People who have excess weight or obesity are at a greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes along with many other health conditions such as : heart disease, high blood pressure, some kinds of cancer, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, gout, sleep apnea, fatty liver disease, dyslipidemia…

Two simple ways can help you instantly know if you carry excess weight:

1. Measuring your weight and height then calculating your Body Mass Index

(on this link https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmi-m.htm), A BMI between 25 and 29.9 indicates overweight, while a BMI of 30 and higher indicates obesity.

2. Measuring your waist size. Women with a waist circumference of 80cm and above and men with a waist circumference of 94 cm and above, have excess fat around the waist and are thus at higher risk of developing overweight and obesity related diseases.

The good news is that if you are overweight or obese, losing only 5 percent of your body weight can actually improve your overall health and lower your risk of developing complications.

​Here are 8 behavior changes you can adopt to reach a healthier weight:

Practicing mindful eating: It consists of being fully present while eating. The Eating process should be slow while savoring the taste, smell and texture of the food. Distractions, like working, watching TV, or driving, should be removed. Mindfulness helps you eat smaller portions through recognizing your fullness cues and differentiating between real hunger and cravings.

​Cooking meals at home: Generally, packaged and restaurants’ foods contain a greater amount of sugar and fat compared to food cooked at home. Also, they come in bigger portions. Home cooking allows you to control both the ingredients and the portion size in a way that suits your specific needs.

Having Protein at every meal: Including a source of low-fat protein to each meal can prevent you from overeating by keeping you full the whole day. Low-fat yoghurt, eggs, legumes, and lean meats are considered sources of lean protein.

Switching to whole grains: Replacing refined grains such as white bread, pasta, white rice with whole-grain products like whole-wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, bran flakes and others. The fibers help you eat smaller portions of food by filling you up faster and longer.

Filling up on vegetables: Cutting calories does not necessarily mean eating less. It is about the quality of your food. Fill half your plate with vegetables, which are great for weight loss being so low in calorie. Your diet will be enriched with vitamins, minerals and fiber.

Drinking more water: Thirst can often be confused with hunger, so by drinking water you can avoid extra calories.

Getting enough quality sleep: Lack of sleep affects your hunger and fullness hormones making you eat more throughout the day; it also negatively affects your mood and motivation to become healthier.

Regularly Exercising: Find an exercise you enjoy. Try walking with a friend, dancing, hiking, cycling, or even playing activity-based video games with your children. Exercise can increase your metabolism, help you lose weight and increase your energy to become healthier.

Note that a slow and steady weight loss is considered the safest way to lose weight and keep it off permanently.  So don’t expect to make many behavior changes overnight. Instead take the process one day at a time and explore healthier ways of living that you can keep doing on the long term.