For the past few years, it has been a struggle trying to maintain my own weight. There has been a constant gain when eating too much of the unhealthy foods I love. Yes, I do love fruit and try to include at least one piece of both fruits and vegetables in my diet, but I still have a big sweet tooth. From ice cream to cookies to french fries, it is quite difficult not consuming all of the delicious high fat and sugar foods.  

So the question is how do I still each everything I love but maintain a healthy weight? Maintaining a healthy weight means to try to eat food with limited carbohydrates and sugar, trying to get all the necessary nutrients we need. Here are some the secrets to maintaining a healthy weight!

1. Serving Size

nut, vegetable, sweet, gnocchi
Sabrina Kistler

Listen to what the serving size says per person on a nutrition label. Taking a handful and putting in a bowl is generally the serving size of an individual. Do not by any means eat from the bag either. Eating too much of one snack can make someone go overboard on consuming too many calories.

2. Moderation

chocolate
Kristine Mahan

Do not eat something like a cookie or ice cream every day, and probably also not a good idea to have both in the same day. Its all about not overdoing it, while following the serving size of course! Too much consumption of a high sugar and fat products results in excessive weight gain. Ways to also eat all of what you love is getting healthier versions, such as low fat or low calorie.

3. Exercise Regularly

chocolate, candy, sweet
Anya Barel

Exercising is also a key to weight management. I personally run on the treadmill or use the elliptical, burning anywhere from 300-500 calories doing this 5-6 days a week. It is always a good idea to balance cardio with weight and toning exercise also! 

4. Drink Lots of Water

lemonade, water, lemon
Caroline Liu

Water is the best beverage to be consumed by humans multiple times a day. If you have a growling stomach, you may not necessarily be hungry, you might in fact just be thirsty. It is important to remember to try to drink as much as 64 ounces each day.

5. Eat Breakfast

chocolate, cereal, meat, sweet
Alex Tom

It is true when they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you eat a good breakfast in the morning, the better chance you will have at staying full throughout the day. Eating in the morning also jump starts your metabolism which benefits you throughout the day!

6. Fruits and Vegetables

fruit salad, vegetable, berry, sweet, strawberry
Danielle Gervais

Forget all the unhealthy snacks and try having three servings of fruits and vegetables throughout your day. Fruit has all healthy nutrients and will be sure to make you full through out the day. Both provide us with vitamins and are considered to be healthy carbs. Ditching all the carbs and bad sugars is definitely is one of many big secrets to maintaining a normal weight. 

Maintaining your weight is possible! Remember that your body is yours forever, so love what you have and be kind to yourself.