Small lifestyle changes in the right direction will help you lose weight and maintain it effortlessly – cutting back 100 calories a day is a good place to start
Maintaining weight with age can be tricky and daunting after decades of engraved habits. Oftentimes people make drastic changes in their diet and exercise regime that causes discomfort leading to fall outs. However, instead of making drastic shifts, incorporating simple changes in diet and exercise pattern can reap great results.
Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver, performed a study where participants were instructed to cut back 100 calories a day from their diet, co-author James Hill, the chair of the Department of Nutrition Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham said “losing weight and keeping it off takes some pretty big changes, but small steps are the way to get going”
He explained small steps such as cutting back 100 calories a day can significantly lowers health risks such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular health, and help you keep your weigh in check.
Here are seven ways to lose weight mindfully
1. Count your steps – While 10,000 steps a day is a common fitness goal. You can start at your pace and add extra 500 steps each day. For seniors, counting steps helps as a booster to remain active and has a positive impact on overall health.
You can use a step counter app on your phone or you can purchase a smart wearable that will provide you with all the info such as step count, burnt calories and heart rate.
2. Small portions – How much food you eat during a meal has a great impact on your weight. When you use a bigger plate, you tend to serve a little extra than you may require and that can sometimes lead to overeating – advocating food wastage. Whereas, opting for a smaller plate will help portion control and prevent overeating.
3. Make healthy choices – This is an important step as what you choose to eat makes a lot of difference. Indulging in rich foods or unhealthy snacking once in a while is alright if your healthy food intake is higher. For instance, instead of snacking on potato chips you can snack on roasted foxnuts. Your food choices play an important role in your weight gain/loss.
4. Savour your meal – Have you noticed the second serving never tastes as good as the first? And if you notice closely you will observe that the first bite of the meal is the most flavourful. When you begin to pay close attention to what you are eating – the colour of the food, smell, temperature and the texture, you will begin to enjoy every bite of the meal and this will help you satiate your craving for more as all your senses are involved leaving you satisfied.
5. Big No to sugary sodas – 330 ml of soda/cola is 139 calories, so if you cut back on your sugary soda consumption you will notice the difference on the weighing scale in a month’s time. You can replace soft drinks with fruit infused water. All you need to do is use frozen fruits (so that the flavour is intensified) or fresh ones, drop them in water and enjoy it whenever you crave a carbonated beverage.
6. Basic body-weight exercises – You do not need gym equipments to exercise, instead use your body weight to strengthen your muscles. Doing body-weight exercises will strengthen your bones and improve muscle mass. With ageing it is essential to workout 30 minutes a day. If 30 minutes seems long you can do 10-minute simple body-weight exercises three times a day. Simple exercises such as – wall push ups, pulse squats, step ups, heal toe, pelvic tilts, side hip raises and like.
7. Maintaining a food journal – Make a note of everything that you eat throughout the day. When you make a note of things that you have consumed through the day you will begin to notice your eating pattern and food habits. This will make you conscious about food choices and number of meals you consume.
It is easy to lose weight if you do it correctly. Drastic change in your routine or food habits will only result in fall outs and stress. Try to take things slowly and mindfully, the more conscious you become about your food habits and eating pattern the simpler it will be to lose weight and maintain it.
