Losing weight can be a difficult process, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. After trying a number of different programs, books and videos to lose weight, sooner or later you’ll decide to find your own ways to keep the weight off. Here are some tips you can implement in your daily life to keep your weight down.
To help yourself eat less and lose weight, invest in some smaller dinner plates. Smaller plates will trick your brain into thinking that you’ve eaten an entire meal, when in fact you’ve reduced your portion size by a third or more. You can even order food at a restaurant to come on a salad plate.
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially if you want to lose weight. When you wake up early and eat a full breakfast you allow your digestive system to wake up and start metabolizing food. This lets your body burn calories from the beginning of the day rather than from lunchtime onward.
Be sure to eat all your meals when you are working on weight loss. When you skip meals, you will be so hungry by the time you do eat that you may make poor food choices and overeat. Perhaps you think skipping meals will help you lose weight: it will actually be counter-productive.
If you want to lose weight, come up with a goal and tell everyone. Tell your friends, your family, your coworker, post it on online social networking and microblogging services, etc. The more people you tell, the more motivated you’ll be. People naturally hate looking like fools, and if you don’t lose the weight like you say you’re going to, you’ll look like a fool. This will help keep you motivated even when things get tough.
Avoid all fried foods! All fried foods contain calories derived from the oil in which they were made. This adds needless calories to your diet along with no extra nutrients. French fries, for example, contain more calories from the oil they were made in than the potatoes they actually are.
When your trying to lose weight it’s a great idea to pack your snacks. It can be difficult when you’re on the go to make good food choices. Always having a healthy snack handy will keep you away from those unhealthy vending machines and fast food restaurants. Having something on hand will keep you on the right track.
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.
If you are trying to lose weight, use the Internet! Sure, you can learn about diets online but it’s even better if you join an online weight-loss community or forum. Diet forums can help you stay motivated and offer you the opportunity to help others by sharing your own experiences. There’s an online community for nearly every diet.
Use cinnamon instead of sugar. Fruits can get a little boring after a while. Before you give in and go after a more sugary dessert, give cinnamon a try. Put a little cinnamon on your fruit before eating it. It changes things up a bit and is a delicious alternative to sugar.
Instead of trying to achieve an ideal weight, set your goals for an ideal clothing size. Toss the scale out the window. Weight can fluctuate daily and vary from one person to the next. Everyone has a different ideal weight, so trying for one weight can be sily sometimes. Instead, concentrate on a clothing size you wish you could fit in.
Eating breakfast is one of the most important parts of losing weight. When you eat breakfast, you have a much better chance at losing and maintaining any weight loss. Starting your day off right sets up a positive attitude and helps you make helpful choices for the rest of the day.
Turn your ordinary activities into opportunities to exercise when you’re attempting to shed body fat. When brushing your teeth or taking a shower, do a few squats. When letting the dog outside, run around the yard and play a bit. You can even hit the floor for 20 push-ups while you’re waiting for your food to cook.
Don’t jeopardize your weight loss program by needlessly comparing yourself to others, be they fellow gym-goers, friends, supermodels or classmates. When it comes to losing weight, no two people are exactly alike. Comparing your own measurements and successes to those of other people, is like comparing apples to oranges. It is not rational and often ends in discouragement.
In order to lose optimum weight, it is important to include exercise in your daily routine. You can lose weight by just watching what you eat, but incorporating exercise into your daily routine helps keep the body metabolism high and results in burning off more calories. There are no rules about what type of exercise you should do; however, if you choose an exercise that you enjoy, you will tend to do it more often.
These tips will help you kickstart your weight loss. See which ones suit you and your lifestyle, and never stop looking for ways to keep yourself slim. Once you find the information that works best for you, you’ll find that losing weight doesn’t have to be that hard at all.
