Follow the Science for Healthy Living

There is a lot of good information online about the science of weight loss and the proven methods for long-term weight management. However, there is also a lot of bad weight loss information on the internet. Don’t be fooled by false claims.

Science backed ways for losing weight include routine exercise, keeping a food log to track food intake, intermittent fasting to avoid eating between meals, and an overall reduction in energy consumption from carbohydrates. The science of healthy weight loss suggests people who yo-yo diet tend to gain more weight over time.

Instead of focusing on losing weight, set a goal to nourish your body with nutritional food and make it a habit to fit exercise into your daily routine.

Tips for Long-Term Weight Management

Losing weight is difficult, but it should only be part of a long-term plan to keep it off, which also includes:

1) Eating Less Counts More – A study following the Twinkie Diet at Kansas State University proved a participant could lose twenty five-plus pounds on a calorie-deficit diet eating junk food. But, eating healthy foods would be much healthier.

2) Problem Lies in the Brain Not the Belly – Recent obesity research has identified the mechanisms through which the brain controls how much fat is burned after a meal and that faulty brain signals may promote obesity.

3) Exercise Helps a Faulty Metabolism – Scientists say that exercise can help correct a faulty metabolism, even one that has been out of balance for a while, and building muscle helps to burn more calories every day.

4) Understand Sugar Intake – Sugar is high in calories and can interfere with hormonal balance. Select healthier carb sources like fiber-rich beans, whole grains, and berries for a sweat approach to better gut health.

The things we know to be true about effective weight loss for the long-term are relatively few but most are simple to do. Nonetheless, science-based strategies can be extremely effective for losing weight if followed correctly.

Stop Thinking You Are On or Off a Diet

Experts suggest that you remove the word “diet” from you vocabulary as it suggests that you are either on a diet or off a diet, which is not representative of how the science behind maintaining a healthy target weight actually works. For some people, losing weight is relatively simple; they just need to take in fewer calories than their body burns. But, for anyone, being more physically active will cause the body to burn more fat for energy and improve their health.

The science of weight loss does suggest maintaining a healthy weight is all about adding healthy habits to your daily life, such as managing stress, getting a good night’s sleep, being physically active, and eating more unprocessed whole foods. Changing your relationship with food may not be easy and some things may be entirely out of your control. But, that shouldn’t be an excuse to not adopt healthy habits for how and what you eat, or to not engage in more physical activities.