If your mind is set on losing weight, you may be tempted to dive headfirst into an aggressive weight-loss diet or exercise program. However, the enthusiasm leading to dramatic lifestyle changes may soon fizzle out, and you may find yourself slowly going back to the old ways.
The key to achieving lifelong weight loss is to gradually master changes in your diet and change your eating habits so you can still enjoy eating while losing weight that will not come back too quickly. Read this article to learn how to restructure your diet for weight loss.
Change What You Drink
Many calories you consume may come from sugary drinks you may have been drinking without paying heed to all the calories they contain. Be it sweetened coffee or tea, fizzy drinks, or fruit juices; they can substantially add to your daily calorie count. While it is ok to have these drinks once in a while, they should not be a part of your routine. Have plain water instead of juice or soda, and cut sugar from your tea and coffee.
Similarly, if going out means binging on alcohol or you consume it regularly, it may be a major contributor to weight gain. Alcohol is high in calories, increases your appetite, and also curbs your inhibitions leading you to eat mindlessly at times. Limit your alcohol intake to a few days a week, and you will soon see a significant difference.
Plan Your Meals Weekly
Planning for meals consumed during the week may seem like a hassle, but it will help you make better food choices, even when you have a hectic schedule and do not have much time to prepare your meals. If you have been relying on frozen food or takeout, change this pattern by buying groceries and preparing your meal portions for the week on weekends and freezing them. Buy lots of fruits and vegetables, so you have plenty of healthy options for snacking instead of grabbing a pack of crisps or biscuits.
Add Veggies to Your Plate
Vegetables and salads can help satisfy your appetite without adding too many calories to your meal. Whenever you make a plate, add vegetables and salads first. This will leave less room for higher-calorie food and give you more variety within a single meal. It also helps to use a small plate rather than a big one, as it automatically reduces the amount of food you usually eat.
Have Proper Meals at the Proper Time
Many individuals tend to snack or graze throughout the day instead of taking proper meals or eating out of boredom. However, this can lead to eating unhealthy foods or consuming more calories than recommended. Instead, try to have three proper balanced meals during the day so you do not feel hungry during the rest of the day, and avoid eating just because you are bored. Even if you feel hungry between meals, snack on nuts or fruits instead of processed junk food.
Be Consistent with Your Diet
Many people follow a particular diet plan to lose weight successfully but immediately revert to their old ways, only to gain back all the lost weight. Consistency and conscious eating is a must regardless of what diet you follow. For instance, if you do a juice cleanse, you must consider what to eat after the juice cleanse so that you can maintain the lost weight and keep your energy levels high at the same time.
You must incorporate fruits and vegetables in your daily diet, avoid gluten and refined foods, cut back on alcohol and dairy, and use healthy fats. It is also a good idea to kick start your day with lemon water and have a light breakfast afterward instead of sugary cereals.
At the same time, it is important to aid your weight loss efforts with moderate exercise and good sleep quality to maintain health and manage your stress levels. Staying consistent with these changes will help you adopt them as a lifestyle and enable you to keep the weight off.
Final Thoughts
If there was a magic pill for weight loss, a vast majority of individuals would not be struggling with weight loss. However, even if you have gained weight, it is reversible, but you will need to change the way you eat and restructure your diet to aid weight loss and maintain it once you shed the unwanted pounds.
The tips suggested in this article are some of the various aspects you must consider if you are driven to lose weight. You must re-evaluate your food choices to identify the problem areas so you can incorporate changes and choose healthier alternatives wherever possible. Also, you must not consider all these changes as a short-term goal. Rather, you must make them a part of your lifestyle to maintain your health.
