I'm always thinking about quick and easy ways to drop ten or fifteen pounds. It seems like those last few pounds are always the hardest to lose! So, I've brainstormed and searched the web for the best dieting tips to help you (and me) shed that extra weight before the weather gets warm. Read on for those great tips and tricks on weight loss!
1. It is a lifestyle, not a diet ...
If you're thinking of weight loss as a one-time, two-week, quick fix, you're going to be battling this up and down cycle forever. You've got to decide that reaching your goal weight and staying there is worth changing the way you live forever, not just for the duration of a diet.
2. Control what goes in your mouth...
Although there are many great diet products and weight loss plans out there, the bottom line is that you've got to eat less than you need. Regardless of whether it comes from carbs, fat, or protein, you've got to cut your calories down to less than what you burn. If you're burning what you don't have, that extra is coming from fat... and isn't that what we're all after? Feel the burn!
3. Increase what you're burning ...
If you're like me, it is really hard to restrict your calories down low enough to lose weight without exercise. So, the best thing to do is to increase how many calories you're burning. So, get off the couch and get moving! Do whatever exercise you find fun... walk, run, dance, take an aerobics class... just get your muscles moving. Or check out 10 Top Exercises to Lose Weight … for exercises that'll help you lose weight faster.
4. Lift weights ...
Aerobic exercise is amazing - it is fun and can really burn some calories. However, if you want to burn calories long-term and tighten your flab, you've got to lift weights. Too few women are into pumping iron, but it can strengthen your body, tighten those weird places (hello, back rolls and arm flab), and increase the amount of calories you burn - even while you sleep!
5. Take a good multivitamin ...
If you're restricting your caloric intake, you might also be restricting your nutritional intake. It is important that you be healthy, not just thin. So, be sure to take a multivitamin each day. My tip is to take it at night... it will give it all night to absorb, and you won't have to deal with upset stomach vitamins sometimes cause.
6. Buy a good scale ...
If you're weighing yourself on an old, unreliable scale, you're less likely to get accurate results. Some old scales can vary by several pounds in just a few moments! That's going to be really disappointing for you if your scale reads too high for a day or two. So, invest in a good scale that will read your weight accurately.
7. Slow down ...
If you want to eat less, then eat more slowly. People who shovel foods into their mouth quickly don't give their bodies time to tell them they're full. It takes 20 minutes from the time you're actually full until your brain gets the message to stop eating. If you're eating quickly, think of how many bites you could consume in those twenty minutes! So, slow that eating machine down and listen for your body to tell you that you're full.
8. Eat fresh ...
If you're eating lots and lots of prepackaged convenience foods, you're going to make it really hard on yourself to lose weight. Instead, think of eating as close to nature as possible. In the grocery store, this means buying things around the edges of the store... where the fresh fruit, veggies, meat, and dairy sections are. Stay away from the boxes as much as possible!
9. Buy a pedometer ...
We all know walking is good for you, but most of us spend our time being very, very sedentary. When you strap a pedometer on your side, you're instantly more aware of how much you move. Set yourself a goal of walking ten thousand steps every day, and you'll be surprised at how much extra exercise you get without even trying!
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- 5 Weight Loss Programs That Worked for Me …
- 10 Top Exercises to Lose Weight …
- 12 Best Ways to Lose Weight …
10. If it is white, it isn't right ...
If you want to cut back the pounds, cut back on the white stuff. White foods are usually not good for you. What I mean is that white foods are usually more refined (think white bread) and more full of sugar (think table sugar) or carbs (think white pasta). Instead of choosing white foods, choose brown ... more whole grains, more fiber, more filling, more vitamins!
