Any guide book, article, or video will tell you hundreds of combinations of exercise and diet to lose weight healthily over a particular period. Some recommend working out hard, some focus on diet, some guide you to make certain lifestyle choices. Losing weight is a challenging task and keeping it off once it’s done is even tricker. Human bodies are incredibly amazing and exclusive, no strategy fits it all, different approaches work in different ways for different people. There is no “one size fits all” strategy for permanent and healthy weight loss.
Our bodies respond differently to diets and exercise which ultimately affects overall health. What’s working for some else doesn’t mean it will work the same for you. For finding what works best on your body, you have to be patient, committed, and open to experimentation. Some bodies respond well to restrictive calorie methods, some respond well when they get the freedom for planning weight-loss programs. One thing that you have to keep away from your mind is discouragement, do not go hard on yourself if a certain diet approach feels too restrictive or challenging to stick with.
Keeping The Healthy Weight
Reaching & maintaining a healthy weight plays a great role in benefiting your lifestyle and health. It helps in preventing & controlling many diseases & conditions. Overweight and obese people have a greater risk of developing health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, gallstones, type 2 diabetes, breathing issues, & certain cancers. Healthy weight not only lowers the risk of such problems, but makes you feel better about yourself, & gives more energy for enjoying life.
Certain factors affect your weight, they can be genetics, gender, age, family habits, lifestyle, sleep & your daily activities. Some factors and lifestyle make losing weight hard or keeping it off. Being active & aware of your life choices offers health benefits to everyone regardless of your age and weight. But make sure you consume nutrient-dense foods & stay active for at least 150 mins each week. Following are some thumb rules that apply to keeping a healthy weight.
- To maintain the same weight, you must burn the same number of calories as you consume.
- For losing weight, you must burn a higher number of calories than you consume & drink.
- For gaining healthy weight, shed fewer calories than you consume & drink.
Losing weight can be challenging for a lot of people, but keeping it off is even more daunting. Most people undergo brilliant body transformations. Regain the weight over 2-3 years. A theory about losing weight is that people who do it by consuming fewer calories experience a drop in the rate of calories that their bodies burn. It makes it difficult for people to lose weight over months. A slower calorie-burning rate welcomes the regain of weight. Losing up to half to two pounds in a week is recommended. Change of long-term life approaches promises successful weight loss. Keeping off extra weight lowers the cholesterol & levels of blood sugar, regulates blood pressure, puts less stress and strain on the bones & joints. Maintaining weight loss demands effort & commitment.
Most Common Weight Loss Strategies
Cutting Calories: Consuming fewer calories than burning makes you shed weight! If it’s that simple then why is losing weight so hard? Weight-loss is not a linear thing. Cutting down your calories might drop your weight for a few weeks, but in the long run, it slows down your metabolism. Make sure you keep in mind that all the calories aren’t the same. Consuming 100 calories of fruits and veggies isn’t the same as fast food.
A trick for sustained weight loss is ditching the packed foods that contain high calories but do not get you full. Replace them with the calories that keep you full for longer. Also, mindful eating plays a great role here, many of us do not just eat when we are hungry but when we are bored, emotional, or stressed.
Regular Workout: Working out regularly in your workout clothes plays a great role in maintaining a healthy weight. Exercise helps you in being in the best shape and also boosts your metabolism. These two factors work side by side to keep in a better shape. Research shows that people who perform up to 200 minutes of physical activity are adequate for keeping your weight off. In certain instances, maybe the higher intensity of physical activity works well. How much exercise helps in losing weight? is debatable. You can start slowly and then gradually increase the pace of your physical activity done in workout clothes.
Weight Loss Maintenance Strategies
- Eat Lots of Protein
Consuming loads of protein helps a lot in maintaining weight. Proteins work well in reducing the appetite & promoting fullness. It increases certain hormones in your body which induce satiety & significantly important for weight regulation. Protein also reduces the levels of hunger increasing hormones. Protein affects the hormones & gives you a sensation of fullness which automatically lowers the number of calories you take in every day. Moreover, protein puts a demand on breaking energy for the body to break down. Consuming them regularly increases the number of calories you get to burn each day. - Weigh Yourself Regularly
Monitoring the weight regularly is a helpful tool for maintaining weight. It’s because this gets you aware of the progress & promotes weight control strategies. Having accurate awareness regarding your weight makes you consume fewer calories each day, which is important in maintaining weight. Setting the pace of weighing yourself is a personal choice. Some people do it daily, others choose to practice it twice a week. - Eat Breakfast
Research reveals that people who eat breakfast regularly are more likely to keep their pounds at bay. Ensure that you have all the healthy grains and diet in your breakfast. Also, the protein source should be lean meat. - Prepare Yourself For The Setbacks
You can’t avoid setbacks in the weight maintenance journey. At times you give in to unhealthy cravings and go easy on skipping your workout routine. These occasional slips do not mean you are deviating from your goals. You just get to pass them and move on to making better lifestyle choices. It helps in catering to the situations in which you get stuck to unhealthy eating. - Keep Yourself Hydrated
Staying hydrated helps a lot in maintaining a healthy weight. It promotes the sensation of fullness & helps in keeping calorie consumption in check. A study showed that drinking water before taking your meal reduces 13% of your calorie intake rate. Also keeping yourself adequately hydrated boosts the number of calories you burn in a day. - Control Stress Levels
Make sure you manage your stress levels. It’s a huge part of controlling weight. Higher stress levels themselves lead to the regaining of weight because of high-stress levels. It’s the hormonal release of stress. Consistently increased cortisol levels are linked with the production of high levels of belly fat and increased appetite. - Eat Plenty Of Vegetables
Make you eat a clean diet. Avoid junk and fast food. These foods contain unhealthy calories and help with gaining fat. Vegetables and fruits contain fewer calories. They enable you to fill yourself without putting on unhealthy weight. Aim to consume fresh fruits and vegetable salads with every meal. - Mindful Eating
Mindful eating promotes listening to your internal appetite while paying full attention to your eating process. It can be slow eating with no distractions, & chewing the food properly, enjoying its aroma & full taste of the meal. Mindful eating makes you stop putting food in your belly when you are truly full. With distraction going on nearby reasoning it can be difficult. Common binge eating is related to the increased stress level. Mindful eating helps identify and eradicate such behaviors.
Also Read: 5 Best Benefits of Exercise for Skin Health
