How to Maintain a Healthy Weight?

Millions of people are struggling to lose some extra pounds. More than 66 percent of Americans are obese or overweight, which is why more than ever before people are looking for ways to get rid of the extra pounds and going to medical weight loss clinic.

Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is vital, as obese people are at a higher risk of developing serious health problems. People often gain weight when they continue eating the same food without any physical exercise. With age, our body’s capacity to get energy from food(metabolism) slows down, therefore you need to take care of your eating habits to reach a healthy weight.

However, over the years scientists have come up with some effective strategies that help in weight loss. Read on to learn about some basic ways to drop excess weight.

Exercise

The only diet cannot help you lose weight. You need to include some physical activity to burn the extra calories and build muscle. If you get bored doing the same activity, it’s completely fine to break it to do some different physical activity like running, cycling, or strength training.

If you particularly want to lose some belly fat, include some aerobic exercise. It is quite effective in reducing the unhealthy fat that builds up around organs and leads to various other health issues. And, after regularly doing it for a few days or weeks, you will have a toned body.

Gradually you should also focus on increasing your daily level of activity to build muscle. This will make you burn more calories and keep the body weight in check. So do some daily exercise to build muscle, strengthen your heart and make your body function at its best.
Exercising at least 30 minutes per day keeps a good balance in calories in and calories burned. It will also improve your mental health, combat aging, and make you look slimmer.

Eat Good Food

People aiming to lose weight should be careful while eating food rich in sugar and calories. They should choose food based on nutrition such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to get the daily supply. You needn’t completely sacrifice your favorite food, rewarding yourself with it every once in a while is fine.

In modern food, sugar is the worst ingredient which is linked with higher rates of obesity. So people should try to avoid or limit consuming all the foods loaded with sugar. With this, they should also control the intake of refined carbohydrates as they are stripped of fibrous and nutritious parts. They have been linked with obesity as eating them leads to a spike in blood sugar which increases cravings and hunger, making you eat more. If you cannot avoid carbs, eat them with natural fiber.

And, if you often feel hungry, keep fruits, nuts, yogurt, or any healthy food nearby to avoid indulging in unhealthy food. All these are easily portable, which you can easily carry while going to school or work.

Portion Sizes

It is vital to watch carefully how much you eat to avoid eating too much. And, portion size is not the same as serving size. Moreover, over the years portions have increased significantly after the increase in the frequency of Americans eating out. Including the right serving size as per your nutritional needs, should be the way you take your healthy portion.

To clear the confusion, a portion is how much you eat at one time while serving size is the amount of food listed with its nutritional value. After understanding the difference, you will be able to determine the portion you need to consume.

Also, avoid eating extra food like bread, chips, and others as they are full of calories, sodium, and fat without any nutritional benefit. If you are unable to keep an eye on your portion size, take a picture of your meals to ensure you stick to the same the next day. This is a great way to keep an eye on your calories and lose weight.

Drink More Water

With exercising and eating portioned healthy food, it is equally important to drink enough water to reduce weight. Just including 8-10 glasses of water can change your body fat percentage and help you lose some kilos.

Drinking water promotes fullness and doing it half an hour before your meals is a great way to control your calorie intake. Such people lose 44% more weight, as compared to people who didn’t drink it.

A study has also shown that keeping yourself hydrated boosts the metabolism, thereby increases the number of calories that one burns throughout the day. So, you should drink water, especially before meals to lose weight. Also, include vegetables and fruits with high water content as they are very nutritious, help in maintaining good health and weight loss.

Good Sleep

This is the most underrated factor amongst balanced diet and exercise, which is making people gain weight. You need to set a proper sleep schedule as an integral part of weight loss strategy.

Sleep deprivation has been linked with increased secretion of a stress hormone, cortisol, which has a lot of side effects like weight gain, and increased appetite. Therefore, you should get at least 8 hours of sleep every night to lose some weight.

Also, focus on improving sleep quality to achieve your weight loss goals. Not getting enough sleep also interferes with weight maintenance. So if you are not getting enough sleep, develop a habit to sleep enough for weight control and overall good health. It will keep your energy levels high and hormones under control.

The bottom line

These are some of the strategies that will help you in losing weight. Include some physical exercise, eat healthy and portioned food, keep yourself hydrated and get optimal sleep to boost your weight loss.

For best results, you can get in touch with a board-certified doctor at Steady Care Medical to design customized treatment plans to help you lose weight. Check our site for more information.