In my life, I meet so many people who are trying to lose weight and often struggle to do so and keep it off. I am passionate about keeping fit and maintaining a healthy weight – and helping others to do so and have found that simple lifestyle changes make weight loss very achievable. Below, you will find a list of tips to try out that can help you achieve your goal.
1. Drink more water: it can be tricky to differentiate between hunger and thirst so next time you feel hungry, drink a glass of water and wait 30 minutes. If you still feel hungry, then you probably are hungry! Additionally, you may suffer from water retention if you do not drink enough water.
2. Cut the carbs! While I’m not suggesting cutting out carbohydrates unlike some faddy, unsustainable diets, if you reduce your carb intake by, for instance, 25-50% and eat more vegetables, cheese, meats and nuts, you will notice a decrease in your weight due to a lowered insulin response. Additionally, carbs tend to be calorie-dense often with very little additional benefit over providing a source of energy – this is great if you intend to go for a run but not so useful if you’re trying to lose weight. Furthermore, you will tend to feel fuller for longer when you eat more protein and fibre.
3. Pump iron! Weight lifting increases your metabolic weight and muscles require more energy to sustain themselves than fat cells – so you can burn fat while you sleep! And no, you will not look like a champion bodybuilder the next morning (unless you’re drinking protein shakes or taking steroids). If, in the very unlikely event, that you do a handful of bicep curls and go from looking like a normal overweight person to Mr Universe overnight, then you will make a million selling your story to your favourite newspaper so it’s no terrible thing to lift weights either way! Click here to see one of the best reference guides for strength training.
4. Exercise: try exercising three times a week for 30 minutes at a time. The intensity has to be enough to get you out of breath so this could mean just a brisk walk. We all lead busy lives so it could be a case of walking to school and back with your children or tearing them away from the Xbox and going for a walk with them in the local park! Of course, you could use the likes of Wiis and Xbox Kinect to workout and the time will just fly by.
5. Dear Diary: try keeping a food diary. You will be surprised how much you really eat, especially the junk food, and how much you can cut down on without really noticing. Remember to note down each biscuit!
[ Part 2 ]