Maintaining a healthy weight is essential to good health, with individual goals depending on factors like body type, age, sex and health history. Your target range for ideal bodyweight may differ depending on these considerations.
Set short- and long-term goals regarding food, exercise and lifestyle that are important to you. Setbacks may occur; try your best to recover quickly.
Eat a Balanced Diet
Controlling your weight with regular exercise and healthy eating habits is one of the greatest ways to protect your health. Doing this will lower the risk of serious diseases and health conditions, boost immunity, and help you feel your best. Avoid restrictive fad diets which may limit nutritional intake.
As opposed to making dramatic, abrupt changes, try making gradual and sustainable modifications in your eating habits over time. Focus on eating well-rounded meals including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins and healthy fats and limit food and beverages high in sodium, sugar or saturated fats.
Start by filling one-third of your plate with non-starchy vegetables like leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, and dark-green veggies such as dark-green spinach. Next add one-fourth plate full of proteins such as skinless poultry or fish, beans, nuts or tofu for protein intake. And don’t forget a variety of whole fruits rather than fruit juice for vitamins and minerals! Finally add low-fat dairy as well as one fourth plate full of carbohydrates!
Balanced diets aim to achieve weight management while still providing essential nutrition. If you need assistance in planning meals for optimal health, please consult with a dietitian or doctor.
Eating a well-balanced diet is key to weight loss, maintaining a healthy weight, and warding off heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. A healthy diet also plays a vital role in supporting brain and bone health – as well as making you smarter in general! While nutrition alone may not cure all illnesses, you must still visit your physician for regular screenings and tests as part of staying healthy; managing weight is only part of the equation; getting exercise and enough rest are also key elements to staying in good shape.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is essential to maintaining a healthy weight. Sleep allows our bodies to recharge its hormones and regulate appetite. People who don’t get enough rest are at an increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke as well as poor mental health issues and an increased likelihood of motor vehicle accidents (48). Make sure to establish a relaxing bedtime ritual such as reading or stretching before going to sleep each night; try for at least seven or eight hours sleep (49). (50).
People who suffer from lack of sleep often exhibit higher stress levels, leading to unhealthy behaviors like skipping meals and overeating.
Exercise Regularly
Engaging in regular exercise will help keep you healthy, lose weight as needed and maintain it over the long term. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise each week (such as brisk walking). If this is new for you, start slowly and build up to longer sessions over time; once it becomes part of your routine, it won’t be easy not to exercise! For best results write out workout plans on a physical wall calendar to stay motivated!
Consistency is key when it comes to maintaining a healthy weight, so if there are any gaps in your healthy habits (like skipping meals or skipping exercise), make sure that you get back on track as quickly as possible – keeping a food journal can be an effective way of doing just this!
PartnerMD wellness coaches share six simple strategies for maintaining a healthy weight ranging from meal planning and exercise regimens, organization tips and organization systems. Watch this episode of What Doctors Wish Patients Knew by subscribing to our YouTube channel for more wellness videos!
Don’t Skip Meals
Your body requires a certain number of calories every day for energy. Choose healthy food options like whole-grain bread, muesli, fruits, yoghurt and low-fat milk as these contain higher fibre contents to help make you feel full. They also contain less saturated fat and more omega-3 fatty acids – important nutrients for heart health!
Skipping meals can lead to weight gain and other unhealthy behavior, which in turn has serious repercussions for energy levels and nutritional intake. Frequent skipping of meals interferes with leptin and ghrelin hormones which regulate hunger and satiety; additionally it could trigger binge eating that is bad for health.
As soon as you miss a meal, your blood sugar drops quickly, leaving you hungry and fatigued. By continuing to skip meals, your body stores up extra calories as fat deposits while slowing your metabolism down further. To effectively lose weight, the most efficient approach is eating regular meals and snacks throughout the day and burning off extra calories through physical activity.
Nutrition is a complex topic, so working with a registered dietitian to devise an eating plan tailored specifically to your health requirements is highly advised.
Eating healthy does not need to be boring or restrictive. Instead, enjoy a variety of delicious food – vegetables and fruit (at least 5 servings daily), whole grains, low-fat dairy, protein sources, healthy fats and sugars are all great ways to stay on track with eating well. Limit sodium consumption from processed food sources like restaurants; incorporate nuts, seeds, legumes, unsalted butter and fish into your diet to add unsaturated fatty acids into your diet while trying to limit added sugars as much as possible.
Keep a Food Journal
Food journals can help individuals gain greater insight into their eating habits. A food journal could take the form of anything from a simple list on paper or an app that tracks all your daily meals and snacks to keeping a food diary that monitors every one of these. By tracking what and when you eat throughout the day, keeping a food diary allows you to see your typical meals and snacks and whether they contain enough calories, fats and carbs; additionally it may highlight patterns, such as whether stressors at work or certain friends are impacting how your habits may change accordingly.
Food journals should cover several key components, including recording your location, time of day and appetite when eating. Noting these details can help reveal unhealthy patterns such as reaching for quick snacks when stressed or eating on the run too quickly; as well as helping develop new strategies to cope with emotions without turning to food as an outlet.
Counting calories can help those looking to shed extra weight quickly and safely by pinpointing where your biggest calorie deficit lies in your diet, so that items which contain unnecessary caloric intake can be replaced with healthier alternatives. It may also be useful in tracking “hidden” calorie sources like alcohol, sugary beverages and processed snacks/desserts that may contain “hidden” calories.
Some doctors utilize food diaries to help their patients gain insight into their eating habits and how they might be impacting health conditions, like IBS or food allergies. Prior to beginning one yourself, speak to your physician regarding its use and they may offer tips on how to utilize it most efficiently and safely.
