A Layman’s Guide: How to Effect Five Lifestyle Changes for Weight Loss and Glowing Skin

Over the last few weeks some of my friends are saying  good words about my weight management success and also about my improved skin texture. Though I have always maintained my weight as per the standard health indicators of BMI around 20 but never thought that these positive states are only due to some good intentional and unintentional scientific decisions taken over a period of time. I started compiling the reasons for these positive results and thought of sharing the life style changes which helped me achieve my weight goals and aided me a lot in improving my skin conditions as well. As a social animal I have more often than not shared some of my routines to few of my relatives and friends also. Some of my family members and friends also tried along with me and they are quite happy with the overall improvement.  we all agree commonly that we feel more energetic now a days. What I have realized over the long pondering sessions is that your life depends on your style and hence your lifestyle is what you are or what you will be over a course of time. In simple terms if you want to change then change your lifestyle. These are the lifestyle changes which helped me big time and I am quite hopeful that it will do so for others as well because science is universal.

Change 1

Keep Yourself Hydrated

Since my childhood days the first thing I used to do after waking up was to take a cup of hot ginger tea and it used to kick start my day. But not now as this was the first routine I changed in my life style. 

·        Today I begin my day with at least three (3) glasses of water and after an hour again try to take two (2 ) glasses of water.

·        After starting my day with these five (5) to six (6) glasses of water, rest of the day I try to remain as hydrated as possible.

·        One advice is to prefer water at normal temperature and to make it a point to drink it before every meal. Drinking water before every meal ensures that one does not overeat and believe me it will acts like a charm for the overall health and fitness.

                         

Change 2

Detoxify

Detoxification is the process of elimination of accumulated toxins in the body. It improves the overall health and adds a healthy glow on your face. The toxins are accumulated in the body as a result of consumption of processed, sugary and fatty food over the period of time. These toxins fastens the aging process and also creates obstacles in the overall natural healing process of our system.

There are many 7 days and 30 days courses of detoxification of body but what one should prefer is adding certain permanent lifestyle changes and try practicing these regularly for maximum benefits. As mentioned above there are many benefits of drinking water and one of them is detoxification process. After the breakfast try taking lemon water several times during the whole day because it increases the production of digestive juices which aids in the digestion and also provides an alkaline atmosphere inside your body. An alkaline environment is better than an acidic one for overall health.

·        You can start your day with two (2) to three (3) glasses of lemon water if you are trying to shed the weight. Adding honey will help further because it nourishes the digestive tract and purifies the blood. You can enhance the cleansing abilities of lemon water by adding a green tea bag in it

·        Try alternating lemon water with diluted Amla juice( indian gooseberry juice) sometimes as it is full of vitamin C and aids in getting rid of harmful chemicals. It aids in weight loss also.

·         Drink a small quantity of Aloe Vera juice after waking up.  Drinking Aloe Vera juice immediately after waking up speeds the metabolism process and helps in the detoxification of the body. Please ensure that the aloe Vera juice that you drink is for human consumption purpose and there are many good brands available in the market as of now.

·        I changed my habit of taking coffee three to 4 times a day and replaced it with green tea.

          

                                   

                                           

Change 3

Watch your breakfast

We all know that breakfast effects our whole day and so I am going to share what changes I made in my breakfast and how to get the maximum benefits in terms of weight loss.

·        I chose food with low GI (glycemic index). In very simple terminology it means those type of foods which release sugar into the blood very slowly. Thus providing you a very steady supply of energy and making you feel fuller for a longer time and prevents you from binging. There is a huge list of foods with low GI like oats meals, bran cereals etc

·        I switched from typical oily Indian breakfast to oats porridge which can be prepared by adding hot milk to rolled oats. I chose oats because it reduces cholesterol and acts as diuretic.

·        Add lots of cut fruits and few nuts.

·        You can further cut down calories by adding low fat milk and honey.

·        Same way you can prepare the salty porridge also by adding boiled vegetables and adding hot water to rolled oats in place of milk. You can season it with the spices of your choice.

·         You can try whole wheat porridge or barley porridge depending upon your taste.

Change 4

Walk while you talk

We all want to exercise every day and remain fit.  We start also with lots of enthusiasm but most of the people including myself cannot stick to a strict exercise regime. Here are few of the changes which I made in my life style and these are much easier to follow compared to regular going to gym and these changes helped me a lot.

·        Almost all of us talk on phone everyday sometime for work sometime to our friends and relatives. You can use this time for walking, for even a small walk for 10 min while you enjoy a conversation will add to up to your efforts and will be helpful in reaching your goals faster. The American Heart Association recommends 10000 steps daily for all optimal fitness especially cardio-vascular fitness.

·        If you follow a particular show daily on TV, try moving stationary cycle in front of TV and start cycling  to your target.

·        If you want to tone up your flabby biceps, you can do little bicep training with dumbbells after cycling.

·        Try doing 10 pushups and planks  daily before coming out of bed

                     

Change  5

Enjoy Eating Wisely

Here one point I want to make that don’t stop eating but start eating wisely.

·        For instance I enjoy my own home made pizza with a whole wheat base with less cheese and more vegetable made with extra virgin olive oil and without butter or margarine. You can add the seasonings of your choice.

·        Try to replace all white with brown in your food. I prefer brown bread, brown rice, whole wheat flour etc. in place of white ones. Some people rightly say that white is not Right as far as food choices are concerned.

·        Try adding more raw vegetables to your lunch and dinners. If you want to lose weight fast, try finishing a bowl of salad before starting cooked food. Avoid adding oils and cheese to salads. 

·        Take your lunch or dinner on time because if you don’t take lunch or dinner on time, we tend to eat more.

·        I follow a simple rule which really helps. I take my breakfast with in one (1) to two (2) hours of waking up, lunch after three (3) to four (4) hours after breakfast and after almost three (3) hours of lunch I take some low calorie snacks and after three(3) hours of snacks I take dinner. I suggest you to take dinner before 8 pm.

·        Keep yourself occupied because we eat more when we feel bored.

·        Try not to eat while watching TV

·        Try eating on table most of the time because eating on table will make you much more aware of your food choices.

·         Little things add up. So try following healthy rules whenever possible even if it is  not materializing all the times. Slowly improve upon it.

·        There is no tomorrow and you can start it today only.