Step to Maintain Healthy Lifestyle
A healthy diet should include a wide variety of
nutritious foods for sufficient intake of all nutrients, including vitamins and
minerals. Foods to include are breads, pastas, lean meats, fish, fruits and
vegetables. A healthy diet can help you maintain a healthy body weight and
decrease your risk of many diet-related chronic diseases, such as
cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
Physical activity and healthy eating
A good balance between exercise and food intake
is important, as this helps to maintain muscle strength and a healthy body
weight. At least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity, such as
walking, is recommended every day.
1. Keep Healthy Habits Every Day
When it comes to maintaining a healthy
lifestyle, one of the most important things you can do is simply striving for
consistency. No matter how busy life gets or how much your schedule changes on
a daily basis, try to eat the same balance of whole foods, consume a similar
number of calories, and work in a consistent amount of physical activity.
You might be tempted to maintain your healthy
habits during the week and give yourself a break on the weekend, but it’s
important to keep things consistent every day of the week. By sticking to your
healthy habits seven days a week, you’ll be less tempted to binge and more
likely to sustain your weight loss for the long term.
2. Stay On Top of Your Maintenance Calories
After reaching your weight loss goal, you might
be tempted to ease up on your diet plan or change your eating patterns
altogether. While it might be a good idea to incorporate a different range of
nutritious foods in your diet, it’s important to keep an eye on your caloric
intake. After all, the number of calories you need at your target weight
probably won’t be the same as what you needed when you began your weight loss
journey.
3. Switch to an Exercise Routine You like
You already know that regular exercise and good
physical fitness is essential for helping you reach your ideal weight. But you
might not realize how important exercise is for feeling good and maintaining a
healthy lifestyle.
If you’re already used to getting your cardio
and strength training in during your daily visit to the gym, keep it up. If
you’re ready for a change of your routine, however, try not to take a break.
Instead, squeeze in 60 minutes physical activity each day, whether
you’re jogging on the treadmill, going for a swim, or going for a hike around
your local park.
4. Increase Your Water Consumption
When your primary goal is getting in shape and
eating right, you might not give water the attention it deserves. As you strive
to keep up your healthy habits, however, it’s important to increase your water
consumption.
Not only will drinking water keep you hydrated
and improve how your body functions, but keeping the water flowing can also
help with weight maintenance. Try drinking a large glass of water before a
meal, and the feeling of fullness you’ll experience could help to reduce your calorie
intake.
5. Get a Full Night’s Sleep
Life has a habit of getting busy, but if you
never make time for sleep, your healthy lifestyle goals could suffer. After
all, sleep debt and weight gain are more closely connected than you might
think. When you don’t get enough sleep, you’re more likely to skip the exercise
that helps you burn fat and build muscle, and you’re prone to making unhealthy
eating decisions. So how can you make sure that being tired
doesn’t prompt you to make bad choices? Aim to get between seven and nine hours
of sleep per night, and try to find the ideal amount of sleep for your body.
6. Track Your Progress
After tracking your weight loss progress
carefully for months or years, you might be looking forward to setting aside
the scale or putting down the calorie tracking apps. Reaching your target
weight doesn’t mean you should stop assessing your progress, though. Instead,
it’s important to continue to track your progress so you can make sure you’re
maintaining your healthy lifestyle.
Use an app to continue to track your food
intake and exercise routines, and make a point of hopping on the scale once a
week. Since your new goal is maintaining your current weight, you’ll want to
keep an eye out for weight gain or loss. When you use an app to keep a digital
diary, you can easily look back on your patterns and identify unhealthy habits
before they cause you to get too far off track.
7. Forgive Yourself For a Bad Day
Even when you try your hardest to stick to your
healthy habits, you have to expect the occasional setback. Whether you feel
under the weather and have to skip your spin class or you accidentally overindulged
at a birthday party, you’re bound to have a bad day every once in awhile.
When this happens, don’t assume the worst or
convince yourself that you’ve ruined your diet for good. Instead, do your best
to power through the day, forgive yourself for a minor slip up, and get back to
your healthy habits right away. Try drinking extra water, making sure that you
get enough sleep, and restocking your fridge with healthy options. Understand
that one off day won’t compromise all your hard work and that a small setback
doesn’t have to derail everything you want to achieve.