If you are not happy with your weight as of late, take an approach that involves new eating and exercising habits. By losing weight, you will not only gain back your self-esteem, but you will also reduce your risk for chronic disease. Losing 5 to 10 percent of your weight can help prevent arthritis, heart disease, stroke and some cancers, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Smaller Plates
Large plates make it easy to eat large amounts of food. A quick way to cut your calories is by investing in smaller sized plates. You can fill them up like a regular plate and give yourself the satisfaction of eating a regular sized meal, but without excess calories.
Mini Meals
Mini meals eaten every two to three hours throughout the day help keep your metabolism elevated and appetite under control. When preparing your meals, make sure to include quality protein, fiber and complex carbohydrates. This combination will help fill you up and keep you feeling full. A lean beef patty on a whole wheat bun with lettuce and tomato is a good meal example.
Breakfast
Breakfast is heralded as the most important meal of the day and for good reason. A new study shows that skipping the first meal of the day triggers your brain activity to make you prefer high-calorie foods, according to the Obesity America website. To prevent this from happening, start your multiple meal run as soon as you get up. Prepare something easy like a bowl of oatmeal with soy milk, or whip up an egg white omelet with chopped up vegetables and whole wheat toast.
Sleep
Depriving yourself of sleep on a nightly basis has a direct impact on your weight. Scientists have found that sleep deprivation increases levels of a hunger hormone and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full, according to USA TODAY. This, in turn, causes you to eat excessively and gain weight. Prevent this from happening by aiming for eight hours of sleep every night.
Cardiovascular Exercise
Cardiovascular exercise, such as running, walking, biking and swimming, burns calories and promotes weight loss. Incorporate any form of cardio into your life that you enjoy and do it in an interval format to maximize your caloric expenditure. This is done by alternating back and forth from high to low intensity. Aim for at least 45 minutes of cardio, and work out four or five days a week.
Added Activity
Any type of additional activity you do during the day will contribute to your caloric expenditure and cause you to lose weight quicker. For example, always take the stairs instead of elevators, tap your feet at your work desk, go for walks during your lunch break and do body weight exercises while watching TV in the evening.
Stress Reduction
Emotional eating often takes place when people are stressed. They look to comfort foods to ease their emotions. The problem is, the food choices are often unhealthy and high in calories. To prevent this from happening, do some form of relaxation activity like yoga, tai-chi, meditative breathing or massage. When you feel less stressed and more in control of your life, you may find it easier to stick to healthy eating and exercise habits according to the Mayo Clinic website.
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