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Healthy eating is important, but it’s not going to help you lose weight on its own. Here’s everything else you need to do.

Many people hope that they will lose weight by eating healthily. While healthy eating is important, it is not the only thing that will help you lose weight. In fact, just sticking to a healthy eating plan could see you gain weight!

I’ve always eaten relatively healthily in my adult years. I focus a lot on getting my five a day, and I keep few carby and sugary treats in my house. I encourage my children to eat their healthy stuff instead of their snacks in their lunches. In fact, today I forgot to pack them a snack and they didn’t complain!

But this doesn’t guarantee weight loss (or children not gaining weight). Here are other factors that you need to consider to lose weight and keep it off.

Portion control with healthy eating

Just because your diet is healthy, doesn’t mean you’re not eating too much. Everything has calories, and you need to limit the amount that you eat if you want to see a calorie deficit. This doesn’t have to be a lot, but it means portion control is important.

I’ll share a story of a woman when I was a Weight Watchers leader. She struggled to lose weight and told me that all she snacked on was fruit. It turned out that she was eating a whole pineapple during her shift at work. Yes, a whole pineapple a night. I asked her to cut down to just a portion of pineapple and she suddenly saw the weight drop off.

Some experts say to only eat until you are satisfied. However, you may not know much about that feeling yet. Did you know it takes 20 minutes for your brain to find out that your body is full?

Start by eating half of your meal and then let it settle for a while. Ask yourself if you really are still hungry. If that is the case, eat half of what is left on the plate. Still hungry after that? Be honest with yourself!

If you are, eat half of what is left and keep repeating this process until either you are satisfied or you have finished eating everything. I will leave it 20 minutes after eating my meal to see if I really want seconds. Most of the time, I don’t.

Exercise is still important

Exercise is an important part of weight loss. It helps to create a calorie deficit by making the body burn more during the day. However, that is not the only benefit to your weight loss journey.

You will build muscle and tone your body by doing exercise. This is extremely important if you want to help the skin get back to a comfortable level, rather than sagging due to being overstretched. It is also important if you want to look great when you have lost weight, rather than looking like a skeleton!

Exercise is also good for helping your body burn more calories. It speeds up the system as muscle requires more calories than fat does.

Exercise also helps to boost the mood, while giving the metabolism a boost on a morning. You don’t need to add much. Just 30 minutes three times a week is a good way to start, and then try to build it up to 30 minutes five times a week minimum,

Changing your habits to lose weight

You need to learn more about your eating habits. This isn’t just about what you eat, but when and why you eat too. After a stressful day do you go home and eat a whole tub of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream? It’s something that you want to avoid doing, but you need to understand why.

When you change your habits, you will make your healthy eating plan part of your daily routine. It no longer seems like a diet and is much easier to stick to in the long term. You are more likely to find yourself keeping the weight off forever.

Healthy eating isn’t all you need to consider when trying to lose weight. It’s important to focus on portion control and exercise. Only then can you get the body of your dreams, at a weight that you are happy with.

MORE: 4 weight loss mistakes you’re making

What are you struggling with when it comes to weight loss? Share in the comments below.