When it comes to creating healthy habits, one main goal usually comes to mind – weight loss. It seems everyone wants to lose a few pounds these days. Whether it’s the junk food that is aggressively advertised to us or life making us too tired to even think about our health as a priority, it’s all too easy to gain weight or more importantly, fat.
I was in the same boat a few years ago. I caught a photo of myself that someone else had taken and I thought to myself; “Is that really me? When did I put on so much weight?”
Now this might not bother some people and this isn’t a post about whether being bigger or smaller is better but I’d always thought of myself as being athletic and slim. Life on the other hand thought something else. After working a desk job for over half a decade and being stuck in a rut of eating anything I wanted, I had gained a considerable amount of weight. I probably didn’t look very large to some people but to me it was obvious and it didn’t make me very happy.
I knew I had to make a change and so I went about firstly fixing my diet. I’d spent my 20s lifting weights and eating lots of protein to get bigger but now I wanted to slim down so I knew that I’d have to take a better, smarter approach than simply stuffing my face with chicken.
Fast forward to the last 18 months and overall I’ve slimmed down from 214 lbs to 193 lbs. I feel much more comfortable in my clothes and I’m finally back to feeling lighter and ‘myself’ – whatever that means. I also managed to do this by maintaining a decent amount of muscle through body weight/weight training. Of course, I probably lost a bit of muscle along the way but the fat loss is obvious.
Note: You should consider talking with your physician before undertaking a new way of eating or exercise program because everyone is different. These are just the small habits for weight loss that have worked for me but hopefully, they can provide some inspiration.
So how did I lose 21 lbs?
A weight loss of 21 lbs in 18 months might not seem like a lot to some people but for a regular guy who is quite tall, it’s a decent chunk of weight to shift that has made me feel much better about myself. It could also be a life-changing amount of weight to lose for some people.
I managed to do this by doing some really simple small habits for weight loss. I didn’t do anything crazy, I simply made sure I did the same things consistently and trusted the process.
I think this is a key thing to mention when it comes to small habits for weight loss. Many of us get discouraged when we don’t see quick results but it’s important to remember the weight didn’t stick to you quickly either. Sure, it’s probably easier to gain weight than lose it but weight gain is still a gradual process and your success won’t happen overnight.
These small habits for weight loss are the things that have worked for me. They may not work for you because after all, we’re all different but you can give them a go and see how you get on.
1. I ate the same meals every day
This might sound a bit boring to some, but it has been a game-changer. Whilst it’s fun to have variety in your food, I believe that eating the same meals every day has helped me the most and has been one of the most important small habits for weight loss for me.
The great thing about eating the same meals every day is the fact that there’s never any guessing, ever. You know exactly what you’re going to eat and so your life becomes that little bit more simplified. How often do you wake up and wonder what you’re going to eat for lunch that day? How often do you go to the store at lunchtime and grab a random pre-packaged meal from a refrigerator?
Taking all the guesswork out has been amazing. Whilst this has made things easy, I’ve still had to make sure I’m eating healthy foods.
You don’t even have to eat the same square 2 or 3 meals every day. Just change your lunch, for example. Make it in the morning or make it at night but keep that meal the same every day. If you want to add different herbs or spices to keep things interesting, go for it but keep the main bulk of it the same.
The research: This research shows that dietary variety can cause obesity and weight gain. Of course, this is just one piece of research. Personally, keeping at least one meal the same day has had a huge impact on my weight loss journey.
2. I ate single-ingredient foods
There’s nothing fancy with this particular small habit for weight loss. One of the most important things I did to lose a stone and a half was just to make sure I mostly ate one-ingredient foods or ‘whole foods’. This meant limiting the processed foods in my diet. Single-ingredient foods are foods that only have one ingredient like broccoli = just broccoli. Rather than a boxed lasagne, for example, that has hundreds of added ingredients.
My idea was simple and it was influenced by the paleo diet; If I ate one-ingredient foods then my stomach would have a much easier time digesting them and absorbing nutrients. My body would understand what they were and would work better with them.
I say ‘mostly’ because I didn’t cut out everything processed. For example, I would still eat a bag of potato chips on the rare occasion or a beer at the weekend. I’m pretty confident however that if I went fully wholefood based I would have lost even more body fat over the past 18 months.
Eating whole foods can sound a bit extreme to some but it’s another way to simplify your diet and you can still make a very tasty meal with just single-ingredient foods. Admittedly, it’s always not an easy habit for weight loss because much of the food that surrounds us is highly processed and it can feel a bit weird eating vegetables for lunch when you’d normally expect to see them at dinner time but it’s a worthwhile habit to get into if you ask me.
Find a way of getting comfortable with eating lean meats, veggies and unprocessed carbs at breakfast and lunchtime, not just for dinner.
The research: A small 2009 study found that people who ate a diet high in processed food ate on average 500 more calories than those who didn’t and the latter gained more weight throughout the study. It’s pretty common sense stuff in my opinion. Cutting out most of the processed foods I was eating seems to of had a huge impact on my weight in a positive way.
3. I ate 2 times a day
I used to eat and eat and eat without too much thought but I’ve never enjoyed eating breakfast, not even as a child. However, I was always told I should eat it because it’s ‘the most important meal of the day’, apparently.
But even after I’d stuck my school jumper on and forced toast down my throat, it used to make me feel sick. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realised I didn’t have to eat breakfast.
There’s a lot of debate about this subject and so all I know for sure is that I personally don’t operate well unless I have my first meal around 11 am-12 pm. I’m usually fine to go this long in the morning without eating and it seems to work for my body. I don’t feel starving or tired doing this so I’ve kept eating this way over the past 18 months with the exception of stuffing my face on holiday over the period of 7 days.
When I do finally eat my first meal I make sure it is nutritionally dense. That usually looks like a plate full of turkey, broccoli, chia seeds, carrots and eggs. After fasting from 7 pm the evening before, these types of healthy meals begin to be more and more appealing.
The research: There has been plenty of research done around fasting that has shown that you can lose more weight by blocking out a certain amount of hours each day in which you eat. Of course, you’ll still need to make sure the meals you do eat in your eating window are of high nutritional quality, it probably won’t work if you still eat junk food in your eating window.
4. I trained myself to need to eat less
This is another one of my small habits for weight loss that has helped me to lose fat. It might seem like a big habit for weight loss but I think it’s more of a byproduct of only eating twice a day. What I mean by this is I’ve shown that it is possible to surprise your appetite by training your body to not always crave food by only eating two high-quality meals a day. Is it more complicated than that? Maybe, but that’s how it feels to me. Food these days just seems like much less of a big deal.
There was certainly discomfort when I started to eat this way but it has paid off in the long run and I can safely I’m proof that if you persist through those initial 6-7 days you will find that you get used to it. It really didn’t take long for my body to adapt, especially as I made sure that when I do eat, I eat meals rich in proteins that fill me up for longer, allowing me to take my mind off food.
I’m a big believer in the idea that if you eat a lot your stomach ‘stretches’ and if you eat less your stomach shrinks. I now only eat when I feel hungry instead of eating breakfast, lunch and dinner plus snacks throughout the day because I think I should. In fact, I’m writing this post after fasting for 20 hours simply because I haven’t felt particularly hungry. When I do finally eat I’ll have a huge nutrient-dense meal.
The research: There are plenty of ways to lower your appetite according to studies outlined in this post. I personally believe I did this by simply eating less food but higher quality foods that helped me take my mind off food and the familiar cravings for food throughout the day.
5. I weighed myself often
I’d never really weighed myself properly until I really tried to lose weight. I would do it here and there but it wasn’t until I did it on a regular basis that I was able to see how much weight I was losing. This is a great small habit for weight loss because it allows you to see where you realistically are. The problem with weighing yourself sporadically is you don’t get a clear picture of how much you actually weigh. That’s because your weight fluctuates from day to day and it can even be different in the morning compared to in the evening.
I began to weigh myself most mornings to get a clearer picture of where I was. I think it’s a good idea to weigh yourself in the mornings when you’re not full of food and your body is at a pretty flat level before you begin eating and drinking. If you do this you can then work out a weekly average. This was also a great habit to get into because it reminded me not to get disheartened when I saw my weight go up by a pound or two every now and again.
It seems weight loss is not a linear line that simply goes down and down. Instead, it’s an up-and-down process so this is why weighing yourself regularly can help you have a much better picture of how much weight you’re losing. Weighing yourself every morning is simply enough to do. Once you get out of bed and use the toilet, jump on the scale and make a note of your weight,
Is it always going to be fat you lose? Probably not, it will be water weight (especially in the beginning) and potentially a little muscle. Get yourself a good set of scales and give it a go yourself.
The research: This research demonstrates that weighing yourself every day can be a helpful weight loss habit and it’s a simple enough thing to do when you get up in the morning. I’d suggest trying it and doing it for a least a few weeks so you can really understand your weight trend.
6. I learned more about nutrition
I used to be a big mindless eater and wouldn’t pay too much attention to what I put in my mouth or why. However, it wasn’t until I was trying to really lose weight that I began to get more interested in nutrition and learning about food. I started to look into how different foods affect the body what each of them contains and what they are useful for. For example, a standard lunch for me would be a bowl of pasta with tuna or a peanut butter sandwich or two.
But it wasn’t until I learned about what I was eating that I stopped eating this way every lunchtime (and dinner, and snacktime). I realised I was loading up on simple carbohydrates and sugars and then sitting back at my desk. These were carbs I didn’t need to be eating, after all, I didn’t need all that energy if I was just going to sit on my butt for the next few hours. I realised that those carbs would mostly get absorbed as fat if I didn’t use the energy they were giving me so I decided to swap them out for something else. It was as if I was carb-loading ready to run a marathon.
When I knew I would be out for the day on my feet or playing sports in the evening I would eat some more carbohydrates than usual. They have never been off the table but now I eat more strategically and fuel myself with the nutrients I need when I need them.
Now, I opt for lean meats and vegetables along with Greek yoghurts to fuel me throughout the day. The world of nutrition is fascinating (and complicated) but I truly believe that if you learn about nutrients you’re more likely to make better choices about what you eat and when.
The habit: I spent a lot of my free time like the evenings and my drive to work reading about nutrition and listening to podcasts with Nutritionists.
The research: Okay, learning about nutrition so you can lose weight might not be something researched per se but it strikes me as an obvious thing to do. After all, the more educated you become, the better choices you can make. This post is a good place to start.
7. I got excited about fibre
I’d heard the word before but had no idea about what fibre actually was. However, after watching a few podcasts with Will Bulsiewicz, the author of Fibre Fuelled, I became fascinated with fibre and what it does. Little did I know that it helps with weight loss, improves your gut health and balances your sugar levels. Many sources of fibre cannot be completely broken down by the gut so it helps to clear out your gut to some degree.
I always had a problem with feeling bloated. For as long as I can remember, whenever I ate a meal, I would bloat up to twice the size. However, when I began adding small amounts of fibre to my diet, I started to feel a little lighter and less ‘squishy’. When I went to the toilet, it felt as if I was fully emptying everything out (sorry).
Because I was looking into the effects of fibre on the human body I naturally began to read more about the gut microbiome and what it enjoys eating. If you don’t know already, your microbiome is a bunch of bacteria that live in your gut and affect all kinds of things in your body. If you feed them poorly, you don’t feel great but if you feed them what they like, you may find you feel more energetic and possibly even lose weight amongst other good things. It turns out fibre-rich foods are good for your microbiome.
My favourite forms of fibre are now broccoli, avocado and chia seeds. These foods are easy to throw over almost any kind of meal and personally, they make me feel good and I’m sure they have contributed to my weight loss.
The research: The many benefits of a high-fibre diet are outlined here by The Mayo Clinic including helping with weight loss. Fibre is also a great addition to your diet because it can help you to feel fuller for longer.
8. I found excuses to move more
I personally believe that nutrition is key when it comes to weight loss but moving more certainly doesn’t hurt too. When I decided I wanted to lose a few pounds I thought about my activity level. Being someone who spends most of my day sitting at a desk, I realised that I didn’t really move my body except on the weekend when I would go out to the kid’s football training. Even then, I was walking around most of the time and not getting my heart rate up.
As mentioned, I’ve spent the best part of twenty years lifting weights to some degree trying to get bigger muscles but never really thought about my overall fitness. After all, it’s no use being big and bulky if you’re not actually functionally fit – at least that was my thinking. So I started to think about ways I could move more. The first thing was obvious – I had to get more cardio in so I dusted off my exercise bike and decided I would use it at least once a week.
I also signed up to play in a football league once a week as another way to get my heart rate up whilst challenging myself. These extra blocks of movement, I believe, have helped me to lose more weight overall. Most importantly, they have taken me from being a pretty sedentary person to someone who is much more active and therefore consistently getting fitter.
Sometimes it’s hard to go and do these activities when you’ve been at work all day but I find I’m usually fine once I begin. I have to push myself every single week but it’s always worth it. I come away feeling like my blood is flowing and I’m that little bit more adapted to the physical activity.
The research: This study looked at 141 people who were split into three groups; those who burned 400 calories per cardio session (5 times a week), those who burned 600 calories per session (5 times a week) and those who did no exercise at all. The groups that exercised lost up to 5.7% at the end of the 10-month study period. Those who did no cardio exercise actually gained weight. To me, this shows that exercise can be a good thing when you’re trying to lose weight but you have to do it consistently and a lot of it if you’re sole aim is to shed fat, reminding me that nutrition is key.
9. I thought about lifestyle, not diet
Many of us think about going on diets but I’ve always hated the idea of the diet. When you think about diet, you usually think about lettuce leaves and soups – things that aren’t filling and aren’t long-lasting. Many of the diets that get advertised are short-lived, unsatisfying and leave you feeling hungry. This is the wrong approach.
I made a habit of reminding myself that staying in what I call ‘good shape’ would have to be a life-long thing, not just a lifestyle that lasts 2 or 3 months at a time. The key, in my experience, is going back to whole foods that fill you up and don’t leave you feeling hungry. I don’t eat salads, for example, just big meals filled with real food.
Diets rarely work. Like any habit, you have to be consistent and it’s the same with keeping a healthy weight. I wanted to fit a way of eating into my lifestyle so I didn’t always have to think about food or leave myself hungry. The way of eating that I’ve outlined in this post allows me to do just that.
Switching from a diet mindset to a lifestyle mindset has been a game changer for me and in the beginning I had to make it a habit to remind myself of this.
The research:
10. I didn’t feel bad if I fell off the wagon
Too often we beat ourselves up if we have a few glasses of wine or go out for a meal at a restaurant but I really tried to steer away from this way of thinking. After all, you still have to live life. This is probably one of the most important small habits for weight loss when it comes to my personal journey. This is because falling off the wagon is bound to happen at some point.
You can be the most disciplined person in the world but sometimes you just have to have a little fun, right? I enjoy having a beer every now and again or going out for a meal to see friends. I enjoy it because it’s become more of a treat and not the norm any more. These occasions become more special.
At the same time, I know that I’ll jump right back on the wagon the next day. If I eat well all week and want to have a pizza on the weekend it’s not a big deal. Will it set me back? probably, maybe a little bit. However, I know that 90% of my diet is good, 90% of the time. After a while you become a different person, craving the good stuff instead of the bad.
The research: Webmd points out that treats can fit into a healthy diet as long as you control your portion sizes. You could also try and find the healthiest version of your treat of choice if that’s possible. I don’t think having a treat every now is a bad thing and after a while, you may not even crave them anymore!
So these are just the small habits for weight loss that have helped me to slim down a little. As mentioned, I haven’t done anything extreme, I’ve just tried to do the same things over and over again. Will I plateau at some point? Probably, but I’m having fun learning about nutrition and will keep listening to and reading up about this fascinating world.
Do you have any small habits for weight loss that have helped you? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below.