Weight is all about calorie intake & calorie expenditure. There are plenty of fad diets that work to shed weight rapidly leaving you feeling hungry & nutritionally deprived. Such diets may help only for a short span.

‘What good is losing weight only to regain it?’

There should be no hatred to food even when you are trying to maintain weight. Your weight management steps should focus on developing a healthier lifestyle rather than sticking to fad diets. It can be challenging to implement a practical, effective and sustainable weight-loss plan. But its better to stick to one right way rather than choosing the wrong path.

However, following steps can help in weight management:

• Always start your day with a glass of water.
• Never skip breakfast. Try having high protein breakfast.
• Have small frequent meals rather than a large portion at a time. Have three major meals and two snacks in between within 2 -3 hours gap.
• Try to control portion of each meal in such a way that you feel like eating or your body wants you to eat at the time of your schedule of the meal.
• Try to include foods from all food groups in right quantity & proportion to make it a balanced meal in whole day.
• Choose wholesome food like whole grains, whole fruit, vegetable rather than refined & processed food like refined carbs, sugar, fruit juices, packaged food, oily & fried food.
• Avoid empty calorie foods like soda, soft drinks, energy drinks, fast foods, alcohol, etc.
• Stock your kitchen with healthy snacks options like fruits, nuts, popcorn.
• Prefer home cooked meals rather than outside. If you are at restaurant, be wise to choose the food that are not empty calories.
• Drink at least 3 liters of fluid in a day. Your water intake should be your major portion of fluid. Do not drink water with your meals, instead drink it 30 minutes before or after your meals.
• Exercise for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour in a day for at least 5 days a week.
• Be active whole day rather than being sedentary or sitting at a place. Use step counter and aim for 8000-10000 steps per day.
• Do not sit down or lie down immediately after meals. Move around for few minutes.
• Eat slowly & chew your food very well. Eat in a relaxed environment & develop a mindful eating habit.
• Fix your sleeping time (by 10:00- 10:30 pm) & do not set it late night. Make sure to have a sound sleep for at least 6–8 hours.
• Read the labels. The food that are labelled as low fat might have high levels of sugar which directly can increase the calorie.
• Think good & have a positive attitude.