Fit 4 Life | Fit in 5: 5 eating habits that can lead to big weight loss

A new study is showing that making five key consistent changes to your eating habits can lead to big weight-loss results over time.

As persons age and their metabolism slows, it becomes harder to lose the weight. In fact, without even realising it, the pounds just seem to add on and your usual weight-loss tricks just don’t seem to work anymore.

Now, by making these changes in your eating habits, according to research, you can have lasting weight-loss results.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, followed the dietary habits of over 120,000 people for 16 years and found that those who ate foods that had a high glycemic load (which includes refined grains, starches, and sugars) gained more weight than those who ate foods with a low glycemic load (foods such as nuts, dairy, and certain fruits and vegetables).

Of course, these findings aren’t new. But what is interesting in this new study is that other key habits can make the difference between packing on extra pounds or not.

Here are the five key recommendations from the researchers:

1 Those who ate more yogurt, seafood, skinless chicken, and nuts lost the most weight; in fact, the more people ate of these foods, the less weight they gained.

2 The researchers found, however, no difference in weight gain in those who ate low-fat versus full-fat dairy.

3 Diets with more red and processed meat intake were associated with weight gain, especially when meat was paired with refined grains or starches.

4 Eating meat paired with low-glycemic index (GI) foods, however, (like vegetables) helped reduce weight gain.

5 Eating foods like eggs and cheese along with high-GI foods was linked to weight gain, while eating these foods with low-GI foods led to weight loss.

In general, the researchers found that the best diets for weight loss were high in protein-rich foods like fish, nuts, and yogurt, which helped prevent weight gain.

Avoiding refined grains, starches, and sugars further helped, as did replacing red meat consumption with other protein-rich foods like eggs and cheese.

It may seem like common sense, but taking the time to fill your plate with lean proteins and vegetables and other low-GI foods will help you lose or maintain weight in the long run.