5 Healthy Habits To Make Weight Loss Easy

To achieve weight loss, you simply have to eat less calories than what you burn consistently, this is the only rule and the only way. The best way to do it is through a mix of exercise and a calorie deficit in your diet. If you eat about 500 calories less a day you will lose about 1 pound (0.4 kg) in one week.

Make sure you know how many calories you need in a day, and track your calories so you can be in control of your results.

Of course, being on a calorie deficit is not always easy, so here’s 5 tips to help you stay consistent on your calorie deficit, and maximise your results.

Eat every 2 to 4 hours for weight loss

Avoid feeling hungry for many hours, as this probably just leads to craving, overeating on your next meal, and making the wrong food choices.

Instead, have small meals every 2 to 4 hours, and aim to eat consistently, at least 3 to 5 times x day. This will help you feel satisfied throughout the day, and keeping blood sugar levels balanced. You will automatically make healthier food choices, and are more likely to stay consistent with your diet.

How many calories you decide to eat on each meal is up to you. You could have 3 main meals and 1 or 2 light snack, or have 4 to 5 smaller meals with an equal amount of calories. For example if your goal is to eat 1700 calories a day you could have 3 meals of 500 calories and one snack of 200 calories. Maybe you prefer to have 4 meals of 425 calories each, and that works well too. If you want to eat 5 meals, you could have 3 meals of 400 calories and 2 snacks of 250 calories each. and this does not have to b the same each day, but can be tailored around your activities that day and lifestyle.

Do resistance training and have enough protein

When trying to lose weight, the goal should be fat loss, and maintenance or increase in muscle mass, this is for general health, but also for a better aesthetic result. This is why resistance training is often more beneficial than cardio, as a form of exercise to add to a calorie deficit.

You should also aim to eat a good amount of protein daily, on top of consistent resistance training, to maintain your muscle mass and allow your body to lose fat mass only. The ideal amount would be 1.2-2 grams x kg or your current weight, depending on your current lifestyle.

Protein also gives you a sense of satiety and increased TEF ( the amount of calories burned by processing the food to turn it into useful nutrients for the body. This is why every meal should have a source of protein, aim for 20-40 grams with each main meal, and at least 10-15 grams in your snacks.

Eat vegetables with every meal

Vegetables are very low in calories, high in fibres and high in essential micronutrients.

Having vegetables with every meal, will make your portions feel bigger even if eating low calories, make you feel full and ensure you are still getting all the essential minerals and vitamins when on a restricted calorie intake.

Aim to fill at least one third of your plate with veggies, and make your plate look colourful to get a variety of nutrients.

If you struggle with eating enough vegetables, try to make a fruit and vegetable juice instead.

Don’t be scared to eat the food that you enjoy, instead snack smartly

Ideally follow the advice above, to maximise your general health, on top of your weight loss results. But also include the foods you enjoy, to avoid feeling to restricted, and quitting your diet too soon.

Eating a pizza or a burger is still okay every now and then, as long as you fit the calories into your daily allowance. For example if you know you are going out for dinner, eat a little bit less throughout that day, or take out of one of your snacks, so you can save the calories and enjoy your dinner, and still lose weight successfully.

This is the same for treats, not satisfying your cravings, will probably just lead to quitting in the long term, or over eating. Add the foods your want into your meal plan, for example if you want something sweet have it as a snack or replace the calories of one of your meals with it. This is of course occasional, as you probably won’t feel as full from a chocolate bar compared to a healthier snack with the same calories.

Another tip to eat better is to buy your snacks in a single portion, and to not have spare snacks at home.

Walk 10000 steps a day to speed up weight loss

Walking 10000 steps a day is a simple rule, to ensure you do enough activity in a day, and avoid leading a sedentary lifestyle.

It can happen that you feel a little less energised during a calorie deficit, try to avoid saving your energy by becoming more sedentary! Move as much as you can during the day, get up and walk up and down the stairs or office every hour, walk when you can instead of driving or taking the bus, clean the house, go to the store and carry your home grocery instead of getting it delivered. All of these activities, will help you burn more calories during the day, and speed up your weight loss results.