Losing weight is always a struggle. We have tried everything in the book to shed those stubborn kilos.
We forbid ourselves from touching certain food.
We try to follow crazy goals.
There should be a way to lose weight and keep at it. No one wants to lose weight and get on a round-trip ticket. Who has that kind of time?
Several diets in the market offer quick weight loss solutions. Unfortunately, none of them are sustainable. They take a dig at our health as well.
Here are a few ways to have long-term weight loss, and have good health.
1. Choose nutrition over weight loss
Weight loss plans are catered to shedding those extra kilos. Imagine if you wired your brain to pick healthy foods over losing weight. You would be making much healthier decisions.
Choose to love your body. The only way to do that is to eat the nutrients it requires. The quality of food matters for your body to perform well. The more you reinforce yourself to eat healthy, the easier it is to be at a healthy weight in the long run.
2. Retrain your tastebuds
Ever look at a doughnut and restrain yourself? It doesn’t have to be so. Stop depriving yourself from the food you love. Instead, find (or even cook) a healthier version of it. Healthy food can be tasty too.
There are a few tricks to retrain your taste buds to like healthy food.
- Pair foods you don’t like with foods you like. It’s a popular way to get kids to eat their veggies. It works for adults as well!
- First impression is everything about food. Serve yourself a pretty plate of food. You are motivated to eat a good spread of salad if it was nicely arranged and presented.
Remember, having a good relationship with food helps in the long run. Your cravings will soon be for healthy food!
3. Know your triggers
You had a long day at work. All you want to do is to stay at home, in your pajama, watch Netflix, and maybe have some ice cream. But you aren’t hungry because you had dinner earlier. So, why are you reaching out to that tub of sugar? The reason could help you tackle the trigger.
Noting down such situations in a book helps. For example, what were you doing prior to eating and what were you feeling. Maybe you eat more when you’re tired or maybe even acting out of stress. The more you understand these triggers, the better you can deal with them.
Remember, stock up the kitchen with healthy options you like. Don’t let unhealthy food to take space in your house. Be always prepared!
4. Set realistic goals
Word of advice: It’s all in the planning. At this point in your life, you have tried different types of dieting. You probably know what went wrong. Setting smart goals helps in the long run.
If you make a plan to walk everyday, be specific with duration and timing. For example: “I should walk for 20 minutes after I reach home from work.” This is a realistic goal.
Also, don’t force yourself to like something. If you don’t have fun doing aerobic or pilates, move on to something else. Forcing yourself to do something makes reaching goals a bigger task.
Setting up a daily routine helps with achieving these goals. Accommodate these changes into your life, so that you can keep at it in the long-term.
5. Knowledge is power
There are science-backed reasons why certain foods are good for you and others are not. Learn about how different vitamins benefit your body. The understanding helps you to make the right choice in food.
Did you know bell peppers have vitamin C? In fact, they have more of the vitamin than oranges. Vitamin C is a major immune system booster. Now, you know how important bell peppers are. They are tasty and versatile as well. Both health and yummy boxes are ticked! It’s because you know why bell peppers are good for you, you would be motivated to include it in your diet.
The same applies with unhealthy food. Understand the reasons behind how saturated fats (like junk food) are bad for you. These fats increase your low-density lipoprotein levels (LDL), and raise your chances of getting cardiovascular diseases.
Learn the right way to lose weight. The changes become a part of your life.
