Tips on How to Keep Weight Off
If you feel like you’re in a constant cycle of losing weight and putting it back on, you’re not alone. A study done by Michigan Health at the University of Michigan indicates that nearly 90% of people who lose weight gain back a significant amount of it. While that number is staggering, don’t be discouraged just yet. There are also plenty of people who lose weight and successfully keep it off. The question is, how do they do it? What’s their secret?
Believe it or not, the “secret” is they simply get back to basics. They eat real, whole, unprocessed foods, get plenty of sleep, and regularly get some form of exercise. What they don’t do is participate in fad or extreme diets, deprive themselves, or substitute real meals with diet pills or shakes. Here’s a closer look at the shared habits of people who have won the weight-loss battle in the long term.
Eat Whole Foods
We live in a society where convenience is king, and as such, there’s a “meal replacement” bar, cookie, shake, or pill to suit every type of diet and taste. There’s no question that it’s a booming industry, but there is substantial evidence that consuming more processed foods — yes, even “healthy” ones — directly correlates with overeating and weight gain.
The amount of information out there can be overwhelming, but the bottom line is this: If you have a choice between a protein shake with zero grams of sugar or a handful of blueberries — which has about seven grams of naturally occurring sugar — you should always, always opt for the berries. Real foods have a far longer list of benefits, including antioxidants, better nutrient absorption, and metabolism boosters. No matter how you slice it, meal replacements are highly processed and contain very few natural ingredients. This causes people to feel less full, satisfied, and far more likely to snack unnecessarily or consume the wrong foods.
Aside from just the dietary aspect, people who consume diets rich in whole, unprocessed foods also have lower risks of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
Don’t Deprive Yourself
Perhaps one of the biggest myths of maintaining weight loss is that you can’t indulge in your favorite foods. On the contrary, there is overwhelming evidence that the opposite is true. Treating yourself now and then, as long as it’s done in moderation, can actually help you sustain a healthy, balanced diet. On the other hand, feelings of deprivation increase the likelihood that you will overeat, make poor food choices, or binge eat. Remember, you want to set yourself up for long-term success, so creating sustainable changes in your diet is key.
Get Physical
It’s no secret that diet plays a tremendous role in shedding weight initially and keeping it off. However, consistent exercise is also absolutely essential to maintaining weight loss. Heavier people burn more calories, so as you lose weight, you burn fewer calories. This is your body going through a fascinating metabolic metamorphosis, attempting to get back to its starting weight. To combat this, the most successful recipe is a combination of adjusting your diet to reduce calorie intake and increasing calorie burn through physical activity.
Don’t forget to build rest days into your workout plan. It’s easy to become almost obsessed with exercising, but resting is an essential component of the process. It is during periods of rest that your body literally rebuilds tissue and muscle, increasing strength and endurance.
Prioritize Shut-Eye
Leptin, the hormone that signals to your body that you’re full, and ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite, are directly affected by sleep. People who get less sleep have lower levels of leptin and higher levels of ghrelin. This connection indicates a significant link between a lack of sleep and poor eating habits. When you’re grumpy and not fully alert following a night of not enough sleep, you’re also less likely to exercise and more likely to make unhealthy food choices. In order to counteract this, establish a regular bedtime and stick to it.
No matter where you are in your weight-loss journey, it’s totally normal to have concerns about keeping unwanted weight off. The approach at NuBody centers on losing fat in a natural, effective way for long-lasting results. There are no supplements or unrealistic meal plans to buy. In fact, you’ll do your own grocery shopping at your favorite store and you get to buy real food.An unprocessed diet coupled with our bio-frequency vibration technology boosts metabolism and balances blood sugar to keep fat at bay for good. Contact us today to start zapping your unwanted fat away!