A new decade brings new resolutions to lose weight, improve your life, and that means a healthier lifestyle. Most articles you will read are about weight loss. Here are my 9 tips to help you avoid weight gain and establish healthy habits for 2020!
Not only does it help to burn calories, but it also elevates your mood and increases your metabolism – both of which make it easier to continue losing weight. Varying levels of intensity should be done 5-6 days per week. It is important to try several different avenues of exercise until you find one(s) that you enjoy.
By consuming 8-10 servings of fruits and veggies per day, you’re giving your body all the vitamins and minerals, it needs to function at its optimal level – and they’ll make you feel full with less calories while limiting higher calorie foods. It can be tough to prepare all of your meals, but making them in advance and freezing them is a good way to ensure optimal eating and not resorting to fast foods. Try consuming a little protein every 3-4 hours to balance your blood sugar to avoid the stress of low sugar and hunger. Try to consume 0.8g/kg of body weight a day.
By eating well in the morning, we’re giving our bodies the calories they need to get going, and we have all day to burn them off – this will also help reduce the size of lunch and dinner.
By eating several small meals as opposed to 1 or 2 big ones, the food is easier to digest and we maintain a steady blood-glucose level which reduces the desire to eat large amounts.
By being “present” with your food, as opposed to mindlessly grabbing at it or eating in front of the TV, you will eat more slowly and become aware of fullness sooner. This also shifts your body into a parasympathetic state, which increases digestion.
Not only does it help to flush out toxins, but it also aids in the feeling of fullness. You should be aiming for 1oz of water per kg of body weight (if you’re 150lbs, that’s about 1.9L, or more than 8 cups of water at 8oz each)
If you’re buying packaged food, they all are mandated to have the labels listing the caloric content (as well as protein, carbohydrates, fat, etc.). It shouldn’t be hard to approximate what you’re consuming in a day.
There are several websites/apps that can do this for you – just type in “calorie counter” in a search engine and try one that works for you. Most of these sites have databases of food, so it makes it easier to keep track once you’ve set up your usual diet.
Behind fat, 1g of alcohol has the highest caloric content – so be more conscious of your alcohol consumption throughout the holidays.
by Dr. Tim Searle, ND
www.drtimsearlend.com
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