"The groundwork of all happiness is health." - Leigh Hunt

Little tricks to enable you to shed kilos and keep them off.

Losing weight will be difficult, but there are some strategies for achievement.

Photo: © Wand_Prapan/Getty Images

If you're struggling to drop pounds, you almost certainly feel like the chances are stacked against you. You usually are not necessarily mistaken.

So, while shedding pounds is straightforward in theory—cut your calorie intake—it's not really easy in practice. “If you put people in a closed metabolic ward and feed them only 60 percent of their normal calories, they'll lose weight. But it's really hard for people living independently.” Dr. Stampfer says.

This is very true for postmenopausal women. “When people get older, it becomes harder to get rid of energy from food. They need to change their eating habits — to follow healthier patterns,” says Dr. Qi. . “Any habits, including eating habits, are hard to change.”

Today, people consider food as rather more than mere sustenance. Food is a source of satisfaction. It is a social activity; This is a reward. This is why many diets work within the short term but fail later. “Many foods are a radical change from what people normally eat, and that's not sustainable,” says Dr. Stampfer.

But don't throw up your hands and resign yourself to keeping those extra kilos. There are strategies that may enable you to lose extra weight. Below are some easy suggestions you should use to tip the size in the fitting direction — and keep it there.

Don't abstain; Improve your weight loss program. Don't focus your weight loss program solely on weight reduction. Focus on overall health. Follow a weight loss program that features fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats. “Even today, after all the data we have, people still think that eating fat makes them fat, and they try to find low-fat products,” says Dr. Stampfer. “It's been pretty much disproved. Eating fat doesn't make you fat. There's good research that shows maintaining a healthy diet fats helps people manage their weight.

Overall, selecting a sustainable weight loss program that focuses on health and never just weight can enable you to make lasting improvements. “Eat a healthy diet, and eat less,” says Dr. Stampfer.

regular exercise. It's been said 1,000,000 times, but it may well't be emphasized enough: increasing your activity level can enable you to drop pounds and keep it off. “For most people, long-term weight control without physical activity is difficult,” says Dr. Stampfer.

Your metabolism slows with age, which suggests you burn fewer calories to maintain up basic bodily functions. At the identical time, the mass of bones and muscles decreases and the quantity of fat increases. This insidious pattern happens naturally as you age unless you're taking steps to avoid it.

“I'm a strong advocate of not only aerobic activity, but also weight training and calisthenics,” says Dr. Stampfer. “Building muscle can not only increase your body's metabolic rate, but can also bring its own unique health benefits that are often not as appreciated as those associated with aerobic activity.”

Try different strategies. Different diets work for various people. Sometimes it takes trial and error to seek out the fitting strategy. One approach that holds promise for many individuals is mindful eating – taking the time to stop and really deal with and luxuriate in your food. “My eye has very little scientific evidence, but I like the concept,” says Dr. Stampfer. “We've all had the experience of eating a bowl of something and not even remembering eating it.”

Another easy trick is to place your fork down between bites as a substitute of holding it in your hands. Pick it up while you're going to chop the following one.

Be persistent. Losing weight is actually hard, and plenty of people fail repeatedly before they succeed. Don't surrender. Each day, commit to eating somewhat less, says Dr. Stampfer. If you get astray, do it again the following day and proceed over time.