Forget about dieting. Forget about weight loss fads. To Maintain Ideal Body Weightrequires an ongoing commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
Sure you can lose weight by dieting, but it’s almost always temporary and more often then naught the weight comes right back with a vengeance.
So How Do You Maintain Your Ideal Body Weight?
The best way to drop excess weight and keep it off is to create new eating and exercise habits that that will transform your life.
Surprisingly it’s not as difficult as you might think, but people are always looking for shortcuts and quick fixes, that in the end don’t work.
TOP WAYS TO MAINTAIN YOUR IDEAL BODY WEIGHT
- Get on an Exercise Program.Yes that’s right you will need to exercise. Physical Activity allows your body to burn calories and build muscle, both which help keep the weight off. Find something you enjoy doing that makes you physically active and stick with it. Walking, Cycling, Swimming, Lifting weights are all great ways to exercise, build muscle and burn calories.
- Get Outdoors and lose the Technology.Get off the couch, get away from the TV, leave the computer and experience life outdoors. Take walking breaks and go to parks to experience nature.
- Portion Control.Do you know how many calories you are consuming? Calories come in all types and sizes and what you think isn’t calorie dense, may in fact be one of the reasons for weight gain. You can use tricks like eating from a smaller dish to control portion size, which will then limit the calories you consume. In many cases eating slower and drinking water can make you feel fuller faster. The benefit of course is you will consume less calories.
- Eat Your Veggies and Fruit. Research suggests that eating 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day will help stave off hunger while at the same time allow you to get fantastic vitamins and minerals your body needs.
- Eat a Healthy Breakfast. You’ve just waken up from an 8 hour fast and eating a healthy breakfast will kickstart your Metabolic rate, allowing you to burn more calories throughout the day. Having a healthy breakfast will also mean you will not be as hungry later in the day, tempting you to eat larger meals. Research shows that on average people who often skip breakfast have a higher percentage of fat and are more likely to be overweight.
- Reduce Stress. People who are stressed will often crave sugary and fatty foods. A hormone related to stress called Cortisol will rise during times of stress making you more prone to want junk food and overeat. Taking Yoga, deep breathing techniques and other forms of stress relief can help cope and manage a stressful lifestyle. Ultimately reducing stress and overly stressful situations is the goal everyone should strive for.
- Get Proper Sleep. Sleep allows your body to recover. Not getting enough or too much sleep has been associated with weight gain. The goal is to get between 7 – 9 hours of sleep daily. If you are having issues with sleep, it may be related to stress or nutrition. Sometimes simply reducing caffeine and shutting down the computer or tv an hour before bed time can help your body get ready for sleep. The simple act of reading a book before bed can sometimes be the magic solution to sleeping issues.
