Have you reached your ideal weight? Or maybe getting closer to it? Here are 3 EASY and HEALTHY ways to keep your weight stable. These 3 changes won’t cause major changes within your routine, or force you to go back on a “calorie deficit.”

After implementing each of these into my day-to-day, I’ve stepped away from the daily struggle and unhealthy mentality that I was “always gaining weight.”

I’ve finally stopped complaining to my friends and family about the struggle… it’s not fair that I was in the first place! You are the only one that can make these changes in your life.

When I turned 24 years old, after being in the best shape of my life, I went on a 1.5-year “bender” of gaining weight. I didn’t care what or how much I ate (or drank). The pounds kept piling up, and I didn’t look or feel the same in the mirror (I didn’t like where the weight was going either). It was hurting my mental state the longer I let myself continue unhealthy practices.

Everybody knows how difficult it is to lose weight, but there is far less emphasis on how easy it is to gain weight. I thought from being a “thin” teenager and young adult with a fast metabolism, that it would never happen. Until it did.

Our bodies change as we age, and it’s just as important to incorporate daily changes into your life to keep up. Here are 3 easy ways I’ve changed it all!

1. Low-Intensity Cardio

A lot of people think you must push yourself to “failure” at the gym to start losing weight or to maintain your physical physique. That is totally not true! Once you start incorporating low-intensity cardio into your daily routine – which can literally be just walking, you will begin to notice results. It will just take patience and time.

If you’re looking for super fast results, sure, high-intensity workouts can be great. But sometimes, we want to go to the gym to enjoy exercising at our own pace, and daily walking is highly effective.

I recommend 20 minutes of walking at least per day. The sweet spot for me is about 50 minutes, but you may have a different duration that you like better. There is no shame in missing days, but keep in mind the schedule must become part of your lifestyle. Over time your metabolism will begin to work more efficiently, and you will shed off unconscious calories in every step.

Daily walking is a super easy and healthy exercise to incorporate into your routine and has tremendous benefits for your body.

If you live somewhere cold, investing in a treadmill or walking treadmill (I have one under my standing desk) is something I will always recommend!

Walking is my go-to, but here are other forms of low-intensity cardio to try:

• Light jogging
• Swimming laps
• Using an elliptical machine
• Lifting weights – Slow and lightweight
• Cycling at a casual pace
• Rowing at a steady pace

2. Cut Out White Bread

Sometimes, when I think back to the early 2000s, I remember so many movies with women saying no to bread or carbs, often saying out loud, “ew, carbs!” I used to frown at those ladies. I’ve loved bread since I was a little girl! It’s hard to imagine I’ve grown up to relate and understand that saying a lot better.

I’m not bashing anyone who eats bread. But, I will say, scientifically, white bread has little to no nutritional value. There are often harmful oils put into bread as well (canola oil, grapeseed oil, vegetable oil).

By cutting or reducing your intake of white bread (and other foods in the grain group like rice and pasta) you can introduce other nutrient-dense foods into your diet. This will help you meet nutrient levels while cutting out unnecessary calories.

As someone who used to LOVE white bread (and similar foods), I can’t say that I miss it anymore, because my body no longer craves it. I crave foods that make me feel nourished.

If you are going to eat bread, stick to whole grain or multigrain, or my favourite, rye bread. At least once in your life, you need to try and test cutting out white bread from your diet!

3. Reducing Your Alcohol Intake

While not drinking at all may be the ideal and healthy option, I understand that people like to drink. I, too, enjoy a nice glass of wine or a fancy cocktail from time to time.

Though I enjoy a casual drink, it took me far too long to understand the detrimental effects of casual drinking. I casually drank alcohol every day for nearly two years. It was a glass or two (could be 3 or 4, even) after work on weekdays. This didn’t account for the weekends – where I would drink even more.

My partner and I liked to experiment in making fancy or new cocktails to try out too, but that didn’t help either!

A pint of beer is over 200 calories, with a 9oz glass of red wine is even more. Drinking alcohol ramps up your appetite, and it’s often you’ll crave unhealthy food options (remember all those McDonald’s runs we used to make while drunk!?). You become more impulsive to eat, making it a lot easier to forget healthy options altogether.

From cutting out casual drinking, you will avoid a tremendous amount of calories each day, reduce your chances of eating impulsively, and give yourself a greater chance to participate in physical activity (like walking!).

Not only does not reducing your alcohol intake help you maintain your weight, but cutting out casual drinking may be one of the healthiest changes you’ll make for your liver, heart, kidneys, and other vital organs.

AND THAT’S IT!

Want to keep elevating your life? Read these 50 easy ways you can level up your life today!