Eat a healthy breakfast
Eating a rich breakfast could help you lose more weight by reducing your hunger levels throughout your day but also keep your energy level high so you can handle your daily activities.
However, if you’re trying to lose weight, you need to eat only when you’re hungry, so if in the morning you’re not feeling hungry and you’re not a breakfast person; you don’t need to force yourself to eat.
To make a judgment call if to it breakfast or not consider:
- Eat when you’re hungry even if it’s an hour after waking up
- If you workout in the morning, a light snack is necessary to give you energy during your workout and a heavy healthy breakfast is needed after your workout.
- Pay attention to your appetite all day, opt for many smaller healthier meals to aid in hunger management, and maintain your required caloric intake while at it.
Eat on a smaller plate – Reducing the size of your dinnerware can help you unconsciously reduce your meal portions. This is likely to help you consume less food without feeling deprived
Eat less sugar and empty calories (calories from solid fats and/or added sugars e.g., cakes, pizza, ice cream, sausages, soda e.t.c.)
Incorporate proteins into your diet
Eating protein-rich foods helps you feel faster and longer hence prevents you from overeating therefore it contributes to you being within your required caloric intake for weight loss.
Proteins help build lean muscle when combined with exercise.
Lean muscle helps to burn more calories throughout the day, which can also help with weight loss.
Protein has a thermic effect on food, therefore, might help you burn a little more calories just from digesting your food. The thermic effect of food is the “cost” of digesting your food. Essentially, it takes some energy to break food down, digest it, and turn it into energy. Protein has the highest “cost” of all the three macronutrients.
Opt-in for fiber-rich foods
Soluble fibers such as oats, beans, peas, carrots, apples, citrus fruits are digested more slowly and pull water into your gut making you feel full for longer.
Insoluble fiber such as nuts, whole wheat, whole grains products, vegetables cannot be broken down or absorbed by the body as a source of calories, they help keep your digestive system moving along hence they stave off hunger pangs. Insoluble fibers basically add content to your stool and improve bowel-related issues.
Naturally, fiber-rich foods also tend to be high in important nutrients, so you might want to incorporate that into your diet.
Hydrate often
Before eating anything, drink a glass of water first. You might actually realize you were not hungry, just bored 😀
Water contains zero calories so it’s a good way to keep you satisfied and well hydrated at the same time.
30 minutes before any meal, drink a glass of water, this will prevent you from overeating.
Aim to drink at least 2 liters of water every day; a glass of warm water after you wake, a glass before every meal, and the rest distributed throughout your day. It’s a good hack to carry a water bottle with you everywhere you go.
Eat more slowly
Put the spoon/fork down in between bites.
Take your time to enjoy the food. This will help you be mindful of what you putting in your mouth and also the opportunity to get to know your fullness cues a little better.
Reduce on booze
Alcohol intake of all levels can lead to impaired digestion and absorption of nutrients. Drinking puts a temporary pause on your metabolism and potential fat loss and can affect cravings and hunger.
Alcohol is a toxin and your body will prioritize metabolizing out this toxin before anything else therefore, your body uses alcohol as a primary source of energy, the excess energy source such as glucose ends up as fat.
Drinking in excess can also cause your blood sugar to drop temporarily which may make you feel hungrier later that night and even the next day – which is exactly why you start to crave high-calorie foods after a night out!
Get enough sleep
Being tired, cranky, and hungry all tend to go hand in hand which will mean you will eat more than you need to.
Being sleep-deprived will cause you to move slower and have less physical activity throughout your day which will cause you to burn fewer calories than you would when you are energetic.
Manage your stress
Stress has an effect on your mood, which can affect certain hormones associated with appetite and as a result affects your eating habits.
Stress has also been associated with the increased level of the cortisol hormone which may increase hunger and cravings in some people.
If stressing is hindering your weight loss efforts, try yoga, meditation, long walks. Studies have shown engaging in these activities can improve your moods which can help you stay on track in regards to healthy eating.
Learn to do Meal Planning
Planning ahead may prevent you from turning to quick fixes such as fast foods or skipping meals.
Prepare a weekly menu and ensure everything in the menu is within reach, if not, you can substitute easily with an equivalent that’s available.
If you’re not sure of where to start, check out our weight loss meal plan guide.
In conclusion, on your weight loss journey, you really need to be keen on how healthy your eating habits are otherwise, you’re on a losing streak!
Weight loss is 80% nutrition and 20% exercising.
Wow…now I know