Healthy Habits for losing Weight
How to lose weight with healthy habits
Follow
a particular plan if you want to lose weight. Change your lifestyle with
healthy eating habits, include physical activities in daily life, enough sleep
and avoid stress.
Weight Loss
Recently,
an article was published for everyone wherein five steps to lose weight
effectively were elaborated. These steps are wonderful to lose weight which one
can follow and lose weight. These steps are reproduced here as follows:
Overview
A
lifestyle with good nutrition, regular physical activity, stress management,
and enough sleep supports a healthy weight. People who lose weight at a
gradual, steady pace—about 1 to 2 pounds a week—are more likely to keep the
weight off than people who lose weight quicker.
Factors,
such as medicines, medical conditions, stress, genes, hormones, environment,
and age can also affect weight management.
If
you're concerned about your weight or have questions about your medications,
talk with your health care provider. When you are ready to get started, explore
these five steps to guide you to a healthier weight.
Step 1: Understand your “Why”
Consider
why you want to lose weight, whether it's because heart disease runs in your
family or you want to be more physically active. Writing down your reasons will
help you stay focused on your goal. Place your reasons where you can see them
daily to remind yourself why you want to make this change.
Even
modest weight loss helps
If you
are not at a healthy weight, even modest weight loss can help improve your
blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels. For example, a 5% weight
reduction for a person who weighs 200 pounds is 10 pounds. This change could
lower the risk for some chronic diseases such as heart disease, prediabetes,
and type 2 diabetes.
Step 2: Track where you are
Tracking
where you are now helps to identify how you want to improve your health. You
can start by tracking your nutrition, physical activity, and sleep. Write down
or use an app to track:
· Nutrition:
Include everything you consume for a few days in a food and beverage diary.
This will help you see what you eat and drink and consider how to make small
changes.
· Physical
activity: Include time of day, what activity you did, and duration in a physical
activity diary.
· Sleep:
Include the hours of sleep you get. The amount you need changes as you age.
· Stress:
Include healthy ways you are reducing your stress
· Other
wellness factors you can track include how you are feeling when you eat and
drink and are active, and lifestyle challenges. To track lifestyle challenges,
you can ask yourself questions like the ones included in the table below. If
you answer yes, consider ways to overcome those challenges.
Lifestyle challenge and Consideration
to overcome challenge
Does your work schedule make it hard to be physically active?
·
Walk to work or take public transportation.
·
Take walk breaks at work.
·
Ask a coworker to join you for a walk at lunch or after work.
Do you eat sugary foods because that's what you buy for your kids?
·
Have fruits and vegetables on hand to quickly grab.
·
Bring the family together to create healthier changes for everyone
at home.
·
Plan meals ahead of time.
Do your co-workers bring in treats to share?
·
Bring healthier snacks to share with your co-workers.
·
Start a wellness committee at work to promote healthier eating
among your co-workers.
·
Meet with human resources to discuss having the workplace offer
healthier options.
Do you feel tired because you
are not getting enough sleep?
·
Set regular bed and wake times.
·
Avoid caffeine in the afternoon and evening.
·
Turn off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime.
Step 3: Set specific goals you can reach
in a realistic time
Set
short-term goals and reward your efforts along the way. Short-term goals might
include drinking water instead of sugary beverages, taking a 15-minute evening
walk, or having a vegetable with supper.
Focus
on two or three goals at a time. Effective goals are specific and realistic.
For example, "exercise more" is not specific. But "I will walk
15 minutes, 3 days a week for the first week," is specific and potentially
more realistic.
Setting
unrealistic goals, such as losing 20 pounds in 2 weeks, can leave you feeling
defeated and frustrated.
Remember,
occasional setbacks happen. This is expected. When they happen, get back on
track as quickly as possible. Then, think about how to prevent setbacks in
similar future situations.
Everyone
is different. What works for someone else might not be right for you. For
example, to help you be more active, try a variety of physical activities, such
as walking, swimming, tennis, or group exercise classes. See what you enjoy
most and can fit into your life. These activities will be easier to stick with
over the long term.
Step 4 : Find Support
Identify
family members or friends who will support your weight loss efforts. Coworkers
or neighbors with similar goals might share healthy recipes and plan group
physical activities.
It may
help to join a weight-loss program or visit a health care professional, such as
a nutrition or weight-loss specialist. Ask for a follow-up appointment to
monitor changes in your weight and any related health conditions.
You
can also ask your health care provider for resources to support a healthy
weight. This may include referral to a registered dietitian, clinical or
community programs, federally approved medications or devices, or weight-loss
(bariatric) surgery.
Establishing
healthy habits are very difficult when healthy choices are limited. Consider
looking up your local community resources, such as food pantries, farmers
markets, parks and recreation, and trails.
Food assistance and food systems resources
Resources for food assistance in everyday situations, as well as
before, during, and after emergencies and disasters. These resources are for
individuals and organizations.
Step 5 : Monitor your progress
Evaluate
your progress regularly by revisiting your goals. Decide which parts of your
plan are working well and which parts need to be changed. Use this information
to revise your goals and plan.
If you
consistently meet a particular goal, add a new goal to help continue your
pathway to success.
Reward
yourself for your achievements! Recognize when you're meeting your goals and be
proud of your progress. Use non-food rewards, such as a bouquet of fresh
flowers, a sports outing with friends, or a relaxing bath. Rewards help keep
you motivated on the path to better health.
Source: https://www.cdc.gov/healthy-weight-growth/losing-weight/index.html
