21 Weight Management Tips to Lose Belly Fat Forever

As we all know, life does not always go according to plan. If losing weight was easy, everyone would be slim. There is no one size fits all routine for eating, working out, or weight maintenance. In this article I give 21 weight management tips to lose belly fat forever.

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#1 Don’t Starve Yourself

While it may seem like a paradox, you need to eat in order to lose weight and stay healthy. To be effective at losing weight, you don’t want to skip meals.

Your body requires energy to breathe, digest your food, pump your blood, and conduct the daily activities of life. Much of your total energy expenditure is doing just that.

You need to consume enough nutrients to keep your body running. Skipping meals causes a significant drop in blood sugar. As a result, you are left feeling tired, run down, and irritable. The key is, eat what your body needs but not in excess.

#2 Weight Management Tips to Lose Weight Forever

“Get Slim Quick” diets usually don’t last.

Weight management is a lifestyle change, not just momentarily achieving a number on a scale or a particular size in clothes.

Losing weight is only the beginning. It takes as much work to keep the weight off as it does to take it off in the first place.

Make small, sensible, enjoyable, changes that you can continue for a lifetime. With a little creativity, you should be pleased with your lifestyle change.

#3 Reach out for Support

It is hard to go it alone. Weight loss and maintenance is much easier when you have support.

There are organizations that encourage a healthy lifestyle. There are Facebook groups and other social media that encourage each other to stay fit and healthy.

TOPS is a non-profit organization that encourages you to find your best place of health. Being active in what ever capacity that is should be your goal.

It often starts by eating clean, healthy food, then add some daily activity to each day.

Many people have a goal of walking 10,000 steps a day and invite friends or family members to join them. Other people use group or individual counseling. Exercise clubs or employee-assistance programs at work can also be a big help.

#4 Set a Realistic Goal

According to the Mayo Clinic, to lose 1 to 2 pounds a week, you must burn 500 to 1000 calories more than you eat each day. Through lower calorie intake and regular exercise, you should be able to accomplish this.

They recommend eating at least 4 servings of veggies and 3 servings of fruit every day. You should eat whole grains and healthy fats, such as olive oil, avocados, nuts, nut butters, and nut oils.

Cut back on sugar as much as possible and eat limited amounts of low-fat dairy products and lean meat. Get and stay active to achieve your weight management tips to lose belly fat forever. Thirty minutes a day of brisk walking is one of the best ways to lose body fat.

#5 Start Your Day with Healthy Protein

Jump-start your day by eating healthy protein.

Studies have shown that eating protein at breakfast keeps you satisfied more than protein eaten later in the day.

Protein enables your body to burn more calories. It is digested more slowly which is why you feel full for a longer time. You will have increased alertness and an improved memory to do your daily tasks.

Eating healthy protein in the morning will prevent sugar cravings later in the day. This may prevent the desire to overeat.

Trail mix contains nuts, which are a healthy, stick to your ribs, type of food. Combine that with a piece of fruit; an apple, orange, or pear, to make a great start to your day.

Protein Sources:

• ½ cup cottage cheese
• ¾ cup plain yogurt
• ½ cup Greek yogurt
• 50 grams of cheese (with less than 20% mf)
• 50 grams of lean, unprocessed meat
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp natural nut or seed butter
• ¼ cup unsalted nuts
• ½ cup softened tofu

According to Breakfast Club Canada:

Kids especially should not start their school day on an empty stomach. Children who eat a balanced meal in the morning have:

• better behavior and better concentration
• their social skills and academic performance are better
• they interact with their peers and adults better
• do better in their studies
• have a reduced incidence of bullying

It has been found that eating protein in the morning provides better glucose and insulin control as well.

#6 Eat More Home-Cooked Meals

When cooking at home, you control what you are putting into your food and you choose your own ingredients. You can add low calorie options, less sodium, and more vegetables.

Buy fresh or frozen foods when preparing your home cooked meals. Look for canned vegetables that are low in sodium. Low sodium vegetable juice and tomato juice is also available in most locations. You will need to read the labels.

Use fresh meat, poultry, and fish, rather than processed. When using beans, you can control the amount of sodium in them if you start from the dried bean and cook them yourself.

Healthy Snacks

Bring healthy options into the home instead of chips, pretzels, and other salty snacks. For example, you can make your own popcorn.

For a healthy snack and to avoid chemicals that may be in the paper bags of store-bought microwave popcorn, try this recipe.

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Homemade Microwave Popcorn in a Bag

A brown paper lunch bag

½ cup popcorn kernels

1 tsp vegetable oil

¼-½ tsp salt, or to taste

Mix unpopped popcorn and oil in a small bowl. Pour the ingredients into a brown paper lunch bag. Sprinkle in the salt. Fold the top of the bag over twice. Turn the microwave on at full power for 2 ½ -4 minutes (depending on your microwave), cook until the popping slows to once every 1-2 seconds between pops. To avoid steam, carefully open the bag. Pour into serving bowl.

(Adjust the timing to your individual microwave.)

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#7 Prepare Ahead

Stock your kitchen with healthy foods to create structured meal plans. This will make it easier for you to manage your weight. To prevent careless eating, remove processed food with empty calories, from your kitchen.

Plan your grocery list before you get to the grocery store to help you make better food choices.

Fruit and vegetables have a high-water content as well as a high fiber content. These foods decrease your hunger as well as your calorie intake.

On the weekend, prepare some of the next week’s meals ahead of time. With healthy food in your kitchen that you enjoy, you will not be tempted to order in high-calorie meals. With food you relish already in your kitchen; you will not feel deprived.

#8 Eat Clean, Whole Foods

Fill up on lean protein, healthy grain, fruit, and vegetables. A simple way to do this is to fill half your plate with fruit and vegetables, ¼ of you plate with whole grains, and ¼ of your plate with a healthy protein.

Some people find eating 5-6 small healthy meals a day keeps them from getting hungry, maintains their blood sugar at stable levels, keeps them energetic, and their metabolism running at an optimum level.

Buy fresh or frozen vegetables when possible. If you must buy canned foods, check the label for calories, sugar, and sodium content. Unseasoned, unprocessed meat, poultry, fish, seafood, and tofu are a healthy way to go.

#9 Eat Healthy Fats

Omega3s are found in flax seed, nuts, seeds, and fish.

Olive oil is another healthy fat. You may want to put some olive oil in a small container with a lid and put it in the refrigerator. You could try spreading this on your toast instead of margarine. It may take a while to get used to the different taste, but there are those who do dip their bread in olive oil before eating it. It should be a similar idea.

Eliminate trans fats from your diet and minimize your intake of saturated fats, to reduce your risk of coronary heart disease. Coconut, palm kernel, and palm oils contain a lot of saturated fat, as well, and should be limited in your total daily calorie intake.

#10 Beverages

1-Drink Plenty of Water

Drinking water revs up your metabolism as water does not stimulate insulin.  Try a glass of water with a squeeze of lemon in it before meals to help you feel full.

Drink water regularly throughout the day, not just when you are thirsty. Sometimes you think you are hungry when in reality, you are thirsty. You can often satisfy the feeling of hunger between meals by having a glass of water.

Water:

• Helps your heart pump your blood more effectively
• Keeps your skin hydrated
• Prevents muscle cramps
• Flushes impurities from your body
• Is important for good digestion
• Your brain tissue is made up of 70-80% water

2-Green Tea and Black Coffee

Green tea has been associated with decreased blood glucose and inhibiting body fat accumulation. One study suggested that green tea might be useful in the prevention of chronic disease, particularly obesity.

Caffeine in black coffee has been associated with increased expenditure of energy and subsequently increased weight loss.

3-Be Aware of Sugar Content in Beverages

Don’t forget, soda, juice, and other beverages are often loaded with calories.

It is possible to consume hundreds of calories a day by drinking sugar-sweetened beverages. These are known as “empty calories”. They provide calories while they provide little to no nutritional benefits.

A better choice is water, unsweetened tea, or coffee. Adding a bit of lemon to your water can provide flavor

#11 Keep a Journal of Your Food and Weight

Self-monitoring is critical to being successful in your weight management journey.

It is necessary for you to watch the numbers of the scale. Once you have reached your goal, it is most important to continue to monitor the numbers to be certain they stay where you want them to be.

Another important thing to journal is your food intake. By tracking what you eat you can see where you have gone right or wrong depending how the numbers on the scales are aligning.

If the scale suddenly starts going up or down, and you have not been careful to journal what you have been eating, you will find it difficult to know how to rectify the turn in the scale and bring it back to where you want it to be.

#12 Opt for Lower Sodium Foods

Perhaps you already know that too much salt in your body makes you retain fluid.

Soy sauce, canned soup, and dill pickles, not to mention fast food usually contain plenty of sodium.

Healthy adults only need 1500 mg of sodium per day. Healthy children only need 1000 to 1500 mg of sodium a day.

If you are planning on eating a 1500 calorie a day diet, you should have the same amount of sodium as calories in each meal. Check the back of a prepackaged meal, you can compare the sodium content to the calorie content. They should be similar. If it is a 500-calorie meal, it should not exceed 500 mg of sodium. That is a rule of thumb that I go by.

#13 Make Healthy Fast-Food Choices

When dining out, plan ahead. Check the menu on-line. Many restaurants have the nutritional values right on the menu.

By checking before you arrive at the restaurant, you can decide ahead of time what would be the most nutritious items that would satisfy your appetite. Avoid dishes that are deep-fried or include pastry. Ask what is included in the dish and see if it can be adapted to suit your needs.

It is often the little things where extra calories are hidden. Rich sauces, cream, or cheese all pack on plenty of calories.

Flavored oil, olives marinated in oil, side orders of fries, or oil-based salad dressings are all examples to take into consideration. Avoid all the extras and you may save up to 1,000 calories without trying too hard.

#14 Don’t Shop for Food when You are Hungry

Research shows what people have learned for themselves.

People who are hungry before grocery shopping, chose high-calorie foods more than those who had something to eat before shopping.

When you are hungry, everything looks tempting. Your grocery bill will probably be higher as well!

The control group who had not eaten for five hours, picked out the same amount of food, but the quality was not the same. The hungry shoppers came away with much higher calorie dense foods.

If you keep nuts or seeds or a healthy granola bar in your pocket to snack on before entering the grocery store, you will make wiser shopping decisions. Having a snack before shopping will curb your appetite and your grocery bill.

#15 Eat from a Smaller Plate

By using a smaller plate, your can have more control over portion size. Smaller portion sizes lead to consuming fewer calories.

Many times, you can be just as satisfied by eating a slightly smaller amount of food than if you were offered a supersized amount. Supersizing has become a frequent sales tactic in the food industry. This is one of the factors contributing to an increase in average body weight in North America.

If you are offered a larger portion of food, it is likely you will eat it. It is so hard to say no!

#16 Eat More Soup

There must be a reason why soup is served before the main course at some meals. Soup has a significant effect on your meal satisfaction.

Compared to solid food, you usually consume less calories in a bowl or cup of soup, yet it is still quite satisfying.  It has been shown that those who have soup before a meal, consume 20% less calories during that meal.

#17 Have a Positive Attitude

Listen to Music to keep you distracted and put you in a good mood.

Having a healthy mindset puts you far down the path towards better health. You may have an occasional setback. The key is to simply start fresh the next day.

Changing to a healthier lifestyle is a day-by-day affair. You may feel discouraged if the pounds do not come off as quickly as you anticipated. Some days it will be hard to stick with a weight loss or weight maintenance program.

To be successful in weight maintenance tips to lose belly fat forever, it requires perseverance. Sometimes it is a matter of readjusting your calorie or exercise program. It is important to keep a positive outlook and be persistent in working toward your ultimate success.

#18 Exercise

One good way to increase your metabolism is by exercise.

Studies have shown that those who are more active during the day, often have a lower body mass index (BMI).

Exercise helps you maintain and increase lean body mass. This in turn helps increase the number of calories you burn every day.

It is recommended that your get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise every week. That can be broken up into 30 minutes, 5 days a week.

Many people enjoy a thirty-minute brisk walk. It is a safe and effective way to get your pulse up and break a small sweat. Other ways are simply to limit screen time; that includes cell phones, computer, tv, and video games to two hours a day.

Other Tips to Add More Activity to Your Day

Use NEAT exercise to maintain a good weight.

• Get a Fitness Tracker
• Plan a 20-minute exercise routine at the beginning of your day.
• A good 10-minute workout on a mini trampoline can get you sweating!
• Walk to work
• Ride your bike when the weather is nice
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator
• Park farther from the store entrance and walk
• Get off the bus one stop early to add more steps
• Vacuum
• Wash the car
• Mow the lawn
• Rake the leaves
• Dance – to burn up to 300 calories or more an hour!

Keep your mind and your body active so you don’t eat when you are bored

#19 Don’t Let One Bad Meal Ruin Your Day

As we know, life does not always go according to plans. Acknowledge that there will be an occasional setback in your diet.

There will be days when you eat too many calories and feel like you have blown your diet. Special occasions come up during everyday life: a birthday, wedding, or other celebration. Enjoy these in moderation, then get back to regular healthy eating after the celebration is over.

Don’t beat yourself up for not sticking to your regular routine. Average your week out. The next few days cut back on your calorie intake and up your exercise a bit.

Depending how badly you have overstepped your diet, depends how long it will take to rectify the situation. So, count on no more than one meal splurge a week. More than that may make you feel devastated that you will never get back to where you were before the splurge. But take heart, persistence pays!

#20 Be Aware of Your Eating Habits

Many people benefit from becoming aware of why, when, where, and what they are eating.

As you become more in-tune with your body’s needs, you make healthier choices. Eat slowly and savor your food. Concentrate on the taste. Make your meal last 20 minutes to allow the body to register that it is full, then quit eating.

If you only eat when you are hungry, you are fueling your body for its needs, not just its wants.

Eat a healthy supper than quit. Skip that bedtime snack. When your body is not concentrating on digesting the food in your digestive track, it can go to work repairing and rebuilding your body during the night.

Sometimes when you feel hungry a glass of cold water is really all you need.

Think:

• Is this good nutritional value for the calories I get from it?
• Will my appetite be satisfied?
• Are the ingredients healthy?
• Did I read the label? Sodium? Sugar? Fat?

#21 Curb Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol is high in calories and actually impairs your body’s ability to absorb vitamins and nutrients from the food you do eat.

In Conclusion

Every day you should aim to eat a colorful diet. Include whole fruit, and veggies such as green leafy vegetables, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes. Squash, green, red, or yellow peppers, and cucumbers. Eat whole grain bread, pasta, or rice.

1Tbsp of ground flax seeds, chia seeds, or hemp seeds are a great addition to your cereal, smoothie or added to your baking.

Avoid foods like pastries, donuts, and other highly processed foods. Processed meats often are high in sodium and nitrites.

After 6 months of dieting, the rate of weight loss usually slows down, and the body weight tends to come to a plateau. Follow these 21 weight maintenance tips to lose belly fat forever. These healthy eating habits and regular physical activity will, in due time, help you achieve and maintain your weight-loss goal forever .

Please Leave a Comment

I would love to hear from you. Are you one of those people who never has to worry about weight, or do you constantly have to monitor what you eat to stay at a healthy weight?

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Disclaimer: I am not a dietitian or a doctor. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. No content on this site should be substituted for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified healthcare practitioner. The information contained here is for informational purposes only. It is from my research and personal experience.