Chapter 5: Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

It is important to realize that your lifestyle affects both weight gain and weight loss, if you continuously diet but not change those horrible habits such as never letting those chocolate biscuits pass you by or coming home only to reach for the TV remote and flopping down to eat that Big Mac, you won't lose much, if any, weight, in fact you'll become toned, but at a larger size. Let's do some investigation to see what we can do in order to change flaccid lifestyles.

Observe and incorporate these wonderful tips into your lifestyle to aid in your weight loss quest and the burning of unwanted calories as these small tips will make a difference and are most times overlooked as we search high and low to blast those fat cells. These lifestyle changes should partake in your daily life, perhaps if you had changed your eating habits and lifestyle years ago, the weight gain could have very well been avoided. The goal should be to add one new habit once a week so that you do not overwhelm yourself in the beginning.

· Drinking fresh, purified water is absolutely essential since water makes up 55-60% of our bodies, we need to replenish our supply as much as we can by drinking 8-10 glasses per day minimum to deter dehydration which actually reduces your metabolic rate. Water also helps in supressing your appetite when had just before and after meals. Also, late at night, if you get hungry, you may find that having a glass of water is all you needed and that you no longer feel hungry afterwards.

· Another no-no people do all the time in the name of the almighty rat-race is skipping out on much needed breakfast in the morning. Breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day because for 6-8 hours during the night, your body is fasting because there isn't any food intake, upon waking you are hungry and should break this fast, break your fast = breakfast! What you eat for breakfast and lunch, becomes the fuel your body needs throughout the day. If you don't eat towards the start of the day, your body may think that there is a food shortage and slow down your metabolism.

· Avoid crash dieting. Crash diets send your metabolism spiraling out of control, slowing it right down and causes weight gain in the long-run and deprives your body of essential nutrients, please know this is one of the worst things you could ever do to your body!

· During your early waking hours you should consume a small amount of monounsaturated fat, then maybe a little throughout the day with meals, try to slow up on the fat intake late at night since for many of us we become inactive.

· When eating a meal, do take the time to savor it, chewing slowly and thoroughly. Your stomach signals the brain that you are full roughly 20 minutes after eating, so you may actually be full physically before feeling it mentally. Eat your meals very slowly so that your brain can catch up to your stomach.

· Drinking tea on a regular basis increases metabolism, aiding in fat burning although remember to increase your water intake as tea acts as a diuretic.

· Eating spicy foods increases metabolic rate by a significant percentage.

· Forget about weighing yourself too often but rather use a tape measure or the fitting of your clothes to determine and monitor the progress of your weight loss. Your body weight fluctuates especially at night and in the mornings.

· Eating complex carbohydrates such as yams, sweet potatoes and brown rice about 30 minutes before your main meal will give you the feeling of being full quicker.

· As a healthy snack, keep a few small bags of air-popped, fat-free popcorn and raw celery and carrot sticks for those little emergencies instead of hitting up the snack machine.

· Find a dieting and workout buddy to encourage motivation.

· Avoid sugary and fatty finger foods that are easy to overeat.

· Consume more plain water instead of fattening sodas and other sugar-filled beverages.

· Don't eat if you happen to be depressed sad and angry, the best way to vent is to do some cardio kick boxing or aerobics.

· Consume nuts and seeds in small amounts, as they contain up to 50% fat and have a very high calorie count.

· Avoid late night trips to the fridge. Try to keep the kitchen off-limits at any time after your last main meal of the day unless it's to the fruit bowl.

· Try not to eat while relaxing in front of the television, as this tends to promote unhealthy eating habits. You won’t be able to monitor your eating if you’re focused on something else.

· Don’t swallow large chunks of food. Enjoy each bite and chew every mouthful slowly.

· To cut down on late-night cravings, try eating high fibre carb foods such as wholemeal biscuits or a few slices of brown bread.

· Don't deprive yourself, eating healthier foods and increasing exercise helps considerably, but do treat yourself to that small piece of cheesecake you've been wanting. It is a known fact that when you deprive yourself of something, when you finally do treat yourself, you overindulge. You could always give half of a treat to a friend.

· Try not to eat anything 3-4 hours before retiring for the day. To avoid late night hunger, try to have a larger breakfast or lunch.

· Don't nibble on tidbits throughout the day as some contain hundreds of calories. Have a piece of fruit inbetween meals.

· Don't drown your food in rich sauces and salad dressings, a little bit goes a long way.

· Try baking or broiling the majority of your foods and cut the fried foods down to once, twice or every other week.

· One trick is to use a smaller plate for your meals so you actually feel as though you've eaten more than you actually did. Extra large plates can give you the impression that you don't have enough food.

· Don't eat part of a meal while preparing it. A good trick to overcome this desire is to chew gum.

· Try to stay away from seconds, if you must, pile up on the vegetables. You might be surprised at how filling a bowl of steamed vegetables can be.

· Read labels very carefully. Some low-fat items are very high in carbohydrate calories.

· Crave chocolate? Try eating a banana! Most times this wonderful fruit will satisfy your cravings for chocolate and hunger in general plus is much more healthy.

· If you ever feel restless or even edgy, try picking up some weights and exercise for a several minutes.

· If you get hungry inbetween meals, have a drink of water instead and see how you feel. Sometimes, food cravings are really just your body craving liquids.

· Use your feet or a bike instead of your car if possible.

· At all costs, do not grocery shop when you are hungry, everything you "see" you will want and by the time you reach home, you will end up eating double portions and have grocery bags full of fattening foods.

· If you have recently stopped smoking, stop looking for things to do with your fingers, if you must find something to take care of that "oral fix", try chewing gum or sucking on cinnamon sticks.

· If you have been on the road all day long and starving, have enough will power to make wise choices instead of stopping off at McDonalds or Wendy's as a convenient fix. Subway is one of many terrific places to grab low calorie subs.

· If fast food is unavoidable, indulge yourself with a salad at the same time.

· Ensure you have eaten a healthy meal before going to the mall, if by chance you are unable to pass by "Cinnabun", don't try to eat the whole thing, one Cinnabun can be split amongst several friends.

· Try to find substitute activities for eating junk foods or snacking out of habit. When the cravings hit or you feel like reaching into the fridge, try walking around the block or doing some housework or reading instead to take your mind off the food.

· If you have severe time constraints in your schedule, do at least 3 10-15 minute cardio/weight sessions per week becuase "something" is way better than nothing. Every little bit makes a difference when it comes to exercise.

· If you have a desk job, make sure you get up every hour to stretch your legs and go for a brisk walk to promote circulation.

· Learn to develop and maintain positive self-esteem and thinking because it will make it easier for you to stay motivated with losing weight. The more self confident you are, the more control you will have over your life.

· Negative emotions can and most probably will interfere with your weight loss plans. It's usually quite difficult to stay motivated if you are feeling bad about yourself. When people overeat, they usually end up feeling negative emotions afterwards such as depression, anger, guilt or anxiety.

Overall, adapting to change isn't easy but can be achieved, it just takes a little patience, work, dedication and discipline on your part as with all things in this world: Anything worth having is worth fighting for. Proper planning, a positive attitude, nutritious diet, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle comprise the proper way to achieve your weight loss goals.