If you've ever wanted to lose weight, or you are trying to lose weight, you've got to be mindful and careful of the weight loss tips and advice you take. Your husband says that you need to cut the calories you take, your Facebook friends tell you to skip meals, your colleagues advise you to stop eating after 7 P.M. and so on. But do any these weight loss tips work? If you are serious about shedding those extra pounds without starving yourself, skipping meals or ditching your social life, then there is a better way to do that. If you’re the kind of person that wants to reduce weight, and you're looking for tips and diet plan to lose weight, then this post is for you.
Here are weight loss tips that will make your weight loss journey more enjoyable and effective.
Drink plenty of water
You’ve heard of this before, and you’ll hear it once more. This is because drinking eight glasses of water a day is one of the easiest and most effective ways to speed up weight loss. Drinking 64 ounces of water, every day will supply the body with the needed fluids to carry out metabolism of stored fat. When you cut down your water intake, you’re likely to slow down this process; meaning that it’ll be more difficult to burn calories. Adequate water supply to your body system will keep your digestive system running smoothly.
In fact at times people confuse thirst with hunger. You may end up consuming a lot of calories to calm the craving, yet all you need is water. It also takes up some space in your stomach so you will feel fuller while eating fewer calories.
Kick the salt habit
Sodium makes your body retain water making you feel and look bloated. Are you one of those who eat too much salt? The recommended daily value should not exceed 2,400 milligrams of sodium-this is about one teaspoon, but most of us get more than twice this amount. This explains why a majority of people, no matter how they diet and practice, seem not to lose significant weight. Salt leads to weight gain, bloating and also inhibit weight loss. It can also make you feel hungrier and thirstier, so every time you consuming packaged or restaurant foods, check the sodium levels. You'll notice your belly going down a lot quicker when you cut back on your sodium intake. Some of the hidden sources of sodium include canned foods, drinks, and soups, salty snacks such as chips and many other prepackaged foods.
Strength training and exercises
Strength training and exercises build lean muscles that replace fats. Conduct these exercises every time you get some time, be it at work or rest- do them daily, seven days a week. The more lean muscles you pack, the faster you slim down. How do you start your strength training? Do some sets of push-ups and squats. Push-ups work on your upper body while squats target your hips, butt, and thighs. To improve your muscle tone maintain your legs and back in a straight line when doing push-ups. You can also improve your muscle tone with squats if you hold free weights in each hand while conducting them. Do these exercises three to four times every week and you’ll begin seeing rapid improvement in your overall physique.
Spice up your meals
Adding hot spices such as red pepper to your meals can help curb hunger according to nutritionists. Hot pepper boosts your basal metabolism because it has a compound known as capsaicin that may induce your body to release stress hormones such as adrenaline. This can speed up your metabolism thereby increasing your body ability to burn calories. Additionally, eating hot pepper can reduce your appetite and help reduce your cravings. Therefore, start spicing your salads, baked potatoes or your stir-fried veggies with hot pepper and watch your pounds drop faster.
Get more sleep
It may sound funny, but a lack of enough sleep may make you fat- and this isn’t just because you’re prone to cases of late-night eating but also for the purpose of prolonging your metabolism duration. People who get less sleep have a slower metabolism than those who sleep for eight hours. Therefore, avoid skipping your sleep and you’ll be rewarded with shedding pounds quickly. Since your body grows and builds muscles while you’re dead asleep, getting enough snooze equals better muscle tone and burning of more calories.
Don’t skip meals
Eat every meal-skipping meals won’t make you shed pounds faster. In fact, this strategy backfires as your body thinks that there is a short supply of food, and, therefore, it slows down your metabolism in order to conserve energy. When it get used to this mode of low energy supply, it will adapt itself to burning low calories, meaning that even if you consume the same food always, your body will burn fewer calories thus creating a backlog of excess pounds. If you happen to have a busy day that you hardly get time to have a meal, stash a piece of fruit or energy bar in your briefcase or purse to keep off hunger.
Have a You-on-Top Sex
This doesn’t mean that you get an excuse to bang your guy every night, but the reasoning behind this position is that it is a faster fat blaster. This position lets you do the rocking job meaning that you'll be more actives. This will enable you to burn more calories. Sex also pumps levels of endorphins helping you calm down food cravings. To give your thigh muscles an extra push, get on top in the reverse-cowgirl position.
Go for evening walks
A majority of the people that are striving to lose weight conducts exercises or are enrolled in a training program. Exercises are a great way to lose weight, and they should be done at any time of the day. However, conducting evening exercises is more beneficial as the metabolism of many people slows down toward the end of the day. Having 30 minutes of aerobic exercises before dinner can be the game changer. It increases your metabolic rate and may keep it active for another 2-3 three hours even after you've stopped exercising. This means that the dinner calories have a less chance of taking up a permanent place on your hips and belly.
Monitor the calories in your glass
Scientists say that the body never registers liquid calories the same way it does with solid calories. Drinking a glass of soda, for instance, won’t make you feel full the way eating a piece of pizza will. This means that although a glass of soda may have a greater number of calories than pizza, you’re still more likely to add a second glass than another piece of pizza. Therefore monitor your intake of soda, juice, wine, and coffee drinks. If you consume one of the above beverages during the day, then you would have consumed 800 extra calories before the days come to an end, and you'll still feel hungry. Incidentally, alcohol may reduce the metabolism of fat, making it harder for you to burn calories.
Avoid weight-loss hypes
The market today is saturated with dozens of weight loss programs and pills that promise to take off 10 pounds in a week’s time or whatever. The majority of people fall into this temptation because of desperation. But the truth is that most of them, especially the over-hyped ones never work. Save your money and emotional pain that may be brought by the failure of these gimmicks by being realistic. Follow or just tailor your weight loss program in ways that are sensible and realistic. They'll not only help you lose weight, but they'll also leave you feeling happier and healthier.
Eat slowly
Rapid eaters often pack more calories than slow eaters according to several studies. It takes approximately 20 minutes for your stomach to send a signal to the brain that you are now full. If you rush your meal and eat quickly, your body satiety signals won't be turned into feelings of satiety, and it's easier to overeat. Try slowing down your eating speed by putting your spoon down in between bites or chew for longer to prolong the period.
Finally, plan your meals
Plan your meals in advance. Make sure to stick to your breakfast, lunch and dinner plans. Try to plan for the week ahead, both meals and snacks. Make a shopping list, but avoid shopping when you’re hungry as this can lead to impulse buying of high-calories snacks.
After observing the above tips, you have to have a cheat sheet of meals and foods that will work on your weight. A diet that contains foods that are high in water content and fiber such as protein and vegetable diets has been proven to lower your body weight. This is because, water in these foods makes you feel satiated, and thus you will end up eating less meal. Also, a diet high in fiber slows down the digestive process making you one feel satiated for longer. Without further ado, let's look at weight loss diets and recipes that will help with weight loss.
Weight loss diet plan
Broccoli
Eating broccoli severally in a week can help reduce the number of calories one consume and also promote your overall body health. It’s rich in dietary fiber essential nutrients and vitamins that are needed by your body. Adding more broccolis to your daily meals will help with weight loss because it has low calories and also make you feel satisfied quickly. They add high fiber and more weight to your meals without adding unwanted calories. The secret is to substitute broccoli for foods that you regularly eat instead of adding it to your diet.
Soy Protein
This is an excellent source of protein that can act as a meat substitute. Protein is one of the foods that take the longest time and energy to digest. Soy beans offer the cleanest and healthiest proteins to help with weight loss. While there’s nothing like an excellent diet for weight loss, a soy-based diet is pretty close to that. They will fuel your muscles to help you burn more calories and at a faster rate during exercises. This will give your body a toned and contoured physique.
Mushrooms
When weight loss is mentioned, a calorie is the name that clicks the mind. Mushrooms provide a close-to-perfect diet that has very little number of calories. When working on your weight, it’s crucial to eliminate the fats, not the flavor. Mushrooms add a good flavor and a different texture to our diets and are also rich in glutamic acid- a building block of protein. Mushroom are a perfect substitute to meat ad they will keep you feeling satiated for longer periods.
Avocado
Avocados are rich in fiber and healthy proteins and can be eaten all on its own. They pack in healthy fats called monounsaturated fats that contain oleic acid that reduces the craving by calming down feelings of hunger.
However, one should not eat a whole avocado a day; take a quarter, probably in your morning diet coupled with whole wheat toast. This Australian staple will make your stomach feel full until lunch time thus helping you avoid snacks.
Almond butter
While peanut butter is known to pack more proteins in the body, almonds are quality nuts that are rich in vitamin E-an antioxidant known to counter free radical damage. Eating a quarter cup of nuts can help more effectively with weight loss than consuming a snack containing complex carbohydrates. This is because almonds are rich in amino acids that aid in fat burning during workouts. Its often referred to as “natural-weight loss pill”. When you combine it with a calorie restricted diets, you’ll definitely get amazing results.
Pureed vegetables
Adding these vegetables to your meals not only makes you enjoy your cheat diet but also cut back the calories you consume. They add a good taste and flavor to your meals. Pureed vegetable are healthy and make you feel satiated quickly.
The bottom line
If you follow the above diet and weight loss tips, coupled with proper exercises, then there is nothing that will prevent you from shedding the excess calories. Substitute your daily recipes with low calorie-diets that include the above foods and surely, you’ll begin seeing changes and significant reduction of your body weight. Have patience and know that slow and steady wins the race. Since you didn’t get overweight in an overnight, it will take some time to shed the excess pounds as wells. Start making changes and take action today instead of procrastinating.
