10 Easy Tips to Help You Lose Weight

Weight loss means a lot of different things to different people. It depends on who you ask or talk to about it actually. Of course, we say it’s what’s on the inside that really counts BUT that doesn’t mean that extra weight on the outside should be ignored either.

Either way, making a decision to lose weight can be one of the easiest things to do, but the actual process of losing weight can be one of the hardest. Further, maintaining a weight loss routine can be frustrating and tiring. Here are a few weight loss tips I’ve used to make the entire process easier.

#1 Eat healthy Choosing healthy food is a great start.

Fruit and vegetables are the most recommended foods for a healthy diet. This is because they not only ensure all of our nutritional needs are met, but they fill us up on lower calorie and low fat foods.

Oatmeal is another one of the best foods you can eat in order to reduce your cholesterol. It is also a great food to eat in the morning because it keeps you full for a longer period of time so you won’t overeat later.

#2 Portion Control 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. While choosing healthy food is a great start, if you do not control how big your portions are your healthy dish could have twice the calories than you would expect it to.

#2 Watch Calory intake Keeping a daily log or journal stating the food you eat and how many calories you consume each day is a good way of controlling your weight. This can help you make healthier food choices, and maybe even eat less. A healthy diet does more than exercise ever will to take off the pounds and keep them off.

#3 Drink water to help you lose weight. Water helps to reduce the toxins in our bodies, which can build up and lead to excess fat. It is recommended we drink at least eight glasses of water a day.

Another tip is to drink water when you feel or think you’re hungry. I find if I sit down to a meal and are starving, it’s more likely I will eat more. But simply having a glass of water before a meal helps my food consumption. Sometimes we may think we’re hungry when our body is telling us it’s thirsty. Next time you’re feeling hungry, try a glass of water first and see how you go.

#4 Sleep Lack of sleep has been linked to an increase in weight gain; people who gain weight tend to get the least amounts of sleep. Getting a good night’s rest allows your body to recharge and reset your fat burning mechanisms, and if you’re well rested you’re less likely to eat mindlessly. Aim for at least eight hours of sleep per day to give your body the chance to function properly.

You can help kids with this too, especially if they’re leaning towards obese. In order to aid in their weight loss efforts, make certain they get sufficient sleep. Believe it or not, they will burn calories as they sleep. Growing kids need to sleep about eight hours nightly. Tell your children why getting plenty of sleep is good for them.

#5 Exercise It’s always a good idea to not stay stationary at any point, like watching television or reading a book. You will be expending the least amount of energy at these points. Instead, you should go for a walk or try pacing around as you do whatever you might be doing.

To easily make exercise a key component of your weight loss routine, you should exercise first thing in the morning before doing anything else. Typically, for even the most organized person, things can and do come up throughout the day that interfere with the best laid plans to exercise. By exercising first thing in the morning, even if everything else goes wrong during the day, you will have accomplished that task.

If you spend most of your time sitting down or at a desk, try buying a pedal exerciser to help you lose weight. It helps keep your circulation going as well as working off calories.

Check out my other post on the Health Benefits of Regular Walking and Get into the Habit of Walking without hurting yourself for some tips on walking.

#6 Regular sex apparently helps you lose weight. They say it can reduce food cravings, and you can burn a great deal of calories.

#7 Avoid unnecessary eating Have you ever noticed simple things like seeing food can make you eat more? It might be seeing something at the Deli or supermarket? To help you watch your weight and avoid unnecessary calories, do not go out especially grocery shopping when you are hungry. If you do, you might be tempted to purchase more food than you need, or foods that are not in the realm of the healthy diet you are trying to achieve. Have at least a small snack before grocery shopping if your stomach is rumbling.

#8 Stay away from foods that you have trouble stopping at one serving. If you cannot stop eating chips then you should not buy a bag or bowl and try to eat one serving. Most likely you will give into temptation. Buy something else that is crunchy but is lower in fat and calories.

I find restaurants can cause overeating. In order to avoid overeating there, I sometimes order my main instead of starters and all that. That way I won’t eat unnecessarily. You could ask your waiter not to serve you bread or chips. If you are hungry, you will find it nearly impossible to resist if the food is sitting in front of you, sabotaging your weight loss efforts.

#9 Weighing yourself regularly, but not too often, is a good way to monitor and encourage weight loss. Do a weight “check in” once a week. This helps you know where you are at, and allows you to set goals for the next week, month, etc. Weighing in more than this might be discouraging since weight can fluctuate a few pounds from day to day, even if you are sticking to your diet.

#10 Set your goals. The trick here is not to sabotage yourself by having unrealistic goals. Any goal has to be SMART. You will want to aim for about a kilo (or two pounds) per week weight loss. They say losing more than that could result in losing muscle, which slows down your metabolism. This could make it more difficult to keep the weight off long term.

Interesting huh?

It’s true that weight does not affect what kind of person you are. That said, many of us would like to make sure we are not overweight or we could get a lot of health issues. If you decide to lose weight, create a plan, follow the above tips and lose the weight in a safe and healthy manner.

It can be difficult at times, but once you start seeing those kilos/pounds fall away you’ll want to keep going. Commit to it and don’t stop until you’ve met your goal. It will be worth it in the end.

Hopefully, these tips gave you ideas on how to do reach your goals.

Ever tried losing weight? IF so, how did you go? I’d love to hear your experiences. Feedback/thoughts/comments on the tips above welcome too.