Bad habits! Bad habits always lead to consequences and such consequences can only be avoided if and only if those bad habits are abandoned. As for this case, the bad habits that make you fat are:

1. Skipping meals
2. Eating too quickly
3. Distracting yourself while you eat
4. Lack of sleep
5. Sitting all day
6. Drinking beer or alcohol

...And the consequences of these bad habits are listed below:

- You develop fat on your belly, thighs, arms and so on.
- You become fat and overweight
- You may become obese and have obesity-related issues

Hence, let's move on to check why they are bad habits and how to curb these habits.

1. Skipping meals
I know some of us will begin to argue right now that skipping meals will make you look fit and lose fat and weight very fast but actually there's no place for argument.
Many studies show that people who skip meals are more likely to become obese than those who do not skip any meal.
The truth, which almost everyone already knows, is that skipping meals, such as breakfasts, slows down your metabolism and makes you eat too much food later in the day as a result of hunger. Your body needs food! You have to fuel it. You can't use a car without any fuel, can you?
The same thing applies to your body.
You need to give it food and the food, just like fuel, will provide your body with energy needed to do work.

How to curb it: Eat three square meals per day. The meals should mostly contain fruits, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and protein.

Useful Resource for you:
7 Nourishing Foods That Make Up A Healthy Diet

What Foods Should I Avoid To Speed Up Weight Loss

2. Eating too quickly
Eating too quickly is a very bad habit because it makes you overeat and your food may not be digested properly.
Your stomach takes about 20 minutes to send signals to the brain that you're full but before that time, you probably would have overloaded your stomach with food which causes indigestion and bloating of the stomach.

How to curb it: Eat very slowly but not slower than a snail.
Take the food in your mouth, and chew it slowly before swallowing. This will make you spend more time on eating and feel full quickly. It will also aid proper digestion of foods which further makes your body to obtain more nutrients from the food.

3. Distracting yourself while you eat
While eating, many distractions may be present. Distraction makes it hard for us to concentrate on the food we eat.
Common sources of these distractions are TV and Phones. Watching TV, playing games or chatting on Facebook and Whatsapp while you eat will make you forget that you're eating food. You'll begin to eat and eat until the food is finished. You may serve yourself a second round and even a third. This distraction is actually one of the causes of overeating which further causes weight gain or fat.

How to curb it: Turn off the TV and put away your phone before you eat.

4. Lack of sleep
Having inadequate sleep every night affects the secretion of a hormone, called cortisol, that affects your appetite.
This increases your cravings for foods thereby making you eat 300-400 more calories the following day. Lack of sleep also makes your body store more fat.

How to curb it: Get at least 6 hours sleep every night. This will improve your health and help you relieve stress.

5. Sitting all day
Sitting all day without any physical activity like exercise or sport is bad.
It's called a sedentary lifestyle. You need to move your body every hour. If all you can do is to walk up
 or down the stairs, it's good, even at your workplace.
Studies show that there's always a decrease in the enzymes that burn fat when you do no physical activity. That's why you need to be physically active to burn fat and calories.

How to curb it: Do some exercises like 50 mins walking, 20 mins jogging or sit-ups at home or at work 3-5 times per week. Through this, you'll grow stronger and stay fit!

Useful Resources for you:
4 Easy Morning Exercises You should Start Doing Now

6. Drinking beer or alcohol
This is also a common bad habit that makes you have belly fat. Basically, when you drink beer or alcohol, you're taking in lots of sugar. Even the most bitter beer still contains sugar!
They also contain high amounts of calories in liquid form and unused excess calories gets stored as fat - that's what causes belly fat.

How to curb it: Reduce the quantity you drink and gradually stop drinking alcohol and beer while replacing them with fruit juice.

I hereby encourage you to drop those bad habits that make you fat:

1. Skipping meals
2. Eating too quickly
3. Distracting yourself while you eat
4. Lack of sleep
5. Sitting all day
6. Drinking beer or alcohol

Then, inculcate these good habits:

• Eating three square meals per day
• Eating your foods slowly and mindfully
• Avoiding distractions while eating
• Having a good sleep every night
• Exercising and indulging in sports
• Avoiding alcoholic drinks

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Some of us trying to lose weight often ask this question:
What foods should I avoid to lose weight fast?
This is a very good question to ask when trying to lose weight.
Before I proceed, I promise that at the end of reading this article:
you will know which foods you eat that have been secretly providing you with surplus weight.
you will know what these foods contain that causes weight gain.
how to avoid these foods.
So let me begin to fulfill my promise to you by providing you with the list of foods you need to stay away from.

• Processed Foods
• Fried Foods
• Sugary beverages and drinks
• Ice creams
• Cookies and Cakes sold at Stores
• Candy
• Beer

Now let's know what these foods contain that is causing weight gain and making it hard for you to lose weight.

Processed foods

Foods that are industrially processed, such as canned foods, processed pounded-yams, processed meats, and packaged snack, contain sugar and fat. And not only that, but also artificial preservatives and colours which are not necessary for you.
Hence, avoid any food that is processed. If you're used to eating processed foods, you should start avoiding them by following these simple steps:

• Try to make your foods yourself
• Eat processed foods twice a week
• After some weeks, begin to eat processed only once a week until you stop eating them eventually.
• Finally, congratulate yourself.

Fried foods

Nutritionally, fried foods like fried chicken, are not a good source of protein and they are high in fat because of the oil used to fry them, which increases risk for obesity.
Other than obesity, consuming fried foods every time also increases the risk for type 2 diabetes, cancer and stroke.
Instead of frying, choose low fat cooking fat methods such as boiling, roasting and grilling.

Sugary beverages and drinks

Sugary beverages and drinks like soda and carbonated soft drinks contain sugar and high amounts of liquid calories that bring about weight gain and type 2 diabetes.
They do not make you feel full quickly and this makes you consume them in excess.
If you want fast weight loss, cut off sugary drinks from your diet and replace them with fruit juice - fruit juice made by you.

Ice creams

Ice creams contain lots of sugar and fat which result in craving for more of it or other foods, making you overeat. It's just a high-calorie junk with little or no nutrient.
Avoid this sweet junk as soon as possible to speed up weight loss.

Cookies and cakes sold at stores

Most cookies and cakes, if not all, that are sold at stores are full of added sugar, trans fat and refined flour which contributes to weight gain.
Instead of eating these junks, just grab an apple to eat. Fruits are healthy for the body. So, buy fruits like apples, oranges, lemons or almonds to keep yourself full when you're hungry rather than eating cookies, cakes or pies that will make you hungry again immediately you finish eating them.

Candy

The contents of a candy are refined flour, preservatives, sugar, fat and oils. They offer you a nice gift of calories to help you gain weight...but you can refuse the gift by avoiding them completely. Don't buy candies. Stay 5 miles away from them!

Beer

If you want to stay fit, have a healthy weight and a flat belly, you'll need to stay away from taking alcoholic drinks - like beer - because they are full of calories and sugar. Though some beers may taste bitter, they all contain sugar.
Therefore, avoid any alcoholic drink for you to live a healthy and happy life and to speed up weight loss.

Eventually, I fulfilled my promise to you.
Now what you need to do is to stay away from these foods to have a quick and successful weight loss. Apart from avoiding these foods, you also need to eat smaller portions of foods and get involved in some exercises to burn off excess calories that cause weight gain.
Amanda Jayne, a nutritionist and dietary & lifestyle consultant, says,

‘Here are a couple of things to focus on that will help you loose weight:

- Weight loss is about consuming less calories than your body uses in one day. Find out your daily energy expenditure requirements first (Google EER calculator). To loose weight, eat less than that amount. NOTE: If you work out, calorie expenditure is greater so you can eat more. You would need to calculate how many calories that exercise equates to.
- Eat as close to nature intended. If it come from a plant, grew naturally or is a from an animal, go for it! If it came from a factory, avoid it!
- Drink a big glass of water with lemon juice 15min before eating. We often over eat because we are actually thirsty & the lemon helps to prepare the stomach for food and better digest it by secreting digestive enzymes.
- Watch you portion sizes! Most people eat way more than they need to. I eat off a small plate for example as it tricks the brain to thinking you’ve eaten a lot because  the plate looks full. I recommend serving yourself less and to eat very slowly (you can always have seconds!). This allows your food to reach your stomach and feel full without overeating.
Example: Protein, size and thickness!of your palm. Vegetable 2 handfuls. Complex carbohydrates 1 handful.’

Hence, you have too avoid foods that give you high amounts of calories, eat small portions of foods, and exercise your body to increase calorie expenditure which speeds up weight loss.

Remember, the list of foods you should avoid to speed up weight loss are:

• Processed Foods
• Fried Foods
• Sugary beverages and drinks
• Ice creams
• Cookies and Cakes sold at Stores
• Candy
• Beer

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Staying fit and healthy should be one of our top priorities if we want to live long.
As we get older, some parts of our bodies may begin to change behaviourally or functionally. For example,

• softening of bones and decrease in bone mass  during old age which, sometimes, leads to osteoporosis and risks of falls,
• wrinkling of the skin
• dementia

Next, let's see how we can prevent such from happening to us and how we can maintain our health and fitness as we grow older.

1. Eat a Healthy Diet Always
2. Stay Physically Active
3. Stay Socially Active
4. Stay Away from Alcohol
5. Go for Check ups Regularly

Let's get the full details.

1. Eat a Healthy Diet Always

Eating a healthy diet means eating lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, protein-foods and little or no processed foods.
Your diet should also be rich in fibre but low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

Moreover, consuming a healthy diet everyday lowers your blood pressure, lowers LDL cholesterol [ popularly known as the "bad cholesterol" ], prevents obesity-related issues, and reduces the risks of many diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke.

You can know more about the foods that make up a healthy diet here.

2. Stay Physically Active

Staying active, physically, is a must if you still want to be as active as you were when you were 16.
There are many ways to stay physically active but none can defeat Exercise.

Exercising for 30 minutes, five times per week, helps in burning off a huge amount of calories that may be stored as fat on your body. The expenditure of these calories promotes the maintenance of a healthy weight.
Besides, exercises make your muscles and bones get stronger and flexible.
If you need help in finding out some exercises to start with,  I would highly recommend you check out my article 4 Easy Morning Exercises you've not been doing.

3. Stay Socially Active

Social interaction relieves stress and makes your mind renewed as you gain more knowledge and ideas from other people.
You can be socially active by participating in group activities and speaking with friends and families or even watching comedies with them.

4. Stay Away from Alcohol

If you've been taking alcohol or beer, you need to seriously stop for you to live a long and holy life and for you not to develop pot-belly.
If you've not been taking alcohol, then don't start.

5. Go for Check ups Regularly

Visiting a qualified medical doctor regularly for check ups is compulsory for every human so as to know your health condition and get solutions for any health issue found [ if any ] before it gets worse.
This important step, if taken, keeps your mind at rest and not only that, but also makes you know more about your body and health.

You need to put all of these into action now so you can be as young and active as you were when you were 16 😉

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Here we are in a world where we have different kinds of foods, like rice, vegetables, beans, fruits, yam, ... If I'm to list everything, it will take me 10 years to write them.

Even though we mention all the types of food in this world, we definitely can't eat them all.
And since we can't eat all of them, we have to select the healthy foods and discard the unhealthy foods in order to have maintain a healthy diet.

What is a Healthy Diet?

According to Wikipedia, a healthy diet is a diet (that is, what you eat) that contains the right amounts of all the food groups. It includes fruit, vegetables, grains, dairy products, and protein. It improves and maintains your overall health.

This implies that every plate of food you eat must contain the right amount of these 6 classes of food - Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat and oil, Vitamins, Mineral salt and Water.
Any meal that does not contain all the classes of food or the right amount of the required nutrients is said to be an unhealthy diet which is the major cause of malnutrition and obesity in our world today.

Hence, let's explore the 7 nourishing foods that make up a healthy diet as well as their benefits.

1. Fruits

Fruits are a major part of a healthy diet. Most fruits are high in fiber and vitamins, especially vitamin C from citrus fruits like oranges, pineapples and lime.

Using fruits, you can make enjoyable and naturally sweet fruit dishes like Mango pudding, Chutney, Sicilian orange salad, Fruit salad and many more, that will keep you healthy and promote weight loss.

However, eating a wide variety of fruits gives you a lot of health benefits which I will tell you right now.

Health Benefits of Eating Fruits

• Regular consumption of fruits helps lower the risks of various diseases like diabetes and heart disease.
• Eating bananas and avocados keeps your skin fresh and healthy.
• Fruit consumption prevents premature aging.
• Eating fruits, like apples, promote weight loss.
• Bananas help control blood pressure and heart rate.

2. Vegetables

Most vegetables are low in fat, carbohydrates and calories. They are high in dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals. Including vegetables in your meals reduces the risks of cancer and stroke.

Examples of vegetables you should include in your meals are broccoli, tomato, spinach, pumpkin leaves, waterleaf, bitterleaf and garlic.
You should also begin to make vegetable dishes like Vegetable soup, Ratatouille, Garden or green salad, Tomato soup, Vegetable sandwich and the likes.

Health Benefits of Eating Vegetables

• Vegetables like garlic, helps fight against heart disease and regulate blood pressure.
• They are low in calories.
• Fibre from vegetables lowers blood cholesterol levels.
• Folic acids in most vegetables help form healthy red blood cells in your body.

3. Legumes

Legumes like beans, soya beans, lima beans, peas, etc. provide protein, fibre and minerals as well as carbohydrates.

Health Benefits of Eating Legumes

• Regular consumption of legumes lowers blood pressure.
• They also reduce LDL (low-density lipoprotein) levels.

4. Whole grains

Whole grains supply carbohydrates and dietary fibre. Examples of whole grains are rice (any colour), wheat, barley, maize, oats, ... They are rich in B vitamins and minerals such as iron and magnesium.

Health Benefits of Whole grains

• Whole grains provide you with energy since they are sources of carbohydrates.
• Regular eating of whole grains lowers LDL and triglyceride levels.
• Dietary fibre from whole grains helps reduce constipation.
• They help lower the risk of having cancer and type 2 diabetes.
• They contain B vitamins which are necessary for the release of energy from carbohydrates, fats and proteins.

5. Nuts

Nuts provide nutrients for the body. They contain vitamins, unsaturated and monounsaturated fats and  large amount of calories.

Examples include almonds, peanuts, walnuts, tiger nuts, cashews, pistachio, and a lot more.
Other than cooking them, you can eat them as snacks at work!
Let's check their health benefits.

Health Benefits of Eating Nuts

• Nuts like walnuts and tiger nuts are healthy to eat, especially in their raw form.
• Walnuts help lower the bad cholesterols and increase the good ones due to Omega-3 fatty acids present in them.
• Nuts like almonds keep your blood vessels healthy.

6. Healthy Fats

Like words and their opposites, we have good and bad fats. Good fats (e.g unsaturated fats) are the fats that are okay for your health while bad fats (saturated and trans fat) are the ones that contribute to many health issues like obesity.

Foods like pizza, cream, sausage, butter and dairy desserts contain saturated fats, and saturated fats are bad for your health. So reduce the intake of those foods to limit the accumulation of saturated and trans fat in your body.
Examples of unsaturated fatty foods you should go for are nuts, avocados, olive oils, sunflower oils, and vegetable oils. Though unsaturated fats are healthier than saturated fats, you have to keep the total amount of fat you eat per day under 30%.

So there's no need for you to worry on which fatty food to eat or not eat.
To maintain a healthy weight, eat almost the same amount of calories your body uses.

Health Benefits of Eating Fats

• Fats provide the body with more energy.
• Fats protect the delicate parts of the body.

7. Seafoods

Seafoods mainly contain fish. Some of these are salmon, sardines, crayfish, tuna, trout, mackerels, herring, shellfish and a lot more.

Health Benefits of Seafoods

• Fish are a rich source of protein.
• Fish like mackerel, sardines or tuna are rich in long chain Omega-3 oils.
• Shellfish provides zinc which is necessary skin and muscles.
• Fish are used in making fish meals which are a good way of supplying your body with adequate protein.

While I've done my part in explaining the 7 nourishing foods that make up a healthy diet, it's your turn to do yours.

How?

• Cook your food yourself so that you can have full control over the ingredients you want to add or don't want to add to your meals.
• Buy a variety of fruits when you go to the market. Use those fruits to make fruit juices and fruit dishes.
• Your daily consumption of fats should not go beyond 30%.
• A healthy diet involves a large fraction of more foods that come from plants.

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