Top 10 Healthy Eating Habits
It’s easier to gain weight, but losing it is hard.
Losing weight means that you’ll have to change your lifestyle forever. Below
are top 10 healthy eating habits to help you lose weight. If you make these
changes to your eating habits, it won’t be long before you start experiencing
positive results.
1. What can you say about your eating habits?
First, take some time to evaluate your eating
pattern. Do you always eat at the right time or late at night? Make a list of
all the things that you think you are doing wrong. Next, based on what you
observed, try to make some vital changes to your eating pattern and see if it’s
working. If you make the necessary changes, you should expect a reduction in the
amount of calories that you consume, which will result in weight loss.
2. Plan your meals
It’s always in your best interest to plan your
meals. You should know what to eat and when to eat, including your snacks and
drinks. If you feel like you always feel hungry before the time when you are
supposed to take your next meal, you are advised to consider eating healthy
snacks to prevent you from going against your eating plan. This way, you will
be able to control the amount of fats and calories that you consume.
3. Never shop on an empty stomach
If you are planning to go shopping, you are always
advised to shop when you are full. Shopping when you are hungry is a recipe for
buying junky foods and adding to your calories consumption. Many times people
are tempted to buy things that they didn’t plan for. To avoid this behavior,
you are advised to prepare a shopping list at home and stick with it. Also,
take away all unhealthy foods from your refrigerator and kitchen cabinets and
replace them with healthy foods.
4. Eat regular foods
Eating healthy doesn’t mean that you should avoid
your normal meals and start consuming other different types of foods. Adopting
a healthy eating habit means that you should evaluate your eating habits and
find out the quantity of foods that work best for you and stick to it. However,
you should avoid processed foods. Eat only raw foods and include lots of
healthy fruits and vegetables in your meals. Also, try as much as you can to
avoid late-night cravings. Many people turn to junk foods and other unhealthy
meals when they feel hungry at night.
5. Always sit down when you are eating
If possible, it’s important for you to always sit
down at a table when eating. Also, make it your habit to eat from a plate.
Unfortunately, many of us are used to packed foods and eating while standing.
This is a behavior that should be avoided at all cost. Studies have shown that
people eating while standing up and mostly out of packages tend to eat more
food than the required amount. Also, it’s uncomfortable and can make you not to
enjoy your food as compared to when you are sitting down.
6. Always serve your meals on a plate
It’s in your best interest to avoid putting lots of
bowls containing different types of foods on your table when eating. You can
easily get tempted and try to eat a meal that you are supposed to avoid or eat
more food. We are not saying that you should starve yourself or eat less food;
we are saying that you should consume the right quantity of food. It’s easy for you to go against your meal
plan if you bring lots of foods on your table.
7. Eat slowly
It takes some time for your brain to get a signal that
you are full. In this light, if you eat very fast, you will end up eating more
than you should. On the other hand, if you eat slowly, you will most likely
consume less food and feel full. Experts recommend that you chew all the foods
that you eat properly before swallowing. Also, you should give yourself a few
seconds or even a minute before you take another bite. Additionally, remember
to drink a lot of water when you are eating.
8. Do not eat anything after dinner
The reasons why many people are struggling with
weight loss is because of eating after dinner. As mentioned earlier, if you
feel like you didn’t have enough during dinner time, you can consume a healthy
snack or a drink free of calories. However, if you can avoid your cravings
until morning, it will be the best thing that you can do for yourself. Make
sure that you brush your teen before you go to bed and make it a habit. This
way, you may be able to resist the temptation of having to eat and brush again.
9. Treat your snacks as small meals, especially if eaten during daytime
Many people are often advised to eat small amounts
of foods frequently if they want to lose weight. Some studies say that if you
stay for longer without eating (more than three hours), cortisol (stress
hormone) levels tend to rise. If this happens, the fat stored in your body will
be increased significantly, especially in the abdominal area. In this light, if
you have to eat snacks during the day, make sure that you treat them as small
meals. This way, you will be able to manage your weight and keep your cortisol
levels low.
10. Don’t skip breakfast
You can avoid any other meal but not breakfast.
After resting for some hours, your body is more likely to have consumed all the
foods that you ate during dinner. This means that you need to eat something to
give you energy. Breakfast is also a vital meal if you want to maintain a
healthy weight. If you eat well in the morning, you are likely to feel full for
the rest of the day. This way, it will be easier for you to avoid falling
victim of unhealthy meals and snacks during the day.