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The Best Diets for Inactive Lifestyles

The best diets for inactive lifestyles are lower in calories than people with more activate lifestyles. If you have an inactive lifestyle, start by calculating your daily calorie needs using the Harris-Benedict equation and the "sedentary" multiplier. Once you know you daily calorie needs, make sure you have a solid grasp of what foods to eat to maximize weight loss

  1. Calories

    Foods to Eat

    • The best diets for inactive lifestyles are not Hollywood diets, Atkins, South Beach or any of the popular fad diets out there. Stick to these basic nutritional principles to help you maximize weight loss and develop a long-term healthy lifestyle: lower the amount of saturated and trans fats you are eating and eat more monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats from nuts and healthy oils, such as olive and canola; eat carbs that are whole grain or whole wheat; choose lean sources of protein like chicken and fish; lower your sodium intake; and drink more water.

    A Little Exercise Goes A Long Way

    • Even if you're inactive, you should try and get a little bit of exercise every day. This can be as simple as going for a 15-minute walk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American College of Sports Medicine recommend getting 30 minutes of exercise per day so the closer you can get to this number, the healthier you will be.

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