And it’s no surprise that other research has associated low-calorie diets and exercise with weight loss. The New York Times reports that one trial, called the Women’s Healthy Lifestyle Project, observed premenopausal women as they crossed into menopause. Half of the subjects followed a roughly 1,300 calorie per day diet. The women were given a goal of burning somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 calories a week through exercise. Five years later, the women in this group showed more lasting results than those who didn't follow the regimen.
So make good food choices and ramp up your activity level to maintain a healthy weight.
- Keep a food journal.
There’s something to be said for accountability, especially when we must be accountable to ourselves. This is why keeping a food journal can be helpful when it comes to avoiding middle-aged spread.
According to Shape, a Kaiser Permanente study reported that food journaling is a great way to shed pounds. In fact, the study showed that food journaling could double the pounds lost.
This is thought to be because we miscalculate how many calories we burn through activity and how much food we really need. Plus, we sometimes forget what we eat in general. Add these factors, and weight accumulates.
According to Shape, a study conducted at Cornell actually used hidden cameras to observe diners to see if they remembered what they ate while dining out. The results were fascinating. Thirty percent of those filmed thought that they ate 30 percent less bread than they really ate. This goes to show that mindless eating is common.
To combat this, keep a food journal. By keeping track of what you eat, you’ll be aware of these common misperceptions.