Top 8 eating habits that will help you lose weight and not gain it back

Perhaps the most difficult part of the weight loss process is keeping the weight off. Our brain thinks that all the goals have been achieved, and we can relax. And again, we start to have unhealthy snacks, cravings for sweets, and uncontrolled calorie intake. A little time passes and it becomes clear that you need to start all over again.

However, according to Eat This, Not That!, good eating habits that can be developed simultaneously with active weight loss can help you escape from this vicious circle. They will not hurt those who do not have weight problems either - these habits will allow you to maintain a normal weight without excessive effort and self-restraint. They will also be good for your overall health.

Increase your fibre intake

Dietary fibre, also known as fibre, is low in calories and high in volume, which means it provides a long-lasting feeling of satiety and prevents overeating. At the same time, they are very beneficial for intestinal health, help to absorb a lot of nutrients, help regulate blood cholesterol levels and even help to strengthen the immune system. The list is impressive, isn't it?

And finding fibre is not difficult. - It is found in almost all plant-based foods. Vegetables, berries, fruits, bran, wholemeal bread and pasta, legumes, brown rice - all these foods are rich in dietary fibre. Women are advised to consume 21-25 grams of fibre per day, and men - 30-38 grams.

Try bulk nutrition

This is a relatively new approach to dieting that involves consuming fairly large amounts of food that is low in calories. It helps a person not to suffer from hunger while losing weight. And this feeling is perhaps the biggest fear and obstacle for those who want to lose weight.

Another advantage of bulk nutrition is that there is no need to count calories. You just sit down to eat when you're hungry and stop eating when you feel full. It's probably not hard to guess what will help you organise a healthy diet. It's absolutely true that these are fibre-rich foods that should be added to every meal. Also, try replacing high-fat protein foods with lower-fat equivalents.

Include protein in every meal

Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass, and it also makes you feel fuller than other macronutrients. That's why it's important to consume it with every meal.

Here are some ideas on how to enrich your diet with protein:

• Breakfast - low-fat Greek yoghurt, egg white scramble or almond butter on a banana.
• Lunch - a sandwich with lean turkey, hard-boiled eggs, chickpeas (in a salad or in the form of hummus or other options to your liking), low-fat cottage cheese.
• Dinner - lentil soup, shrimp or tofu, grilled chicken in a grain bowl.

Divide snacks into portions in advance

If you eat even healthy snacks (such as fruit crisps or nuts) straight out of the bag, it's easy to miss the moment when you've eaten enough, continue snacking and overeat. That's why experts recommend packing snack foods in advance. Over time, you'll learn to tell the size of your portion by eye, and you won't even need a kitchen scale or measuring cups.

Prefer whole foods to highly processed ones

Even if a sausage label has words like "low-calorie" or "fitness" on it, you still can't be completely sure how much fat, protein, salt or sugar it contains. Cooking your own meat is another matter, where you know exactly how much of what was added during the cooking process.

Here, too, we can offer some ready-made ideas:

• store-bought breakfast cereals can be replaced with cereal oatmeal with nuts or bananas;
• potato chips - air-fried sweet potato slices or home-made cabbage chips;
• orange juice may contain added sugar - a good substitute for it is a whole orange, which is also rich in fibre;
• factory-made mayonnaise may even lose out to homemade hummus or guacamole.

Eat unsaturated fats with every meal

There is no need to be afraid of fat - it is a very valuable component of nutrition, which is necessary for heart and brain health and can even improve the appearance of hair and nails. But you should give preference to monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Unlike saturated fats, they are not harmful to blood vessels and can be easily found in plant-based foods such as avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil. So it's better to season your salad with a spoonful of olive oil and, say, flax or sesame seeds for flavour rather than sour cream or mayonnaise.

Fill half your plate with vegetables

There's nothing wrong with eating potatoes, macaroni and cheese or steak once in a while, especially if you fill half your plate with vegetables. These can be raw vegetables in the form of a salad, stew, sauté or just grilled vegetable slices. Choose options to your liking. An omelet? Add tomatoes and mushrooms to it. A fruit smoothie? A little carrot will only make it more interesting. And so on. There is no better way to enrich your diet with a wide variety of nutrients than to add more vegetables to it. Okay - you can have fruit for breakfast, it's healthy too.

Eat more legumes

As we've found out, the ideal option for keeping fit is foods that are high in protein and fibre and low in fat. And what is the name of the food that meets all these characteristics? Pulses! Lentil soup, black beans in your morning omelet, chickpeas in your salad, mashed peas instead of potatoes. Try eating legumes at least once a week to start with. And gradually increase their share in your diet. They give you a good feeling of satiety and significantly enrich your diet.

As OBOZREVATEL wrote, increasing your fibre intake is one of the three life hacks for easy weight loss after 30.