Today, weight management has become essential for a healthy body and mind. Staying fit and maintaining a healthy body mass index reduces the likelihood of health complications like high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterols, and morbid obesity. While exercise and lifestyle changes are crucial, certain dietary changes must also be made to ensure effective weight loss or healthy weight gain.
Check out the following simple tips that help you stay on track.
Eat more vegetables
Less than a tenth (just about 9%) of the adults in the country actually meet the minimum requirements of vegetable intake recommended by medical professionals. There is no doubt that green is the way to go, especially when you want to supplement your diet with nutrient-rich foods and maintain a healthy weight. You must include broccoli, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, onions, cauliflowers, and brussels sprouts in your daily food intake. These non-starchy veggies are loaded with fiber, antioxidants, and essential nutrients that counter inflammation and improve digestion.
Whole grains
Whole grains are your best bet when it comes to foods that help promote weight loss. Whole grains are rich in nutrients and loaded with fiber to aid digestion and increase metabolic activity. There are plenty of whole-grain options that you can include in your breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a more nutritious diet. For starters, have some oatmeal without sugar for breakfast. Oats absorb bad cholesterol and help reduce fat content. Also, it is quite common to experience midday hunger pangs even after having a heavy lunch. But untimely snacking can disrupt your diet plan. The solution, keep some whole-grain crackers handy and munch on them whenever you feel hungry. You can dip the crackers in healthy nut butter or hummus to add to its taste. However, ensure that in a single serving you do not have more than four whole-grain crackers.
Stay hydrated
You must drink at least 8–12 glasses of water throughout the day. Water supports vital processes including blood circulation, digestion, and efficient waste disposal. An interesting fact, nearly 60% of the body is actually composed of water distributed across various muscle groups, organs, and internal structures. Water is also known to influence your body’s metabolic activity linked to weight management. One trick is to drink water before having a meal, this will result in reducing your portion size and curbing untimely hunger pangs.
Plan your meals
You must not only eat nutritious foods to maintain healthy body weight, but also have meals on time. This holds especially true if your weight management plan includes exercising regularly. Planning your meals throughout the day also allows the body to digest smaller portions effectively. Portioning your meals has proven to be one of the more effective ways to healthy weight management.
