Diet, exercise, eat this; not that. Weight loss and all of its rules can get tiresome. Here are 50 tips that will help you cut the fat, and keep the weight off - easily.
1. Cut everything in half
Restaurant dishes can exceed the reported calorie information by nearly 200 percent. Top that with meals that can be five times a suggested serving. Don’t even bother asking for the calories in a dish, waiters aren’t allowed to tell you.
2. Don’t hold it in
Getting rid of it won’t lose any fat, but “going” will help you to lose weight that is pure waste (25% of it is waste, 75% is water). Evidence also suggests that a healthy gut will maintain a healthy weight. Besides, holding it in can cause complications which can lead to diseases, not to mention irritability.
3. Skip The Biggest Loser
Losing weight is a challenge. Promoting a challenge as painful, embarrassing and downright laborious, using often insurmountable techniques, can not only discourage, but present the already tough task of exercise and diet in an even more provocative arena. Obese people already have it hard, don’t exemplify someone else.
4. Snack
“When you’re famished, your blood sugar is low and your defenses are down, so you don't necessarily make the best choices,” said Keri Glassman, R.D., author of The Snack Factor Diet. Choose healthy snacks. The Surprising Truth: Five Junk Foods Disguised as Healthy Snacks.
5. Avoid diet sodas
According to Men’s Health “emerging research suggests that consuming sugary-tasting beverages–even if they’re artificially sweetened–may lead to a high preference for sweetness overall. That means sweeter (and more caloric) cereal, bread, dessert–everything.” Think “diet” soda is better than regular soda? Aspartame (aka NutraSweet®) could destroy neurons which may lead to memory loss.
6. Take a naked picture of yourself
The only way to truly see what shape you’re in (or are) is to see what’s going on everywhere. Don’t let your lover tell you, know how you look naked and avoid getting a blunt kick in the ass when you’re secretly hoping for a pat on the back. Who you send that naked picture to, is however, entirely your own discretion.
7. Listen to Eve, eat an apple
Low in calories and high in fiber, apples will fill you up. Enzymes in apples also help us to more efficiently digest food. Apples are one of the few fruits you can eat at any time of the day without experiencing bloat. And no, apple juice is not a substitute.
8. Stand around
Evidence has shown that you burn more calories just by standing and now, new research has claimed that sitting for extending periods is “insidious” and can be as risky as smoking.
9. Caution: one size does not fit all
There is no “one size fits all” when it comes to exercise. “People assume if you lose less than the predicted weight then you aren't exercising enough,” says Dr. Neil King a behavioral scientist. The same amount of exercise as someone else, may very well lead to different results, causing a “compensatory response,” such as increased hunger.
10. Go without your daily bread
Unless it is truly whole wheat, i.e.: whole grain vs. refined grains, then you should just avoid it. White flour is bleached and is purely empty calories. Skip the bread (basket), substitute with a sweet potato, soup or quinoa.
11. Supplement(s) with caution
“Healthy eating, not supplements, is the best way to keep the good bacteria in your gut healthy,” says Gail Cresci, Medical College of Georgia dietitian and researcher in Science Daily. Research shows that a healthy gut equals a healthy waist. Dr. Cresci recommends daily fiber from fiber-rich foods like whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables instead of supplements.
12. Find your diamond in the roughage
“Fiber makes us feel full sooner and stays in our stomach longer than other substances we eat, slowing down our rate of digestion and keeping us feeling full longer,” advises the Calories Per Hour website. Fiber is also a natural colon cleanser. Eat more fiber.
13. Eat before eating out
Sit in a restaurant hungry and you’re going to order more food than you can (or should) eat, and end up devouring the bread basket before any of it arrives. Save your waistline and your wallet, eat a light snack before meeting up for dinner.
14. Don’t top off
The more you drink is the more you snack without realizing it. Give yourself a limit before you start. Also, even moderate alcohol consumption can and will, not only make you fat, but is bad for you.
15. Walk don’t run
If you’ve never ran, hitting the treadmill is going to wreck havoc on you; your joints, internal organs, stamina and state-of-mind. When you run, your body makes contact with the ground with two and a half times your body weight. Ouch. Walk it off. As a fatty, I would walk the treadmill for an hour, everyday -- for three months. See: “Fat to Fit”
16. Believe in yourself
“The biggest failure is never having the courage to start something,” says Marta Montenegro, editor-in-chief of SOBeFiT Magazine. “At times you’ll feel tired, you’ll feel the pain, you’ll want to quit, you’ll see who’s prepared and who’s given up. But amid all that, you’re still running your own race. You just have to stay focused.”
17. Eat green veggies
Sure vegetables are low in fat, provide fiber and energy but did you know green vegetables like spinach, broccoli and Brussels Sprouts actually help to speed up weight loss? Eat at least three servings a day, or if you have no time, try Garden of Life’s Food for Life.
18. Learn to wait
Losing weight -- and keeping it off -- takes time. You are changing habits and this requires a shift in a mindset. Without patience, you set yourself up for disappointment, with unrealistic goals and quick-fix methods.
19. Cook with olive oil instead of butter
Our bodies need fat and good quality olive oil provide the essential monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) that lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and increases the good cholesterol (HDL).
20. Watch your sodium Sodium is a preservative and will make you feel bloated and fat. It also gives you gas. Watch for low-to-no-fat foods; they are typically high in sodium. Especially pre-packaged foods served at supermarkets. A crowd killer.
21. Use your teeth (chew)
Contrary to popular belief, digestion begins in the mouth. Saliva contains enzymes that help process and break-down food. Specific enzymes, under the tongue contribute to the first stage in the process of breaking down fat.
22. Don’t eat your kids’ pizza
Bet you didn’t know restaurants sprinkle sugar on kids pizza so they taste “yum mum!” You betcha!
23. Join a gym -- and go
The first step is always the most difficult but unless you take it, it will remain the first step. The act of going to the gym can literally change your life. Not only will you lose weight by having a dedicated place to exercise, you will meet people. Hey, if you don’t go, you will never know.
24. Drink a glass of water as soon as you wake
Your body has just completed a six to eight hour fast and is dehydrated, and if you’re not hungry when you wake up, chances are, this is why. Water will flush the toxins (waste) from the previous day and re-hydrate you. Try AquaHydrate; ask them to send you a free sample.
25. Wake up 15 minutes earlier
Give yourself a reason the night before to wake up early and stick to it. Getting up early also makes you more productive. Ignore the “another 10 minutes” temptation and cease the day. 15 minutes may also be enough time to prepare and eat breakfast.
26. Eat breakfast
Break your six-to-eight hour fast. According to WebMD, “Eating early in the day keeps us from ‘starvation eating’ later on.” Milton Stokes, RD, MPH and chief dietitian for St. Barnabas Hospital in New York City cautions that “breakfast skippers replace calories during the day with mindless nibbling, bingeing at lunch and dinner.”
27. Make a realistic promise
Essentially, a guarantee with yourself that you will lose five pounds by a specific period of time -- be realistic. When you keep a promise with yourself, it makes it easier to rely on yourself.
28. KMS - Keep Mouth Shut
It’s best to keep your weight loss intentions private. Unless you belong to a support group like Weight Watchers, misery generally loves company. Follow yourself.
29. Know the difference between a calorie and a calorie-from-fat
?Food contains calories and calories are found in protein, carbohydrates and fat. One gram of fat contains nine calories. A good measure is 10 - 40 grams of fat (90 - 360 fat calories) a day. Those numbers are especially for people who do NOT exercise.
30. Work your back
If your back hurts when you work your abs, chances are you’re not working this often neglected, opposing muscle (See #7 in 10 Fitness Habits You Never Knew Were Bad). A weak lower back will impede your workout and weight loss.
31. Stop looking for your abs
Everyone has abs, getting them to show requires near zero body fat. Don’t expect six pack abs if you still have weight to lose. Abs are generally the last muscle to show following weight loss. Abs are also 90% diet.
32. Have more -- and expect more -- sex
“Thirty minutes of sex burns 85 calories or more,” this according to WebMD. And it gets better (the calories burned, and if you’re lucky, the sex, too): “42 half-hour sessions will burn 3,570 calories, more than enough to lose a pound.” And the more sex you have, the better you feel about yourself (hopefully).
33. Buy a new outfit
Until you experience the “happy dilemma” of having nothing to wear because everything is too big, buy yourself an outfit that you aim to fit into -- like swim wear. “Clothes can be a barometer of how you feel, as well as how much you weigh, says Madelyn Fernstrom, PhD, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's Weight Management Center
34. Eat Greek yogurt
Not all yogurts will help you to lose weight, as a matter of fact, some will make you fat. The best yogurts, not only taste tart, they’re loaded with protein and are low(er) in fat. Eat these.
35. Learn to dance like they did in Slumdog Millionaire
Look sexy while you sweat. Bollywood dance is a fantastic, colorful, alternative to cardio. This choreographed Bhangra style dance will burn anywhere from 500 - 1200 calories. Try Sarina Jain’s Masala Bhangra Workout®.
36. Take flax oil
Flax is ideal for an internal cleanse. Not only does it gradually rid the body of toxins, it helps with increased weight loss and an improved overall digestive health. See my “2-Rule: Lose 20 Pounds in 2 Months”
37. Cheating is okay
Tame that tiger inside and indulge your sweet tooth every once-in-a-while. If you’ve worked hard all week, there is no harm in indulging. But remember tip #19!
38. Take a cold shower
Although some call this a myth, what’s debatable is the amount of calories burnt. Regardless, taking a cold shower causes the body to generate heat which in turn, will burn calories. Try a cold shower immediately before hitting the steam or sauna.
39. Take the stairs
An entire cardio routine is centered around stairs. The sport itself is grueling, in fact 30 minutes of cardio is cut in half and provides the same results. Remember that scene in Rocky?
40. Say no to muffins
Can you say cake? That’s a muffin. A Starbucks Low Fat Blueberry Muffin has 540mg of sodium and 33% carbohydrates. Of the whopping 430 calories, 23 are fat calories. Eat these Starbucks snacks instead.
41. Dunkin’ Donuts coffee tastes good because of the cream
Half the calories from this ubiquitous chain are fat, half of which is saturated. Switch to black coffee, brewed with superior beans, sweetened with honey. It tastes delicious. FYI: Beware of milk at restaurants, very few will carry every, single variety: whole, two percent and skim.
42. Try a detox
Dr. Cheryle Hart, an obstetrician /gynecologist and author of The Feel Good Diet, A Weight-Loss Plan to Stop Yo-yo Dieting, recommends a detox as an effective way to remove “metabolic garbage.” Studies show that a detox helps to lose weight more effectively.
43. Limit protein bars
Protein bars are packed with sugar and hundreds of calories, some worse than a candy bar. A Balance Gold Chewy Chocolate Chip bar has 210 calories, 63 of which are fat calories. Protein bars are best suited as meal replacements during hunger emergencies and should not be part of your daily diet. Here are some natural meal replacement energy bars on BestCovery.com
44. Don’t keep cakes, cookies and pies in the house
You will eat them, sometimes the entire thing. Out of sight is out of mind. If you’re craving sweets after a meal, chew gum or eat raisins.
45. Substitute your love
Instead of white rice, ask for brown rice; regular potatoes for veggies; fries for soup (except gumbo, which is often restaurant leftovers). And beware of the persuasive restaurant “how-about-a-side-of...” side dishes. Studies show consumers tend to be “conformists” when dining out.
46. “Clean-Up. Aisle Seven”
Supermarkets are mine fields, with the most danger centered around the center aisles; all of the high-fat, high-calorie junk foods -- and the soda. If you shop the perimeter, you’re more likely to buy only what you need saving money and your waistline. Some tips for avoiding the supermarket minefield.
47. BOGO Alert: Watch out for supermarket specials
Those “Buy One Get One” five for $10 deals are meant to make you buy more -- like four more. And guess what? You’re going to eat all five. On the flip side, studies have shown that 10 to 15 percent of the items you buy at the supermarket, you never use. Save your money and your tummy; buy only what you need.
48. Know what’s in your smoothie
Especially at restaurants. Think half and half is just for coffee? This concoction makes creamy things creamier and a lot of restaurants have been known to mix this creamer in your “healthy” smoothie.
49. Practice the plate push-away
“Before you eat too much, push your plate away,” advises Men’s Health features editor Adam Campbell. “You can drink a 1,100 calorie milkshake in about three minutes, but it’d take more than an hour of intense exercise to burn off those calories.”
50. Love yourself
Don’t punish yourself with unrealistic expectations. Decide why you want to lose weight and be honest. Losing weight has become so engrained in our society, that we see it as mandatory. If you’re happy with who you are and how you look, then you’re way ahead of the game.
Source : www.examiner.com
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