8 Nasty habits that prevent you from losing weight

Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, and is now viewed as one of the most serious health problems of the 21st century. Obesity is most commonly caused by a combination of excessive food energy intake, from unhealthy foods, and a lack of physical activity.

Obesity can be the cause of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, obstructive sleep apnoea, and osteoarthritis.

By changing even just a few of the following habits, you’ll feel better, lose weight, and have overall improved body health.

1. Practising bad meal-time eating habits

• Eat at a table and don’t watch TV while you’re eating.

• Put down your knife and fork after every mouthful, and don’t pick them up again until your mouth is empty.

• Eat slowly and mindfully, and chew well. Eating slowly makes you feel full sooner.

• Use small plates for meat, dairy, grains and fruit, but your biggest plate for fresh veggies and salads.

2. Not drinking enough plain water

Drinking the right amount of water promotes overall health, from skin, bones and joints to the digestive system, memory and brain function. Different bodies need different amounts of water. Dividing your weight in kgs by eight is a rough guideline as to how many glasses of plain water you need per day.

People who eat lots of fresh, water-rich fruit and vegetables will need a little less water per day, than people who eat more dry, condensed, refined, fast- and processed foods.

3. Drinking carbonated beverages, sports drinks and commercial fruit juice

Most carbonated soft drinks contain 10 or more teaspoons of sugar. Even commercial pure fruit juice is extremely high in fructose and sports drinks are packed with a heap of chemicals that might be harmful to your health. Stick to water or home-juiced fruits and veggies.

4. Eating fat in processed and fast foods

Eating processed and transfats will make you fat, good fats will not. Most highly processed low-fat or fat-free foods leave the products tasteless, colourless and visually unappetising. So lots of sugar, chemical flavourants, colourants, refined flours, thickeners and preservatives are added just to make the product palatable and marketable. Many of these food chemicals impact negatively on your body’s natural metabolism causing you to gain weight instead of lose.

Since the ‘low-fat’ message went out around three decades ago, obesity levels in the United States have doubled – and of even more concern – obesity levels among children have tripled.

5. Using artificial sweeteners

The average American consumes 10kgs of artificial sweeteners each year, a habit that could actually be making people heavier. Studies show how these substances desensitise taste buds and can confuse the body’s regulatory systems that control hunger. Artificial sweeteners are often hidden in everyday processed food items not advertised as diet foods. Small amounts of raw sugar, honey, agave or xylitol are all better for your health than artificial sweeteners.

6. Eating out

It’s not a good idea to eat out more than a couple of times a month. Food prepared from scratch with natural ingredients in your own home will always be better for weight loss than eating out.

7. Shopping the centre aisles at the supermarket

You’ll always find fresh produce at the periphery of supermarkets and not in the centre aisles where all the processed foods are found. Avoid the middle aisles and do some laps round the edges of the supermarket when shopping for your essential fresh veg and fruits, meat, and dairy.

8. Not getting enough exercise

You don’t have to go to an official gym to boost your heart rate and burn off calories. Resistance training, gardening, cycling, weightlifting, dancing, swimming and cardiovascular exercises all have their particular uses. Take the stairs, walk where possible, and move around briskly and energetically.

Information sourced from the following websites:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/424905-10-habits-that-make-you-fat/#ixzz2JOXtDHIy

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/top-5-habits-making-you-fat

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity

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