If you’re struggling with weight, it’s important to control your diet and exercise. This will help you maintain a healthy weight and prevent future weight gain.

You can do this by making small changes to your daily life. Start by planning meals in advance, and reducing screen time.

Healthy Eating

If you’re trying to control your weight, it’s important to eat a variety of healthy foods. These should provide you with the nutrients you need for good health and help reduce your risk of certain diseases.

Your diet should also include vegetables, salad and fruit – they’re packed with vitamins, minerals and fibre which are good for you and can protect you from disease. Make sure you have at least five servings of these foods each day.

Eating a variety of foods from each of the 5 food groups daily is important for your health and helps prevent diseases such as heart disease and cancer. You should also avoid eating too much salt and added sugar.

Regular Exercise

Regular exercise helps with weight loss by increasing your energy expenditure, which means you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. It also boosts your HDL cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol), and decreases unhealthy triglycerides.

To get the most out of your exercise, mix in higher-intensity exercises like strength training. Use your heart rate to track how hard you’re working.

You should aim to do about 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity each week, spread out over a few days.

If you’re unsure about how to work out, ask a personal trainer or your doctor. They can recommend a routine and help you with intensity levels for your specific body type and health concerns.

Exercise isn’t just good for your body, it can improve your mood and reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety. It can also build resilience when you’re facing life challenges, enabling you to cope with stress in a healthy way rather than turning to alcohol or drugs.

Healthy Fats

Fats can make it easier to control your weight and prevent chronic diseases such as diabetes. They help regulate hunger hormones, increase satiety, transport nutrients throughout the body, and improve fat-soluble vitamin uptake.

Dietary fat also helps slow down the rate at which glucose is released into the blood, which helps keep your blood sugar from spiking and crashing. This means less cravings for sugar-rich foods.

In addition, dietary fats are good sources of omega-3 fatty acids, which promote heart health and may help lower your risk of developing diabetes. These fats are found in fish, nuts, seeds, and other plant-based foods.

While some fats are considered “bad” for health, such as trans fats, most dietary fats are actually healthy. Those with the most health benefits are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are derived from plant oils (olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil) and nuts. Saturated fats, on the other hand, raise bad LDL cholesterol and are associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease.

Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is a healthy way to control weight because it helps you recognize your body’s hunger and fullness cues. It also helps you choose healthier food options that energize you instead of making you feel bloated or sluggish.

In addition, mindfulness can help you avoid emotional eating and binge eating, two unhealthy behaviors linked to weight gain. It can also help you curb food cravings.

According to Jennifer Daubenmier, associate professor in the Holistic Health Studies Program at San Francisco State University, mindfulness can improve your ability to tune into your appetite and recognize when you’ve had enough to eat. She suggests assessing your hunger on a scale of 1 to 10 before you begin eating and reassess it as you eat.

It takes time to learn mindful eating techniques, so be patient and kind with yourself as you develop this new skill. It’s worth the effort and the benefits can be life-changing!