Nutritionist's cheat sheet on how to lose weight while loving your life: ‘Stop buying diet food’

From not stressing about weight loss to finding easy and healthy hacks of preparing food, here are a few tips shared by the nutritionist.

Dr. Rachel Paul, Nutritionist, keeps sharing tips and tricks related to weight loss and healthy eating on her Instagram profile on a regular basis. From healthy diets to how to improve nutritional intake, Dr Rachel Paul’s Instagram profile is replete with helpful information. She also shares snippets of her weight loss journey. Rachel believes that in order to undergo weight transformation, we should not give up the life that we love. Instead, we should find a healthy balance.

“How to lose weight while loving your life,” Dr Rachel Paul wrote.(Pexels)

“How to lose weight while loving your life,” Rachel wrote as she shared tips on sticking to the weight loss journey, but not overdoing it. Here are the tips she shared:

Stop buying diet foods

Diet foods such as salt-free rice cakes, 0 percent fat artificially sweetened yogurt, heavily processed protein powders and bars, do not keep you full, and is often full of ingredients that aren’t good for your overall health. Instead, you can buy foods in their whole, real-food form, such as full-fat cheese, red meat, steel-cut oats. This food has the best sources of nutrients which will not only keep you full - but will also provide your body with optimal nutrition.

Stop hyper-fixating on calories or macros

While staying on a calorie deficit diet is important for weight loss, hyper-focusing on calories and macros is not healthy. Instead, tune into your body’s satisfaction factor to understand what foods, in what portions, keep your body feeling its best and taste good to you.

Stop over-exercising

When you do intense exercise like HIIT, running, etc. you typically become extra hungry afterwards. The problem with extra hunger is it becomes too easy to overeat. This makes us refrain from having a calorie-deficit diet. Instead, choose a type of exercise that you enjoy, and that doesn’t make you extra hungry. Walking is an excellent option! Aim for at least 5,000 steps per day. Other great choices include yoga, Pilates, barre, and small weights.

Stop obsessing about weight loss

When we obsess and are in a rush to lose weight, we tend to do things like extreme calorie restriction, spend hours at the gym, etc. This behavior is not sustainable, and only leads to bingeing and gaining weight back. Instead, redirect the mind and allow yourself time to embody the new habits.

Stop over-complicating your meals

You don’t need constant, new, complicated recipes. You don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen chopping onions, or creating every salad dressing from scratch. Instead, find a meal plan that you can stick to for the long term. Simple meals are what create consistency.

Stop dealing with it alone

Dealing with weight loss can get taxing after some time. Seek help from friends and loved ones to keep you going.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.