Five Tips You Should Follow for Healthy Weight Loss
When you try to lose weight, you might make some mistakes that prevent you from reaching your goals. And when that happens, you’re more likely to regain all of the weight that you’ve lost. Instead of following a strict diet for a couple of weeks, we recommend living a permanent, healthy lifestyle that can lead to healthy weight loss. This way, your results will actually last! In this article, we’ll look at some basic tips for a healthy weight loss.
A guide to healthy weight loss
When you want to lose weight, you can either choose the fast way or the steady way. For the former, you will need to skip meals and cut out nutrients to lose weight quickly. For the latter, you will follow a balanced diet and eat fewer calories to lose weight gradually.
Of course, it can be difficult to wait for results when we want them instantly. Still, speeding up a weight loss regime is not good for your health, because excessive weight loss can lead to the yo-yo effect. Basically, this is when you gain the weight back, once you return to your former habits.
To avoid regaining all of the pounds you lost, a healthy lifestyle and balanced diet will be your best tools. Take a look at the following tips.
1. Exercise
It’s an excellent way to burn calories while reducing stress and anxiety. You won’t get long-lasting results from dieting alone. You don’t have to go to the gym every day; walking daily, for half an hour, is enough. You’ll be able to add extra walking time to your routine once you start to lose weight and feel better. There are endless possibilities to choose from!
2. Say no to munching between meals
Snacking will fool you into thinking that these calories don’t count! It will work against your goals for healthy weight loss. This is especially the case if you eat unhealthy snacks such as, sweets, fat, fried foods, etc.
You need to eat six times per day: breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, afternoon snack, and dinner. The mid-morning snacks should be light and healthy; for example, fruits, non-fat yogurt, or a handful of dried fruits. This way, your stomach will feel full and you won’t be famished.
3. Say yes to fresh food
Fruits and vegetables should be your allies in your healthy weight loss plan. Furthermore, you should eat these at every meal and in good amounts. A good way to add them to your diet is by dividing your plate in half.
Half of your plate should be fresh or steamed vegetables. Then, divide the other half: one quarter should include legumes or whole-grains and the other, lean meat (fish and chicken). Follow this rule and you’ll see excellent results in no time.
4. Stay hydrated
Water is even more important than food. Did you know that you can go for a week without eating, but only one day without drinking before your body is affected? You’ve probably heard of the famous phrase, “drink two liters of water a day!” This is the minimum amount that you should be drinking.
When it’s hot or when you exercise, increase that amount to three liters. If you’re not used to drinking water, carry a bottle wherever you go, put an alarm on your phone, or download an app to remind you when it’s time to drink water.
5. Consult a physician
You need to do more than just eat less to lose weight. A professional check-up may be just what you need to change and tweak certain habits. For example, you could be eating too much flour and not enough fruits. A physician will advise you and help you to slim down.
Consulting your physician is crucial as they can tell you how many pounds you need to lose and how you can achieve this.
Finally, we recommend that you don’t obsess over your scale. Losing weight should be a natural process and the result of gradual lifestyle changes. Pounds, measurements and sizes are details; what’s important is that you feel better and comfortable with yourself.