The Best-Ever Weight-Loss Habits You Need to Try
Sometimes, it feels like there's a surprisingly thin line between loving your body and hating it. But there is actually plenty you can do to finally, fully love the skin you're in. And that all starts with making the right choices for you. If you're wanting to live healthier, it's much easier than you may think to reach the goals you have for yourself. It all starts with these best weight-loss habits you can easily adopt.
So in order to help you get on the right path, here are some no-diet, no-exercise ways to start losing weight and keep it off for good. While you're making these healthy changes, try out any of the 21 Best Healthy Cooking Hacks of All Time.
Don't diet
Studies show that the number-one predictor of future weight gain is being on a diet right now. That's primarily because dramatically cutting calories reduces strength, muscle mass, and bone density—and you need strong muscles to burn visceral fat and keep it from recruiting more cells into its fat storage scheme.
Don't go fat-free
A European study tracked 90,000 people for several years and discovered that participants who tried to eat "low fat" had the same risk of being overweight as those who ate whatever they wanted. Instead, you'll want to focus on eating healthy fats at every meal.
Sit down and eat
Greek researchers reported that eating more slowly and savoring your meal can boost levels of hormones that make you feel fuller.
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Know what you're going to eat next
Dutch researchers posed a group of test subjects a series of questions like, "If you're hungry at 4:00 p.m., then…what?" Those who had an answer ("I'll snack on some almonds") were more successful at losing weight than those who didn't. Your best bet? Have a meal-prep day where you'll stock your fridge with a week's worth of ready-to-eat food, so you'll never have to ask, "What's for dinner?"
Eat protein
In recent studies, people who ate moderately high levels of protein were twice as likely to lose weight and keep it off than those who didn't. So, time to stock up and get your daily protein fix!
Stay active
You really don't need a formal exercise plan in order to stay lean. You do, however, need to carve out time to move around. The average person makes two hundred decisions every single day that affect his or her weight. Train yourself to say yes to more movement.
Watch less TV
In a study, participants who cut their daily TV time from five hours a day to two and a half hours a day burned an average of 119 more calories each day. That may not seem like a lot, but over the course of a year, that's enough to lose more than 12 pounds. Over the course of five years, that's a swing of 60 pounds. So limit your TV-watching to avoid an all-day binge session that results in you not moving from the couch for hours!
