7 healthy eating habits for weight loss, according to dietitians



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We often make weight loss so complicated that we end up quitting out of sheer exhaustion or frustration. This is why calorie counting is so difficult to maintain for months. Complicated eating strategies can work for a while, but then life comes. We occupy ourselves. We are hungry. We cut the corners and reached for a candy bar. Or worse, drive-thru.

Let’s simplify our weight loss plan a bit, shall we? We can do this by reducing it to a simple sentence, just two easy-to-remember words that are not just a suggestion but a command: Eat clean.

By eating healthy most of the time, you can lose weight without feeling deprived because you will quickly learn the connection between what you eat and how you feel.

Eat clean is simply a call to action which means eating more whole foods.

“Eating clean means eating whole, unprocessed foods from the earth most of the time, limiting junk food, and committing to a complete, minimally processed, and conscious diet,” says a registered dietitian and nutritionist. Amy Shapiro, Dt.t., founder of Real Nutrition NYC.

If the Eat clean The mantra isn’t enough to get you started on a healthier diet, try establishing these 7 healthy eating habits to start losing weight right now. And then avoid the temptation of the worst guilty pleasure foods on the planet.

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Start eating cleaner by cleaning up just one meal. Choose breakfast, for example. First, take an inventory of all the foods you usually eat for breakfast in a typical week. Write them down. How many are packaged or processed foods? Now, pick a day to start and replace most if not all of those processed foods with smarter trading, two scrambled eggs instead of breakfast sausages for protein, for example, oatmeal for sweet cold cereal, whole wheat toast for a bagel. “Getting into the habit of eating healthy is just a matter of thinking before putting a fork in,” Shapiro explains.

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If “Eat Clean” is your verse, make “Whole Food” your chorus. “Whole foods are high in fiber, often water, and nutrients to slow digestion, help us feel fuller for longer, and decrease cravings for sugar,” Shapiro explains. Eat lots of vegetables and fruits, and choose whole grains over white grains. “Ultimately, whole foods ‘crowd out’ less healthy foods. We tend to eat fewer and smaller servings of whole foods than processed foods that are created to make us want more.”

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Avoid packaged foods as much as possible.

“The idea of ​​a healthy diet can help reduce additives in foods like sodium, sugar and fats that are typically added to overly processed foods,” says the nutritionist. Kim Pierce, Dt.t., Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist and Owner of The Outdoors Dietitian.

Read nutrition labels and don’t eat what you can’t pronounce. “Decreasing additives will help with weight loss because you will consume fewer calories from these foods,” says Pierce.

One way to quickly get into the habit of eating naked: clean your pantry. Read labels and throw away foods so loaded with preservatives that they would still be edible in the next pandemic.

RELATED: 7 common pantry items that make you gain weight

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Try this mental trick: Focus on what you add with healthy eating, not what you cut out or deprive yourself of, suggests a registered dietitian-nutritionist. Grace A. Derocha, RD, national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

For example, cut out some Gummy Bears (pure sugar) candies and replace them with something naturally sweet like pieces of watermelon. Derocha calls this strategy “habit building,” adding things that are “good for your body so that you don’t always take things away,” she says.

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One of the easiest ways to eat healthy is to drink healthy, says Shapiro: “Stay hydrated with water or unsweetened drinks to feel full and reduce sugar cravings.”

According to Harvard researchers, drinking sugary sodas, sweet tea, and other high-calorie drinks won’t make you feel as full as if you had eaten the same calories from solid foods and you probably won’t eat less. of food because you paired your meal with a 150 calorie soft drink. Make a habit of whistling your whistle with water and you will lose weight. Shapiro recommends drinking 80 to 100 ounces of water per day.

READ MORE: Best thing to drink every day, says dietitian

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It is very difficult to eat clean if you leave the cooking to the cook at your favorite quick and casual restaurant. Take control of your ingredients and their preparation by preparing the meal yourself at home.

“Cooking fresh protein like chicken, turkey, or fish versus a product like chicken nuggets which increased sodium and sugar, will help limit ingredients that can cause weight gain,” says Pierce. Obviously. And it will probably save you money. Studies show that home-cooked meals are associated with diets low in calories, sugar and fat, but not with higher monthly expenses for food.

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Did you know that drinking alcohol makes you hungry? Studies show that alcohol increases your sensitivity to the smell of cheeseburgers, etc. But you knew it. Well, did you know that when most people share a meal with friends, they end up consuming more calories than when they dine solo? Some studies have shown that people who ate with their friends ate up to 48% more food than when they ate alone, according to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Just understanding what you’re up against at happy hour can help you prepare rather than saying, “Damn, another flip of the wings for the table!” »Eat cleaner even in a restaurant by setting the menu online in advance and choosing a better option for you. And if you’re planning on having a glass or two of adult drinks, make sure you’re drinking clean by placing a tall glass of ice water in between.

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