The 7 Easiest And Most Effective Ways To Lose Weight, According To Science

Enough of miracle diet gurus; a few changes and some good scientific advice are the best way to stay in shape

Staying in shape is easier than it seems. We all know someone who constantly subscribes to all kinds of diets and ways to lose weight, which give them, in the best of cases, relative success. And it is that each specialist, nutritionist or Michelin redeemer that appears brings his new recipe, which also tends to overlap or cancel others. This is because they are based on eliminating or drastically reducing one type of food or another. However, and it is not a surprise, this is not the best option to take care of our health. The web portal ‘ USNews ‘ has made a compilation of scientific studies aimed at giving us the keys to making our daily life and our training more efficient, to maintain a healthy lifestyle. With just a few small touches to add to our daily routines, we will be able to stay in shape efficiently, making it last over time and without having to ask ourselves if what we are doing is really healthy.

Swap the treadmill for weights

The Harvard School of Public Health has followed 10,500 people over 12 years, who spent 20 minutes a day doing either resistance or cardio exercises. At the end of the study, people who had done strength training had lost more abdominal fat. Cardio exercises generally burn the most calories, which is why they are often the most popular for people who want to lose weight. However, in cases such as ‘ running ‘, muscle mass is also burned. And this is where muscular resistance training wins the game: with them, calories are burned not only during the performance of the exercise, but also sometime after, and, in addition, by increasing our muscle mass, it contributes to accelerating the metabolism and, therefore, fat burning Kourtney Thomas, strength training specialist, recommends that “if you have been doing the same exercise routine for a while, it is beneficial to increase the frequency or introduce new exercises gradually, for efficient progress.”

Total darkness to sleep

From the sunbeams that come through the window and wake us up a couple of hours early to the glare from the television, any light that disturbs sleep can influence our metabolic rhythms and the levels of hormones responsible for regulating sleep. hunger, which can lead us to overeat the next day. This was concluded by an investigation published in the ‘ American Journal of Epidemiology ‘ in which 100,000 women participated. Those who slept in completely dark rooms had up to 21% less chance of suffering from obesity than those who slept with some light intervention.

Give up “multitasking” habits

We often eat fast and maybe even while working or doing other things, but a recent analysis published in the ‘ American Journal of Clinical Nutrition ‘ strongly advises against it. Simply watching TV, or chatting on the phone “causes our brain to not be fully aware of how much you’re eating and therefore when you should be full,” says Wesley Delbridge, a dietitian nutritionist . She recommends focusing all your attention on what you are eating, as this will automatically increase the feeling of being satiated and you will not eat more than necessary.

Balance each plate

If instead of taking out the calculator and looking at how many calories each dish has, we worry that it has protein, carbohydrates rich in fiber, and healthy fats, we will be eating very healthy and balanced, directly avoiding problems such as insulin spikes. In addition, it will prevent us from overeating: on the one hand, carbohydrates provide energy quickly and, on the other, slower-absorbed proteins, along with fiber and fat slow down this contribution, making us not feel so hungry between meals.

Move in your daily life

Not everything is going to the gym, in daily life we ​​can change small things that make our life a little less sedentary even if it is not strictly “exercise”. Replacing the elevator with the stairs, encouraging yourself to go shopping regularly or walking instead of taking public transport when possible are just a few examples that if we do not change, it is simply because we become lazy.

You can’t do it alone, with friends yes

Having the company or support of another person, such as going to play sports accompanied or starting a diet at the same time as a friend, can make a big difference when it comes to meeting the goals set. Making other people aware of your intentions and objectives creates the famous effect of “if I have told you, now I am committed to doing it”. Without a doubt it is social pressure but, if it is for a good cause, let’s go for it! Even after losing weight, those who receive social support from others are more likely to maintain their results over time than those who try to go it alone, according to a study published in the ‘ Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics ‘.

Use smaller plates, even if you fill them up

It’s an old trick, but it works. The visual sensation of a large plate is that there is little food. However, if you take a slightly smaller plate and fill it to the top, it will probably seem like there is a plentiful amount of food, and you won’t have the predisposition to go hungry. According to a study by Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab, people who eat from large plates serve up to 52% more food and eat 45% more than those who eat from small plates.

Take care of your health but do not obsess

In summary, healthy habits are much more salutary for being in shape, maintaining health, than insolvable phenomenon diets, which produce an vision of predictability that doesn’t always go hand in hand with being healthy. Indeed some, far from getting near to healthy habits and, despite the fact that we see ourselves losing weight, can be directly dangerous to health. In addition to creating the so- called” answer effect” behind them, since they don’t produce sustainable eating habits over time, whose biggest problem isn’t gaining weight, but the quantum of imbalances that do in our body when it’s forced to follow unhealthy habits. balanced.