Healthy habits are important; however, weight loss is all about adopting good habits and following a healthy lifestyle.
Changing your habits is a multi-stage process. It will take some time for the changes to become new habits.
Adopting healthy habits can help you avoid chronic health problems such as obesity and diabetes.
Keeping a food journal is also important to your success because you need it to test and analyze your current eating patterns.
If your efforts are dormant, you can easily find the answer.
Here are 11 healthy habits that help you lose weight.
Table of Contents
1. Drink Much Water
Staying hydrated is important for your health and well-being. You will know how much less water you drink each day if you pay close attention to your water intake.
Approx 60% of the body comprises water, and water consumption plays an important role in weight loss (1).
Benefits of staying hydrated
All the body’s cells and organs need water to work properly. Here are some benefits of staying hydrated:
- water aid in weight loss
- lubricates the joints
- delivers oxygen throughout the body
- boosts skin health and beauty
- cushions the brain and spinal cord
- regulates body temperature
- digestive system depends on it
- can flush the body waste
- helps maintain blood pressure
- makes minerals and nutrients accessible
- prevents kidney damage
- boosts performance during exercise
Recommended water intake
According to the United States National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2), the average daily recommended intake of water should be:
- For men: 3.7 liters or 125 ounces
- For women: 2.7 liters or 91 ounces
This means approximately 15.5 cups for men and 11 cups for women. Approximately 80% of this should come from drinking fluids, including water; the rest, 20%, should come from food.
2. Never Drink Soda
Many people are addicted to soda, and they can’t eat without it. Toss this habit once and for all if you want to stay healthy. Soda can immediately spike your insulin and increase belly and liver fat.
Side effects of drinking soda
Drinking sugar-sweetened drinks, such as soda, may have several negative effects on your health.
Sugary drinks raise the risk of tooth decay, heart disease, and metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes.
Sugary soda intake is also a consistent risk factor for weight gain, obesity, and cancer (3).
Consider restricting the consumption of sugary beverages if you want to live longer.
3. Do Not Drink Canned Juices
If you like to drink juice, make your own fresh fruit juice. There are tons of fructose and artificial flavors present in canned fruit juices.
We believe that buying such tetra packs of juice is healthy, but this is not the case. When compared to freshly squeezed juice or fresh whole fruits, packaged juices are not as nutritious.
Fresh fruits, including cherries, grapefruit, apricots, pears, apple oranges, and plums, are medium-glycemic carbohydrates.
They do not spike insulin levels. Limit fresh fruit juices in your diet if weight loss is the goal.
4. Drink 3 Cups of Coffee Everyday
The coffee drinker feels less hungry, and the caffeine in the coffee acts as an appetite suppressant.
Avoid drinking coffee with sugar. This is because drinking coffee with sugar can lead to weight gain, which is counterproductive.
Coffee can boost your metabolism, and it contains tons of antioxidants such as niacin, potassium, and magnesium, which are believed to have positive effects on health (4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9).
Make it a habit to drink three cups of black coffee per day if you want to stay healthy. Drinking coffee in the evening can disturb your sleeping routine and cause insomnia.
5. Eat 6 Small Meals
Eat one small meal every 2–3 hours to improve your energy levels.
You can divide your daily meals into six small meals. It will boost metabolism and help to burn more calories.
Eating small meals may not help with weight loss, but it can flatten your stomach and improve digestion (10).
How to count and divide your meals?
The most accurate way to divide your meals is to calculate your basal metabolic rate. You can then calculate how many calories you need each day. The daily calorie intake for the average person is:
- average men need 2500 calories
- average women need 2000 calories
The calorie requirement depends on age, height, weight, and activity level.
To divide your daily meals into six small meals, you will need to calculate your daily calories. If you want to lose one pound a week, consume 20% fewer calories.
For example, if your daily calorie requirement is 2500 calories, you can make a calorie deficit by eating 500 fewer calories, which is 20% of your daily calories.
It is important that you use a calorie counter for at least a couple of days until it becomes a healthy habit for the rest of your life.
6. Eat Foods High in Fiber
Fiber keeps the digestive tract smooth, and it is one of the most essential elements of weight loss in heavy people (11).
All dark green vegetables, nuts, berries, bran cereal, oatmeal, popcorn, brown rice, whole grains, and beans are high in fiber.
People who eat fiber-rich foods have a smaller appetite. Consume at least 40 grams of fiber to help you lose weight.
7. Eat Food High in Potassium
Potassium doesn’t have a direct effect on weight loss, but it can support blood pressure, cardiovascular health, bone strength, and overall body performance.
It also levels the sodium balance in the body (12).
Vegetables rich in potassium include:
- sweet potatoes
- spinach
- broccoli
- mushrooms
- peas
- zucchini
- cucumbers
- green leaves
Fresh and dried fruits rich in potassium include:
- bananas
- oranges
- fresh/dried apricots
- grapefruits
- Raisins
- prunes
- dates
Eating potassium-rich food can help you lose weight during exercise and other physical activities. In addition, it can balance sodium in the body, which is good for your heart health.
8. Eat Foods High in Protein
Satiety is a term that describes the sensation of being full after eating a meal.
Some foods are more satiating than others. These effects are influenced by their macronutrient composition (protein, carbohydrate, and fat).
Protein is the most filling of the three macronutrients (13).
Dietitians are well aware of the benefits of high-protein foods.
Here are some examples of lean protein sources:
- skinless chicken
- fish
- turkey
- lean beef
- egg white
- whey protein powder
Protein is one of the most important building blocks for maintaining lean body mass, and it plays an important role in satisfying hunger during the weight loss process.
9. Limit Carbohydrate Intake
Carbohydrate restriction in your diet is an effective approach to losing weight.
When you eliminate carbohydrates from your diet, your hunger decreases, and you lose weight.
This causes your body to enter a state of ketosis, which suppresses your appetite and causes your body to burn fat as fuel.
Low-carb diets have many other health benefits as well (14).
Excellent carbohydrate sources:
- whole grain,
- sweet potatoes
- oatmeal
- brown rice
- cereals
- lentils
- low-fat yogurt
- skim milk
- vegetables
Bad carbohydrate sources:
- white bread
- table sugar
- white rice
Most of the carbohydrates in your food plan must be low-glycemic types. Rather than spiking the insulin, it will provide your body with a gradual release of sugars.
10. Consume Good Fat
Avoid fats such as saturated and trans fats. A study shows that healthy fat is important in our diet (15).
As a result, we should think of fat as a collection of lipids, each with its own unique effect on the body.
Good fat sources:
- fish oil EPA DHA omega-3
- sunflower oil,
- sesame
- pumpkin seeds
- flaxseed
- walnuts
- soybean oil
- safflower oil
- canola oil,
- olive oil,
- avocados
Sources of fat to avoid:
- butter or cream
- high-fat meat
- whole milk
- margarine
- processed vegetable
- fried meals
- hydrogenated food,
Consuming healthy fats can help you lose weight. People think all fat is equal. The concept that fat is bad for you is not true.
A healthy source of fat should account for 20-25% of your daily calories. Good fat contributes to hunger reduction and is good for your nerves and brain health.
11. Perform HIIT
According to the study, HIIT reduces exercise time while providing better results than endurance exercises (16).
Here are some high-intensity interval training exercises you can perform in your living room:
- burpees
- jumping jacks
- squats
- raised arm circle
HIIT (high-intensity interval training) increases the calorie-burning process in less time.
Over 70% of your aerobic capacity requires short bursts of activity. The HIIT approach involves alternating 30-second burst training with 1-minute recovery intervals.
This strategy can help you finish your workout in less than 30 minutes.
Staying hydrated is important for your health and well-being. Drinking soda can have negative effects on your health, such as raising the risk of tooth decay, heart disease, and metabolic diseases. Eating small meals can help you lose weight while also flattening your stomach and improving digestion. Calculate your daily calories and consume 20% fewer calories by dividing your daily meals into six small meals. Protein is the most filling of the three macronutrients and can help you lose weight. Carbohydrate restriction is an effective way to lose weight because it causes the body to enter ketosis and burn fat for fuel. Whole grain, sweet potatoes, brown rice, lentils, low-fat yogurt, skim milk, and vegetables are all good carbohydrate sources. White bread, table sugar, and white rice are all bad carbohydrate sources. Consuming good fat should account for 20-25% of your daily calories because it helps to reduce hunger and is beneficial to your nerves and brain health. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) accelerates the calorie-burning process.
Conclusion
Healthy habits will help you live your best life.
These habits enable us to progress.
If you’re not sure how to develop good habits, stay focused on your goal because a healthy lifestyle is all about staying focused and developing good habits.