Losing weight can be a real challenge if you don’t know how to shed the pounds quickly and effectively. Being overweight isn’t always down to laziness; it is often due to the lack of education on the best foods to eat and how to go about our everyday lifestyle.
Over the last few decades, it’s evident to see that our lifestyle has changed in comparison to older family members, meaning we haven’t got the time to look into what we can do to improve our health; in terms of food and exercise.
The first step is to consider why you might be putting on weight and what you can do about it. Here are 8 ways you can try and lose weight:
1. Don’t skip breakfast
Many people who try and lose weight believe that skipping breakfast is a good way of cutting down the calories. However, this is one of the biggest weight-loss myths. Eating breakfast is the most important meal of the day and will give you the essential nutrients needed to get through the morning. Without breakfast, you may run the risk of snacking on the wrong foods once you start to get hungry.
2. Eat regular meals
Instead of eating three large meals a day, you should instead try to eat little and often, as you’ll feel fuller for longer and the food will burn at a faster rate. You’ll also be less tempted to snack on unhealthy foods while you wait for mealtimes.
3. Set a weight loss target
The amount of weight you wish to lose is completely personal to you, so don’t feel pressured to have to lose as much as others around you. With more people becoming overweight in the current day and age, the obsession around what is deemed to be a ‘healthy’ weight can be completely misinterpreted.
When stepping on the scales, the numerical figure you’re presented with isn’t just calculating the excess fat, it also takes into consideration your muscle mass, bones and organs too – so don’t be too alarmed if you don’t like what you see.
To get a more accurate calculation, you should aim to find your BMI (Body mass index) which measures your weight against your height. From this, you can determine how overweight you are and how much you need to lose.
If you have lots of weight to use, you should start off by aiming to lose 10% of your body weight. This will give you a much more achievable method of shedding the pounds and should also gradually make you feel healthier over time.
4. Drink plenty of water
You may never have realized this, but many people often confuse thirst with hunger. As soon as they feel the sensation, they instantly reach for the snacks when a glass of water can give the same satisfaction. If you start to experience hunger pangs not long after eating, drink plenty of water instead as it will trick your body into thinking it’s full.
5. Get more active
It goes without saying that making sure you incorporate enough daily exercise into your daily routine is essential if you wish to lose any weight. The type of foods you eat alone won’t make much difference without regular exercise, as you need to burn more calories than what you consume to notice any difference.
Aerobic exercise (otherwise known as cardio) is the best form of exercise when it comes to weight loss. Although you won’t build up muscle, you’ll burn off those extra calories that cause you to gain weight in the first place.
If you don’t have much idea on the correct exercise techniques to boost your weight loss regime, you may need the assistance of a personal trainer who can help you reach your target and get you to the weight you’re comfortable with.
It can be easy to neglect what you have learnt from your personal trainer once you’ve reached your desired weight, so one way to stick to your active lifestyle would be to become a personal trainer yourself and equip others with different exercise techniques to get in good shape. Discover how you can become a Level 4 personal trainer.
6. Choose a low-carb diet
If you are serious about losing weight, you need to start avoiding foods that are high in starch and sugar such as the likes of pasta, bread, rice and potatoes. The low-carb diet is now considered one of the oldest diets around and has been proven to be effective for the majority of those who follow it. Studies have shown that this particular diet can burn around 300 calories per day; which would be the same as if you were to endure a 60-minute session of exercise.
When you start to incorporate a low-carb diet into your lifestyle, your body will adjust to eating less and you’ll find you won’t want to eat as much as before. Here are some low-carb recipes you could try out.
7. Cut down on alcohol
Although it’s okay to have a drink with friends every so often, you shouldn’t allow alcohol to become part of your everyday life as it can become a major factor of weight gain. Did you know that a regular-sized glass of wine contains as many calories as a bar of chocolate? If not, you may wish to re-evaluate how much alcohol you consume on a weekly basis and cut down.
8. Don’t give up
Unfortunately, weight loss progress can be a slow process, meaning you may feel as though you want to give up when the going gets tough. The ‘ideal’ weight you have in mind may be more difficult to achieve than you initially imagined but try not to lose sight of the end goal, regardless of how hard it may be. Losing small amounts of weight on a regular basis will eventually start to show results. It also promises better health benefits for the long-term future, so don’t throw in the towel!
