Whether you are struggling to lose the last five pounds or you are at the beginning of your weight-loss journey with miles to go, this article can help guide you in the right direction. Information is power, and the information here will become a powerful tool to help you succeed.
Kick start your weight loss plan by eating more spicy foods. Spicy foods have been shown to increase your metabolism, so that your cells burn more calories while you are eating, and after you eat. Also, extremely spicy foods might help you to eat less, if you can’t stand any more of the spice.
One easy way to lose weight is to not bring the worst foods into the house in the first place. This is especially helpful for those of us with very poor, or no, willpower. If you only bring high-fiber bread into the house, you won’t be tempted to eat the refined white-flour French bread that you didn’t buy.
A key element of weight loss is portion control. Modern portion sizes, especially when eating out, are nearly double the size they used to be. Choosing healthy food is a great start, but if you do not control how big your portions are, that healthy dish could have twice the calories that you would expect it to.
When you’re watching your weight, try to make smart choices at the fast food restaurant. Luckily, that’s much easier to do now. Instead of the double burger with cheese, go for the grilled chicken filet sandwich. Also, ask for easy or light sauce, or no sauce at all, which will cut way down on calories. Order one of the salads, but go easy on the dressing – or better yet, dump the dressing in the lid and dip your salad into the dressing a forkful at a time.
When you want to have a snack or are eating a meal, make sure you sit at the table to eat. Sitting down to eat helps you avoid “mindless eating” while losing weight so you can avoid eating more than you planned. Eating at the table also helps you control portions.
A very helpful way to lose weight can be changing your line of work. Sitting at a desk all day long isn’t very conducive to being fit. If you have options available to you, try getting into a line of work that allows you to be more physically active.
Pay attention to how much you are eating when you are trying to lose weight by never eating food directly from the bag or carton. It is easy to eat more than you planned when you eat directly out of the bag, so put a serving of the snack on a plate or in a bowl.
Drinking water is an obvious weight-loss suggestion, but did you know it can also affect your appetite at mealtime? Next time you’re sitting down to dinner, try drinking a large (16-oz or more) glass of cool water before you sit down to eat. You may find that your stomach has less room for food and that you will eat less.
To keep your nutritious diet in check, don’t feel that you need to restrict any particular food. By doing that, you are going to crave that food even more and that will throw your diet completely off track. Just eat the not so healthy food in moderation and you will be fine.
Part of sticking to a good diet program is actually having the feeling of fullness. If you eat healthy but remain hungry, you may just break your diet. A good tip here is to eat a lot of healthy soups and stews. The liquid contained within, usually water, is very filling and very healthy. A big bowl of soup can fill you up and contains fewer calories than a very small meal.
Try to pack your lunches for work. When you pack your own lunch, you can control the portion sizes that you have. You can also make your lunch as healthy as you would like. Packing your lunch will help you to avoid going out to eat, which can be an unhealthy and expensive option.
Who would have thought that brushing your teeth is not only good for oral hygiene, but also for weight loss? Research has shown that brushing your teeth after you eat slows your appetite, and you will also be less likely to want to eat so you keep that fresh, just-brushed feeling for a while.
If you are having trouble keeping your weight-loss plan when you go out to eat, there are ways to make this easier. You will, of course, want the healthier options, so check out the nutrition information on your meal before you order it. Add extra vegetables, and choose foods that are fresh, baked, steamed or roasted.
Consistency in exercise is sure to prove crucial in any dedicated weight-loss plan. While it may be possible to lose weight by simply decreasing your calorie intake and eating healthier, more nutritious food, you cannot increase your metabolism or build fat-consuming muscle without exercise. Daily exercise–even a short walk–will boost the amount of calories you burn.
If you want to lose weight it is important to drink plenty of water throughout the day. Water is calorie free and drinking large amounts of it prevents you from quenching your thirst with high calorie sodas and fruit juices. The empty calories in these beverages will add up and make it very difficult to lose weight.
Use what you have learned here to help you kick start your weight loss or to re-motivate yourself to get back to the serious business of dropping the pounds. Now that you have the knowledge, the next step is to take what you have learned and apply the advice to your life.
