Though France’s recent ruling banning models with a BMI lower than 18 may be a step in the right direction, there is still so much more to be done in the fight against anorexia and negative body image.
Many of those who succumb to anorexia at an early age do so in an effort to stay fit and lose weight.
Unable to find safe and healthy alternatives, they take to irregular eating habits and gradually sink into an obsession with weight loss.
In order to promote healthy weight loss and dieting, here are seven tips to get in shape:
1. Say Adios To Sugar
Eating right is an important step toward better health and fitness. So many products we buy at the supermarket today are very detrimental to our health, and they can cause quite a bit of damage.
Sugar, for example — aside from the fact that it can cause addiction — can lead to cardiac problems, belly fat and cancer. It can also have toxic effects on the liver.
If you’re serious about your health, you have to cut sugar out of your diet.
2. Skip The Junk
Similarly, refined grains, processed foods and soda are unhealthy food items that we frequently consume. Soda, with its high sugar content, causes serious damage to teeth and bones.
Processed foods also contain large volumes of additives and preservatives, and refined grains are low in vitamins and minerals but high in starch.
3. Whole Grains
Exchanging these unhealthy options with ingredients, like whole grains, pulses and millets can have a profoundly positive influence over our health and fitness.
Not only are millets and pulses great sources of minerals, fiber and vitamins, they are also easily absorbed by the body without any of the negative effects associated with heavily processed foods.
4. Fruits And Veggies Are Your Friends
You might hate to admit it, but your mom was right. Fruits and vegetables are good for your health, and those with high water content are also a good option to lose weight.
Broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, grapefruit and radishes are a few fruits and vegetables that contain high water content.
5. Keep A Food Diary
Tracking what you eat throughout the month can help you keep tabs on your weak points and will force you to cut extra calories out of your diet.
Keep a special eye on what you shovel down on weekends. That is the food that could upend your dietary goals in no time!
6. Get Your Yoga On!
Yoga, a physical, mental and spiritual practice originating in India, has been a path to enlightenment and self-contemplation for thousands of years.
Recent medical research has also revealed just how many physical and psychological benefits yoga offers.
According to the results, yoga helps with weight loss both physically and mentally.
The body sheds excess calories and pounds, helping us slim down, and the mind reaches a state of relative calm, eliminating the need for compulsive eating.
This “double punch” helps us reduce weight and, unlike other weight-loss regimens, ensures we stay slim.
Besides the weight-loss factor, yoga also helps with depression, anxiety, hypertension, cardiovascular health, glucose irregularities and menopausal symptoms.
This gives us only more reason to immediately get our Namaste on!
7. Attitude!
Having the right attitude and perspective is a significant aspect of staying fit. Instead of defining yourself by the stereotypes others impose on you, be comfortable with who you are.
Each individual’s body is different, and understanding what’s right for your body is important.
What’s more is once you get into a weight-loss or fitness regimen, dedication is the key to success. Commit to stick to your practice and routine so you can truly reap the benefits.
Don’t expect overnight changes, and be prepared to ride the bad days that come between the good ones.
Start slow, stay steady and pick up pace as you go along. And remember, give it your best!
