Although weight loss is great, sticking to a healthy living lifestyle afterwards can be even more difficult than losing the weight in the first place. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do about this.
Eat Similar Foods Everyday
This doesn’t mean you have to eat the same food, just adopt the same eating habits. Make sure that you have one protein, one fat, and one carb at each meal. This will reduce your caloric intake without making you feel restricted.
When Cooking, Make Enough for Leftovers
This is a great tip that’ll help you stop your urge to eat out. If this doesn’t work, make sure you have a few other options to fall back on like:
- Have some frozen vegetables available to pack in your lunch box.
- Keep elements of a meal available in your office at work (e.g. instant rice, canned vegetables).
Only drink water and Low-cal Beverages
You’ve probably heard about foods with empty calories (foods that have no nutritional value). These are things you should remove from your diet for the sake of weight loss – things like juice, soda, and sugar-sweetened tea. Replace these with things like water, green tea, or black coffee.
Make Breakfast Before Going to bed at Night
Healthy eating habits begin first thing in the morning. Make your breakfast the night before so you don’t have an excuse not to eat this important meal. Another important factor to remember here is the importance of including protein (e.g. Greek yogurt) so you’ll feel full for longer.
Eat Vegetables with Every Meal – Even Breakfast
Incorporating more vegetables into your diet will really help you with your weight loss. This doesn’t have to be difficult to incorporate either. Buy some frozen vegetables to store in your freezer then pack them in containers to take with you while you’re on the go. Packing them while they’re still frozen means they’ll have a chance to thaw while you’re on the go and still be cold when you’re ready to eat them.
Be Picky When Eating Out
Changing your eating habits when you’re at a restaurant is also important. Some tips to heed here include:
- Make sure you ask for dressings and sauce on the side.
- Ask for steamed instead of sautéed vegetables.
- Only eat half the portion and take the rest home for lunch tomorrow.
- Get fruit or vegetables instead of fries. If you get fries, don’t eat all of them at that meal.
Follow Your own Dieting Rules
Consider using the 80/20 rule – eating healthy 80% of the time and indulging the other 20% of the time. Trying to continually eat healthy means you’ll eventually become unhappy or binge.
Don’t ban Yourself from Eating Out
When you eat at home you eat healthier. Planning ahead plays a huge role in this. In fact, you should also plan on the one time each week during which you’ll want to eat out.
Eat More Than 3 Meals a Day
One surprising thing that nutritionists will tell you is that you should eat 6 small meals each day. Make sure that each of these meals is healthy though. This means incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet.
Don’t Give Yourself Cheat Days
The idea of having “cheat days” is actually quite damaging. This is why it’s so important for anyone who wants to undergo lasting weight loss or focus on eating healthy to forget about this concept – even when you’re on vacation or over the holidays. Instead, you should keep these tips in mind to help you strive for a balance between your emotional (happiness) and physical health.
Picture Credit: pixabay