Here are 10 healthy habits to lose weight and keep it off, without going on a diet. The problem with most diets is that you regain all the weight you lost, as soon as you stop the diet. Diets that are too restrictive and too hard to follow are not sustainable. Perhaps the biggest failure of diets is that they do not address your eating habits and lifestyle. You can achieve lasting weight loss by addressing your eating habits in a way that is sustainable, simple, and fits your lifestyle. Try one new habit every week until you have mastered these 10 healthy habits to lose weight and keep it off.
Low Hanging Fruit
Find the low-hanging fruit. Identify any high-calorie foods that you have almost every day that you could cut back on. You can lose up to a pound a week by cutting back on that one item. If you are free pouring olive oil or snacking on nuts and cheese freely – these are small changes that get big results.
Here are some easy changes you can make:
| FIND THE LOW HANGING FRUIT | |
| Instead of this: | Try this: |
| Do you free-pour olive oil into every dish? | Use an air fryer, season with lemon juice and salt |
| Do you go through a pound of butter more often than once a month? | Use a spray can of canola oil or avocado oil on your pans, instead of butter. |
| Snack on cheese and crackers often? | Try rice crackers, veggies + hummus |
| Nuts your go-to snack? | Try roasted chickpeas or Simply Protein bar. |
| Eat peanut butter out of the jar? | Try a protein shake, tuna, or hummus. |
| Drink frappuccinos? | Try coffee without sweeteners and creams. |
| Drink bubble tea or pop? | Switch to soda water. |
| Finish a bottle of wine on the weekend? | Switch to non-alcoholic beer or soda water. Your sleep, energy, mood, motivation, and willpower will all improve! |
| Get a pastry at the coffee shop? | Get egg bites instead. |
Ease Up On High Fat Foods
Ease Up on High Fat Foods, yes even the healthy ones. It bears repeating that oil, nuts, cheese, and peanut butter, are pretty high in Calories, so limit their portions. Limit how often you have butter, ice cream, chips, baked goods, and takeout food, and cut your portions of these foods back by half.
| EASE UP ON HIGH-FAT FOODS | |
| Instead of this: | Try this: |
| Ice cream cone | Ninja Creami or blended frozen banana with SKYR vanilla yogurt and mint chocolate chips |
| Bag chips | Popcorn |
| Croissant | Granola bar |
| Chinese, Indian, Thai Takeout | Freshii, Tractor, Subway, Chipotle, Sushi, Booster Juice |
| Burger & Fries & Drink | Burger, no combo (skip fries and drink) |
Cut The Cheat Days
Cut the cheat days. If you have indulgent ‘cheat days’ every weekend, you won’t see results. The idea of cheat days comes from the old restrictive diet approach that is not recommended as it makes you want to binge! Instead, follow the 80/20 rule, where you eat balanced, nutritious meals 80% of the time, and enjoy one treat or restaurant meal 20% of the time. This works out to having one treat 1-2 times per week. Keep this 80/20 rule in mind on holidays and when you travel. Healthy eating is a lifestyle, not an all-or-nothing approach.
| CUT CHEAT DAYS | |
| Instead of this: | Try this: |
| Helping yourself to the sweets at work. | Save your treat for something special. Pack your own snacks for the office. |
| Snacking on chips, pizza, and beer on a Saturday night. | Try a healthy snack before the party, so you aren’t too hungry and overeat at night.
Try non-alcoholic beer to avoid late-night cravings! |
| Choosing the most decadent meal on the menu. | Consider which meal will make you feel best and ask the server to recommend which meal isn’t too heavy. Check the menu online for nutrition information, if available. |
| Getting the burger, fries, and pint of beer. | Get the burger, skip the fries, and try the side salad. Try a bottle of beer instead of a pint. |
| Ordering appies, and dessert at a restaurant. | Skip the apple and stick with just the entree. Pass on the dessert. |
| Having a bottle of wine with dinner. | Start with water. Wait until your dinner arrives before you have a drink. Savor your drink and make it last until your dinner is finished. |
| Planning a weekend brunch with friends and Order the eggs benedict. | Order the eggs benny with the hollandaise sauce on the side. Or invite your friends for a bike ride or beach picnic. |
Meal Planning
Plan your Meals on Weekends. Many people eat very well on weekdays and then eating goes out the window on the weekend when we lose our routine and structure. Planning your meals and sticking to your routine on the weekend too can be helpful.
| PLAN MEALS ON WEEKENDS | |
| Instead of this: | Try this: |
| Snacking on chips when you are out on busy weekends. | Pack protein bars, wraps, fruit when you are going out for the day |
| Getting Friday night takeout because there is nothing in the fridge. | Pull out a frozen pizza and serve it with veggies and dip. |
| Serving wings and a cheese plate for your party. | Serve fruit kabob, shrimp cocktail, basil tomato mozza skewers, and Margherita pizza for your party. |
| Making waffles and sausages on weekends. | Try a healthy protein pancake mix for your waffles and serve with Greek yogurt and fruit salad. |
Avoid Takeout
Plan your Dinners and Avoid Takeout. Grocery shop once a week. Restaurant and takeout meals are always higher in Calories, fat, and portions than the same meal made at home. Delivery apps make takeout too easy! Delete Skip and Ubereats delivery apps off your phone and try committing to making dinners six days a week. Even if you are going to a restaurant for dinner, you can plan what you will have ahead of time to make your choices a little easier.
Tips to Cook More:
- Order groceries online
- Try a meal delivery service
- Plan your meals ahead of time
- Meal prep ahead of time
- Try your Slowcooker or Instapot
Mindful Eating
Turn off the TV and Screens while eating. Eat at the table. This helps mindful eating, so we are not grazing mindlessly all evening. Are you eating out of hunger or habit? Polishing off leftovers as you do the dishes? Movie snacks on the couch? If you don’t want to eat at the table, you probably are not hungry.
Curb Evening Snacking
Most adults do not need an evening snack unless you exercise intensely in the evenings, you will benefit from a recovery snack. Our brain gets used to snacking on the couch in the evening to unwind. Try to keep your hands busy with a puzzle, hobby, knitting, or a cup of tea while you unwind and watch your shows.
Don’t Get Too Hungry
Don’t get too hungry! Our body releases ghrelin our hunger hormone that drives us to overeat on high-fat and sugar foods when we get too hungry. Having 3 meals at regular times helps keep your hunger and willpower in check. Plan a high-protein afternoon snack to tide you over until dinner.
Exercise
Move every day, rather than being a weekend warrior. Aim for 30-45 minutes of vigorous activity every day. It’s easier to achieve a calorie deficit with a small but steady activity level compared to an all-or-nothing approach. Also, you will notice that when you are exercising regularly, your motivation and willpower are both much better than when you are not.
Know Your Weaknesses
Know your kryptonite. Just as Superman was powerless in the face of kryptonite, I am powerless in the face of chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. For some people, their kryptonite is ice cream or chips and for others, it is baked goods. While it is very important to give ourselves permission to enjoy our favorite treats regularly, we can easily overdo it when we are surrounded by them in a weak moment. It can be helpful to stock up on healthy snacks and keep the salty snacks out of reach or out of the house. If your triggers for overeating are being tired, stressed, hangry, or bored – that is not the time to be face to face with a Costco bag of snacks.
Stop the yoyo diets! Building new eating habits is the secret to getting lasting results. Working with a dietitian can be a game changer to achieve sustainable weight loss.
An experienced dietitian can help:
- Optimize your nutrition, energy and meal timing.
- Build you a customized meal plan that includes your favorite meals.
- Find the low hanging fruit: small changes that get big results!
- Identify which eating habits are sabotaging your results.
- Give you strategies to overcome stress or emotional eating.
- Give you eating out strategies and restaurant meals that work with your plan.
- Coach you with implementing moderation as a lifestyle.
Book with our elite dietitians online today and get lasting results.
