The Small Great Steps Toward a Healthier Weight

If you have already resolved or are in the process of resolving some of the issues that influence your weight control, you can start with other small (big) steps towards a healthier weight, namely:

- Try doing more hours of fasting than you are doing at the moment.

That snack before bed is probably unnecessary, and you may be able to go without eating between dinner and the first meal of the morning. Or if you are someone who doesn't wake up hungry, maybe you should stop forcing yourself, but take something healthy to eat as soon as you are hungry.

- Have a specific number of meals a day, but don't spend the day "plucking", even if they are healthy foods.

Every time you eat there is a release of insulin (even when you eat protein) which is an anabolic hormone (it leads to storage of the sugars you eat and prevents the degradation of the fat that is stored). If you have to eat something else besides what you have planned, you may be able to indulge yourself with some olives or oilseeds (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pecans).

- Analyze the other weight loss attempts you have made to learn from it.

A genetic evaluation can help us know our metabolic tendency and whether we benefit more from a Mediterranean diet, or whether we should restrict a little more carbohydrates or perhaps fats. But if you haven't, and don't want to, your experience is valuable in helping you figure out the way forward.

- Evaluate your levels of Vitamin D.

You may need to change your lifestyle or take supplementation.

- Consume only real foods (like those found in nature) or with a short list of ingredients that you can understand.

Often we use foods that we think are healthy but have a lot of hidden elements in the form of other names (sugar, (barley malt, maltodextrin, dextrose, fructose, sucrose, ...) salt, poor quality fats, ...).

- Introduce anti-inflammatory foods into your daily life.

Fat accumulation leads to increased inflammation, and the chronic inflammatory process makes it difficult to lose weight. So anything you can do to decrease inflammation can help. Turmeric, ginger, olive oil in nature, oilseeds (walnuts, almonds,...), berries, fruits and vegetables in larger quantities than you are currently eating are examples.

- Avoid monotonous dishes with little color. 

The difference is striking: using more color at the expense of plant foods is the simplest way to start. 

- Train your taste buds.

Yes, you can train them and the food industry knows it, that's why there is sugar and salt hidden in (almost) everywhere. The papillae renew themselves and after 1-2 weeks, so you can take advantage and keep them used to less sweet and more bitter flavors. After a month of consistency you will find many options you used to have too sweet or unpleasant. Examples: coffee without sugar, dates instead of sugar in some recipes, eating more vegetables than usual, not overcooking food, ...

Whether the diet goes more in the direction of low carb or less fat or vegetarian food or animal food will depend on a number of factors that can only be decided together in consultation.

So are other recommended foods and their combinations. What is important is that you work out a plan that makes sense for you.

Because each patient is really unique.