TIME

8 weight-loss strategies that actually work

Ask anyone who’s tried to lose weight: it can be a challenge. (Making the resolution is the easy part.) But new science reveals that some surprising habit changes, from getting more sleep to letting go of diet soda, can inch you toward your weight-loss goal

1 Eat a big breakfast

There’s more proof that breakfast may be the healthiest meal of the day. A recent study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found that people who skip it are more likely to be overweight and to have dangerous plaque buildup in their arteries, which puts them at increased risk for cardiovascular disease.

Researchers analyzed the breakfast habits of more than 4,000 people in their 40s and 50s who lived in Spain. Some people skipped the morning meal entirely, but most ate low-calorie fare, like toast or small pastries. Others ate a heartier breakfast that comprised more than 20% of their daily calories.

People who skipped or skimped on breakfast were more likely to have signs of plaque in their arteries than those who ate the most substantial breakfasts. They were also more likely to be overweight or obese, to have the largest waists and to have the highest body mass indexes, blood pressure, cholesterol and fasting glucose levels. Skipping breakfast, the authors say, may lead to hormonal imbalances and can contribute to people eating more calories—and more unhealthy foods—later in the day. —Amanda MacMillan

2 Drink

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from TIME

TIME5 min read
No Recession? Thank Women
Remote work allowed Alyson Velasquez to juggle her demanding roles as a Wells Fargo talent recruiter and as a mother of two young children, including a son with special needs. The flexibility made sense both for her job, working with hiring managers
TIME3 min read
A One-trick Pony With Many Lives
If you didn’t grow up with a well-worn copy of Sounds of Silence, Bookends, or Bridge Over Troubled Water among the LPs stacked near the family hi-fi, your parents or grandparents probably did. From the mid- to late 1960s, the sounds of Simon & Garfu
TIME2 min read
Wiigging out in 1960s Palm Beach
Vietnam. Stonewall. Charles Manson. Woodstock. These are the touchstones that define 1969 in our collective memory. But in the Palm Beach of 1969, as conjured by the delightfully deranged Apple TV+ soap Palm Royale, they barely register. The resort c

Related