Millions of people worldwide break their banks to spend on different products and services for weight loss. However, the sad thing is that most of them do not realize that these are shortcut mechanisms that do not bring the desired results.
It all comes down to your lifestyle. The fundamental strategy for losing weight is burning more calories than you eat. This does not come as easy as it sounds. It would be best if you put in a lot of work and commitment to achieve the goal.
In case you’re stuck and looking for better ways to lose weight, here are the top seven best tips
1. Eat Healthy Foods Rich in Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables have always been associated with a healthy lifestyle. Using plenty of fruits and vegetables in your diet helps a long way in maintaining and reducing your weight and preventing you from some dangerous chronic diseases and some types of cancer.
To cut down the number of calories in your diet, use fruits and vegetables during:
a) Breakfast
 Instead of the eggs and cheese in your morning omelet, eat spinach, onions, and mushrooms to help in addition to more flavor and color to the dish.
Also, fruits such as bananas, strawberries, and peaches can help you cut down on the number of cereals consumed hence calories in your body.
b) Lunch
Eating a balanced diet comprising vegetables, a lean protein source, and other healthy foods will help you avoid weight loss.
As much as this could be hard, especially if you are at work or on the go, plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, are full of fiber and beneficial nutrients. Many of them are lower in calories than certain animal products and highly processed foods.
c) Dinner
According to the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, taking a late dinner is associated with weight gain, regardless of the calories.
Nevertheless, it’s important to stick to healthy foods. The goal of this diet is to ensure that your meals consist of at least half (50 percent) of your food made up of fruits and vegetables. Also, aim for 25 percent proteins and 25 percent whole grains.
While at it, it is important to remember to eliminate trans fats from your diet. Minimize the consumption of saturated fats; they are associated with incidences of cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease.
Substitute these harmful fats with monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The two are unsaturated fats, and they are healthy.
The kinds of foods you should consume should include whole grains, such as brown rice and oatmeal, fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
2. Drinking Plenty of Water
Various studies show that taking a lot of water aids in weight loss and body maintenance since hydration is a critical factor that plays a role in digestion and muscle function.
According to a 2014 study, drinking cold water enhances water’s calorie-burning benefits because the body expends energy, or calories, by heating the water for digestion.
Most people ignore the fact that it is easy to accumulate liquid calories by drinking soda, juice, or sweetened coffee or tea.
Medical News Today journal indicates that replacing even a few high-calorie drinks each day with water may have long-term weight loss benefits.
3. Maintain Regular Physical Activity and Exercise
Maintaining regular exercise coupled with a healthy diet is a sure mechanism for achieving your weight loss goal.
According to Healthline research, exercise lowers the amount of cholesterol and increases metabolism, or how many calories you burn in a day.
Therefore, physical activities such as yoga, taking a walk, jogging, running, or cycling are among the best exercises for weight loss.
4. Fiber is Good for Weight Loss
Have you ever wondered about the exact amount of fiber needed in your body? A study by the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that eating 30 grams of fiber each day can help you lose weight, reduce your blood pressure, and increase your body’s response to insulin.
Including a high-fiber cereal or oatmeal with berries is a great way to start your morning; some nuts such as almonds, peanuts, walnuts, or pecans cannot be that bad for lunch.
A variety of vegetables, pumpkins, sunflower seeds, dried fruit (prunes, raisins), popcorn, and bean dips are also another excellent opportunity for cyber at dinner. Your total fiber intake should constitute approximately 25–30 grams (g) every day.
5. Avoid Junk Foods
Yes, I know how this sounds; with junk food all over it, it might be so tempting and very difficult to cut down.
But the bottom line is that these junks are unhealthy and can cause a gain in weight and increase your risk of chronic health problems.
You need dense food that supplies vitamins and minerals to your body, which cannot be provided by junk food with too much saturated fat, sodium, and sugar.
According to one healthy eating research, eliminating junk food from your diet is a simple way to reduce your caloric intake so you can burn more calories than you consume.
It’s obvious then that when you burn more calories than you eat, you’ll start to shed excess weight.
If you must have fast food, however, here are a few options to try:
- Grilled Market Salad – The grilled market salad consists of fresh fruits, nuts, vegetables, and lean protein, making it one of the most nutritionally balanced options. This can be the best pick for your lunch or dinner.
- Salad Bowl – Yes, salad bows sound just like the perfect catch. It consists of a mixture of several ingredients like vegetables and fruits and carbohydrates or protein, usually arranged in a bowl. It is typically served as a light meal.
- Grilled Nuggets – This is one of the very most popular fast food globally and consists of chicken meat that is battered or without borne, then baked or deep-fried. This menu item has 140 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, and 25 grams of protein. With these, it becomes lighter and healthier than fried nuggets, with almost three times less fat.
- Chipotle Steak Salad – This is a steak salad that comprises more greens, brown rice, steak, and fresh tomato salsa.
- Oatmeal Cookies – This is a type of whole grain food made from dough and raisins, making them high in fibers and mineral salts like iron and calcium. The ones with nuts are especially rich in vitamins and proteins as well.
- Zucchini Bread – This can serve well in place of doughnuts since they consist majorly of vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and potassium. To ensure you don’t consume a lot of oil, order recipes that include Buttermilk or yogurt.
- Fresh Fruit Juice – These are excellent alternatives to carbonated drinks such as soda that most people consume daily. You can order fresh juice made from any fruit of your choice. Of course, this is very rich in vitamins.
- Candy Apples – They are coated with caramel and are more nutritious than plain old candy. They also help in supplying vitamins to the body.
Nevertheless, it would be wise to avoid consuming lots of junk and processed foods. Avoid foods with added oils, butter, and sugar; fatty red or processed meats; most baked goods; white bread and bagels, to name a few.
6. Avoid Alcohol
The intake of alcohol is a direct contributing factor to your weight gain, loss, and your overall health.
Consuming alcohol denies one the chance of making appropriate and healthy diet choices, thus consuming more calories from eating a combination of alcoholic beverages and foods high in unhealthy fats and added sugars.
Because continuous take of alcohol slows down the metabolic process in the body, with time, this might cause rapid weight gain.
7. Get Enough Sleep
According to Sleep Foundation, lack of sleep interferes with the neurotransmitters such as ghrelin and leptin, which are central to our appetite.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 35 percent of adults sleep fewer than 7 hours most nights, which is a short sleep and not a good sign for weight loss.
Various research shows that short sleep is linked to adverse effects of hunger levels that influence a person to consume more calories from high-fat and sugar foods.
If you’re working tirelessly with a healthy diet and not soaring any desired results, maybe it’s time to examine your sleep habits. Good sleep varies between 7 to 8 hours for adults.
8. Be Optimistic About Your Weight Loss Goals
Weight loss is a complex process. Your body will always fight back, making it a painful, frustrating, and challenging journey.
There are days when you will want to give up, especially when you know you have done your best, and no pounds are dropping off.
It is easy to give up, but that is not the goal – to get in shape, to achieve that toned body, or to remain healthy, you need to persevere and stay positive. Do not give up when the going gets too harsh.
It is better to reset your goals and gradually build up to the ultimate achievement you desire than to give up. You can alter the total number of calories you aim to consume or change your exercise pattern to better cope with the challenge.
The single most important thing to remember is to keep a positive mind and remain persistent in your weight loss journey. This way, you will overcome the existing and potential barriers to successful weight loss.
The Bottom Line
The path to losing weight is a commitment involving a healthy lifestyle supplemented by exercise. There is no vacation. Although a few cheats are allowed, it is essential to reserve those for special occasions such as a birthday celebration, thanksgiving, or a holiday feast, among a few others.
However, it would help if you remembered not to stray too far and undo everything you have achieved. If you mess up and gain more weight, it will take a different kind of commitment to lose it once more.
You can also achieve your weight loss goals by adopting healthy lifestyle changes in the long term. But regardless of any method you choose, if you are conscious about how and what you eat and engage in physical activity or regular exercise, you will lose and sustain your weight.
