People are constantly hopping on bandwagons to get in shape fast. The weight loss industry profits on people’s struggles, pushing nonsense products and ridiculous exercises that do nothing but put money in a company’s pocket. Don’t waste any more time or money on snake oil products! Without further ado, here are ten non-nonsense weight loss tips to help you get your dream body!
10 weight loss tips to help you get in shape
1. Drink more water
Water is all around beneficial. It aids in every body function imaginable, and even such a beverage we take for granted can be an effective weight loss tool.
Drinking more water stimulates the metabolism, helping to burn just a bit more fat and a few more calories. It also keeps you hydrated, which will improve your energy and overall well-being.
The most useful benefit of water is its ability to curb cravings. Drinking water before a meal can decrease your appetite and therefore stop you from eating more than you need. Drinking water throughout the day can also ward off cravings for random snacks as well. In fact, the brain often mixes up hunger and thirst signals. If you find yourself craving a snack, drink a glass of water first. You may simply be dehydrated.
2. Pay attention to your macronutrients
Macronutrients are the “building blocks” of most foods. They are all important for your health, and eating the right amounts of each can accelerate your weight loss. Almost everything you eat has at least one macronutrient.
There are three macronutrients: Carbohydrates, fat, and protein. Carbohydrates, or carbs, are an important source of energy for your body. They are easily digestible by the body, making them an ideal source of quick energy.
Carbs fall into one of the two major categories – simple or complex. All simple carbs are sugars. They are made up of only one or two molecules, and they are digested fastest by the body. Some examples of simple carbs are sugar, fruit, syrups, and candy.
Complex carbs are composed of more molecules than simple carbs. They are digested slower than simple carbs, providing energy for longer periods of time. Complex carbs are often packed with fiber as well, improving digestion and and increasing satisfaction. Some of examples of complex carbs are vegetables, whole grains, beans, and starch.
In general, simple carbohydrates should be avoided. They often make you feel even hungrier and can also spike your blood sugar, resulting in a crash later. Simple carbs are more likely to be turned into fat as well. Complex carbohydrates are a much better alternative, as your body will digest them slower, and they are less likely to be turned into fat.
Fats have been demonized by dieters, but they’re nonetheless very important for bodily function and weight loss. Fats perform various roles throughout the body – the fat you eat isn’t going to instantly appear on your gut. Fat becomes an issue when trans and saturated fats are consumed too much, and healthy fats like monosaturated fats (and omega-3s are consumed too little. Bad fats increase your LDL (bad cholesterol) whilst decreasing your HDL (good cholesterol).
Protein is made up of linked amino acids, which are essential for important bodily functions. Protein aids greatly in processes such as fat loss and muscle regeneration. It also increases your muscle mass while decreasing your fat mass, therefore reducing your overall body fat percentage. You can get protein from foods such as meat, nuts, and beans. While most people get enough protein in their daily diet, you can supplement with whey protein. t is generally recommended to have one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.
3. Keep a record of what you eat
Know what you’re eating, and also know just how much. Although it is highly recommended to eat healthy foods for accelerated weight loss, the first place you can start in your weight loss journey is counting calories. Losing weight is not as much a matter of eating “healthy” foods so much as it is a matter of calories in, calories out.
If you eat more than you burn, you’ll gain weight. If you eat as much as you burn, you’ll maintain your weight. If you eat less than you burn, you’ll lose weight. In order to find out just how many calories you burn in a given day, use a TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) calculator.
Whenever you cook a meal at home, use a food scale to measure the quantity of food you eat. There are many apps you can use to track your calories that also do you the favor of calculating your macronutrients as well.
4. Make healthy substitutions
Replace soda with water. A burger can be replaced with a light, yet filling salad. If you want to indulge occasionally, you can have a big entre, but substitute fatty sides such as fries with fruit or vegetables.
5. Exercise
Diet is the foundation of a healthy and fit body, and exercise is that little cherry on top. Exercise can transform someone average into someone fit, healthy, and attractive.
There are numerous ways you can exercise. You can run, lift weights, do yoga, do martial arts, or play sports. You can even incorporate exercise into your daily activities, by doing things such as walking your dog, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, and doing chores.
A great way to get your exercise is to participate in a group exercise class or join a club. This will help you meet relatable people with the same goals as yourself. Your friends you meet will also give you a sense of belong and accountability that will motivate you even more.
However, keep in mind that you must always prioritize your diet over exercise. Exercise will certainly accelerate your weight loss, but without proper diet, it won’t do much.
6. Don’t drink your calories
It’s not only your eating habits that are important to change – but your drinking habits too! Although some drinks may seem harmless, they may be packed with hidden sugar and calories.
Sugary drinks also create a vicious cycle. They will make you thirstier, prompting you to pop open another soda without paying attention. Before you know it, you’ve chugged a whole meal’s worth of calories.
Even drinks which are generally considered to be “safe” and “healthy” such as milk and juice still allow you to down a large amount of calories in a short amount of time without satisfying your hunger. Although you may think juice is healthy since it’s made with fruit, think again. Juice is loaded with almost as much sugar as the average soda. Natural or not, it doesn’t matter – it’s still sugar. Milk? It may have little sugar, but it has plenty of fat, which is even more calorie-packed.
7. Drink tea and coffee
Although you should drink mostly water, tea and coffee are healthy, tasty, calorie-free alternatives when you’re craving something else. Even better, they can actually help your weight loss!
The caffeine found in tea and coffee can actually have a potent fat burning effect. Caffeine can boost your metabolism, giving your system an extra boost in shredding fat. It can also energize you before a workout, increasing your endurance and power output.
Green tea in particular also has a small fat burning effect. The catechins, antioxidants within the tea, have an effect on the metabolism. Other teas will aid in fat burning with their caffeine content, but green tea has the highest quantity of catechins.
If you find plain tea or coffee hard to stomach, you can add a little bit of sugar or milk. Be mindful of how much you add, as it can quickly add up.
8. Brush your teeth after meals
A great way to prevent snacking after a meal is to brush your teeth. Not only will this keep your smile bright and shiny, it will also help reduce your appetite.
The minty taste of toothpaste doesn’t go well with many foods, which will dissuade you from snacking again until the aftertaste wears off. Additionally, the taste of mint itself actually has appetite reducing properties.
9. Have quality and regular sleep
Overnight, your body is recharging for the next day and is actually burning fat reserves. A good night’s rest maximizes fat burned. And of course, you’ll feel great. On the other hand, sleep deprivation will cause you to lose that fat burning potential, and you’ll also wake up tired the next day. Additionally, you’ll be much hungrier and eat more – potentially causing you to gain more weight!
Sleep deprivation can also lead to a vicious cycle. You’ll buy a sugary coffee on the way to work, take the elevator instead of the stairs, eat too big of a lunch, and you may skip exercise later since you feel too tired. Therefore, it is essential to sleep well each night to prevent this from happening.
10. Don’t diet on and off – change your eating habits for good
Many dieters often regain the weight they lose. Why? They don’t make permanent changes in their diet. They diet on and off. They see the process of dieting as a painful chore. After they finish dieting and they reach their goal weight, they revert to their old habits – thus reverting to their old weight.
Of course, you can still indulge in treats, but they should stay treats – that is, they should be indulged in on occasion, not daily.
Losing weight and keeping it off requires a permanent change in mindset. This isn’t a diet – this is just how you eat now. It isn’t torture, it’s simply your lifestyle.
