An average human gains two pounds every year. This number may seem insignificant, but certain unconscious eating habits can lead to several health issues. If you’re continuously gaining weight and cannot find what’s going wrong, keep reading.
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Not Drinking Enough Water
If you’re not intaking enough water, it can do more than affect your bodily functions. Among the ways to promote weight loss is to have a lot of water. A Utah university dieting study suggests that participants who had two water cups before meals lost thirty percent more weight than others.
If you add ice, the issue of gaining weight will disappear gradually. Some researchers from Germany found that drinking six cold water cups every day prompts the metabolic system. It also incinerates fifty calories.
You can easily shed five pounds a year by drinking sufficient water. However, there are more side effects of not drinking water apart from gaining weight.
Sleeping Too Much Or Too Little
Sometimes lack of sleep can also lead to weight gain. As per the research of Wake Forest, people who slept for less than five hours put on weight. Even those who took more than eight hours of sleep had weight increase issues.
So, experts say that sleeping for around six to seven hours per night is perfect for weight loss. If you’re avoiding food high in calories, ensure to sleep well.
Eating Too Quickly
A common bad habit that leads to weight gain is eating quickly. As per studies, it takes twenty minutes for your brain to inform your stomach that the food is enough. The Journal of the American Dietetic Association researched that people who eat fast gain 66 more calories per meal.
Slow-eating without excessive added sugar does not make you feel hungry so often. Lose more than twenty pounds a year with this simple trick!
Cooking Too Much
An important part of your eating habits is portion control. So, just because you eat healthy doesn’t mean you can load your plate. Even virtuous meals can be high in calories.
So, ensure that half of your plate has vegetables and the other half a small-sized lean protein. Then, you can take fist-sized grains and finger-sized fat. Avoid processed foods, of course.
Bonus: Peanut butter is good for your health. It also promotes weight loss.
Avoiding All Fats
It is known that not all foods high in fat are unhealthy for you. Surely staying away from trans fat is important as it poses the risk of stroke, weight gain, and heart disease. However, consuming healthy fats like nuts and flax seeds can contribute to weight loss.
In addition, fats help our body absorb vitamins, so one does not feel hungry all the time. Therefore, taking one serving of foods high in fat (healthy, of course) is good for you as per dieticians. For instance, you may include one-fourth cup of dried fruits, avocado, or veggies sauteed in olive oil.
Eating Without Feeling Hungry
Here’s another bad habit one needs to disencumber to stay fit. When you go for a movie, it is not always essential to buy an extra-large popcorn box. Instead, eating when you feel hungry is the right way. It also promotes weight loss.
Similarly, finishing on leftover food even when you are enough an hour ago isn’t good. So, you shouldn’t start consuming it only because you’re bored or the food is free. If you’re constantly gaining weight and can find no cause, ask yourself the next time food tempts you. Are you really feeling hungry?
Try drinking a water cup and wait for some time. It is general medical advice. Do you still want to grab extra processed foods? As per a study by Physiology and Behavior, people mistake thirst for hunger sixty percent of the time. They feel hungry and keep eating, whereas all their body requires is WATER!
Lack Of Protein
Not only do foods high in calories, but sometimes lack of proteins in your meal can lead to weight gain. Proteins are brilliant because they do not make you feel hungry too soon, even if you eat them less. Once you stay full, you consume less, thereby developing healthy eating habits.
Several studies have proved that protein shakes and similar foods can preserve muscle mass and boost metabolism. For maintaining a healthy weight, these two factors are vital. So, long story short, include protein-rich foods like meats, eggs, lentils, tofu, and some lean protein in your diet.
Having Irregular Meals
It can be alright to delay meals once in a while. However, constant irregularity is one of the eating habits you should change. Eating after 9 PM isn’t so good for your waistline and is even harmful to your health.
As per a study of eleven people, experts say that those who eat on time feel less hungry. So, irregular meals can tempt you to consume something all the time. Most often, our handy things are processed foods which definitely lead to weight gain.
Apart from keeping you full, on-time meals prevent the risk of heart diseases and chronic ailments. So, you can stay away from metabolic syndrome and disturbed insulin levels simply by eating timely meals.
The internal clock of your body gets affected if you eat anything anytime. As a result, your digestion, metabolism, and appetite are highly disturbed.
Bonus: Try consuming foods without excessive added sugar to promote weight loss.
Conclusion
Addictive-like eating habits and food addictions create several health problems. Processed foods trigger diseases more than anything else. But, consuming single-ingredient and whole meals can reduce addictions to an extent. In other cases, you need to sleep enough, have meals on time, and avoid added sugar. Seek medical advice, visit a dietician and adopt these lifestyle changes to stay healthy.
