Every person has their own ideas and impressions of what a good, healthy weight-loss plan should be. You may end up so caught up in the flood of available information that you may not know which way to go. Below you will find some sensible weight-loss tips that can help.
In order to help yourself stay focused on your weight loss goals, try setting weekly and monthly short-term goals as well as your final long term goal. This will keep you from getting frustrated and instead help you focus on the progress that you have been making all along.
If you are trying to lose weight, here is a way to fit exercise seamlessly into your daily routine. Just make sure that during every 30-minute period of the day, you get up and walk around for 2 minutes. No matter how busy you are, you can always spare just two minutes. So set a timer if you have to, and get up and move every half hour.
Try new foods. Dieting to lose weight can be more fun if your switch things up a little. There are hundreds of thousands of delicious food combinations out there. A lot of them are surprisingly healthy for you. Try some out while you are dieting to avoid getting bored.
All fats are not bad. You need fat to survive. there are good and bad fats though and knowing which ones to eat and to avoid can help with making better diet choices. Try to avoid or minimize intake of saturated and trans fats. Try to eat more good fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.
Consider setting weight loss goals other than just pounds lost or a certain number on the scale. We can get discourage when we don’t meet the goals we set for ourselves, but sometimes the scale isn’t showing what we want. You can set goals of pants size or waist measurements. You may be in that size 6 long before you see 120 on a scale.
Try not to get discouraged if you can’t notice a difference a few days into a new weight loss diet. Remember, it is very hard to put on a pound overnight, so don’t expect to be able to lose a pound that quickly either. One good way to monitor your weight loss is to take one photograph at the end of every month, then look back through the photos after 6 months.
Eat breakfast every day to help you slim down. In general, people who eat breakfast weigh less than those who do not. Because you have not had anything to eat since before you went to bed, by morning your body has started into a fasting mode. Breakfast (“break” the “fast”), breaks that cycle and keeps your metabolism normalized. If you go another four or more hours without eating, your body begins to enter starvation mode and you are much more likely to overindulge on a high-calorie snack or a huge lunch.
Maintain a good posture and flatten your stomach when sitting. To flatten you belly, you can work out the transversus abdominis. As you breathe, suck in your belly button as much as you possibly can, moving it closer to your spine.
To help your body process fats more efficiently, eat foods that contain niacin-B3. B3 is essential for metabolizing fats, and blocks of fats in the body cannot be synthesized if you have a B3 deficiency. Foods high in niacin-B3 include chicken breast, salmon, and shiitake mushrooms. Other sources of niacin-B3 are peanuts and sun dried tomatoes.
Satisfy your sweet tooth. Sometimes, it is ok to reward yourself for sticking to your diet. Dark chocolate is ideal, as it is full of antioxidants, which increase heart health and reduce high blood pressure. It also contains a lot of fiber, which helps to block fat absorption and gives you a feeling of fullness. While you shouldn’t go overboard, a little dark chocolate now and then is a guilt-free treat.
Whenever you get that gnawing craving for a certain food, grab your phone and call a friend and chat for a bit. Redirecting your mind to something else will help keep you from giving in to that food that your mind is stuck on. Research has revealed that cravings generally last for about 5 minutes. By the time you have hung up from having that chat, your desire to gorge yourself with junk should have passed.
Metabolism is one of the main components that you will need to expedite to lose weight. Green tea is a great facilitator to increase metabolism. Drink a cup of green tea at the start of your day to increase your metabolism and maximize the amount of weight that you can lose.
If you’re still hungry, drink some water and wait a few minutes first. Sometimes your hunger pangs are a result of thirst or boredom. Go for a fifteen minute walk and have a glass of water. If you are still wanting to eat, do so.
If you are looking for a dipping sauce for fruit, you should avoid any caramel sauces or any other sauce that is full of sugar. You can try dipping them in applesauce, sweetened fat-free yogurt, or cottage cheese that has no fat in it. That would save you a load of calories, if you are concerned about your weight.
When you get that after dinner or late night urge for something sweet, try some fruit instead. Slice up a banana and top with a little bit of chocolate sauce and whipped cream. Cut an apple into wedges and dip in a light caramel sauce. You will still tame your sweet tooth but not ruin your diet.
When you follow all of these tips, you will see how easy it can be to turn your life around, and become the lean health machine you were meant to be! Continue to refer to these simple weight-loss ideas going forward, and there is no reason why you can’t achieve success.