25 Top Tips for a Healthier & Slimmer Shape
Diet alone is not the answer to maintaining a healthy weight and BMI. Making smart choices, and changing small, but effective habits, go a long way to achieving your weight loss goals. Here are some of the easiest changes to help you make that lifestyle shift.
1. More ZZZ's, Less KG’s
According to a University of Michigan researcher, sleeping an extra hour a night could help a person drop 6 kilograms in a year. Sleep can easily replace idle activities and mindless snacking, and this way you can effortlessly cut calories by 6%. There is also evidence that getting too little sleep accelerates up your appetite, making you uncommonly hungry.
2. Catch the "Eating Pause"
Be mindful of your body's signals. Most people have a natural eating pause, when eating utensils are placed down for a couple of minutes. Watch for this moment and don't take another bite. Clear your plate slowly and enjoy the conversation. This is the quiet signal that you're full, but not stuffed. Most people miss it.
3. Skip the Bacon
Skip those two rashers of bacon at breakfast or in your sandwich at lunch time. This simple move saves about 100 calories, which can add up to a 4,5 weight loss over a year. Consider other fillings to replace the flavour with fewer calories: tomato slices, banana, roasted red bell peppers, grainy mustard, or a light spread of herbed goat cheese.
4. 1-2-3- VEG!
Feed your appetite with fewer calories and more vitamins and fibre. Have three vegetables with meals instead of just one, and you'll eat more without really trying. Greater variety tricks people into eating less food. Season your vegetables with lemon juice, or a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil with some herbs to keep the calories down.
5. Burn Easy
Burn an extra 100 calories every day. The trick is to get one activity done everyday, or at least three times a week. Try one of these easy examples:
* Walk 1,5 kilometres, or about 20 minutes.
* Garden for an hour or mow the lawn for 20 minutes.
* Clean the house for 30 minutes.
* Take the stairs whenever possible.
* 15 minutes of gentle stretching every morning or every evening.
6. Soup Supreme
The easiest way to increase your nutrient intake is through wholesome soups. A broth-based soup every day will fill you up on fewer calories. Think minestrone or chicken broth with watercress. Soup is especially great to start a meal because it slows your eating and curbs your appetite. Just beware of creamy and processed soups, which can be high in calories and preservatives.
7. Whole Grains Are King
Whole grains are the better option for a healthy and strong digestive system. Types such as brown rice, barley, oats, buckwheat, and whole wheat are also important for your weight loss strategy. They satisfy with fewer calories and may improve your cholesterol profile, too.
8. THOSE Jeans
Consider an old pair of jeans that fit a little too closely, and made you feel great in times past. This is a reminder of what you are working towards. Be realistic about fitting into this item of clothing again to avoid despondency, little steps over time are the key.
9. Sip Savvy: Limit Alcohol
On occasions when alcohol is included, follow the first alcoholic drink with a non-alcoholic, low-calorie beverage like sparkling water. Alcohol has more calories per gram (7) than carbohydrates (4) or protein (4). It can also loosen your resolve, leading you to mindlessly snack on chips, nuts, and other foods you would normally limit.
10. Sip Savvy: Cut Back on Sugar
Replace one sugary drink like regular cola with water and you'll avoid 10 teaspoons of sugar. Add lemon, mint or frozen strawberries for flavour. Research shows that the liquid sugar in soda appears to bypass the body's normal signals of being full. One study compared an extra 450 calories per day from jelly beans versus soda. Those eating jelly beans unconsciously ate fewer calories overall, but not so the soda drinkers. They gained 1 kilogram in four weeks.
11. Sip Savvy: Drink From A Tall, Thin Glass
Use a tall, skinny glass instead of a short, wide tumbler to cut liquid calories and your weight without even noticing. You'll drink 25-30% less juice, soda, wine, or any other beverage. Visual cues can trick us into consuming more or less.
12. Sip Savvy: Green Tea
Drinking green tea is known to be extremely beneficial for weight loss, and has a multitude of health benefits. It can temporarily increase the body's metabolism through the action of phytochemicals called catechins. Loaded with antioxidants, it is also a great way to boost your immune system. Just beware the fact that green tea contains caffeine if you are sensitive to it.
13. Decrease Dish Diameter
Chose a 25cm lunch plate instead of a 30cm dinner plate to automatically eat less. People tend to serve more and eat more food with larger dishes. Shrink your plate or bowl to cut out 100-200 calories a day and 5-10 kilograms in a year. This trick of the eye helps cut 200 calories off your daily intake.
14. Strong Mint Gum
Chew sugarless gum with a strong flavour during times like making dinner after work, at a party, watching TV, or surfing the net. False hunger alarm bells will be warded off until you really do feel hungry.
15. Portion Is Pivotal
Stick with modest food portions at every meal, five days a week or more. It will become automatic once you get accustomed to finding the right meal portion. Keep serving dishes off the table at meal times and prepare smaller portions when cooking to avoid over eating.
16. Red Sauce Rocks
Simple tomato-based sauces tend to have much fewer calories than creamy alternatives. Choose Napoletana sauce for pasta instead of Alfredo sauce. But do remember serving size: a serving of pasta is one cup or roughly the size of a tennis ball. Opting for a half portion if available is even better.
17. Minimize Meat
Eat vegetarian meals more often. Vegetarians weigh up to 20% less than meat eaters, receiving more nutritious fibre-rich foods, which fill you up faster and with fewer calories. Bean burgers, lentil soup, and other tasty legume-based foods can substitute meat products to help lose weight.
18. Pimp Your Pizza
Skip the meat toppings, and go for vegetable ones instead, saving about 100 calories. Other skinny pizza tricks: go light on the cheese or use low-fat cheese, choose a thin crust made with just a touch of olive oil and soak up excess oil and calories from the top of each slice with a kitchen roller towel.
19. Time Your Meals
Eating too quickly blocks the body’s fullness signals and causes overeating. Set a timer for twenty minutes and become a slow eater. This allows for healthy digestion, and allows the stomach to receive fullness signals from the brain. Slow paced meals also offer greater pleasure from smaller portions.
20. The 80-20 Rule
Residents of Okinawa, Japan, eat until they're 80% full. They have a name for this naturally slimming habit: hara hachi bu. You can adopt this healthy habit by dishing out 20% less food, eating your meal slowly and consciously, and not even miss that extra 20%.
21. The Yoga Way
People who do yoga tend to weigh less than those who do not practice, according to a study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Apart from the obvious benefits exercise renders, yoga brings a more mindful approach to all daily activities, including eating. The calm, self-awareness developed through yoga may help you become more aware of your eating habits, from the type of foods you consume to eating food at a slower pace.
22. Restaurant Restraint
Eating out need not derail your efforts, so consider these special orders to keep you on track:
* Share a starter.
* Order a starter as a meal.
* Choose from the children’s menu if available.
* Stop when you have reached your 80% limit, and ask for a doggie bag.
* Complement a small starter with a side order of salad or vegetables.
* Look for words like “grilled” and “steamed” on the menu as opposed to “fried” or “rich” or “sauce” to make smarter choices.
* There is never a shortage of homeless people on the way home from a restaurant, rather contribute your leftovers to somebody needy.
23. Home Eating
Try to eat at home at least five days a week. Home prepared meals can win hands-down in terms of calorie saving. Consider what is easily available at the supermarket: pre-washed lettuce, pre-cut veggies, canned beans or grilled deli salmon, etc. Simple, wholesome meals can be quick and easy to prepare, and you control the process to maintain maximum nutritional benefit. The trick is to plan ahead, prepare your meal plans for the week on a Sunday and shop accordingly.
24. Applaud!
When you've cut back on soda or simply made it through the day without overeating, don’t forget to commend achieving your goal. You've moved closer to a healthier lifestyle that helps people lose weight without crazy or complicated diet plans. Get a pedicure, buy a new dress, or on occasion, indulge in a small piece of antioxidant-rich, dark chocolate. Observing milestones is the most important psychological aspect of staying motivated. Step by step, good habits transform into better health.
25. SMILE!
Never underestimate the feel-good factor that lifting the cheeks and lips can induce. A spring in your step and a smile on your dial make you feel lighter and happier, which in turn makes you want to be the healthiest you, you can be. And collective consciousness considered - it's contagious!
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