subject: Ten Tips to Help You Lose Weight [print this page] Ten Tips to Help You Lose Weight Ten Tips to Help You Lose Weight
In this day and age of fast foods and long hours of work it really is no wonder that we as a population are gaining in size. Or; is that just an excuse? Most if not all fitness experts would say," it's just an excuse and a pretty pitiful one at that". But isn't that the way it goes; no time, working long hours, no time to cook, restaurants on the way home, what's the point of cooking for only two, not enough hours in the day, healthy eating's too hard, no time to stop at the grocery store and then think about cooking, too tired to think about cooking, too tired to think, have to get home and watch favourite TV program, to tired to exercise, no time to exercise, and the list goes on and on. But you've decided you need to lose weight and you want to lose weight fast, here are some tips to help.
1. Take Responsibility and Take Control.
Ok so you've decided you either need to lose weight or want to lose weight, how serious are you about it, step no: 1 is to take responsibility for how much you weigh now without any excuses, it's happened you're here and now you're on the road to a fitter healthier you, take control of that road, losing weight is no easy feat, it's easy to think about doing but the discipline involved in changing your eating habits and lifestyle may not be so easy.
2. Plan Your Meals
Plan your meals in advance the day before, if you can plan a week's worth of meals even better. And if you can, try planning 5 or 6 smaller meals, rather than 3 big ones. Eating smaller and more frequently can help raise your metabolism and thereby help you lose weight fast.
3. Clean Out the Cupboards.
What better way of starting, than by cleaning out the pantry and fridge, once you've committed yourself to this change of lifestyle remove the temptations and start afresh. Stock up with healthy eating options and snacks.
4. Water, Water, Water.
Water refuels our bodies, helps us to feel full, especially if drunk before a meal and helps keep our organs functioning the way they should, flushing out toxins and helping with elimination.
5. Set Yourself Some Goals.
Yes you want to lose weight fast, but in order to keep that weight off permanently you probably also need to change your lifestyle and eating habits. Perhaps you have already been on a diet plan and it didn't work out, setting goals could be the difference between success and another failure. Set yourself short and long term goals. You can lose weight fast, but it's definitely not advisable and the results can be detrimental to your health. Unfortunately there is no miracle quick fix; wouldn't it be great if there was?
6. Your Mindset.
There are so many different circumstances that can affect us and what we do, emotional, psychological, social influences, cultural influences, these can all have an impact on how and what you eat. You do have to have a plan in place that you can stick too once you start, something that you have made for yourself and that you will be comfortable changing slightly if the need arises, as in a plateau and needing to change exercise routines and times. Support from family and friends can also be beneficial as they can help keep you motivated. Be sure before you start that you are in a good state of mind and that you are committed to succeeding, read books, use affirmations, and place things around the house that will help you stay motivated when things get a little rough. You could also think about losing weight differently, rather than losing it think of it as being released, that way you won't be looking for it again later on.
7. Don't Starve Yourself.
Not eating properly may help you lose weight fast in the short term but can cause problems and will not be to your advantage in the long term. Our bodies have many triggers and not eating properly can cause that trigger to slow down our metabolisms and stop us from burning too much fat. A slower metabolism means that when we do actually eat a proper meal our body perceives it as a chance to store energy, over time this means a gain in weight which is even harder to shift.
8. Do What Works For You!
Everybody is different, with different needs etc. You need to find out what works for you and base your goals and your plans around that, some people count calories and that works for them but maybe you don't need to do that. The better it fits the more likely you are to succeed, even when you hit the rough patches.
9. Always Eat Breakfast.
For some reason or other people always tend to skip breakfast thinking it doesn't matter and they can make up for it later on in the day, but when you are wanting to lose weight this is the worst thing you can do. Your body goes into resting mode overnight and uses very little energy, to get your body up and running again it needs more fuel. You will also keep your metabolism working efficiently. Eating breakfast can also stop those mid-morning cravings when you just grab something from the vending machine which is usually filled with fatty or sugary foods.
10. Exercise.
Unfortunately there is no way around it, we do need to exercise. If you look back 40 or 50 years ago there was no obesity epidemic. Why? Because people had jobs that were more physical, technology hadn't found its way into homes, children spent more time outside running around and families played together, whether it be a game of soccer or baseball, there was more emphasis on family outings and doing physical activity than nowadays, and I bet they didn't even realise how much good they were doing for themselves and their bodies. So back to nowadays and our sedentary lifestyle, we don't move enough and if you seriously want to lose weight, or release it then you need to look at all the different ways you can get some physical activity. Again knowledge is power so do some reading, go down to the local gym and see what they have going, talk to people, take yourself for a walk, personally I think as long as you can get yourself on your feet and moving then you're heading in the right direction, you can always increase or change, move forward as time goes by to suit, but for now Just get up and get moving.
