It can be really disappointing when you finally decide to make a serious effort to manage your weight and find that it’s not as simple as going on a quick diet or taking a pill.
The reality of healthy, sustained weight loss is generally somewhat more ‘monumental’ than most people realize. As we’ve said before, while the overall concept of weight loss is simplified to ‘eat fewer calories than you burn’, there is very little that’s simple about successful weight reduction.
Many people don’t consider that, not only are their bodies not simple, they are unimaginably complex. It’s a complexity that goes way beyond the physical task of losing pounds. It includes natural survival instincts that have evolved in us over millions of years; sub-conscious emotional reactions developed throughout our lives; social stigma and shaming – and any number of other factors that all conspire to make maintaining a healthy weight a complex and demanding task on many different levels.
But all that doesn’t mean there aren’t some quick weight loss tips to help you get where you want to be, both for your body weight and overall health.
1. Start Living With Less Sugar
If you have a sweet tooth, you’re probably cringing at this one. But you can do it.First, it helps to understand just how bad sugar is for losing weight and for your health. It’s the simplest of carbohydrates that your body quickly converts into fat. But contributing to obesity is just one of sugar’s ill health effects. The others include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes and premature aging. That’s for starters anyway.
The second thing to know to help find the motivation to curb your sugar intake is to know just how much of it you eat every day. While you might think you only put a couple teaspoons in your coffee or on your morning cereal, the truth is far worse. While health organizations around the world continue to reduce their recommended daily sugar intake, which now stands at between six and eight teaspoons a day, the average daily intake of sugar for Canadian adults is a whopping 26 teaspoons, or 300% of the recommended intake.
The quick fix for curbing your sugar consumption is to avoid any packaged or processed food or drinks that contain sugar or are otherwise sweetened.
We’ve told you before about the over 50 different names for sugar on the ingredients lists on food packaging. A quick way to spot many of them is to look for and stay away from any ingredient that ends in ‘-ose’, including glucose, fructose, dextrose and maltose and sucrose.
To satisfy your sweet tooth, use small amounts, about one to three teaspoons a day, of unpasteurized honey, pure maple syrup, and/or the herb stevia.
2. Avoid ‘Diet’ or ‘Sugar-Free’ Anything
Many diet foods and drinks use artificial sweeteners, not only as a sugar substitute, but as a flavour enhancer, which means they can show-up in foods that you don’t consider to be sweet.Regular consumption of diet or low-calorie foods and drinks with artificial sweeteners has been shown to cause weight gain. They can trick your body into thinking that ‘sweet’ foods don’t deliver any calories. That can make you crave more sweet foods and choose them over more nutritious options, which can pack on the pounds.
Certain artificial sweeteners, including aspartame, sucralose and saccharin, have also been linked to a host of other health risks, including increased risk of cancer, metabolic syndrome and type-2 diabetes.
And it might be a mistake to think you can easily stop using foods that contain artificial sweeteners. Studies of laboratory rats have shown that the reward signal from the intense sweetness of artificial sweeteners can be more powerful than the reward from cocaine.
3. Swap Your Snacks
If you love food, and snacking particularly, there’s not usually too much good news for you when you’re trying to lose weight. Unfortunately, even if you eat a healthy, have a balanced diet, count your calories and add some activity to your day, bad snacking habits can ruin it all.But, guess what? Snacking is OK, even good for you. At least healthy snacking in moderation is good for you. By simply swapping the potato chips and pretzels for veggies and (unsalted) nuts, you’ll be making a great leap towards better health and lower weight.
The complexity of proper weight management makes it difficult to do on your own. Call or visit a nearby Herbal One Nutrition Centre where nutrition specialists are ready to help you get the results you want.