Exercise is not something that is very fun and most people roll their eyes or groan unhappily at the idea. If you are serious about wanting to lose weight, then some form of exercise is needed in your daily routine. There are hundreds of different approaches to exercise, so you are bound to find one that suits your lifestyle.
The key to weight loss is all about making small and simple lifestyle changes. You can start the path to weight loss in easy ways, like eating more vegetables, walking more and avoiding processed sugar. Your small goals accumulate over time and you’ll be more likely to stick to them.
Most of us drink coffee or tea. What we put into our hot drinks can be surprisingly caloric. Starting tomorrow, if you want to help yourself take baby steps to lose weight, dial down the creamer in your coffee. Better yet, switch to milk. Ramp it down gradually and see if you can get to skim milk (stay away from the artificial fat-free creamer: too fake). You will find your taste buds adjusting, and with each cup, you’ll be taking in significantly fewer calories and animal fats. Over the course of a typical day of coffee drinking, you will be surprised how many fewer calories you have consumed.
Here is a tip for maintaining motivation during a weight loss program: Hang onto clothes that become too big for you. In the same way that outgrowing a piece of clothing can be depressing, clothing that has become too baggy reminds you of how far you have come. Keep such clothes in your closet for a pick-me-up when you need to remind yourself that your program is working.
A great tip to lose weight is to invest in a shaker bottle. Shaker bottles are very useful because you can make your own protein shake on the fly. All you have to do is add protein powder and any liquid of your choice, and just shake it up a few times.
Replace your regular french fries with sweet potato sticks, and reap the benefits of this super-vegetable! Sweet potatoes are just as delicious as potatoes, but they also contain Vitamin C, fiber, and potassium. When you bake sweet potato spears instead of frying them, you decrease your fat intake. Season with a splash of olive oil, a dash of salt and a grind of pepper.
If you want to effortlessly start eating healthier, try to minimize the quantity of dressings you use. Nutritionists recommend dipping your fork in a separate container of dressing and then picking up a bite of salad. This way, you still taste the delicious dressing, without pouring it all over the salad and completely saturating it. By doing this, you can still enjoy your salad without sacrificing its overall healthiness.
Keep your doctor informed if you start taking weight loss supplements. Your doctor may advise against certain supplements because of your personal health issues. He or she may also want to monitor certain blood levels and other health tests just to make sure that you are staying healthy while losing weight.
Before sitting down to eat, take a walk. Exercising before a meal, not only helps out on the weight loss front, it will also make you much less likely to choose something full of empty calories to eat. A large percentage of weight loss is a mental game and you will definitely need to learn how to play.
Don’t be an “extremist” with your weight loss journey. If your body is used to 3000 calories a day, and taking food in whenever you feel a pang of hunger, well it’s not going to like you limiting the calories to 1200 calories and “starving” through those pangs. Set a goal of 1500 calories and spread them out throughout the day. Eat an apple or even a small salad for a snack. Chew on some celery or carrot sticks You would be surprised at what you now like.
You may be putting yourself in a tough position to lose weight if you are getting to bed late. Sleep deprivation can alter your hormones, which can slow your metabolic rate. Get to bed very early for a full week, as this should have a significant impact on your weight loss and temperament.
Almost everyone in the weight-loss community knows that your diet and lifestyle motivation has to come via the carrot and the stick. So while you may reward yourself for a job well done, and deservedly so, you should also punish yourself for missing a workout or indulging too much. Eat a meal of nothing but rice cakes as a punishment and you’ll err no more.
If you are eating out, and the server asks you if you want salad or soup, get the soup unless it is thick; otherwise, choose the salad. These simple before meal choices will help you to eat less and, perhaps, take home some leftovers from your entree.
If your weight goes up a few pounds, don’t fret. Weight fluctuates up and down over time based on what you might have eaten that day, water retention, muscle gain, and other factors. If you keep gaining weight week after week, then it’s time to re-evaluate your weight loss plan.
When trying to lose weight, avoid crash dieting that will lose a lot of weight at once. This is dangerous and results in excess skin hanging down, as well as having a tendency to gain the weight back quickly. Any more than three pounds per month lost is considered dangerous.
All of these will be a great asset to your weight loss routine. But try to change your routine into something new, once in a while, so that you won’t become bored with doing the same thing all of the time. We hope that our list will help you to be able to choose which ones are good for you.
