Life, Beauty And Health Facts, Tips And Hacks

10 Simple Tips To Stay Slim, Hot and Healthy

Staying slim and fit is not only important for good looks but also for your overall health. To achieve this goal, you first need to determine your ideal body weight based on your gender, age, height, body frame and body type. There are a number of formulas to calculate it.

You can also calculate your BMI (Body Mass Index) using your body weight and height to determine whether you are underweight, overweight or have an ideal weight. It is widely used and also recommended by the World Health Organization.

You can find the BMI formula in our post on home remedies for obesity and weight loss. The normal BMI range is 18.5 to 24.9.

You can follow some tips and tricks to stay healthy and avoid unwanted pounds from creeping up on you. Most of these suggestions involve improving your lifestyle, keeping a regular routine, exercising and following some basic diet rules. Also, your determination to stay fit and healthy will go a long way in making your efforts successful.

Here are the top 10 tips to stay slim, hot and healthy.

1. Stop Eating When Your Belly is 80% Full

Instead of binge eating until your buttons pop, go slow and only eat until your belly is 80% full. It will help you avoid overeating. Also, your stomach will perform better with more space to produce digestive juices and break down food.

Slow, mindful eating will help you sense your level of fullness. It takes about 20 minutes for the brain to register that the stomach is full. Research indicates that eating slowly also enhances satiety. Plus, it allows you to better enjoy the flavor of the food.

Along with this, delve deeper into your eating habits to explore some basic diet rules like:

•Eat only when you are hungry—not out of boredom, stress or loneliness. Remember the old saying, “a moment on the lips, forever on the hips!”Do not eat food or drink a beverage on the go, such as drinking your coffee while driving to work. You end up consuming more calories this way.

•Do not eat late at night. Enjoy your last meal of the day 2 to 3 hours before going to bed.

•After eating a snack, wait 3 hours before your next meal or snack. Likewise, wait 5 hours after eating a heavy meal.

•If you skip a meal, load up on fruits and vegetables first so that you do not overeat when you finally sit down to eat. Research shows that after fasting for about 18 hours, the body craves more fattening foods to load up more calories per volume.

•If possible, go on a detox diet once a week.

2. Keep an Eye on Portion Sizes

Most people do not realize how portion control can help support weight loss efforts. In a 2004 study involving 329 overweight participants, 38% of them lost 5% of their body weight after practicing portion control for 2 years. The study was conducted by researchers at the Summa Health System in Ohio.

To reduce your portion sizes and avoid mindless eating, follow these tips:

•Downsize your dishes by using smaller plates, bowls and even serving spoons. In a 2008 study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, participants were asked to serve ice cream for themselves in 17- and 34-inch bowls. Researchers found that people, even nutrition experts, who used larger bowls served themselves 31% more ice cream than those who used smaller bowls.

•Serve beverages in tall, narrow glasses instead of small and wide ones as they appear to have more liquid, thus making you think that you are drinking more.Do not eat chips and other packaged snacks straight from the bag.When at a restaurant, request a half order or smaller portion of your chosen entree.