In today’s fast paced society, it is very hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Many people have a hard time attaining their weight goals because they don’t have the patience or will-power after long, hard days at work.
Eliminate Red Meat
Besides the sufficient source of protein, red meat is extremely high in fat and can draw you towards poor fast food restaurant choices which serve over-sized and high-fat meals. By building your meals around fish and poultry, you can keep your temptations at bay. Be conscious of creamy, high calorie condiments that come with entrees, like tartar sauce or special sauce on grilled chicken sandwiches.
Cut Out Fried Foods
One of the most simple and easy ways to keep your meals low fat and healthy are by grilling, baking, roasting, or boiling. Frying food only adds more saturated fats, and can defeat the purpose of eating lean meats.
Start with a Soup or Salad
Starting your meal with a soup or salad can develop into a great habit to have which can result in healthy weight loss. A low-calorie soup or salad can maintain your hunger, prevent over-eating and help you stay in control of your portions. Choosing a broth or tomato based soup is ideal, and for your salad, top it off with low-calorie dressing or balsamic vinegar.
Finish with Fruit
Fruit is a great alternative to reaching for the cookie jar or helping yourself to dessert after meals. Make sure to finish off a meal with naturally sweet fruit instead of sinfully-sweet treats. Natural sugars in fruit serve as a positive boost in energy and nourishment. Not only will you save fat and calories, you also have the added benefit of extra vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Drink Up
Everyone knows that drinking 8 glasses of water each day keeps you very healthy. Drinking water is extremely helpful in losing weight because you stay fuller longer, and helps wash toxins out of your body.
Sugar Substitutes and Sodas
If you are one of many people who drink soft drinks on a regular basis, you will be surprised how many additional calories you are taking in. For every 20 ounces of Coca-cola, 250 empty calories are consumed. If you drink several glasses a day, you can easily consume more than 1,000 liquid calories.
Switching to diet sodas sounds like a good alternative without giving up your favorite drink, because they are virtually calorie-free. However, there is a controversial issue regarding the truth behind artificial sweeteners’ indirect effect on weight loss. Some health experts suggest that artificial sweeteners cause your appetite to increase. Recent studies have suggested that artificial sweeteners actually cause cravings for sweet foods to increase. “With the public concern over childhood obesity and diabetes, few are being told of the overwhelming evidence that early exposure to excitotoxins as found in aspartame consistently produce gross obesity and insulin resistant diabetes, just as we are seeing in our youth” (www.wnho.net/new_aspartame_studies.htm) Dr. Russell L. Blaylock.
Drink Less Alcohol
All alcoholic beverages are high in sugar and calories. It is hard to realize how many calories you are consuming with each beverage you drink, and after a night full of drinking, you can consume enough calories to fill you up for a whole day.
Avoid Emotional Eating, and Keep a Food Diary
There is no better tool for weight management than a journal. Keeping a consistent food diary will make you realize the mistakes being made, the foods that get you started, the worst times of day, etc. By using a diary to record what you eat and when you eat it, you will be able to control those binge urges.
Get Active!
Any form of activity is better than no activity. A few times a week, just simply get outside and take a brisk walk for 10-15 minutes. Getting into the habit is the hardest part, but once you have integrated it into your lifestyle, it will be easy to maintain.
By following these simple and effective changes to your everyday routine, you will be sure to look and feel better about yourself and your eating habits, as well as lose those unwanted pounds.
Jordana Stier - Jordana Stier is a journalist/freelance writer based in Toronto. Passionate about current events, politics, traveling & exploring worldly ...
