You look and feel great; however, some of these habits doesn’t necessarily help you maintain your well-being into the future. You may be making some of these mistakes. Learning about them now will help you avoid them in the future.
1. Drinking Out of A Plastic Bottle
While your are getting your daily dose of H20, you should seriously consider trading your throw-away bottle for the reusable, BPA-free variety. BPA can negatively impact fertility in both men and women and has also been been linked to obesity.
2. You Don’t Drink Green Tea
Green tea speeds up the liver’s fat-burning capacity. Green tea is a powerful, natural weight loss drink for those who don’t like plain water.
3. Sleeping Late
When not getting enough sleep, over time, this can lead to weight gain, anxiety, depression and insulin resistance, which can trigger type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. A good night’s rest fuels the production of fat-burning hormones, so logging a solid seven or eight hours of sleep each evening should be a priority.
4. You Don’t Get Tested for Nutritional Deficiencies
Doctors don’t typically test or look for physical signs of nutritional deficiencies, which can be dangerous. If anything, just get your Vitamin D checked because many people are deficient and don’t even know it. Not getting enough Vitamin D may increase the risk of osteoporosis, heart disease and certain types of cancer.
5. You Don’t Consume Enough Healthy Fat
Consuming healthy fats like flax seeds and nuts can actually help you slim down and stay healthy. Fats not only help us absorb many of the vitamins from our diets, but they also help keep us fuller longer, which can aid weight loss efforts. This could be 1/4 cup of almonds or walnuts or a few slices of avocado. Opt in for unsalted or unsweetened nuts.
6. Your Daily Sodium Intake Is High
People consume, on average, about 50 percent more than the daily recommended intake of salt, and most of the excess sodium is coming from processed foods like frozen waffles, bagels, cheese cottage cheese, veggie burgers and salad dressings. Consuming less than 2,300 milligrams per day or less can help you keep a bloated belly, high blood pressure and other health conditions at bay.
7.You Can’t Give Up Soda
Nearly all popular diet sodas contain aspartame, an artificial sweetener that raises glucose levels, overloading the liver and causing the excess to convert into fat.
8. You Think Low-Fat Treats Are Okay
If every time you have a cookie craving you buy a low-fat package, you may be doing your body a disservice. Not only are diet foods typically filled with enough sugar to derail even the most disciplined dieter, but these artificial sweet treats are also made with additives that can make you feel unsatisfied. In turn, you will likely consume far more calories than you intended. To stay trim, eat the real thing, but downsize your portion.
9. You Don’t Eat Organic
Throughout your life, you accumulate toxins from food and drink, which can lead to obesity. Many of those come from pesticides and hormones in produce and meat. Choose organic fruits and vegetables and hormone-free meat.
10. You Eat Too Fast
Eating too fast often gets in the way of losing weight, because we are not giving our stomachs time to register that we are full.
11. You Don’t Keep Healthy Snacks Around
Having almonds or other unsalted nuts, apples, bananas, chia bars, protein bars, or other fruit and nut bars close at hand will prevent you from running to the vending machine for chips or candies.
12. You Are A Couch Potato
After a long day at work, it is tempting not wanting to do anything but just sit on your cozy couch whether to watch a nice show, reading or doing online shopping. A recent analysis of studies found that for every two hours spent sitting down, the risk of developing diabetes or heart disease increased by 20, 15 and 13 percent, respectively. The obvious explanation is that the less we move, the less fuel we require to burn off the surplus blood sugar which contributes to diabetes and other weight-related risks.
13. You Don’t Eat Enough Protein
Consuming enough protein is important for two reasons: protein is satiating, which staves off overeating; and protein maintains muscle. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn, even at rest. Much of retaining muscle mass is dependent on exercise. Part is down to protein intake. Eat more lean meats, fish and Greek yogurt, and you will keep your fat-burning engines revved.
14. You Skip Weights at the Gym
Muscles are what keeps our metabolism high but as we age, our muscles slowly start to get smaller, hence decreased metabolism. To counteract this, you need to lifting weights. No, you won’t get big and bulky. In fact, you’ll stay lean,” she says. That’s because weight training causes you to burn more calories per workout than cardio sessions, and you continue to burn them post workout.
15. You Eat Farmed Salmon
Wild salmon is high in omega-3 acids, which fight inflammation throughout the body. Farm-raised salmon (all Atlantic salmon is farm-raised) is packed with omega-6s, which increase inflammation. Omega-6 fatty acids are very important to the brain to help strengthen its much-needed function through healthy growth and development but consuming too many omega-6s and not enough omega-3s can throw off your fatty acid balance, which has numerous negative effects. Not to mention that farmed salmon are usually dyed pink, and have been found to be high in PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) which are industrial products or chemicals.
16. You Don’t Eat Regularly
An irregular eating schedule can undercut your metabolism. People who don’t eat regularly fluctuated between eating low- and high-calorie meals were less happy with their bodies than those whose plates contained a similar number of calories from meal to meal.
17. Your Diet Is Too Strict
It is okay to enjoy something indulgent from time to time so you can satisfy your cravings without falling off track.
18. Your Snacks Are Easily Accessible
Whether it’s ice cream, cookies, candy, chips or other items, just knowing that your trigger foods are in the kitchen or office desk can derail any healthy eating program. One of the best ways to overcome a passing craving is to keep the foods you typical crave out of your reach.
19. You Eat Bagels & White Bread
Your body converts refined carbohydrates into sugar and then glucose, a nutrient that damages collagen and other wrinkle-fighting proteins. Picking whole grains over refined will help keep your blood sugar levels, aiding weight maintenance and weight loss, giving you a more youthful figure.
20. Too Much Coffee Intake
Drinking coffee more than once a day can lead to insulin resistance and increased fat storage.
21. You Eat Processed Meats
Any meat that contains nitrates, a preservative that interferes with the body’s natural ability to process sugar, increases the risk for diabetes. Most processed meats are also loaded with sodium that can make you bloat and set you up to develop heart disease. At the deli counter, ask for meats that are free of nitrates and relatively low in sodium.
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