healthy body tips

Losing weight can be a challenge because it means changing our food habits and exercise patterns.  But the right choices over months and years can make all the difference. If you’re exercising to lose weight, DON’T neglect the nutrition side of the equation. In general, try to reduce your overall calorie and fat intake by reducing portion sizes or limiting the amount of fatty foods and junk food you eat.

#tip 1: Measure your waist. For women, your waist should be less than 32 inches, for men, less than 37 inches.

#tip 2: Have a good look at your eating habits. The best way to do this is to keep a food diary.

#tip 3: Eat a piece of fruit before lunch or dinner. This will help you eat a little less and counts as 1 of your 5 a day.

#tip 4: Learn to say no. Don't accept every invitation to dinner and drinks.Suggest activities like a weekend hike or dance lessons.

#tip 5: Beware! Supermarkets often offer discounts on treat foods if you buy them in bulk. Keep away from these discounts: If you buy more, you will eat more!

#tip 6: Careful how you cook! Switch to steaming, boiling and baking to cook food rather than frying or roasting to reduce your fat intake!

#tip 7:  If you take a bus to work, get off one stop early and walk the rest of the way

#tip 8: Have a clear SMART goal; make it Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

#tip 9: Use a smaller plate. Most people use a very large dinner plate, which normally results in far too much food being eaten. Unless you are doing two or three hours exercise every day, you don’t need a big plate.

#tip 10: Never fill your stomach when you eat; always leave some room. You will stop feeling hungry long before you feel full. ‘Filling’ your stomach means you are eating too much.

#tip 11: Eating out this weekend? Eat a small, healthy snack a couple of hours before your meal to make sure you are not tempted to eat everything in sight.

#tip 12: Shop with a list. This will stop you buying food on impulse.

#tip 13: Find a friend. Getting support is a huge part of successfully losing weight. A weight loss buddy will help you stay motivated and give you company a long the way.

#tip 14: Confusing hunger with thirst? Try drinking more water to prevent snacking in between meals.

#tip 15: If you have little time to spare, remember that three short 10minute bouts of physical activity built into your day will all add up.

#tip 16: Switch to wholegrain; try swapping white bread and rice to wholegrain alternatives. You’ll feel fuller for longer.

#tip 17: Don’t let a rainy day stop you from being active. Put on the rain jacket and get moving.

#tip 18: Reward yourself, but instead of indulging in chocolate, sweets or crisps buy a new book or spend some time catching up with friends.

#tip 19:  Choose low fat alternatives of dairy products wherever possible or use smaller amounts of stronger tasting cheeses.

#tip 20: Head down to your local pharmacy and pick up a free tape measure. For women, your waist should be less than 32 inches, for men, less than 37 inches.

#tip 21: Learn to read food labels, and take advantage of information that will help you make healthy shopping choices. Compare like for like products and choose those that are lower in fat, salt and sugar.

#tip 23: Snack on fruit and vegetables between meals. They are naturally low in fat and may distract you from snacking on higher fat foods.

#tip 24: Watch what you drink! Drinking sugary drinks has been associated with obesity. Water is the best thirst quencher but if you really want a fizzy drink try unsweetened fruit juice diluted with sparkling water instead.

#tip 25: Choose lean cuts of meat and trim off any excess fat before cooking. Small servings of lean meat deliver all the nutrients you need and you save money on the extra weight!

#tip 26: Keep an activity diary. It’ll make you aware of how much exercise you’re getting and help you to make improvements. Fill in your activity diary for a week and then focus on where you might fit in more.

#tip 27: Slipping? Don’t lose focus stay positive and find out what went wrong and plan how to get back on track.

#tip 28: Reassess your goals, every week review your previous goals and make new ones once you have reached your target.

#tip 29: Fight the excuses.

#tip 30: Add new foods:Instead of contemplating the foods you need to cut down on,think about foods that you can add to your diet. I'm sure there are lots of exciting unfamiliar foods out there that you would enjoy trying out. Purple broccoli, arracacha, fiddleheads, tamaraillos etc. are some vegetables that come to mind. There are plenty of exotic fruit you can sample too such as jackfruit, rambutans, passion fruit, star fruits,lychees, mangosteens, durian etc.

#tip 31: Eat slowly! Enjoy your meal and the company. Give your body the time to give you the signal that you are satisfied. Otherwise you may overeat.

#tip 32: Go for vegetable, chicken or fish dishes over fattier meat dishes and avoid creamy sauces in favour of tomato-based sauces.

#tip 33: You are more likely to buy treat foods when you are hungry and feel low in energy, so try to avoid shopping on an empty stomach. A good tip is to drink some water or buy a piece of fruit to munch on as you go.

#tip 34: Adapt your favourite recipes to reduce fat, sugar, salt, calories and increase fibre without changing your normal diet radically

#tip 35: Choose snacks that are packaged in individual portions to stop you from overeating.

#tip 36: Start off slowly building at least 30 minutes of activity into your day and increase this gradually to 60-90 minutes over time.

#tip 37: In a hurry? Try these 30 minute quick meal plans which are packed with delicious and nutritious recipes that support a balanced diet

#tip 38: Do you want to cook healthier versions of your favourite recipes without losing the taste?.

#tip 39: Substitute & Swap: Quite a few people are unaware of just how many calories they consume in the form of creamy sauces, butter, margarine etc. If you are cooking substitute low calorie ingredients for high calorie ones and you'll be cutting down significantly on your calorie intake. For example you can use evaporated skimmed milk for soups and sauces to get the texture and flavor of cream sans the fat. 

#tip 40: Spice It All: Eating spicy foods will help curb your appetite. Food that has a lot of flavor stimulates your taste buds and you'll be more satisfied with a smaller amount of food. It's easy to feel bored eating low fat foods because your tongue is used to the flavor that fat adds to certain foods. However when you add spices like garlic, ginger, aniseed, cinnamon, allspice, oregano, paprika, tarragon, basil etc. you'll find that they really enhance the flavor of any food you prepare.Experiment with different types of spices and come up with your own special combinations. 

#tip 41: Experiment With Healthier Alternative Methods Of Cooking:
Try preparing your favorite foods in different more nutritious ways. Instead of deep frying food, pan-fry or stir-fry it with the help of a non-stick pan and a low fat oil spray. Poach your eggs instead of frying them, steam veggies instead of boiling them and grill meat or fish. You don't have to cut down on potatoes either. Just bake them. A baked potato has around 160 calories and no fat. Just don't snack on fries.When you are cooking avoid sampling or nibbling on foods incessantly.You may end up eating an entire porting without even sitting at the table!

#tip 42:Don’t supersize, you’ll just supersize your waist! Order small, instead of medium or large. Eat the foods you usually enjoy, just leave half on the plate.Or save part of your meal for later.(Half a sandwich at lunch, half for a late afternoon snack.).Just eat less!

#tip 43:Cut back on your intake of alcoholic beverages or soda pop. They have lots of empty calories and, depending on how much you drink, can really pack on the pounds. Watch out for latte and espresso drinks; they can pack a big calorie punch! Try water, lowfat milk, spritzer, etc.

#tip 44:Eat until you are 85% full. Then STOP.  Give yourself permission to eat again later if you like, but push away from the table. Learn what “full” vs. “overstuffed” feels like.

#tip 45:Try to eat foods that resemble the original, and snacks that are “real food”, not junk food.  Blueberries instead of the blueberry-flavored breakfast bar.  Real cheese and crackers instead of cheezits, cheetos or cheese spread (lots of extra fat).  A whole grain bread roll instead of a croissant.

#tip 46:Eat breakfast. Really. It doesn’t have to be a huge trucker’s breakfast. But starting off the day with some food will kickstart your metabolism. It will also prevent you from feeling ravenous later and eating food you shouldn’t.

#tip 47:Eat every three to four hours. Not big meals, but enough to bridge the gap between meals.

#tip 48:Remember the B’s. Choose foods that are baked, barbecued, broiled or boiled. Fried foods have lots of added fat and calories that can sabotage your weight loss efforts.

#tip 49:Don’t depend on a magic supplement or metabolism drink to do the trick for you. They may work short term, but you’ll find yourself back where you started (or even a few pounds heavier) and may experience dangerous side effects.

#tip 50: When it comes to portion sizes think small. Dr. Cliodhna Foley Nolan explains how much food is enough.