A vital step in weight loss success is understanding portion sizes. Get in the habit of reading the nutrition label before you eat or drink anything. Although the carbs and calories may look fine at first glance, you will often be surprised to find that there are two, three or more servings in that one bag or bottle.
People who are out of shape regularly need tricks to stop them from eating too much. An easy trick you can try is to not eat for two hours before bed time. This will stop you from eating a bunch of extra calories when you wouldn’t get hungry anyway since you are already sleeping.
Diet sodas may seem like a good idea if you are trying to save on calories while dieting. But studies have now shown that people who regularly drink diet soft drinks are more likely to be overweight than their non-diet soda drinking counterparts. Instead opt for fruit juice cut with water or club soda.
Consider dieting and exercising with a friend, or consider joining a weight loss support group. Exercising is much more fun when you have someone else to join you. You will find that losing weight is also easier when you have someone to encourage you and share your weight loss experience.
One great weight loss tip for someone with a busy schedule is to buy bagged, cut up vegetables such as carrots and broccoli. They are easy to grab as a healthy snack on the go or to put into salads for a meal. The best part is that they are fresh and have not been frozen or cooked.
Look for friends to go and exercise with. If you do this, you’ll see exercising as a social opportunity rather than focusing solely on weight loss. Your exercise buddy will encourage you. You’ll be having such a good time while exercising that you will feel motivated to lose more weight.
One way to help yourself lose weight is to prepare your meals ahead of time. You can make a large batch of something that will last you a few days. Think you might want pasta for a few dinners this week? Make the pasta ahead of time and add different fixings for each meal. Doing this will keep you from going to the fast food places, which will greatly hinder your weight loss efforts.
Before you eat all of your meals you should drink a glass or two of water. This will help you to meet your daily requirement of eight glasses of water per day, and it will also make you feel fuller so you will eat a much smaller food portion.
Pay yourself to lose weight. Give yourself added incentive to walk a few minutes longer or push the plate away a little sooner. Put a tip jar on the counter in the kitchen, and put in a dime for every 10 minutes of exercise you do and a dollar for every pound you lose. After three months, use the money you have collected to buy yourself a (non-food) reward.
If five to ten pounds is your weight loss goal, there are many ways you could reach it with only a minor change or two to your lifestyle. If soft drinks are your preferred choice of beverage, switching to ones that are sugar-free could significantly reduce your daily calorie intake. Use mustard or light mayonnaise on your sandwiches without losing any of the flavor. When you go grocery shopping, don’t look for the closest spot to the store, anymore. Park at a distance, and put your legs to work. Take the stairs rather than an escalator or elevator. Jog in place for 15 minutes each night while watching television. Slowly but surely, the weight will drop off, and you may just pick up a few good habits along the way.
Changing your schedule around can make it a lot easier to stay on a diet. For example: Overweight people used to eating three meals a day are obviously snacking in between, so if you change around your schedule and eat smaller meals at closer intervals, you can avoid those junk-food cravings by eating healthier, small meals.
As mentioned above, losing that excess weight can benefit you, both in terms of your health and your appearance, but it won’t be easy. There are things you can do to make it less difficult and to protect yourself as you try, however. With the advice from this article, you should know enough to get started on this life-changing weight loss plan.