Weight loss is good for you when it’s done right, but it’s not always easy.

Many people who lose weight gain it back, but that doesn’t mean that you’ll share their fate.

To lose weight and keep it off, you need to adjust your lifestyle.

You shouldn’t just follow a fad diet to look good in that bikini; you should do it for your long term physical wellbeing.

If you want to sustain a longer, healthier life, then check out these seven healthy habits to lose weight and keep it off.

7 Habits of People Who Lose Weight and Keep It off

1. Hydration.

Often, we feel hungry when we’re actually just thirsty.

Proper hydration has a host of benefits, and weight loss is one of them. This study at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov shows that adequate hydration decreases the risk of developing obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

The average woman needs about three liters of water per day, and the average man needs about four.

To stay adequately hydrated throughout the day, it’s a good idea to carry a full water bottle at all times. Try to make a checklist so that you can mark down every drink you take.

After a couple of weeks of this, you might not even need a checklist anymore; regularly drinking water will just become a habit.

2. Healthy Coping Mechanisms.

Psychologist Glenn Livingston published an article at psychologytoday.com that shows that overweight individuals often eat as a coping mechanism for stress, anger, and other negative emotions.

Eating may make you feel better in the short term, but it is not a good way to deal with your problems.

If you feel overwhelmed by stress, anxiety, or other negative emotions, then you should find better coping mechanisms and seek professional help.

3. Calorie Awareness.

To lose weight and keep it off, you need to understand your caloric needs.

Everybody’s different, so don’t try to copy someone else’s caloric intake. Your height, age, current weight, sex, and activity level are the main factors of your ideal daily calorie intake.

This can be a complex calculation, so you should speak to your doctor or dietitian to better understand your caloric needs. Online calculators exist, and they can be helpful, but you should take them with a grain of salt.

At nhs.uk, the U.K. National Health Service recommends that you should check food labels to better understand how many calories are in your food. As long as you’re honest with yourself, counting calories is a great way to lose weight.

After counting calories for some time, you’ll better understand the nutritional content of common food items, and you won’t have to count calories as strictly.

4. Avoid Grazing.

What is grazing? Grazing is when you mindlessly munch on snacks and convenient food throughout the day.

People often graze on chips, crackers, chocolate, and other high-calorie foods. These foods are made up of simple carbs, meaning that they’ll burn fast and make your blood sugar spike.

You’ll quickly regain your hunger after eating these foods, and constant blood sugar spikes will cause you to gain weight.

According to a group of researchers at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, people lose weight and keep it off when they pay attention to their meals, so don’t mindlessly reach for that bag of chips every day.

It’s ok to indulge sometimes, but grazing shouldn’t be a habit.

5. Eating Away From the Screen.

It’s easy to sit down, turn on the television, and gobble away as you watch the screen, but that may cause you to gain weight.

A team of nutrition professionals at academic.oup.com found that people who don’t pay attention to their plate don’t know how much they’ve eaten. If you’re not mindful of what you’re eating, then you’ll feel as though you have eaten less.

Your perception of the size of your meal has a huge effect on your hunger. For optimal weight loss and maintenance, you should eat mindfully.

This means that your attention should be focused on your meal instead of a screen. You should try to have your meal in a place where screens aren’t a temptation.

When you actually focus on your meal, you’ll be surprised at how tasty it is and how full you feel when the meal is over.

6. Smaller Portions.

To lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn, and to maintain weight, you need to consume just as many calories as you burn.

Basically, this means that eating less can help you lose and maintain weight. Portion sizes are one of the biggest factors of your total calorie consumption, so reducing portion sizes can help you lose and maintain weight.

According to a group of nutrition specialists at ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, your feelings of fullness and satisfaction have a huge psychological element, so it’s important to present your portions in a way that doesn’t make them look small.

Smaller plates, bowls, and cups can help you consume less while feeling like you’ve consumed more. Your mind can be a big obstacle, so sometimes, you need to find creative ways to trick yourself!

7. Regular Exercise.

A study by University of Colorado staff at news.cuanschutz.edu shows that people who maintain their weight loss exercise much more than most other people.

Exercise burns calories. If you burn 180 calories per day with exercise, then you’ll end up burning about 5400 calories in a month.

Unless you’re on an incredibly strict meal plan, there’s a good chance that your daily calorie intake will vary somewhat. Regular exercise can help mitigate the effects of occasional overconsumption.

Furthermore, it boosts your mood, promotes heart health, and gives you an outlet for stress and negativity, so you should be exercising anyway.

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