It would be an understatement to say that we are living in an era of fast foods take-outs, ready made meals and dishes filled with preservatives and additives. We are a nation always on the go and as a consequence our eating habits have been dramatically altered.
However, it doesn’t have to be this way.
You can escape becoming a part of the growing statistic of obese people, and offer your body a natural route to losing weight safely and in a healthy manner.
1. Make a list Successful weight loss involves more than changing your dietary habits. You need to find a balance in your mind, body and soul. So pause for a moment and make a list of everything that is preventing you from enjoying your life.
If you suffer from fatigue, memory loss or depression for example, this could be a sign that you are suffering from a vitamin B deficiency, which in turn could be hindering your weight loss.
2. What have you eaten? It is easy to be tempted by quick fix meals, but by eating natural, fresh foods every day you can prevent weight gain.
Give this routine a try and begin feeling the difference of natural weight loss, increased energy levels and the desire to exercise:
- Drink 6-8 glasses of water every day
- Swap sugary snacks for a piece of fruit
- Eat smaller portions: 5 to 6 300 calorie meals a day
- Chew slower
- Use natural sweeteners instead of sugar
- Ensure you receive plenty of sleep
- Cleanse your body of toxins
3. Exercise One of the easiest ways to improve your quality of life and experience lasting weight loss is to exercise.
Yet it is important to remember that everyone is different. Just because your friend can walk 10 miles a day, does not mean you will be able to do so immediately. You need to exercise at your own fitness levels and gradually build up your routines at a pace that is right for you.
Try starting with a 10 minute walk every day, before slowly building up to 45 minutes. As you exercise more, you will be able to challenge your body further and increase your weight loss successes.
Other good methods include riding a bike, going swimming or doing cardio/strength building exercises. Just remember to make sure that you do routines that interest you. If you enjoy it, you will stay motivated towards doing them every day.
4. Diet Pills Whilst the market may be saturated with many synthetic slimming pills, you can offer your body slimming pills naturally formulated using organic ingredients.
Clinically proven to suppress your appetite, reduce your fat consumption by 20%+ and decrease food cravings, slimming pills can offer you the support you need to take your first step to weight loss. Talk to your family doctor and see if he/she can recommend a pill that will work for you.
I think steps 1-3 are good, but 4 should only really be a last resort, once you have tried the other three steps for a few months at least.
One of the other factors is alcohol, which can contain lots of “hidden” calories.
I like most of the tips though, it’s about making small changes every day that you can maintain, then being patient while you lose weight.
Sleep and dehydration are often overlooked too and are surprisingly important.
Great tips. Thanks for sharing. I know a lack of sleep can cause one to put on weight but I’m not sure about dehydration. But well, it’s good for our health and skin to be hydrated at all times.
You make some very good points as to how get started and the types of things you need to do to accomplish weight lose. The one thing that I know a person must do before attempting any type of program is, and you hit on this in your article is – FRAME OF MIND.
I have quit smoking which is very hard to do; but I did it because I knew in my mind that I truly wanted to do it. That was the difference in several failed attempts before and final success. I wanted to quit smoking and in my mind I knew I truly wanted to do it so I found a strategy that fit me and made my plan and stuck to it.
It’s the same with losing weight just be truthful with yourself and when you are ready you will know it. Then find and stick to a plan that fits you and can do it with a much higher chance of success.
I like your emphasis on planning to lose weight. Most people stumble into wanting to lose weight hoping for the best. However, to lose weight quickly you must plan to lose weight and have a daily strategy, otherwise you will veer off course.
Tom
lose weight in one week
I think if you get your mind right, the rest is easy.
Tip number one is my favorite. Making lists and writing stuff down has got me motivated again to get back on track with my fat loss.
I have printed off sheets for my diet and my exercise workouts and every time I complete a meal or workout I tick the box on the sheet. I know it might sound a little on the extreme but it is working for me I’ve got my motivation and determination back.
I’m really big on suggestion #2, especially as it pertains to monitoring portion sizes and a distribution of meals (5 to 6 per day).
One common mistake is to think that because we’re eating healthy foods we can eat as much as we want to. For example- almonds are good for you… salmon, olive oil, brown rice, etc. but they still pack a lot of calories per serving (and some serving sizes are ridiculously small so we tend to ignore them). Even though the calories are “good” they still count for the overall daily calorie budget and can undermine weight loss progress.
I would have to agree with Edith, you have to keep track with what you are eating! This way you are able to make modification to you eating plan to help you reach your weight loss goals quicker.
Most people usually start with working out as a weight loss plan, but they tend to neglect that they must also eat healthy. It all goes hand in hand when you are trying to loose weight. It’s all about making healthy habits over time that seems to have the best results. You learn alot about your own body over time and what different foods do to you.
I believed that exercise is the best method to lose weight. Running or Jogging 2 to 3 times a week is more that enough to help you lose 1 to 2 pound a week. You just need a good pair of running shoes. Don`t forget to consult your doctor first before you attempt to exercise. Combine with eating 5 to 6 smaller portion of meal a day will definitely help you achieve your weight loss goals.
I agree that counting calories is VERY important, but don’t forget its also the quality of the food too. I was watching a show last night that said there was something called a “TWINKIE DIET!” I kid you not. The point the person on this “diet” was making was to show its not the quality but number of calories…but I still think that can be a big mistake.
You also want to be a HEALTHY person…not just a thin one. Thin people can also have heart problems, and other body problems that can be averted w/ healthy eating and exercise.
Dieting is here to stay, but for goodness sakes people, be smart about it.
I think you don’t have to be a vegetarian about it, you CAN eat meat…you can be healthy with or without meat…just probably wanna stay away from deep fried bacon grease bits…you know what I’m saying.
Great article Thanks
Karen
great tips.. the important is to drinks a lot of water.. the healthy food instead.
Here’s another great tip:
Choose ONE location in your house to eat. It’s great if you can make it your dinner table – how nice is it to actually use it for food rather than a place to throw junk when you get home!
This will help you keep yourself accountable for eating meals when you should, and eliminate unconscious snacking.
I agree with most of what your are saying. I just posted something similar to what you are talking about on my blog.
Here’s part of what I said…
With so many options, its tough to know where to turn for solid fat loss advice. But one things for sure: if you want to lose weight, its vital that you keep your diet in check. Eating excessive food, especially simple sugars and saturated fats, is bound to keep the weight on.
Thanks for the great information. I’ve always heard and read that it’s generally better for the digestive system and for weight loss to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals throughout the day rather than 3 large/regular size meals. In conjunction with this, even moderate exercise such as walking for 30 minutes per day can go a long way in accelerating the weight loss. Good luck to all!
Good information it is always good to drink lots of water and eat meals at home then eating out you never know what its made out of.
thanks for the article.
I’m a big supporter of Step 1-3.
Diet pills are like a get rich quick scheme, it works temporarily but long term it’s unsustainable.
If we want to lose weight we have to understand that there is no magic cure in pills or creams that will make it simpler for us to do. We have to get our rear ends of the crouch and move it and put down the fork {preferably before the fourth or fifth course comes our way.} We need to combine a sensible diet with exercise and try to maintain a good balance between the two.
All the best in health to you all
You did hit the nail on its head! These techniques are very motivating because it gives you a positive result which is to lose weight. What I really like is the Exercise, its a natural way and always grants you good health.
Good post exploring some potential weight loss tips. I wonder how many people drink 6-8 glasses of water every day.
It is important to remember that weight loss pills (tip no. 4) are only to assist you in achieving your weight loss goals. A common mistake that a lot of people make is over reliance on fatburners. Unfortunately, the truth is that even if you take the most powerful diet pill in the world, you wont lose weight unless you are able to create a calorie deficit either through diet or exercise or both.
I think drinking the water is the key to losing. It is hard to do until you get used to it, but it will make you eat less and keep a lot of poisons flushed out of your system.
Losing weight is challenging, and there will be many times when all you want to do is quit. The key is to stay motivated, be patient and remember to persevere.
Indeed losing weight is a multi-dimensional process but taking pills wouldn’t be in my plan from the start. Rather i would follow for a short period a tough diet and then follow with steps described under number two of this post.
Eating fruit when craving for sugar is an excellent en healthy swap to make, but getting enough calories out of the fruit to get sufficient energy isnt easy and can be time consuming. That’s why I drink my fruit smoothies, they are easy and quik to make and contain lots of fruit.
Nice information. Keep up the great work. Drinking water is the key in losing weight, cut Soda, etc.
Losing weight is kind of difficult. The best thing to do is to always drink water and do some exercises every morning.