When you are ready to lose weight you will need two things: dedication and an understanding of what will work for you. Any large changes to your lifestyle will cost you time, money, and create a lot of stress, so be ready if you decide to take this route. If you decide you can’t handle it, you can still see great results by making small changes over time. Below are tips and ideas to help you find the weight loss lifestyle that will work for you.
To assist you with losing weight you should join an online weight loss community. Here, you will gain the support of a number of people with different backgrounds. You may come across methods of weight loss that you have never discovered previously that work for you. This is especially helpful if you do not have anyone local to support you.
If your having trouble sticking to your diet, give yourself a day off once a week. When you start feeling deprived, you may find your resolve slipping. Relieve that pressure by planning a “free” day once a week. This will help you to stick to your plan on the other days, and you will likely find that you do not overeat as much as you think you will on your day off.
Pack your lunch for work or school. Do not give in to the temptation to pick something up from the fast food joint down the street or your school’s cafeteria. Instead, pack your own lunch. This way you can control your portions. You can also be sure that what you are eating is healthy for you.
One effective way to drop extra weight is to drink milk before each meal. Milk will make you feel full, and drinking it right before you eat will help you to not eat so much at one sitting. Also, milk has a lot of calcium, which builds muscles and keeps bones strong.
Rewarding yourself when you meet goals will help you to stay motivated when trying to lose weight. If you endure 60 minutes on the treadmill or exercise bike, treat yourself to something nice afterwards. Perhaps buy yourself some new clothes, take a trip to the movie theater or have a night out with friends.
Ignore the temptation of others around you. If you are at a birthday party and someone keeps telling you to eat a small slice, tell them “no, thanks”. It’s hard when people know that you’re trying to lose weight, but you must be firm. If they keep hassling you about this, then avoid being around them if you are able to.
Even if you’re in a fast-food restaurant, and are stuck with choices like greasy burgers, you can still take small steps to ensure you are taking in fewer calories. Order a large cheeseburger, take off the bun and cheese, and eat the patty. Dropping the cheese and bun will take a couple hundred calories off the 513-calorie total, and since the beef patty is all protein and fat (no carbs), you’ll be no less full than if you had eaten the bun.
Try using ginger in your diet. When you consume ginger, either as a spice in food or as a simple drink of ginger tea, it has a positive effect on your digestive system. It increases enzyme activity in your stomach, causing you to break down food more quickly and increasing your metabolism. An increased metabolism makes it easier to lose weight. Ginger can also lower cholesterol levels and help to keep you heart healthy.
Stop making excuses to avoid working out. If you really are busy, set up a schedule where you can exercise sometime during the week and stick to it. Even 10 minutes is better than nothing at all. You should see that this won’t interfere with your schedule and that you can keep your productivity levels exactly the same.
Every dieter under the sun has heard about portion control and how that supposedly helps you lose weight, but the portion size of your meal isn’t nearly as important as the time in which it takes you to eat it. Slow down when you’re eating and give your body time to feel full. Your body releases hormones that tell the brain to stop eating, but they aren’t released when you woof the food down.
By eating small portions on a regular schedule, you train your body’s metabolism and avoid overloading it with huge infusions of calories all at once. People who try to limit themselves to one or two meals per day often over-eat during those meals, since they are hungry from starving themselves. Create a normal schedule for meals and follow it.
In the end, listen to your body. Pushing yourself too hard is a road to failure, but giving up on your commitment will also get you nowhere. Find what’s right for you and stick to it and you’ll thank yourself in the end. There’s no downside to living a fuller, more energetic life.
