Maintaining healthy weight

Small changes in your life style can help you lose weight or gain healthy weight slowly. The steps below are not just helpful for losing and managing weight but also, more importantly, they are for staying healthy.

Get off that couch

Sitting they say is the new smoking. Most of us lead sedentary lifestyles and our jobs are mostly desk jobs. Take up a sport or at least spend 30 minutes a day walking or swimming or some other physical activity. It has to be worked into your daily routine and followed strictly to maintain  a healthy weight

Plan your meals

These days we plan everything from what to wear, where to go for a holiday and even when to have a baby.   Then why do we not plan what to eat? When the meal time comes or when we are hungry, we eat whatever we can lay our hands-on. It may be hurriedly put together home food which is not balanced or ordered from outside which we cannot control what goes into its preparation.

But an effective direction for a healthy weight goal is to plan your meals so that you get to eat a balanced diet and where you know what exactly you are putting inside your body. Your meals should be nutrient-dense not energy-dense.

Stick to a daily routine

Another important key to maintaining healthy weight is to plan your diet and exercise routine. Follow the routine religiously. Do not skip meals you will end up having energy-dense snacks or binge during your next meal. You should eat according to the schedule you planned otherwise you will end up overeating.

Always eat from a plate

Another commonly practiced tip for healthy weight is to eat from a plate or bowl. This way you can visually measure how much you are eating. If you eat out of a bag or box you have no idea how much you are eating. There is no rule that everything cooked has to be eaten if you are done eating and food is remaining keep it for the next meal.

Shop for groceries after a meal

When you go shopping for groceries on an empty stomach you tend to indulge yourself in energy-dense foods. You tend to pick up chips, cookies and other goodies which are calorie-dense. Whereas if you go after a meal you can concentrate on picking up healthy stuff like veggies, fruits, and whole-grain products. This is another tip to visualize and do your best to maintain a healthy weight. Do not buy foods you do not need. If they are at home you tend to nibble on them between the meals.  

Eat slowly and not in front of the telly

Savour every mouthful of food you eat. Spend time on having your meal. Do not eat in front of the television because you will be so distracted that you do not even know what you are putting in your mouth. And if you really wish to keep up with healthy weight goals, please do not bring your phone to the dining table!

Start reading food labels

Food labels are there to serve a purpose. They have the information you need to know. There are foods that have added sugar which you may not know. For example, did you know soups and ketchup have sugar added to them?  When you pick up juice carton look at what it says 100 % juice or juice concentrate. Stuff like this is important, make it a habit to read food labels not just for healthy weight but for healthy you.

These small changes in the way you do things will help in leading a healthy life and thereby maintaining a healthy weight.