Achieving and maintaining a healthy weight requires dedication to diet and exercise. This can be challenging, especially if you experience cravings or emotional eating.
Eat nutrient-dense foods that contain a good amount of vitamins and minerals. Avoid “empty calories,” which are those in cookies, cakes and sugar-sweetened drinks. Also limit fatty foods.
Eat a Balanced Diet
A healthy diet is essential for all, but it’s especially important if you’re trying to control your weight. It can help keep you energized, reduce your risk of disease and even improve your mood.
A balanced diet is one that contains a variety of foods from the five major groups: vegetables and fruit, grains, protein, dairy, and fats or oils. It should also contain a variety of vitamins and minerals, as well as water.
It’s important to avoid empty calories, which are those that provide large amounts of energy without much nutritional value. Some examples of empty calories include soda and energy drinks, cakes and cookies, fried food and pastries.
Instead, try to eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy products, and unsaturated fats like olive oil and vegetable oil. Also, try to limit how often you eat foods that don’t fit into the five food groups, and only have a small amount of these “discretionary choices.”.
Stay Motivated
Experts agree that when you’re trying to lose weight, having a solid motivation tank can make all the difference. If you’re feeling a lack of motivation, it can be helpful to try a few different things to kickstart your efforts.
Start by focusing on the intrinsic rewards of your new lifestyle. Then surround yourself with people who support your healthy goals. This may mean avoiding friends who consistently eat fast food or co-workers who smoke during lunch breaks.
Find pictures of yourself at your slimmest and focus on those when you need a reminder of why you’re working so hard. Some experts also recommend finding a role model who you can relate to. Hanging a picture of a supermodel on your fridge might work for a short time, but over time it can become demotivating. Try a more relatable and positive role model instead to help you power through the rough days.
Keep Track of Your Calories
Counting calories can be a helpful tool in helping you reach your health goals. However, it’s important to remember that you should not rely solely on this method. You need to also focus on other factors like drinking enough water, getting adequate sleep and reducing stress.
In addition, calorie-counting is a time-consuming process and can lead to frustration if you’re not seeing results quickly. This may be due to mistakes such as omitting foods or overestimating portion sizes.
For example, adding the olive oil you use to saute your vegetables or the condiments on your sandwich can add up to hundreds of extra calories you didn’t account for. This can sabotage your weight loss efforts. To avoid these common mistakes, consider using a food journal or an online calorie-counter to log everything you eat. Also, remember to include beverages in your tracking, including coffee, tea and alcohol. This will give you a more accurate picture of what you’re eating.