Everyone now knows how important it is to lose excess weight and maintain a healthy weight. But the struggle to do so is a lot tougher in a world where high-calorie food is easily accessible. The benefits of maintaining a healthy weight are enormous and well worth the effort. In addition to reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and hypertension, weight control can also reduce the risk of various cancers, including breast, colon, kidney, pancreas and esophagus cancer.
Since most people gain 1 or 2 pounds every year, the first and easiest step to take is to stop that weight gain. This step alone has major health benefits. Lowecing your weight to a healthy level should be the next step.
Here are 5 simple ideas to reach a healthy weight
1. Ban ridiculous diets. Almost any strange and extreme diet is doomed to fail. When you lose weight quickly with a very restrictive diet, there is a high risk, both for physiological and psychological reasons, of losing control when the diet is finished. The weight (re)gain is rapid and greater than what had been lost. Your best allies when it comes to losing weight and maintaining it is to choose healthy foods, eat slowly and smaller portions.
2. Move more. If there’s a unique solution to lose excess weight, it’s this one : exercice, exercice and exercice! Choose fun activities and do them a une unique solution pour perdre l’excès de poids celle-ci sera : l’exercice, l’exercice et l’exercice. Choose enjoyable activities and practice them daily from 30 to 60 minutes if the activity is of moderate intensity (brisk walking) or 30 minutes if it’s a more intense activity. Exercising with a friend can help keep you motivated.
3. Turn off the television. Watch less television in order to devote more time to physical activity and less time to be seduced by junk food advertisements. Devote less than 2 hours per day to television. Not putting a television in your bedroom and not watching your favourite show during meals are two simple ways to reduce your overall TV time.
4. Skip sugary drinks. Soft drinks and sugary fruit juices add several hundred empty calories per day without us even realizing it. Choose water or sparkling water and add a dash of lemon, lime or a slice of orange to it, or fresh vegetable juices that have the advantage of containing vitamins and fiber.
5. Think before you eat. Take the time to ask yourself if you’re really hungry or if your craving is caused by an emotion, such as boredom or stress. Think about what you could do to calm yourself instead of eating. A good walk would do so much good. Avoid eating mechanically when you’re watching TV or surfing the Internet, and get into the habit of doing nothing else while eating.
