Follow the Right Diet
A quick Google search on ways to lose weight will give you plenty of ‘miracle’ diets that guarantee weight loss in weeks if not days. Some diets advise cutting back on caloric intake drastically while others claim that eating only one meal a day is the key to weight loss. Any diet that claims to help people lose a lot of weight in a short period of time is an unhealthy diet. This does not mean that all diets are bad. You should aim at losing not more than 1-2 pounds of weight per week. The HCG diet is a diet plan that could help you achieve this. There are many other ways How the HCG Diet is better than Fad Diets.
Drink Plenty of Water
60% of an adult’s body is water. This makes it clear how important it is to drink sufficient water. Depriving your body of water can cause dehydration. This can, in turn, keep nutrients from being evenly distributed in the body. Dehydration can also make one feel hungrier than normal. This can lead to unhealthy snacking between meals and overeating. Thus drinking more water through the day can curb hunger. Water also fills up the stomach and thus helps control portion sizes. Last but not the least, drinking water helps burn more calories. This is known as resting energy expenditure. Ideally, an adult must drink 8-10 liters of water a day. However, water cannot take the place of a healthy meal.
Exercise Regularly
There are two types of weight loss; losing fat and losing muscle. The latter is undesirable. To ensure that you lose only fat from your body, you must exercise regularly. This will convert fat into muscle to give you a leaner appearance and keep your body fit. Exercising does not mean that you have to join a gym. It can be as simple as beginning your day with a long walk, joining dance classes, swimming or cycling. It is important to pick an activity you enjoy so that you are less tempted to skip an exercise session. Working out along with a friend can also help. On days when you cannot fit in a workout, find other ways to exercise such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
Cut Back on Stress
Stress not only affects your mental health but also has a visible effect on your waistline. Chronic stress can make you feel hungrier and make you overeat. When the body is stressed, a hormone called cortisol is released. This increases the insulin levels in the blood making the body crave fatty, sugary foods. Thus even if you are trying to eat healthily, you are more likely to reach out for a cookie instead of fruit. So, if you want to lose weight, cut back on stress. Identify elements that trigger stress and do your best to avoid them. Meditation and yoga can also help deal with stress.
Quit Added Sugar
We eat sugar in a number of ways without even realizing it. You add it to your morning cup of tea, bread contains sugar and most desserts are laden with sugar. Some foods like fruits contain sugar as well. However, this is not the same as the processed sugar we use in our kitchens. Processed sugar has a high calorific value but does not provide any nutrition. For this reason, calories in sugar are also known as empty calories. While it is not possible to quit sugar completely, you must make an effort to stop adding sugar to your food. This means, not adding sugar to tea and coffee, substituting processed fruit drinks for fresh fruit juices, making healthier dessert choices etc.
Get Enough Sleep
Not getting adequate sleep has a number of effects on our bodies. Not getting enough sleep can make you wake up feeling tired and make it harder for you to exercise. It can also dull the activity center of your brain which makes you take unhealthy decisions. For example, when you’re sleepy, it’s more difficult to turn down a second helping of dessert. Sleep deprivation can also increase portion sizes and increase cravings for comfort foods that have high carbohydrate content. One of the factors that are instrumental in getting enough sleep is to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Also, avoid looking into phone screens and televisions just before going to bed.
Think Positive
Having the right attitude can also influence your weight loss efforts. Positive thoughts are empowering while negative thoughts can make losing weight harder than it actually is. This is because negativity can make you feel powerless and in turn make it easy to go off your diet, skip exercising and eat unhealthy foods. On the other hand, a positive attitude can boost your motivation and energy. Thus, try focusing less on what you’re doing wrong and focus more on what you’re getting right. For example, if you cheat on your diet, don’t stop your diet completely but acknowledge what you did wrong and exercise a little extra to burn those additional calories. Set manageable goals for yourself that are easier to attain and that can make you feel successful.
When you lose weight in a healthy way, the fat is more likely to stay off. You will also find yourself having more energy in the day and a will to do more. This makes you work more efficiently and you might even see your work getting recognized more.
