How you eat matters

Eating healthy and losing weight isn’t just about cutting calories; the way you eat your food matters—a lot. Many people who visit weight loss clinics can’t pinpoint the issues that caused their weight gain, and therefore aren’t sure about which habits they need to change first. This is understandable, because even when you strive to eat only healthy food, the way you eat it has a significant effect on the number on your scale.

Slow it down. Don’t eat quickly—it’s the worst thing you can do when you’re on a plan for losing weight. When you gulp down your meal, your stomach won’t have enough time to let your brain know that it’s full, and you’ll most likely overeat. Your stomach needs approximately 20 minutes to send your brain the signal, so eat your meal slowly.   

Enjoy your meal. Savor each bite and sit down at a table, even if you’re on eating solo. Sitting in front of the television with a plate can easily lead to mindless overeating. When you can join others, do so—eating in a social setting motivates you to adopt healthier habits and eat slowly.

Check in with your body. Really make sure that you’re truly hungry when you eat. Thirst is easily mistaken for hunger, so try a glass of water if you think you’re experiencing hunger pangs even though you just ate two hours before. Staying hydrated is essential for success with any diet or plan for losing weight.

Jump start every day with breakfast. A healthy breakfast with lean protein will rev your metabolism and boost your energy.

Avoid late night meals. Eat dinner as early in the day as possible, so that your body can have a longer fasting period between your last meal of the day and the next day’s breakfast. Research performed by various weight loss clinics indicate that eating when you’re more active, such as during the day, and giving your digestive system a longer break when you’re body is resting, can help with weight loss and maintenance.

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Tips for mastering easy weight loss programs

Weight loss is a journey—and when you make it a painful process, it’s not likely that you’ll maintain it. The reason easy weight loss programs are so popular is because the concepts they’re based on are more painless than some of the strict diet regimens that seem to become a trend each year.   

While clinics that specialize in medical weight loss offer the basis for weight reduction as taking in less calories and increasing your caloric burn, it’s equally important to make lifestyle changes that will last over time.  When they’re simple to implement and don’t seem like a sacrifice, then you’ll understand exactly why they’re called easy weight loss programs. Here are a few lifestyle adjustments you can make that will help lead you down the path to sustaining permanent weight loss.
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Lighten up. An easy way to see results without feeling deprived is to reduce the calories on some of your favorite foods. For example, a hamburger served protein-style or with just one bun tastes just as good as one with a whole bun. Instead of a pizza loaded with pepperoni and sausage, try one with veggies or Margherita style, and opt for reduced fat cheese.

|Boost your fiber intake. Fiber will keep you feeling satisfied and will stave off cravings. Add fruits and veggies to casseroles, whole wheat pasta and soups, and swap them for your usual sweet dessert.

Watch the drinks. Try to avoid sugary sodas and juices as much as you can, and drink lots of water before, during and after your meals. Lighten up the alcohol as well—switch to light beer or add some seltzer water to white wine for a refreshing, but lower calorie spritzer.  

Add some goodies. Instead of getting in the mindset of cutting things out of your diet, think about adding delicious, low calorie foods. Clinics that specialize in medical weight loss recommend adding volume to your diet with tasty fruits and berries, and crunchy vegetables like celery, carrots, radishes and cucumbers.  

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Superfoods for easy weight loss programs

When you’re following easy weight loss programs, while it’s important to focus on eating low calories foods, it’s equally critical that what you eat is packed with the nutrients your body needs to function properly and be as healthy as possible. We had one of the top clinics for medical weight loss share their recommendations for some of the best superfoods to incorporate into your diet to achieve weight loss while getting the important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to keep you slim and healthy.

Nuts are nutritional powerhouses—they’re loaded with healthy fats and provide energy for hours on end. Almonds are a staple of easy weight loss programs, as they stave off hunger while providing ample nutrients, including calcium, vitamin E, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, copper, niacin and selenium. Another great choice is pine nuts—at only 95 calories per serving of approximately 80 nuts, they’re rich in the essential fatty acids that curb hunger and torch belly fat. In addition, they’re loaded with vitamins A, C and D, as well as lutein, iron, protein and magnesium.
 
Beans, beans, beans. Legumes can be excellent sources of protein, fiber and healthy fats. Black beans contain no saturated fat and one cup alone boasts 15 grams of hunger-satiating protein. Kidney beans provide protein and almost two grams of resistant starch, an excellent complex carbohydrate. Garbanzo beans, aka chickpeas, offer more than two grams of resistant starch per half cup, while also providing a good amount of healthy fats, protein and fiber.

 

Quinoa. This slimming food is a complete protein, meaning it contains all nine of the essential amino acids. Quinoa keeps you feeling full for hours and helps you avoid overeating, and is rich in iron, magnesium, lysine, manganese and riboflavin.

 
Ever seen a fat monkey? Probably not—which is testament to the slimming properties of bananas and plantains.  Centers for medical weight loss recommend these superfruits since they not only fill you, their high content of resistant starch boosts your metabolism and burns fat.

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