How to Prevent Weight Gain and How to Lose It

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Prevention of weight gain is the easy way to go: if you have a healthy weight now, keep an eye on it so you don't have to endure the weight loss track. However, if you've noticed you gained weight and need to lose fat — which is important for your health and wellbeing — then there are a lot of tips out there.

Your dietary habits are very personal and what might work for you, might not work for your neighbor. According to obesity scientists there are a couple of causes of our expanding waistlines:

• Increased portion sizes
• Increased availability of foods
• Increased convenience of foods
• Decreased food preparation time
• Increased consumption of sugar sweetened beverages
• Increased consumption of highly processed foods (often high in carbohydrates) and lower consumption of whole, unprocessed foods
• Increased TV watching with directly linked increased energy consumption (not the decreased activity!)
• Decreased sleep (particularly in children)

Food is too easily accesible

You will recall the time it was so hard to not eat those chips at a party where they were strategically placed right in front of you, or those bread sticks they keep on bringing to your table.

Peoples instincts don't work in this changed food environment

There is a discrepancy between the human instincts that were originally designed to make it easier for people to get nutritious foods. In a world without cupcakes, a yearning for sweets brought people to fruits (important for several vitamins), a need for fat and protein brought people to eating animal products that were important sources of protein, which were scarce in that time. Nowadays, these cravings bring you to the processed chocolates, twinkies and bacon — available for all — instead of having to shoot the animal or search for fruits. Also, in times when food was scarce, the tendency to eat a lot when food is available is now detrimental to health.

Food has become increasingly unsocial, and with every social event there is food

There are two things happening 1) food has become something you eat alone, in the car, behind your desk — instead of at a table without TV using a fork and a knife and 2) social events nowadays are filled with tons of (unhealthy) foods. The opportunities for eating have thus increased tremendously.

The food industry convinces you to eat more

Major food industries producing processed foods have entire marketing teams that aim to get people to eat their foods. And most people are not immune to that. However, the industries that make fewer money on their foods, because their products have small margins — and are usually healthier — do not have enough money for marketing, and struggle to have you buy their products.

Popular Tips To Lose Weight

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I've gone trough popular magazines and collected tips on how to lose weight, some of the following might help you to get the healthy weight you want:

• Don't starve yourself, if you are hungry you are more likely to overeat the next meal
• An hour of cardio exercise will help you take your mind of food
• Weight exercise twice a week increases your metabolism during the day because of more muscle mass
• Mix fat, carbs and protein to increase satiety with every meal
• Exercise as part of a daily routine (e.g. bike to work or school)
• Do not drink your calories. Your body does not register calories you drink so stick to water, tea and coffee.
• Write down everything you eat, this can be an eye-opener
• Have a realistic goal, and set close milestones
• Reward yourself when you do well, for example by going to the movies after losing 5 pounds
• Stick to a diet plan that you can adhere to for a long time, expect no quick results
• Go shopping right after a meal, never go to the grocery store hungry.
• Make sure you do not have convenience food in the house. The longer you have to prepare something, the least likely you are to eat it when you are hungry
• Eat only at the dinner table to be more conscious of your eating habits
• Do not eat in front of the TV
• When watching TV, do some simple exercises or use commercial breaks for push ups
• Eat a little before going to a restaurant, and have only an appetizer there
• Remind other people that you are trying to lose weight, and tell them not to tempt you with food.
• Think of a strategy that you use to get back on track after a day of overeating: not all is lost after some chocolate
• Enjoy good, tasty foods and use a lot of flavor in dishes, like cinnamon for sweet dishes or pepper/mustard/curry in hearty dishes
• Keep foods out of sight to avoid temptation
• Join an online support group
• Take before and after photos
• Start reading labels
• Don't compare yourself to others, losing weight is personal and others might lose weight faster or slower
• Think about what made you gain weight in the first place, and tackle the source
• Avoid chain restaurants, even the "healthy" ones have huge amounts of hidden calories
• Maintain your priorities
• Use patterns and routine to help you reach your goal
• Sleep 7 to 8 hours a night
• Set boundaries for when you can eat
• Eat fiber rich foods that make you feel full
• Drink water all day long
• Eat only from small plates
• Eat slowly, the "full" signal generally arrives 15 minutes after you are full
• Always use a shopping list
• Buy a variety of fruits and vegetables in different colors
• Look for the low-sodium or "no salt added" brands of canned soup, vegetables, and beans
• Try the low-fat or non-fat brand of your favorite milk products like yogurt or cheese
• Choose 100% whole wheat or whole grain bread and crackers
• Eat small, healthy snacks during the day. This will keep you from over-eating at mealtimes
• Don’t eat out of the bag or package. Instead, put a small amount of food in a bowl
• Serve food on plates and leave the main dish on the stove. You will be less tempted to go back for seconds
• If you are eating out, only eat half of your meal. Take the other half home with you
• Read the label to find out how many servings are in a package. There may be more than one!