Citizens Memorial Hospital | Vitality | Summer 2019

14 VITALITY Summer 2019 COMMUNITY Healthy weight loss DON’T: Skimp on sleep. Too little shut-eye raises your level of ghrelin, a hormone that makes you hungry. Miss chances to move more. Turn your commute into a workout and bike to work. See a set of stairs? Head to them, not the elevator. At your child’s soccer practice, take a power walk around the field at halftime. Be a distracted eater. If you combine nibbling with other things—like chatting on the phone or watching TV—you’re likely to lose track of how much you’re eating. Fall for fad diets or bogus weight-loss products. Eat spicy foods to lose weight! Melt fat while you sleep! If a diet or product sounds too good to be true, you should assume it probably is. Eat when you’re stressed. Instead of reaching for food to help calm down, relax and try to think of pleasant things. DO : Shave calories with small changes that add up. Lighten up your coffee with fat-free milk, for example. Trim the skin from poultry. And swap sugary sodas for sparkling water. Downsize dishes. Smaller plates and bowls help make modest portions of food look generous. So you’re less likely to overeat. Fill half of your plate with fruits and veggies. They’re high in fiber— which helps fill you up—and are usually low in calories. Hide temptation. Keep candy, chips and other high-calorie foods out of sight, where you’re less likely to reach for them. Better yet, leave them in the grocery store. Sources: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Institutes of Health There’s a right and wrong way to do most things, including making pounds disappear. Some tactics that might surprise you tip the scales in favor of losing weight—and in a healthy way. Others backfire. Here are some simple do’s and don’ts that can help you successfully slim down. Try this , not that WEIGHT LOSS