11 science-proven, healthy ways to lose weight

Many people have between eyebrows the goal of losing weight. Although it is a very commendable decision, it sometimes obfuscates many people by the fact of not without obtaining results. Obsessing over certain corrective measures without being consistent with other factors is one of the great problems that does not allow us to go further.

To gain health by losing weight it is better to combine different strategies instead of betting everything on one card. There are different healthy ways to lose weight that have been proven by science and it is best to take them into account to apply them consistently.

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Basic pillars for healthy weight loss according to science.

We imagine that we have to draw a landscape from nature. It would be best to have some perspective, rather than draw it from any angle. Being at the top of a hill or having a bird's eye view would be much better than being located within a thickly wooded valley.

That is what happens to us sometimes when we want to lose weight. If we exercise a lot but without taking into account other aspects such as diet, the result will not be effective. Also in the drawing we would make some very well made trees, but we would lack good references such as mountains.

So, it is recommended to combine the different healthy and scientifically proven ways to lose weight to achieve our goal.

1. Healthy diet

Obviously this is the first point to consider. Diet is essential to achieve effective weight loss. If this point is not minimally controlled, we will not be able to achieve our objective.

This does not mean that we should go hungry or any hardship. From La Guía Femenina we advocate a concept of food far removed from what is understood by "diet". Rather than stick to rigid and restrictive plans, the best thing to do is to eat a wide variety of products but of healthy origin.

It is necessary to eat more vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, legumes and less saturated fats, sugars, processed products, etc.

• You might want to read: "10 foods you can eat every day"

2. Practice exercise

Exercise is another fundamental plot to correct our weight if we have enough of it. Physical activity causes the body to mobilize fats that would otherwise be stored.

Getting to do a minimum of 20 minutes of exercise is enough for our metabolism to activate. Even after an hour of exercising, our body will continue to mobilize fat.

By the way, it is better to train in the morning than in the afternoon / night to ensure that we will not suffer from insomnia later. If we exercise in the morning we will actually sleep better.

3. Get rid of anxiety and stress

We could say that the third leg to lose weight is our mental and social health. If we lead a life with a lot of stress, the most common thing is that we have bad habits such as eating badly. Anxiety triggers different bad habits that we must avoid. Those who are anxious may have a tendency to snack between meals or binge or not have time to exercise.

On the other hand, when we exercise, a series of substances that give us pleasure are released in our brain. This, for practical purposes, makes us feel more "clear" and cheerful. This has an impact on our lives and we have less anxiety. It is a circle, as we see everything is related.

• You may find it useful: "How to clear your mind: 8 tips to release thoughts"

Specific ways to lose weight healthy and proven by science

Science supports that combining the different factors is essential to have the physical and mental health that we seek. Once we have this general framework in which to place ourselves, it is very useful to go a little deeper into specific strategies to help our body lose weight in a healthy way. So we see more specific ways to lose weight in a healthy way.

4. Rest

People with a sleep deficit feel fatigued. They often have the feeling that they lack energy. Rest makes you relax and your body regenerates and you can start the day in the right way. The irritability disappears and we can better control our mood and our anxiety.

The feeling of lack of energy has been linked to problems of being overweight and obesity; When you sleep poorly, stress and appetite control is altered. Learning to control stress is essential to relaxing the nervous system, which no longer continues to send warning signals to the hypothalamus. This allows us to eat normally and induces the brain to produce alpha waves while we sleep.

• If you have problems falling asleep we recommend: "7 natural remedies to sleep soundly and instantly”

5. Avoid processed food

Today we go to a supermarket and we have lots of food products at our disposal that are made by the food industry. The recommendation is to eat as few processed foods as possible.

Food products produced by the food industry very often do not suit us. They usually have an unhealthy composition. In addition, they go through a production process that does not benefit us. We must not forget that what companies want is to maximize their profitability. There are very few that put our health before money.

6. Cut back on sugar

Sugar is a substance that we are evolutionarily programmed to love. In times past in our evolutionary history, the fact that a food was sweet gave us clues to identify an excellent source of energy.

Today different. Taking too many products with sugar compromises a lot of being able to lose weight, as they have a very high caloric density. And since it is a very inexpensive ingredient, the food industry uses it a lot to make their products more palatable.

Refined carbohydrates such as sugar cause the level of glucose in the blood to rise too high, causing insulin to be out of supply and having to store glucose as fat.

7. Eat slowly and without haste

While we are eating the stomach is sending signals to the brain to inform it that it is getting satiated, but there is a delay of minutes.

The pace at which we eat can make a difference in ending up eating more or less. If we do not give this self-regulatory system time to inform us that we have eaten enough, we may feel hungry and continue to eat.

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8. Avoid alcohol (and other substances and foods)

This substance is considered to have zero nutritional value. There are people who do not take into account that alcohol makes us fat, even though it is indirectly.

The thing about alcohol is that it does provide calories. They call them "empty calories" because they are energy but with nothing else to go with them. It does not contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, etc.

9. Go back to the origins

One of the tips that bring together the greatest wisdom is the following: "Do not eat what your great-grandmother would not understand as food". This phrase is very appropriate if we want to eat healthy. By doing so, we are also on the right track to lose weight (obviously controlling other factors such as quantities, number of meals, etc.)

10. Information to power

There is another phrase that can be very useful to us, it says: "Do not consume a food product whose ingredients you do not know". That is, if we look on the back of a packet of breakfast cereal and read things like maltodextrin, modified starch, glucose syrup,... better buy some natural oat flakes and add a little honey.

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11. Culture of habit and way of life

The most appropriate thing is to internalize all these tips and try step by step. All the scientific evidence tells us that acquiring them in the form of a habit is much more effective than making great efforts for a while and then not being able to continue.

We have to keep in mind that thinking of a miraculous formula to achieve our goals and then returning to our old habits is not a good solution. On the other hand, focusing a lot on one aspect such as physical exercise or eating without sugar alone is not going to give us the results we want. We have to approach the matter from every possible flank.

Bibliographic references

• Harrison. Principles of Internal Medicine. (17th edition) (2008). Chapter 36: Weight Loss New York: McGraw-Hill Medical Publishing Division

• Nedeltcheva, A.V.., Kilkus, J.M.; Imperial, J.; Schoeller, D.A. and Penev, P.D. (2010). Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity. Annals of Internal Medicine, 153 (7), 435–41.

• Seligman, M. (1993). What You Can Change… And What You Can’t: The Complete Guide to Successful Self-Improvement. New York: Fawcett-Columbine.