The weight loss journey is about replacing unhealthy habits with healthier ones. Many people start on the wrong foot by focusing on results and behavior. The source of results is habits. When we work on changing our behavior without changing our habits, the results will be temporary. The results are the fruits while healthy habits are the roots. Changing your roots will affect the results for the long term. The focus of this article will be the one healthy habit you can work on to lose weight.
What Is A Habit?
Charles Duhigg, the author of “The Power Of Habit” defines habits as “choices that all of us deliberately make at some point. At one point, we all consciously decided how much eat and what to focus on when we got to the office, how often to have a drink or when to go for a jog. Then we stopped making choices, and the behavior became automatic”. In simple terms, a habit is a behavior that has become automatic. If you want to lose weight than you need to work on a handful of habits that will get you there quicker. A healthy habit is a behavior that will benefit the four dimensions of humans. The four human dimensions are spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional.
The One Healthy Habit For Weight Loss.
Many people who are healthy and fit share a couple of habits. There are six habits that will help you lose weight. Many of them are very simple, You have heard about them before. The most difficult part of these habits is making them a part of our lifestyle. The six habits are eating healthy, exercising, managing stress, getting quality sleep, decrease alcohol consumption, stop tobacco, and work on healthy relationships.
Eating Whole And Plant-Based Meals.
The foundation of healthy living is eating healthy foods. Losing weight is about eating healthy foods which are mostly unprocessed. The modern diet is filled with processed sugar and foods. Preservatives, chemicals, and steroids are added to manufactured foods. Ultra-processed foods include unhealthy levels of added sugar, sodium, and trans-fats. These ingredients make food taste better. However, too much of these processed foods causes healthy issue like obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure. A study that took five years assessing 100 000 people found that a 10% increase in eating ultra-processed foods was associated with a 12% higher risk of cancer.
Making Healthy Eating A Habit.
If you make a habit of eating unprocessed foods sooner or later you will lose weight. In many cases, it will happen sooner than you think. How do you go about reducing processed foods from your diet? Three main steps.
Firstly, check food labels, the longer the ingredient list, the more unhealthy. If most ingredients are hard to read than it is likely the food item is made from chemicals than real food.
Secondly, start buying and eating more vegetables. Make sure all your meals include vegetables. There is a misconception about vegetables, many people do not eat them for breakfast. Add more veggies to your meals.
Finally, choose minimally processed meats and cook more meals at home. Seafood, chicken breast, and grass-fed meats are excellent sources for protein. Avoid processed meats such as sausages, bacon, and canned meats. The meals we cook at home will have minimally processed foods. Make cooking at home a fun, family bonding time. Involve children, even if it is for passing the spice as you prepare healthy meals.
Many people focus on losing weight, after a couple of results they revert to old habits. Losing weight is easier while developing long-lasting habits is hard. This is the main reason people lose weight and gain it all back in just a few months. If you make eating healthy a habit, you will lose weight and the great part of it you will only have to do it once!