Every person who is concerned about managing their weight is sure to have come across numerous advice and recommendations on how to keep themselves slim. While some might be beneficial, most advice that comes across as ‘scientific’ tends to be pseudoscience that can end up having the opposite effect. In this post, we list out nine tips to keep your weight in check that have been backed by scientific studies.
Record, Track, And Improve
When looking to maintain your weight, the first habit you should develop is to record and track your weight on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. You can then compare the figures, find out whether you have gained any weight and then take appropriate action to cut back the excess weight. Without properly tracking your weight, you might never know that you are becoming fatter. And this is a natural human limitation – when a person sees themselves on a daily basis, they are generally unable to notice any changes in weight over a period of time. But this drawback in human observation can be countered by keeping a journal of your daily weight. People who track their weight on a consistent basis have been seen to be more successful in maintaining their shape than those who don’t.
Mindful Eating
Another habit that you should develop is that of mindful eating. Many people tend to eat their meals while focusing on other activities. Some people might eat while checking their phones, others might eat while watching their TVs, and some might eat when reading the newspaper. The problem with such habits is that instead of focusing on the food you are eating your end up focusing on other things. As such, it is very likely that you will overeat. It is to avoid this problem that the concept of mindful eating came into existence. In simple words, mindful eating asks people to only focus on the food while eating meals and never do any other activity simultaneously. Right from plating the food, breaking it into pieces, putting it in your mouth, chewing it, and finally gulping the food down your throat, giving your attention to the entire eating process ensures that your mind is fully aware of the food you are eating. As such, you will feel more satiated and have less of a tendency to overeat.
Friend Circle
Your circle of friends will also have a big effect on whether you will be successful in keeping your weight in check over the long term. Certain studies have shown that a person’s chance of turning out overweight spikes up by more than 50% if they have a friend who also gained excess weight within the same period. This is also true for couples. When one of the couples starts gaining weight, the possibility of the other spouse also gaining weight is more 35%. Now, this obviously does not mean that you keep yourself away from your overweight friends and spouse. That in itself sounds ridiculous. However, what these studies show us is that your chances of slimming down and maintaining weight will increase dramatically if your close friend or spouse also sheds their excess weight. As such, if you can plan a group weight loss and maintenance activity that can benefit you and your loved one, then you will benefit from it much more than sticking to a diet schedule all on your own.
One Fruit Before Meal
It has been observed that eating a piece of fruit prior to eating meals has a positive effect on managing weight. This was also verified by a study conducted in 2003 where people were grouped into three categories, with each group being asked to eat a pear, an apple, and an oatmeal cookie three times a day right before their meals. After about three months, it was found that the groups that ate fruits like pear and apple lost weight while the people belonging to the group that ate the cookies did not lose weight. In light of this study, you should now be able to understand the importance of eating a price of fruit before every meal. Try it out for a couple of months and you will definitely see a reduction in weight.
Daily Protein Consumption
Whether you are following an HCG diet as per the instructions at hcgdiet.com or any other diet, consumption of protein is an important factor in weight management. And various studies have shown that consuming a good amount of protein, specially sourced from eggs, play a big role in helping you avoid gaining weight. So, if you have never used eggs in your breakfast, make sure that you start including them on a regular basis. Plus, try to spread out your protein consumption all through the day. This is because protein increases the feeling of satiety, which in turn reduces your need to eat more. As such, eating protein all day long will prove to be incredibly beneficial to keep your hunger pangs in check.
Serving Size
The size of servings is another important factor that you must control when looking to regulate your weight. Some people have a tendency to eat excessively when presented with excess food. And if such people are constantly exposed to numerous food items, then this habit will inevitably lead to weight gain. A few studies that looked into people’s eating habits at buffets found that they usually have a tendency to eat 45% more food than normal. So, if you regularly find yourself in situations where you can choose from large quantities of food do yourself a favor and use a small plate. This should help you curb the instinct to overeat during such events.
Eat Nuts
You should also make it a habit to eat a few nuts every day. Though it is commonly believed that consuming nuts daily can lead to weight gain since they are very high in calories, studies have proved the opposite. Numerous researches have shown that eating a handful of nuts on a daily basis can lead to weight loss. In fact, a study conducted on 7000 people in 2016 confirmed this observation. However, you need to keep in mind that you should eat only a handful of nuts. Instead, if you end up gorging in nuts all day long, then inevitably you will do more harm than good and will eventually gain extra weight.
Eat Fruit Instead Of Drinking Juice
Many people opt to drink fruit juice instead of eating a whole fruit. And even though the juice is often considered equivalent to the fruit itself in terms of what it provides to the body, its effect is far different. The whole fruit is rich in fibers that can help with absorbing the sugar properly into the blood. Similarly, eating a whole fruit tends to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes while fruit juice was seen to increase such risks. And since people tend to add sugar to the fruit in order to sweeten it, drinking fruit juice tends to contribute to weight gain.
Artificial Sweeteners
In a bid to reduce sugar consumption, some people swap their sugar with artificial sweeteners out of a belief that this will allow them to enjoy the sweet taste of foods while helping them avoid the negative effects of sugar consumption. But this is a false belief. The very fact that you eat sweetened items will increase your appetite for sugary foods. And eventually, you will cave in to the desire of eating sugar-rich items, which will cause you to gain weight.
