Heart Smart Minute
Success with your long term Heart Smart Minute fitness and nutrition plan all comes down to the accumulation of daily habits and choices. Everything adds up–so whether you are making a last minute dinner decision, or thinking about skipping out on your daily fitness plan, it will all add up. Here are the FIVE most common habits people have which may greatly contribute to weight problems! Being aware is the first step to changing bad habits into great ones!
Heart Smart Minute Fitness and Nutrition Tips:
Drinking Soda: Drinking just one soda per day increases your risk of being obese by nearly 33% percent, according to a 2005 study. Diet soda is not any better, and in fact, may contribute to the obesity problem. Artificial sweeteners stimulate the appetite cues which causes you to eat more!
Skipping Meals: No matter how busy you are, or how much you don’t like to eat breakfast–never skip a meal. Skipping breakfast, according to the Journal of Epidemiology, can make you up to 4.5 times more likely to be obese. Skipping meals cripples your metabolism and makes you even hungrier. The body goes into fat storage mode for survival, making long term weight loss impossible. Stick to small, balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day to keep your blood sugar stable. Add in a solid fitness program and you’re good to go.
Family Style Eating: As great as it may sound, eating with large serving plates on the table is horrible for portion control. People who eat “family” style consume 35% more calories during the meal than those who leave serving dishes in the kitchen.
Not Drinking Water: A German research study found that drinking 6 cups of cold water a day can stimulate your metabolism to burn more fat. Drink 2 cups of water before your Heart Smart Minute fitness program and another 2 cups before meals and you’ll lose water weight!
Eating Before Bed: Your body wants to burn fat while you’re sleeping, but if it’s too busy digesting a meal you just ate, it can’t do that. Those who eat past 8pm are have the highest BMI’s and are more likely to be obese, according to Obesity Journal. The best rule of thumb is to eat a good, nutritious meal about 3 hours before bed. This way your body has time to digest before going into sleep mode.
