Aiming for weight loss and taking control of your life when you are overweight is the best thing you can do for yourself.

Obesity is not something to be taken lightly.

Question yourself this if you are overweight:

Is indulging in mindless eating the best thing in life?

Do you not want to get better or healthy for yourself or your loved ones?

Is it so hard to get control of yourself before your body gives in?

Because

You need to wake up to reality and enlighten yourself to the dangers of Obesity. Being overweight can have potentially severe implications if you let the problem get out of hand.

It’s nothing like your chubby best friend or your bulky uncle told you: Eating for pleasure is not the only purpose of life. (Sigh!)

The relation between obesity and health problems

Accept it or not, every overweight person secretly wishes to become a healthier version of themselves to curb the health problems or risks they are facing…

Being overweight takes a heavy toll on your mental and physical health. It leaves you with fewer options in daily life than any other normal person. This makes you prone to mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, etc.

Not only this, being obese stresses your body organs too. This is why overweight people tend to have a reduced length of life. (Hey, we are not bluffing. These are science-backed facts, my friend).

The diseases that you become prone to when overweight are dependent on two conditions:

1. The location of the fat
2. Your family history

If you have fat in your belly region (i.e. you have an apple-shaped body) you are more prone to health complications as compared to pear-shaped people (i.e. those who are fat at their hip area). Moreover, if you have a family history of any of the following diseases, your chances of becoming ill become significantly higher.

Note: Losing merely 5 to 10% of your body weight greatly reduces your risk of developing these diseases.

The most common obesity-linked diseases are:

● Diabetes

Diabetes type 2 is most common in overweight people. The insulin resistance that your body develops creates a myriad of problems for your organs.

● High cholesterol

High cholesterol levels, linked to eating unhealthy foods, can affect your heart function.

● Sleep apnea

Did someone tell you that you snore a lot now after gaining weight? Or you scared your loved one by erratic breathing at night? Well, this is also linked to the side effects of obesity.

● Asthma

Having extra fat in your body puts strain on your lungs, which may result in increased asthma attacks.

● Gout

Have you noticed that you constantly complain of joint pain? A reason for that might be high uric level, a condition more common in overweight people.

● Heart disease

Who doesn’t know that the heart is the most special organ? But can you imagine all the extra work it has to do when you are obese?! This is why obesity weakens your heart, making you prone to a stroke or cardiac arrest.

● Osteoarthritis

Early-onset of this bone degenerative disease is most common in adults who weigh higher than normal people

How to gain control of your eating habits to lose weight?

Controlling your eating habits and coping with diseases like cholesterol, asthma, joint pain, diabetes, etc goes hand in hand.

● Be mindful when eating meals

‘Sit down, relax and enjoy every bite’. Make this mantra a staple in your life. Do not sit idly in front of the TV when eating your meals. Focus solely on the food you are eating and savor every bite. Your experience will be out of this world, trust me! Research shows that conscious eating and taking time to chew your food well makes you satisfied early and you eat less as a result. (Bingo!)

● Don’t think of food after 9 p.m.

Yup, that’s what you have to do for the sake of your health…
Dismiss your late-night hunger pangs and train your mind to ignore the false alarms it is receiving. Research shows that you are most likely to binge on food at late hours, which makes it extremely hard for your body to digest it properly as you are not moving around at that time of the day.
(Have plans to Netflix and chill? Sit on your sofa with a huge ass water bottle and drink water whenever you feel like eating something!)

● Eat regular meals

Consider this the holy grail of your life from now onwards!

Trust me fam, you do not need to keep eating every other hour to survive (it’s actually the opposite TBH). Have 3 regular meals i.e. breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the same time each day to train your body.

And most importantly, ‘Do Not Skip Your Breakfast‘. Ever. Make a banner out of it or something to hang in your kitchen or bedroom. Skipping your breakfast is downright brutal to your body. Your body is STARVING for vital nutrients when you wake up. Make a habit of having a protein-rich breakfast such as eggs, oats, etc to satiate yourself. (Unless you are fasting. But that’s a whole different game. We will talk about it later.)

● Turn to smart snacking

Dominating your urge to eat is NO JOKE. (Been there, done that) Having a snack or two every day is an inevitable option. Do not starve yourself when you feel like eating besides regular meals. Doing this will make you feel like a punishment, which consequently makes it quite difficult for you to change your eating habits.
What I am asking you to do is eat healthy fibrous foods such as fruits as snacks, rather than any sweets or store-bought chips.

● Plan your meals ahead of time

Planning what you are going to have in a day gives you a sense of self-control in your life. When you know what meal you are having next, try to focus all your energy and attention towards the preparation of that food ONLY. This will give you a sense of freedom and boy will you feel accomplished at the end of the day! There is nothing like a sweet victory against unhealthy eating habits. Try it for yourself.

● Prepare your meals yourself, keep takeaways as your last resort.

I cannot stress this point enough.

Make your own meal bruh.

Gathering all the ingredients and putting in the effort to prepare your food will make you value your food more. This will improve your understanding of the importance of a healthy meal, which will implore you in the future to read ingredient lists on premade foods. Not only this, try to learn more about the calorie intake as you progress in your diet so that you can account for the calories you are having in a day (Having 1500 cal is the bare minimum. Do not go below this number.)

● Monitor your portion sizes

A well-known secret of all the celebrities, whether K-pop or Hollywood, is that they eat everything they want , BUT, in moderation. Overindulging in food will surely give you a food coma, but the stress it puts on your digestive system is unbelievable! Having controlled portions of food gives you the liberty to enjoy everything you are craving. Hell, it would be a crime to shun all your favorite foods (such as pizza, fries) altogether, am I right?

● Don’t drink your calories

Try to avoid shakes, smoothies, and the likes if you are morbidly obese. They will make you hungry earlier (which we do not want).
Thinking of making a smoothie of banana, apple, nuts, and almond milk? Eat all of them instead of blending them for a satisfying meal.
Chewing and eating solid foods makes you satisfied readily and ensures that you get all the dietary fibers your body needs.

What to avoid and what to eat?

Well, the answer to this question is simple: avoid everything you love from refined carbs to sugary drinks (ehm, sorry for the disappointment).

Unfortunately, western eating culture focuses heavily on processed foods (deep-fried foods, burgers, pizza for instance) that contain unhealthy amounts of trans fats and do not fulfill the nutritional requirements of a person.

But who is to blame?

They are filling…
And satisfying…
And God are they delicious…!

Oh well, sorry for getting carried away.

The point I am trying to make is that indulging in such types of food EVERY DAY will make your blood sugar levels shoot through the roof! And it is digested quite early, making you hungry after every short while. The best thing you can do for yourself is keeping such food items at bay. Or eating them once in a blue moon.

Besides, healthy foods are delicious too! Being on a diet does not mean you have to eat grass all day. You can experiment with your nutritious food as much as you want to adjust the taste and spices according to your preference! You bet you will find it much tastier than your imagination (Thank me later.)

The food items you should focus on are those that have:

• Lots of dietary fiber
• Have great nutritional value
• Good for your gut health

Eat lots of fruits and vegetables (along with meat and healthy fats such as olive oil) to get healthy carbohydrates, fats, protein, and dietary fibers for your body. Focus on nutrient-dense foods and try to have a balanced diet every day.

Note: Fiber-rich foods make digestion easy and increase the feeling of fullness, which will lead to weight loss. Whole-grain bread, pulses, whole-wheat pasta, and nuts are some of the fiber-rich foods you can enjoy!

Last but not the least, consume food items that are good for gut bacteria.

Did you know? Almost 37 trillion BACTERIA are residing in your gut. (It’s a whole new ballgame there)

Foods that increase good bacteria in your gut are

• A range of plants such as fruits, veggies, and grains
• Prebiotic foods such as banana, onion, garlic, leeks, oats, barley, etc
• Fermented foods such as kimchi, kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, etc.

Note: Do you know what every Kpop celebrity eats without skipping a day? It’s kimchi! Its anti-obesity effects are astonishing to everyone (scientists alike)!

Some other activities you should do to lose weight

Only changing your eating habits and eating the right food is not enough. We have described some other measures that are necessary to take if you want to lose weight.

● Drink water regularly

There is no other way around. Aim for 2 liters of water a day at least. Drinking plain water is all you need to replenish your dehydrated body. Do you know that our brain has the same indicator for thirst and hunger? This is why it’s so common for us to confuse thirst with hunger. Especially during cold seasons, we tend to eat excessively instead of drinking water when in fact our body is telling us that it needs water.

● Exercise

This is another very crucial step in losing weight. I am not asking you to do push-ups, pull-ups, and cardio simultaneously from today (although you might need to do them at some point in your weight loss journey). All I am asking you is to get up and get moving. Start small but be consistent. An hour of moderate-intensity exercise such as brisk walking, is an ideal way of exercising.

Remember, exercise improves both your physical and mental health. Therefore, engage in physical activities such as climbing stairs, walking your dog, playing outdoor games to boost your metabolism.

Note: You cannot lose weight simply by dieting without any physical activity. Both of these steps go hand in hand.

● Try intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is trending up because of its immense benefits and appreciable results. This involves observing a fast for a specific duration and eating your meals in the remaining time.

If you plan to go for it, wait for at least 24 weeks for applause-worthy results (Hey, that’s research talking, not me).

The different types of intermittent fasting methods are

• 16/8 method (You fast for 16 hours(!) and eat your meals in the remaining 8. People mostly observe this fast from night till noon.
• 5:2 diet (You fast 2 days every week while eating 500 to 600 calories on fasting days. Don’t binge on food in the remaining days though! Moderation is the key)
• Alternate day fasting (You fast every other day while eating almost 30% of your body requirements on fasting days.)

● Maintain a food diary

Maintaining a food diary gives you a clear picture of what you are putting in your body. Plan up your diet for a week at a time and aim to work towards a balanced diet. You must record everything you eat in your food diary so that you do not lose track.

Make sure you include lots of protein, healthy fats, and dietary fiber sources in your food diary (Take it to heart mate: no trans-fat food, Ever! It does so much harm to your body)

Also, don’t forget to include the calorie count of each item in your food diary so that you can monitor your calorie intake simultaneously. (Go for professional help if things are complicated to understand. There are many certified nutritionists that can help you plan your diet.)

● Eat organic foods

You must have heard of this term on Instagram or Twitter.

Organic food is the one that has the least exposure to artificial chemicals such as pesticides, etc. This trending topic has prompted Millennials and Generation Z to try to adopt organic eating methods.

If you ask me, I will tell you to get aboard on this trend too. Organic food is nutritionally much better than its counterpart. Conventionally grown food has more antioxidants, among other nutrients than the contrary.

● Fix your sleep schedule

Yup, it’s time to confront the elephant in the room.

Sorry for being blunt, but mate it’s high time that you stop being a rebel and settle your sleep schedule once and for all. You need to sleep at least 6 to 8 hours at night.

Sleeping less can create havoc in your hormones and metabolism. Low sleep promotes the release of fat retention hormone and slows the metabolism (both things will make you fat). It also messes with your appetite-controlling hormones. You feel more hungry than usual on sleepless nights because the hormone that sends fullness signals to the brain is not being released properly.

● Manage your stress

Stress is one of the main culprits for obesity. Sometimes all people need to do is to confront their stress triggers and watch themselves get back in shape.

Stress for a short time is not harmful. But continuous stress for long periods can increase your fat deposition in the body.

The best thing you can do is to talk to someone or take professional help. You can also try breathing or relaxation exercises or yoga to release your stress.

● Spread the word

Are you feeling alone or anxious about embarking on a weight loss journey? Then you must spread the word about your aim among your trustable friends and family so that they can support you and cheer you up when you feel low. Sometimes all it takes is to hear a few comforting words to get motivation.

● Set realistic goals

This is the most important point to remember! Set realistic goals only so that things do not get exceedingly tough for you. Aim to achieve one small goal at a time and try to remain happy with your progress. Doing too much at a time will exhaust you from your weight loss journey. Take things slowly, be a little flexible with your aims and be consistent in your diet and exercise. Persistence is truly the key to success.

Starting a weight loss journey is not an easy task.

There will be days when you wouldn’t feel like leaving your bed. Seeing your sore body, going to the gym will be the last thing on your mind.

You would also miss carefree eating as you did earlier.

But it is on those days when you remind yourself of your weight loss goal and get up and strive to become a better version of yourself is when you truly succeed.

(And even if you skip some days, it’s okay.
Don’t be hard on yourself.
Practice forgiveness on yourself and do not give up at all.)