Simple Tips for Preventing Obesity: 8 Easy Methods

Every day you scroll down your social media you will definitely come across at least one article about weight. 

These topics about weight are heavily justifiable because how else would you enjoy the goodness of life when you are sick, don’t wonder yet. 

A lot of studies already show an extremely strong connection between obesity and increased risk of cardiovascular diseases which without doubt are taking most of our lives unceremoniously.

Obesity does not happen overnight, from 1 plate of chips every week to a plate of chips every day, from walking to work to driving to work, from manual labour to office work, the very things we do every day are weight gain, culprits.

The sad part is, as much as it’s very easy to gain lots of weight in a short period, it’s a lot of work just to shed some of it off when you embark on a weight loss journey and it’s not a walk in the park.

This is what you need to do to help prevent yourself from getting obese…

1. Exercise often.
2. Maintain a balanced diet.
3. Eat lots of vegetables and fruits.
4. Drink lots of water.
5. Cut off processed foods.
6. Master the art of portion control.
7. Quit alcohol and smoking.
8. Use a low-carbohydrate diet.

1. Exercise often

In case you didn’t know, today we don’t recommend exercise, we Prescribe it just like medications. 

Being physically inactive alone is a potential disease in waiting. High blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and heart problems tend to be more common in people with reduced physical activity. 

With just 30 minutes aerobic exercises like walking, running, and jogging are easy ways to start.

How about we start by forgetting about the escalator and walking up the stairs instead or probably walking to work a few times, riding a bicycle and so on, in this way, you are not only going about your normal routine but also keeping fit, for the health of your heart.

Studies have shown so many benefits of being physically active and that’s not just prevention of obesity but also improving mental health.

2. Maintain a balanced diet

Different food groups provide different nutrients, how else will you be able to achieve the daily recommended amounts of nutrients when you don’t make your meals balanced? (Put that at the back of your mind) Carbohydrates are needed for energy, these are the body’s first rescue team, without carbs, you start to feel dizzy, fatigued, confused, and sometimes even irritable, why?

Organs need that sugar, especially the brain, without glucose the brain dies, you know hypoglycemia is very very dangerous, now when it comes to obesity, your intake of carbohydrates will need to go down, because the excess glucose has nowhere to go but get stored in fat cells, for later use.

While some of it converts to glycogen stored in our liver, remember, we are not completely restricting carbohydrates we are only reducing the amount and the frequency.

Proteins, on the other hand, are important for the repair of tissues and organs in our bodies, intake of proteins is encouraged, especially proteins sourced from plants as in addition they come with Dietary fibre which tags along phytochemicals, and much more minerals. 

Animal source proteins are limited especially red meats because we are trying to reduce our intake of saturated fats, However, lean proteins sourced from chicken(without skin), fish and so many others are preferred.

3. Eat lots of vegetables and fruits

Fruits and vegetables are still part of the balanced diet, talk of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, this is a good way to prevent unintentional weight gain, the half plate rule encourages a high intake of vegetables by filling half of our plates with vegetables, and have one serving of fruit on the side. 

Vegetables provide satiety, and therefore reduce snacking, we all know what snacks do to our bodies, with too much sugar, salt, and fat added to them, we surely must have to fear for our organs especially the heart, in other words, cardiovascular health.

4. Drink lots of water

Water washes away all unnecessary dirt from our systems, and all the foods we eat and burn, water helps flush out unwanted waste products. 

Increasing your water intake not only helps cleanse your body but also helps us maintain a healthy weight. 

The more you drink water, the more you increase the power of your kidneys in flushing out waste. in addition, taking a glass of water 30 minutes before meal times has shown significant results in reducing the amount of food you will actually eat, because the stomach is somewhat partially filled with water, so there’s not so much space left. Taking water often has also been linked to better mental health and general well-being.

5. Cut off processed foods

If we knew how much fat, sugar and salt are added to these fast foods that we binge on, we would have stopped eating them already, or maybe we know but just hoping it brings no harm, the excess fat, more so the saturated fats that we keep on introducing to our bodies don’t go anywhere else but into the fat cells for storage, the sugar the same. 

Some of the saturated fat find a home in between our blood vessels leading to high blood pressure. 

You can’t want to lose weight, or not want to get obese if you don’t straight away start finding ways to cut off these processed foods. 

Over-processed foods like bacon, sausages, and pre-packaged snacks are what I’m talking about. 

Maybe you may find organic foods expensive, but in the long run, you are saving yourself a bunch of unnecessary medical bills. 

Because you’ll be able to prevent high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, and even heart diseases.

6. Master the art of portion control 

The plate model, the hand size portion guide, and some of the easiest ways to do portion control at home. 

The plate model wants you to first fill half of your plate with vegetables, the other half divided into two quarters, one for carbohydrates the other for proteins, and one serving of fruit.

This plate has in so many ways helped individuals with Diabetes as it basically encourages a low carbohydrate intake which prevents too much glucose from getting into your blood fast, and more intake of vegetables rich in dietary fiber providing satiety hence preventing lots of snacking. 

The hand size guide on the other hand lets you use your hand for portion control, where the size of your fist is for carbohydrates, the size of your palm for proteins, and your hands both put together, for vegetables.

These two methods demonstrate almost the same portion size and are very easy to use. Mastering these two easy ways is how to start, with portion control, reducing how much you eat and how often you eat will definitely prevent you from getting obese.

7. Use a low-carbohydrate diet 

A low carbohydrate diet provides fewer grams of carbs as compared to the normal diet, when you eat lots of carbohydrates, the excess is broken down and stored in the fat cells, around your belly, and waist in most cases.

Being on a low carbohydrate diet ensures that not so much is left with nowhere to go, also a low carbohydrate diet gives your body time to burn the stored fat as well, reducing the size of fat cells, and eventually ensuring that you lose weight and eventually even prevent obesity. 

Obesity not only denies you the fun of living life disease-free but also may cause premature death, and that’s why we try so hard to prevent it.

These, amongst quitting alcohol use and smoking are very easy ways to stay away from obesity.

What is also important, is what then is a healthy weight and how can we achieve and maintain it?