22 Best Diet Tips To Keep Yourself On Course

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You have committed yourself to drastically change your lifestyle, with the ultimate goal of losing weight, and of course also getting a healthy body. You start with good courage, but after a week you begin to doubt yourself, especially through all the temptation you face every day. In order to support your new lifestyle, we want to share 22 practical diet tips with you, so that you can keep up with your new intention. With which you can keep yourself on course to your ultimate goal: A healthy body with a healthy weight!

Drink Water

Whether you are following a diet, or not: Drinking water is always a good idea. Even stronger: It is vitally important! Did you know that you can do without food for a long time, but without water you can only do a few days. Water is not only to hydrate your body, so you can function optimally, but is also a great trick to fill your stomach, at the moments that you get the uncontrollable urge to snack.

So before you open that bag of chips, first drink a good glass of water. In many cases, thirst is confused with ‘hunger’, or ‘hunger’. And in most cases there is thirst. So first enjoy a glass of fresh water before you continue with your bag of chips. Chances are you put that bag back in the closet.

Do you have problems drinking water? Do not you just like water? Then try to drink it with a small splash of lemonade syrup. Needless to say that this syrup should be sweetened as little as possible. But even if it is sweetened, it is not so bad: The amount of sugar is so small that we can neglect this.

Another option to drink more water is a good cup of herbal tea, and preferably green tea that you buy from a specialist.

Eating unconsciously

In our culture, eating unconsciously occurs most after dinner. You just ate, and you plop down on the couch. Exhausted from the working day that finally lies behind you, there is of course a nice cup of coffee. A nice cake is part of the coffee. After the second cup, you soon switch to a drink. And bubbling without a nice snack, of course, is not complete. So soon that bag of chips, cocktail nuts, and slices of sausage comes on the table.

It is a habit, but a very unhealthy habit. Not only do you get a lot of extra calories at the very last moment of the day, but your stomach is too stuffed in this way to sleep peacefully.

Do you want to snack on the couch? Then choose a light snack, for example some raw vegetables. And that coffee and alcohol? Choose rather for a cup of tea. Much healthier and you also sleep much better.

Enjoy your favorite food

You can of course be extremely strict by renouncing all less healthy foods, but then the chances are very high that you will get hooked after a while. As an interim solution you can occasionally enjoy that delicious cake, that tasty ice cream or that piece of chocolate. But just take 1 cake, and do not eat the whole pack empty. The secret is moderation: You can eat a lot, but just in moderation.

And then another important thing: Do not misuse this tip to talk about emotion-food for yourself. Keep it real with one cake, and quickly put the rest of the suit back in the closet.

Eat multiple small meals

The basic principle is simple: If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will eventually lose weight. Of course it is all a bit more complex, but this is surely the basis of everything. But if you are hungry and hungry all day, it is very difficult to limit your total intake of calories throughout the day. A considerable challenge!

That is why it is better to eat a small, light meal 5 times a day, instead of 2 large meals. This way you are better able to control your appetite. In the evening your dinner will be your last meal.

Eat protein with every meal

Proteins are the ultimate nutrients to give you a full feeling in a healthy way. Ultimately, proteins give much more satisfaction than carbohydrates or fats. But that is certainly not the only one: You also need proteins to maintain your muscle mass, and proteins stimulate fat burning. So eat regular (fatty) fish, lean meat, eggs, yogurt, cheese, soy, nuts or beans. This can be used in the meals, but is also perfectly suitable as a snack.

Nice and spicy food

Try to season your food spicy, tailored to your taste. Eating tasty and spicy spicy food will give your taste buds a strong boost that will make you enjoy the food more. And the more you enjoy the food, the slower you eat, the faster you stop eating too. May sound contradictory, but eating slowly is very important. It takes an average of 20 minutes before the sign ‘the stomach is full’ has arrived at your brain. The slower you eat, the less chance there is for over-eating.

It is also a fact that herbs stimulate your metabolism, so a big help in losing weight.

The right ingredients in stock

Of course you do not always want to cook extensively, and then it is useful if you have some quick stuff. The easiest way is a frozen pizza or a ready meal for the microwave. But those are the things that you should always avoid! Make sure you always have a base of healthy raw materials at home, so that you can brew a quick, but healthy, meal on the table within 10 minutes. Consider for example frozen vegetables, wholegrain pasta, brown rice, low-fat cheese, canned tomatoes, canned beans, frozen chicken fillets, whole-wheat tortillas or wholemeal pita bread. All things that are all better than that ordered pizza.

Children’s portion in the restaurant

If you want to eat less calories, it is a great idea to order a children’s meal in a restaurant. In many popular restaurants, the portions are generously sized, and often it is also ‘all you can eat’. Chances are that you are over-eating, which is certainly not a good idea. Most restaurants will accept this without cans or blushes, because this is starting to become a real trend. And if you eat at home, you can eat smaller portions simply by using smaller plates. You create less, and you will probably be very satisfied if you have your plate empty. Especially if you do not have the habit of bragging a second time.

Swap that bowl of pasta for a bowl of vegetables

You can quickly save a lot of calories by eating less pasta or bread, and swapping them with vegetables. It does not matter in what form, if only vegetables are. These contain relatively few calories and generally a lot of nutrients. Of course his raw vegetables are the best, but if you do not like it, you can steam or fry your vegetables.

Always take a breakfast

About taking breakfast in the morning, the opinions are very divided. There are diets, especially the fasting, who say that you can skip your breakfast, and then only eat something at 12 o’clock. The system of fasting is not wrong in itself, but it is and remains a temporary diet. Here we talk about a change in your lifestyle, that is: Lifelong! You live a healthier life, it is not actually more.

So just take a breakfast before you go out the door. Prepare your breakfast in the evening, and set the alarm a quarter of an hour earlier. Ok, it is just to continue to get up, but that is rewarded with a delicious quiet breakfast. Relax awakening!

Add more fiber in your food

Fibers: I can never say enough about it. Fibers are so terribly important. Not only for your digestion, but also for your general health as a direct result of optimal digestion. In addition, fiber helps to lower your cholesterol and also to lose weight. Only benefits!

Normally, women should receive about 25 grams of fiber, while men should consume as much as 38 grams. Unfortunately, most people receive only half of the required amount of fiber, which certainly has health consequences, especially digestion. An example: Fibers keep your stool soft and supple, so the risk of constipation is minimal.

Good sources of fiber include oatmeal, beans, whole grain products, nuts and most fruit and vegetables.

Clean up your storage cupboards

If you still have chips in the cupboard, and the ice creams are still in the freezer, it is of course incredibly difficult to stick to your new lifestyle. The temptation can then be too big in some cases.

The most rigorous solution is to critically review your entire inventory, and to clean up what no longer fits into your new lifestyle. From that point on, your whole house is ‘clean’, and you only have to fill the cupboards with healthy food, without being tempted. This will of course be a difficult story if your family members do not share your vision of a different lifestyle. In that case you have chips for the children, and those ‘tasty’ frankfurters for your partner.

You can of course try to win your whole family for your lifestyle, but if that does not work, it might be a solution to reserve a separate cupboard, or a separate shelf, for all these products that no longer fit into your lifestyle. This may sound very extreme, but still necessary to get your ultimate goals. But I can imagine that people on a tight budget are not interested in this. Yet it is possible to eat healthy, even if your budget is limited. Read the link below.

Take it easy with weight loss

If you are losing weight, but it is not as fast as you would like: Do not despair! Losing weight sustainability takes time, just as getting heavier has also cost a lot of time. During all those years you have gained 5 kilos every year. If you want to fall off too quickly, your body switches to the low-energy mode which lowers your metabolism. In addition, all your hormones panic and you are only hungry.

Too fast weight loss will only cause you to experience the well-known yo-yo effect: You get the lost kilos back just as quickly, and often even more. And do not forget that you begin to notice the benefits for your health clearly when you lose 5 – 10% of your body weight. Slow weight loss is equivalent to sustainable weight loss. Try to keep your weight loss stable at 1 to 2 pounds per week. The slower the better!

Do not weigh yourself more than once a week

For many people, the moment of weighing is a moment full of stress: first a moment to the toilet, that makes a difference. And then you come to the discovery that you ‘only’ lost 1 pound. Panic! See? It does not work!

First, you must realize that sustained weight loss is equal to slow weight loss. We have already talked about that. To stay motivated it is important not to weigh more than once a week. Always on the same day, the same hour, and with the same clothes on. Even better: Just weigh yourself naked, then you have already lost the weight of the clothes.

Keep your weight, and therefore your progress, in a diary. And if you look back at the results of the past two months, you will notice that it is indeed slow, but you are achieving results! This works very motivating, so this is a real winner!

Provide a good night’s sleep

Losing weight has everything to do with your hormones. If your hormones are not in balance, you can still live so healthy, but you will not lose an ounce. Everything just has to be in balance for an optimal result.

That is also the case with your night’s rest. If you sleep too little, at least two hormones will react strongly:

  • The hormone Ghrelin will be produced in large quantities. This hormone will strongly stimulate your appetite.
  • In addition, there will be a lack of the hormone Leptin. This hormone must tell you that you are full, that you are eaten enough.

If you look at it logically, a bad night’s sleep will have disastrous consequences for your weight, and therefore for your general health.

Consider the size of your portion

We are now so used to the fact that all restaurant meals and junk food are XL. And we take that thought home too, so there is a big risk of over-eating. Large portions are scooped up on large plates. And yes, we empty our plate, we have always been taught.

Go and address this habit by covering with smaller plates. For example, you might want to use breakfast plates for the hot meal. Spoon these plates but full, does not matter. In that case you still only get half of the old portion size.

Eat more vegetables and fruit

Eating fruit and vegetables is ultimately the best ‘diet’ that you can hardly eat too much of. For the sake of clarity: Do not take this too literally, because fruit and vegetables also have to be part of a total picture. Only fruit and vegetables is a little too much of a good thing. I just want to indicate here that you can eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, especially the vegetable part.

Eating fruit and vegetables will not only provide a long-lasting full feeling, but they will also be packed with essential nutrients. Vegetable and fruit also contains a lot of fiber and water. Not only good for your body, and especially for your digestion, but also for the aforementioned full feeling.

So if next time you have an uncontrollable urge to snack unhealthy, take some raw vegetables and / or fruit. A much better alternative!

Limit drinking alcohol

Drinking a glass of alcohol with your friends is of course very nice. But be aware that this is often a lot of calories, and then also empty calories. Did you know that a bottle of beer contains more than 150 kilocalories?

Your body has absolutely nothing to these calories, so chances are that it will immediately be converted into body fat. If you find it hard to leave the alcohol because you like it, you can always think about a compromise: Limit alcohol consumption until Saturday night, and possibly even a drink before dinner.

In general, you are advised not to drink more than two drinks a day, at least if you are a man. For women it is advised to keep it with one drink.

And then another tip: Try a nice glass of RED wine. Why? This has a number of important benefits for your health.

Chew sugar-free chewing gum

The next time you want to take an unhealthy snack, try to chew a piece of chewing gum, to understand sugar free. Chewing gum not only gives a fresh breath, but it also helps you to keep yourself in check if you feel like attacking the vending machine.

Keep in mind that chewing gum can contain many hidden sugars. In any case, read the ingredient list for the correct information. Do not be misled by marketing cries on the packaging!

Keep a diary

If you keep track of what you eat, how much you eat, and what time you eat, you can be very instructive. You only feel later how your body responds, and then you can easily check what you have eaten. In addition, you become more and more aware of what you eat, and how much you eat, at the time you write it down. Eventually this will result in fewer calories.

Of course, research has been done about this, and it has been shown that the people who kept a diary dropped twice as fast than the people who did not.

Celebrate your successes

Did you exercise well this month? And did you lose 5 pounds? Did not have any relapses? That may be celebrated! Reward yourself regularly with something you always wanted to have, or wanted to do. Everything is allowed, as long as it has nothing to do with food. Buy that nice CD, or go out to the movies with your partner. And in the meantime, think of what the next month will be your reward.

But besides the fact that you have lost 5 pounds, which makes you look better, you have also taken a big step towards a healthier body. And that too can be celebrated every month!

Of course you can also surprise your colleagues with a healthy treat, just like you used to do at school when it was your birthday. But now a healthy treat!

To reach your goals, you need help. To do it all alone is unnecessarily difficult. With the people you support you can talk about the successes achieved, but also about your weak moments. Maybe they do with your new lifestyle, or they go with you to go jogging three times a week.

In any case, you have support and social control. In short: A stick behind the door.

Final Words

With these 22 tips in mind, you probably feel even stronger to continue on this path. Well done!

In any case remember well that it takes a lot of effort, especially the first months. But after a while everything starts to become a habit. And that is the moment that you have permanently changed your lifestyle. You no longer think about what you did before, but now you enjoy all the benefits: A healthy body with a healthy weight!


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