Tips to Help You Lose Weight Effortlessly.
If you’ve tried and failed to lose weight in the past, you know how hard it can be to stick with your goals and continue losing pounds week after week.
Fortunately, there are many steps you can take that will help you feel much more comfortable about your new healthy habits and ensure that you will keep losing weight over the long term.
Here are 10 tips to help you lose weight effortlessly and feel amazing down to your new slimmer size!
Eat Breakfast
Don’t skip breakfast. It is important. Here’s why: Skipping meals causes your blood sugar levels and energy to drop, making you feel hungry more often and overeat at your next meal.
This, in turn, can lead you to excessive snacking and weight gain. So don’t skip meals! Start every day with a healthy breakfast. Your body will thank you for it!
Get Some Exercise in the Morning
Getting some exercise first thing in the morning is a great way to start your day on a positive note.
Not only will you be more likely to stick with an exercise regimen if it’s part of your daily routine, but exercising in the morning can also help you naturally improve your focus and productivity throughout your day.
Make sure you don’t work out too close to bedtime; while exercise helps most people sleep better at night, working out too close to bedtime might keep you awake!
Try Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is a strategy to reduce your daily caloric intake, often by skipping meals.
It’s so powerful for weight loss that one study found that women who practiced intermittent fasting for two months lost about four and a half pounds more than those who cut down on their usual eating habits.
For example, instead of eating breakfast every week, you might eat all of your calories during only three days of each week.
On other days, you might not eat anything at all. This helps push your body into ketosis — a natural process where your body burns fat instead of carbs as its primary fuel source.
It also helps control insulin levels, preventing spikes in blood sugar that can lead to an energy crash or cravings later on.
Plus, intermittent fasting may help protect against diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease because of its ability to lower insulin levels.
When done right, intermittent fasting is safe and healthy for most people. However, it’s essential to be aware of how your body responds before trying any new diet plan; if you have any concerns or questions, be sure to talk with a doctor first.
Eat Smaller Meals: Studies show that people who consistently eat small meals can lose weight faster than those who opt for larger ones. Why? Smaller portions give your body a chance to realize it’s satiated before you overeat, says nutritionist Dana James of Food Coach NYC. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to get the message that you’re full. Eating slowly will give your brain time to catch up to your stomach.
Try making five mini-meals throughout the day rather than three large ones. And remember, there are no rules here! If you want to eat a bigger meal earlier in the day and then eat smaller meals throughout the rest of it, go for it. If you’re still hitting your calorie goals, feel free to experiment until you find what works best for you.
Get Enough Sleep: Getting enough sleep has been shown to improve overall health, but did you know that getting adequate shut-eye can also aid weight loss?
Start Exercising
It should come as no surprise that exercise is a great way to burn off excess weight. Try adding 30 minutes of exercise daily, and you’ll see results in no time.
This doesn’t have to be complicated – park further away from where you need to go and add extra walking breaks throughout your work day. Start with smaller amounts of activity, like 5 minutes at first, then build up over time.
You don’t have to make a huge change all at once! Exercise can be as simple as going for walks with friends or taking a dance class.
The most important thing is finding something you enjoy doing so it will become part of your daily routine.
For example: If you want to lose 10 pounds by September 1st, aim to drop about 1-2 pounds per week until then.
That means that if today is April 14th, you will shoot for losing around 7 pounds by May 21st (3 weeks before June 3rd) and another 2 pounds by June 4th (1 week before June 10th).
Remember: losing weight quickly isn’t sustainable—and because of that, quick fixes aren’t worth it. You’re better off making small, gradual changes that allow you to lose weight safely and effectively.
Eat More Fiber: Fiber helps us feel fuller longer, which makes it easier not to overeat. Aim for 25 grams of fiber daily; good sources include whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables.
Drink Water Instead of Soda: Drinking soda is bad news for your waistline and health. Replace sugary drinks with water or unsweetened tea instead.
Not only will you be cutting calories, but drinking plenty of water has also been shown to reduce hunger pangs.
Stay Away From Processed Foods: Processed foods are typically loaded with salt, sugar, and fat—all things that can contribute to weight gain.
Watch Your Consumption of Sugars, Alcohol, and Caffeine
Sugar, alcohol, and caffeine make our hunger cravings fluctuate quickly, meaning we consume even more calories daily.
A good rule of thumb: If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s best to monitor your intake of sugars, refined carbs, and caffeine.
Cutting these out (at least temporarily) will help you drop pounds safely but quickly.
For example, if you drink two cans of soda daily, cutting back to one can cut about 150 calories from your daily total—that’s just under half a pound per week!
So try to avoid added sugars as much as possible; if that means skipping dessert or opting for water with dinner instead of wine or beer, so be it.
The same goes for caffeinated beverages like coffee and tea. If you need an energy boost in the afternoon, opt for green tea or black coffee instead of sugar-loaded sodas and fruit juices.
Remember: Water is always your best choice regarding quenching thirst. It has zero calories, doesn’t affect blood sugar levels, and helps keep your metabolism humming along.
One study found that people who drank two cups of water 30 minutes before meals lost 25 percent more weight than those who didn’t increase their water intake.
Increase Fiber Intake
Fiber is a nutrient that helps fill us up, but it’s also perfect for keeping our digestive tract running smoothly and reducing cravings.
This can be easy to do by adding fiber-rich foods to your diet, such as fruit and veggies, whole grains, and beans.
Doing so will help you lose weight more naturally than if you don’t increase your fiber intake. If you need help getting enough fiber in your daily life, try taking a fiber supplement or a natural laxative like psyllium husk powder.
Remember: Too much of anything isn’t healthy, so don’t go overboard! It’s best to take a gradual approach when increasing fiber. Start slow and work your way up over time. Aim for about 25 grams of dietary fiber daily, which should be easy if you follow these tips.
Chew Slowly
Did you know it takes your brain twenty minutes to recognize that your stomach is full? That’s a long time when you consider that most of us stop eating after only ten minutes. Chew each bite slowly and give yourself time to understand how much food you consume.
Eat Plenty Of Fruit And Veg
It’s no secret that eating five portions of fruit and vegetables daily is good for your health. But new research suggests other ways it can help you reach a healthy weight too.
Those who ate an extra 300g (101⁄2oz) of produce each day lost, on average, 0.1% body fat each year for six years, according to scientists from Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital.
This means if you weigh 60kg (132lbs), by increasing your intake by 300g per day, you could lose almost 5kg (11lb) in one year without changing your exercise regime or diet.
The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Skip sugary drinks: Cutting down on soft drinks is a great way to shed some pounds – not just because they contain sugar, but because they may be linked with an increased risk of obesity and diabetes.
A recent study found that people who drank more than two sugar-sweetened beverages daily had nearly double the risk of developing type 2 diabetes than those who drank less than one.
If you must have a fizzy drink, opt for diet versions as they have fewer calories and less added sugar than their full-fat counterparts. Eat more fiber: Eating more fiber has reduced appetite and food intake overall.
Drink Plenty of Water
Your body needs water for digestion, metabolism, and other essential processes, so it’s vital that you stay hydrated.
But drinking too much can hurt your weight-loss efforts. Since our bodies have limited storage space for extra fluid, excess H2O can lead to bloating and puffiness—not what you want if you’re trying to slim down.
To avoid feeling weighed down or puffy, stick with water or low-calorie beverages like unsweetened tea or coffee. Even better: Limit yourself to no more than one or two glasses of liquid at any given time, suggests registered dietitian Cynthia Sass, M.S., R.D., author of S.A.S.S!
Try Yoga/Pilates/Stretching Routines
Yoga is a fantastic way to move your body, improve flexibility and calm your mind.
Don’t worry if you’ve never done yoga before; there are plenty of introductory classes out there that will guide you through poses while still allowing you to hold on to a fraction of self-consciousness.
Pilates has similar benefits and focuses on using controlled, deep breathing and relaxing movements. Stretching routines can help loosen up stiff muscles and joints, which in turn helps us move more easily throughout our day.
All three practices have been shown to reduce stress levels by lowering cortisol levels in our bodies—which is vital for anyone looking to lose weight.
So grab some workout gear and find a class near you! It’s important to remember that these exercises may not be enough to drop significant amounts of weight on their own (primarily when performed at home). If you want to see accurate results, experts recommend making a change in your diet as well.
Ensure you avoid processed foods with little nutritional value (think: potato chips), replace bad fats with good ones (like olive oil or avocado), and eat more veggies than ever.
Read Food Labels
Nutrition labels can help you track how much sugar, sodium, and other deficient nutrients are in your food.
And because most processed foods contain some form of added sweetener (sugar, corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate), reading nutrition labels is essential if you want to know how much sugar is in that cereal or apple sauce.
The FDA’s new added sugars labeling rule will make it easier for consumers to see just how much sugar is being added to packaged foods.
The rule requires manufacturers to disclose on packaging when a product contains any amount of added sugars—which includes any caloric sweetener used during processing or preparation (including honey, molasses, white and brown sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup). It also includes syrups used for flavoring drinks such as sodas.