In the war against weight sometimes it seems that the goal of recovering your health and self-confidence is completely unattainable. We tend to think that the sacrifices we have to make are too many, that our willpower is not enough, and that we would not know where to start anyway.
Without a doubt, if keeping a healthy weight were the easiest thing in the world would we would not have the global obesity problem that we have today, however, the solutions are not as complicated as they seem when we are deep in the frustration of a scale that doesn’t budge.
Sometimes small changes make big differences, the examples described below guarantee health benefits for everyone: children, adults or seniors, as well as slightly overweight or who are obese.
-Eliminate sugary drinks.
You don’t have to go cold-turkey, sugar is addictive and asking you to eliminate soft drinks, juices, sports drinks and frapuccinos from your life in one day is unrealistic, the possibilities of failing are big and that will only increase your frustration. Start by eliminating a sugary drink per day and replacing it with natural water. Once you realize you don’t need it, eliminate one more, and so on until you’ve eliminated most of them and are drinking about 2 litres of water per day.
-Chew slowly
Eating fast and barely chewing our food is a very common mistake. Food must be appreciated and savored, chewing it thoroughly. The satiety signal takes almost 20 minutes reach the brain, so if you eat slower and chew better you will feel satisfied sooner with a lesser amount of food.
-Eliminate junk food from your life
We can’t expect you to eliminate all processed food from one day to another, letting go of candy, chips, cookies, ice cream, sugary cereals and pastries which seem to be wherever you look is no easy task. As with sugary drinks, you want to eliminate one processed food per day and build from there. You’ll be consuming less sugar, salt, unhealthy fats and refined flours. Only positive health effects can result from this.
-Eat mindfully
Do not eat in front of the TV. Studies prove that when people are distracted they eat more. Whenever you get the chance, sit at the table to eat, share meals with the people you live or work with and even if you are home alone, set the table and use a knife and fork; eating should be something you enjoy, not do mechanically or in a thoughtless way.
-Cook more at home
Instant soup or a pizza ordered by phone should not be a part of our daily diet. It is true that most people are very busy and have little time to cook; sometimes we have to sacrifice our favorite TV show or some social network time to make a home cooked meal, but the rewards are enormous. You have to organize your shopping and preparation time, get into the kitchen for a few hours and cook beans, make soups and homemade sauces and wash and chop fruits and vegetables to last the whole week, this allows you to prepare a healthy meal or healthy in just a few minutes.
-Get moving
The difference exercise makes in a person’s life is amazing. Our body was made to move. When we get regular physical activity we are less prone to accidents or injuries, our cardio-vascular system improves, we burn calories and are in a better mood. You never lose with exercise and we can start by walking 3 times a week and increasing frequency and intensity in a progressive manner. Have a friend join you, put on your headphones or sign up for a zumba class, whatever you like, just move!
After a having bariatric surgery at LIMARP, the patient goes home knowing the importance of all that we’ve mentioned. Undoubtedly the changes in their lives are enormous and they begin even before surgery, at the pre-operative stage; but everyone can benefit greatly from these tips by applying them gradually but consistently in everyday life. The results are amazing and you can see them faster than you think.
In LIMARP we provide our patients with the tools they need to make healthy changes in their lives. For a free evaluation call LIMARP International Center of Excellence for Obesity at (664) 686-2542 or fill out a contact form at www.limarpclinic.com