Losing weight is a challenge. Sticking to a diet, exercise plan, and other healthy habits is hard. But if you can make simple changes that last, you’ll be more likely to lose weight and keep it off for good.
The key to losing 100 pounds is simple: eat fewer calories than you burn. While this may seem obvious, it’s important to understand how many calories are in the food you consume and how many calories your body needs each day.
The goal is to create a calorie deficit of at least 500 calories per day. This can be accomplished by eating less food or moving more throughout the day.
If you’re overweight and want to lose weight, there are several habits that will help you get started. For example, drinking water before meals can fill you up so that you eat less during the meal and snack less throughout the day.
Here are 16 habits that helped me lose 100 pounds:
Start a food journal
The first step to losing weight is learning what you’re eating. Keeping a food journal is one of the best ways to do that.
By tracking your food intake, you can see what you’re consuming, when and where you’re consuming it, and how much of each food group you’re consuming on a daily basis.
Cut out junk food
Cutting out junk food from your diet is one of the first steps to losing weight fast because it’s usually high in calories and low in nutrition.
Junk foods include any food with little or no nutritional value, such as chips, cookies, candy bars, fried foods, and soda pop (regular or diet).
These foods have little or no nutritional value and are high in fat, sugar, and calories, so they are not suitable for your health anyway.
Eat more fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, all of which can contribute to healthy weight loss. They also help you feel full faster, so you don’t eat as much overall. Eat at least five servings of vegetables and fruits every day.
Drink about 2 liters of water daily
Water is an important part of losing weight, but it’s not the only thing you need to drink. Drinking enough water helps you feel full and eat less, so start with a goal of drinking 2 liters (about 8 cups) each day.
If you’re eating fewer calories than you’re burning, your body will look for ways to get rid of that excess energy, and one of those ways is by shedding fat stores.
Increase your body movement
Exercise is one of the most important things you can do to lose weight and keep it off. The more active you are and the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you burn at rest. Try to get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day (or break it up into 10-minute increments).
Keep track of how many calories you’re consuming each day and write it down so you can see how much progress you’re making (or not making). And don’t forget to factor in any exercise you do as well.
Don’t eat late at night (after 8pm)
Eating late increases your risk for weight gain because it throws off your body’s natural circadian rhythms and decreases the amount of time you spend sleeping. Also, eating late tends to be more unhealthy because it means skipping meals or picking up fast food instead of making something healthy at home.
If you want to eat after 8 pm, make sure that what you’re eating contains fewer than 500 calories and has less than 50 grams of carbs or 20 grams of fat per serving.
Do less screen time (TV/Computer)
Limit how much time you spend watching television or using other types of media on screens (such as computers, smartphones, and video games).
Instead, engage in activities that involve moving around more often such as physical activities such as walking or gardening, social activities such as playing with children outdoors, reading a book or magazine, doing crafts around the house like sewing or woodworking, playing music instrument, dancing alone or with others.
Regularly practice intermittent fasting
This is one of my favorite things to do when I’m trying to lose weight because it helps me control my food intake while still allowing me to eat normally.
It also helps with fat burning and increases muscle mass which is good for maintaining a healthy metabolism.
Get enough sunshine (Vitamin D)
Vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium and phosphorus needed for strong bones and teeth. It also may help keep your immune system healthy.
If sunlight isn’t an option for you, take a supplement or eat foods fortified with vitamin D such as milk and cereal.
Eat Less Sugar
Sugar cravings can be intense, and sugar-laden foods tend to be high in calories, which means they’re also high in fat. If you want to lose weight quickly, reduce or eliminate sugar from your diet entirely. This includes refined white sugar, brown sugar, and corn syrup.
Eat More Protein
Protein is an essential part of any healthy diet because it helps build muscle mass and keeps you feeling full longer than other macronutrients like carbohydrates or fat do.
To get enough protein in your diet without going overboard on calories, try adding more meat or eggs to your meals rather than relying solely on processed convenience items like frozen dinners or canned soups that are often high in sodium and low in nutrients.
Reduce or eliminate alcohol
Alcohol contains calories, but those calories don’t fill you up like other types of food do. That’s why so many people who drink alcohol tend to eat junk food while they’re drinking, they’re hungry but drunk.
If you’re going out with friends or colleagues who are drinking alcohol, try sipping on club soda with lime instead so you can stay hydrated without consuming empty calories from sugar-filled drinks like soda and fruit juice cocktails.
Quit Smoking (If You Smoke)
Quitting smoking is one of the most effective ways to lose weight because it cuts down on how much your body needs for energy. It also lowers blood pressure, which reduces stress on your heart and arteries.
Plant-based Foods
A plant-based diet focuses on eating foods that come from plants rather than animals, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are all good choices because they contain fewer calories and less fat than animal products like meat or dairy.
Practice daily self-care
When you take care of yourself on a daily basis, you increase your chances of success when it comes time to lose weight. That doesn’t mean going out for expensive massages or taking bubble baths, simple things like getting plenty of sleep, drinking enough water, and exercising regularly can have a positive impact on your overall health, which helps with weight loss as well as many other aspects of life.
Be patient
Be patient with yourself during your transformation process; don’t expect instant results or think that you’re doing something wrong if they aren’t occurring as quickly as it did when you were younger or thinner than you are now.
