Obesity is fast becoming the number one killer in the United States. The numbers are staggering when one in three people are overweight or fast approaching being obese. Many people attribute this number to the lazy way of life that we have adapted.
Many of our jobs are sitting on our butts office jobs. If they happen to involve walking or running around then we find any excuse in the world to stop what we are doing and sit down – anything to slow ourselves up. Our lunch breaks consist of many food choices that are more for the ease of it then for the health of it despite of many healthy alternatives now available.
We allow the stress from our work and our home life dictates how we eat. We find comfort in plated food. Our choices at the time may not seem bad but when you pile food on a plate without thinking you will merely just gorge yourself into obesity.
What follows are five real world tips that will allow you to feel fuller throughout the day and for longer periods of time. Your cravings will be curbed as well and you will not be feeling the need to overeat. There is no harm in trying – only in not taking the time to make you feel healthier. You can take these steps to stop overeating or, if you feel it becoming a problem in your life, stopping it before it even begins to cause a real threat.
- Do not deprive your body of any foods or nutrition under the guise of saving calories. There is no control of you feeling hungry throughout the day. Limiting what you are eating due to calorie count simply deprives your body of food and you will feel hungrier as the day drones on. When evening hits you will be famished and you will wind up gorging yourself at the dinner table or drive-thru window. Never skip a meal to save yourself calories either. It is all about the right food choices and keeping your belly fuller throughout the day.
- Never skip having breakfast. Every morning when you awake you should get your grooming out of the way, exercise for twenty to thirty minutes then have yourself a well rounded breakfast. Have a couple eggs, slice of bacon, toast with butter and two tablespoon of peanut butter and fresh juice. If you are watching what you eat you can use egg beaters, a butter spread, whole grain bread and the like. Eating breakfast keeps your blood sugar levels even. When your blood sugar is at a good number you do not have any cravings and your energy is also up.
- Drink water. I know this has been being beat in our heads for years but it is true. Drink at least 8 glasses of water per day. Usually when we hungry it is our bodies way of telling us that we are thirsty but we crave that feeling with food. If you do not like water try a flavor additive – they are low in calories and make water better for you. You can also drink fruit juice made from water-rich fruits like oranges. Be careful though – many are very high in sugar.
- Sleep, sleep, sleep. When we get tired our minds tend to wander around and without even knowing what we are doing we have a twinkie in one hand and a tall glass of Coke in the other. We do this to try to get our energy levels back up. We need the perk that sugar and caffeine gives us. Unfortunately, this is detrimental to our health. Foods high in carbs will give you a momentary burst of energy but it will turn into sugar which later becomes fat. These bursts of energy give way to deeper slumps of listlessness and we find ourselves eating more to maintain it.
- Make a schedule of when you will eat. Being able to know exactly when you should eat can go a long way to stopping your practice of overeating. We are told these days to eat up to six or eight times during the day. To consume smaller portions of meals five of those times and healthy snacks the rest. This maintains our blood sugar levels while keeping us feeling fuller especially when we are drinking eight glasses of water. As a rule you never, ever go without food for more than five hours so keep that in mind when you are figuring out your food schedule. 100 Calorie pack snacks and bits of fruit are a great way to eat lovely snacks, remain full and not go over your calories.
