HDL cholesterol. The HDL cholesterol is the good type of cholesterol. The TLC diet also advocates that you should not only eat one kind of food, but also add some more variety in the mixture.
The TLC diet can be used by people who want to lose weight and at the same time lower their cholesterol levels. With that said, we do not mean that you should not also adopt the diet. It is useful to you as it is to that obese person. You should also consult with your doctor before starting any program including the TLC diet.