Nutrition plays a vital role in the weight loss journey, yet many people tend to overlook it. Simply starving oneself or exercising excessively can result in temporary weight loss, as it is unsustainable in the long run. Instead, incorporating healthy nutrition habits into our daily routine is essential to achieve permanent weight loss. Here are seven effective tips to get started on the right path to lose weight quickly and sustainably.
1. Limit Meal Variety
While variety is the spice of life, eating different foods every meal makes controlling calories and hunger far more difficult. Monday through Friday, choose 3 breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack options within your calorie intake budget and rotate through them.
This way, you won’t have to wonder what to eat for your next meal, or worry about creating a calorie deficit. This tip alone can help you lose weight consistently.
2. Take 20 Minutes To Eat Your Meals
It takes about 20 minutes for leptin, the body’s satiety hormone, to kick in and let you know that you’ve eaten enough.
As tough as it can be sometimes, take your time, eat slowly, and chew your food.
This method can help you eat more mindfully and increase your body awareness, which can mean improved portion control.
3. Write A Weekly Grocery List
Write down your grocery list before going to the store so you know exactly what you need when you’re walking the aisles, thereby decreasing impulse purchases and helping your weight loss.
Another good tip to practice – don’t go to the grocery store hungry. Hungry shoppers are typically more tempted by high-calorie food options.
Alternatively, you can opt for a grocery delivery service, which has been associated with healthier grocery shopping, limited food variety, and increased weight loss.
4. Shop The Perimeter Of The Grocery Store
Grocery stores keep all of good stuff on the perimeter.36 It’s here that you’ll find your fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins.
The aisles are usually filled with highly-palatable processed foods containing a combination of fat, salt, sugar, and a ton of calories.
Only venture into these sections when you have your grocery list in hand so you’ll know exactly what you need.
5. Purge Your Cupboards
Throw out all of the processed, sugar-filled junk food so you aren’t tempted by it, especially what you perceive as the most addictive unhealthy foods. If it’s not convenient, you’re much less likely to eat it.
Instead, keep fruits and vegetables visible and readily available.
This small change is associated with increased fruit and vegetable consumption, which could make all the difference in your weight loss efforts.
6. Sign Up For A Meal Delivery Service
If you are crunched for time and don’t like to cook, consider signing up for a healthy meal delivery service that delivers tasty, low-calorie meals. A gourmet food delivery service may sound expensive, but many are affordable around $25/day, or less. If you live in the U.S, consider BistroMD, which offers high-protein meals and snacks within specific calorie ranges. Hollywood actors who need to lose weight fast for a movie get food made for them so they don’t have to think about it. You can too.
7. Test Your Food Allergies
If you’re eating a healthy diet and not losing weight, something else might be interfering with your efforts. There’s a chance you have a food allergy or sensitivity that’s causing your body to hold on to excess fat and weight. Eating allergenic foods can cause systemic inflammation and impaired gut health. Get a food allergy test or do an elimination diet to find out what could be causing the problem.
8. Avoid Extreme Low Calorie Diets
While it may be tempting to eat very few calories to lose weight fast, the strategy can backfire. Very low calorie diets (called semi-starvation diets) are associated with a decrease in metabolism. In fact, one study showed that women following a diet of 1200 calories per day lost more fat than women eating only 500 calories per day over a 24-week period.
In addition, when eating very little food, you have a greater risk of nutrient deficiencies.