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20 Quick Tips That Will Help You Lose Weight faster
- 1. Make entertainment time exercise time
- 2. Make veggies part of your meal plan
- 3. Make fruit an adventure
- 4. Don’t use a small plate
- 5. Use every opportunity to move
- 6. Don’t drink your calories
- 7. Avoid eating bread at every meal
- 8. Don’t eat just because you are bored
- 9. Close the kitchen at 9 p.m.
- 10. Avoid added sugar
- 11. Do not skip meals
- 12. Eat slower
- 13. Don’t stock your pantry with processed food and snacks
- 14. Get enough sleep
- 15. Count your calories
- 16. Brush your teeth
- 17. Eat healthy
- 18. Set progressive exercise goals
- 19. Set reasonable weight loss goals
- 20. Plan your rewards
Losing weight, especially healthy weight loss is the holy grail for most of us. We know that being overweight can open the door to many lifestyle chronic diseases. So it makes sense to be constantly on the lookout for effective ways to lose weight faster and keep it off.
Sure, there are different diets and high intensity exercises that help. But what about the many small, tiny lifestyle changes we can make on our own to help us along in our weight loss journey? It only takes a little determination.
Here are just 20 that are absolutely easy to try that can help us lose weight faster and keep it off.
Here we go!
20 Quick Tips That Will Help You Lose Weight faster
1. Make entertainment time exercise time
If you enjoy watching movies, or TV programs or catching up on shows on your favorite channels, it is a good opportunity to spend at least some of that time being active even as you relax. Use commercial breaks to exercise. A few sit ups, a few plants, jumping jacks. Invest in an exercycle to get in at least 15 minutes of rapid cycling on the spot as you watch that show. Have a treadmill? Fantastic. Spend time getting your steps on.
These days you can stream practically anything from anywhere as long as you are carrying your phone with you. Every ten minutes you choose to exercise or do some high intensity activity can all add up to help you lose weight faster.
2. Make veggies part of your meal plan
We all know we need to include vegetables in our diet. When you plan your meals, make sure vegetables take up at least half your plate. Once you’ve decided on which ones, plan your protein and starches.
3. Make fruit an adventure
Have a sweet tooth and love your dessert? How about fruit? Next time you go shopping, walk down the fruit aisle. Include at least one fruit you rarely buy. And stock up on cinnamon. It tastes great on many fruits, especially apples and oranges.
4. Don’t use a small plate
Yes, I know that’s the opposite of what all weight loss experts advise. Thing is, a small plate loaded to the edges looks unappealing. Also, when you fill your plate with vegetables or fruits, you need space. All that color looks attractive. So go ahead and use your regular dinner plate.
Fill half the plate with salads and fresh veggies. In the other half, a quarter should be protein and the remaining quarter should be starch – the portion size should be roughly the size of your palm. Don’t overload your plate.
5. Use every opportunity to move
Sure, it is easy to settle on the couch with the remote or the phone or your laptop. But a sedentary lifestyle is the worst thing you can do to yourself. Rather than depend on Google for everything, how about visiting a library? Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Rather than pick up the intercom in your office or texting, walk across to that colleague’s desk. Have a pet? Instead of letting the dog out, take him for a walk so you can exercise together. And if you have a green thumb, sweat it out in your garden.
6. Don’t drink your calories
If you enjoy sodas, juices, smoothies, alcohol, milkshakes, cappuccinos – know that they are all loaded with calories, sugar and/or preservatives. Go easy on these and opt for water whenever you can. Flavor your water by infusing it with fruit. And make sure you drink at least 6-8 glasses of water very day. Put an app on your phone to remind you.
7. Avoid eating bread at every meal
Bread is such a convenient component in a meal! Unfortunately, the convenience comes with a lot of calories. So if you have the habit of eating bread at every meal, it is time to make a small change. Cut down to eating it at one meal a day, or not at all. To begin with, pick the meal when you’ll eat bread and make sure you avoid it at other meals.
So if you want to eat it at breakfast, opt for a piece of whole-grain toast topped with veggies or natural peanut butter. Then, for lunch, choose a salad and for dinner, a veg-heavy meal with no bread.
What if you are going out for lunch? Have yogurt for breakfast so you can order a sandwich. If you are going out to dinner, avoid eating bread at breakfast and lunch.
All it takes is a bit of planning. Cutting those carbs helps lose weight faster.
8. Don’t eat just because you are bored
I don’t know about you, but there are days when my schedule is not heavy and I end up eating just because I am bored – even if I am not hungry. Big mistake. Never use food as something to turn to when you are bored. Instead, get active. Use the time to catch up n chores.
Maybe a long-pending repair project? Some hobby? Or pick up a puzzle to work on. If possible, get outdoors. If you MUST eat, let it be carrots. In fact, with proper meal planning you shouldn’t even feel like eating between meal and snack times.
9. Close the kitchen at 9 p.m.
Late night eating is a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and obesity – and negative health outcomes. Sadly, the tendency for late night snacking invariably involves junk food. Also, the later you eat, the more it messes with your sleep patterns. What if you absolutely have to eat something? Go for protein. Some healthy options are:
- One small cup plain yogurt
- A small apple with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter
- If you absolutely cannot go on without eating something at this time, eat
- 10-12 raw almonds
Protein is filling. Carbs are just calories.
10. Avoid added sugar
You are about to dig in to a bowl of strawberries. Great! Then, just before you start, you add sugar to it. Ugh! First of all, you do NOT need that added sugar. The strawberries are perfectly delicious on their own. Why turn that healthy food into a sugary nightmare?
It is the same with coffee. If you enjoy three cups a day and if you add two spoons of sugar in each cup, imagine! You have just consumed more sugar than a can of Coke—which is another no-no if you want to lose weight faster. How about a healthy alternative to sugar, instead? A dash of cinnamon. Tasty and way better than added sugar.
11. Do not skip meals
There are two truths about food and people:
- there’s a tendency to overeat when they are hungry.
- when they skip meals, they feel hungry.
Therefore, let’s say you skip lunch. You’ll end up eating at least three times more calories because you skipped lunch and are super-hungry. Ideally, you should have breakfast, lunch and dinner with a light snack between meals. This prevents you from overeating or going hungry.
12. Eat slower
Ever gobbled up your food so fast that you can’t remember what you ate? Bad idea. When we eat too fast, we miss the point when we feel full. By the time we realize it, we’ve already eaten far more than we would have, if we had eaten slower. So, the solution is to eat slowly, chew your food thoroughly and then swallow it. Appreciate each spoonful. Enjoy the textures and flavors. Savor your meal. Chances are you will eat exactly how much you need. And therefore, lose weight faster.
13. Don’t stock your pantry with processed food and snacks
This is probably the best tip I am going to give you. You cannot eat what you don’t have. On the other hand, it is really hard to resist readily available snacks. And it is true what they say of chips – no one can eat just one. So if your grocery list includes cookies, chocolates, cakes, and other sugary salty calorie-dense foods, you’re just making things difficult for yourself.
Having kids at home is no excuse. In fact, you’ll be responsible for creating habits that they’ll struggle to let go of later in life. Not saying don’t ever snack, but just buy things once in a while. In small packs. It may be tough to do it initially but think of the benefits! And think of the money saved!
14. Get enough sleep
Adequate sleep is essential to stay healthy and – you guessed it – keep a healthy weight. I know it is hard to go to bed when you have so much to do. But those who sleep less than seven hours per night put on more weight over time—weight that is harder to lose. Also, a lack of sleep means many other health issues. The link between insufficient sleep and diabetes is well-established. Please make sure you get at least seven hours sleep. You’ll be happier and lighter.
15. Count your calories
Managing healthy weight is a simple equation. You must burn the calories you consume to keep your target weight. This means consuming only what you need, especially when you want to lose weight faster. This is easily done using an app on your phone. Preferably, eat less than you burn. Based on how many calories you need per day, plan how you want to divide it between your three meals.
Suppose you need 1400 calories a day, allocate 300 for breakfast, 350 for lunch and 150 per snack for two snacks and the balance for dinner. By counting calories, you can stay on track and plan your exercise accordingly.
16. Brush your teeth
Surprised? Here’s why. After you eat dinner, brush your teeth with a minty toothpaste. Then use a mouthwash. Your brain will understand that your are done with food for the day. After this you won’t want to eat anything as your mouth will feel fresh. It is an easy trick!
17. Eat healthy
Standard advice! But seriously, give those aisles that stock processed and packaged foods in the supermarket a wide berth. Supermarkets cleverly arrange the aisles to tempt shoppers. Most packaged foods are high-calorie, high in salt and sugar, chemicals and preservatives. And before you know it, the pounds add on. So, be a smart shopper. Limit processed foods as much as you can. Read the labels before you buy. Can’t read it? Don’t eat it!
18. Set progressive exercise goals
You know that if you want to lose weight faster and maintain healthy weight, you need to eat healthy and also exercise regularly. In short, lead a reasonably healthy lifestyle. If you are someone who does not exercise regularly, don’t set lofty goals. Start small and work your way up to one hour’s exercise per day.
Begin week one with 15 minutes then build it up to 30 minutes in the second week, 45 minutes in week three and then 60 minutes in week four. Keep it up consistently and make it a habit. You’ll be amazed at the feeling of well being you enjoy.
19. Set reasonable weight loss goals
Once you decide to work on your healthy weight and shed those pounds, it is tempting to set high goals. But wanting to lose, say, 25 pounds within a short span of time is foolish. Yes, you can want to lose 25 pounds ultimately, but set mini-goals. You’ll find them easier to work towards and feel less overwhelmed.
Set milestones and celebrate when you reach them. This will help you keep you motivated and stay on track. As you inch closer towards your ultimate goal, you will lose weight faster than you would if you set high goals.
20. Plan your rewards
As you reach each mini goal, you deserve to celebrate. But don’t go out and freak out with a large meal and massive dessert. That will just sabotage all your effort to lose weight faster. In fact, don’t even choose food as a reward. Go in for non-food rewards. Lost five pounds as planned? Buy that new pair of jeans you always wanted. The joy will last much longer and also motivate you to keep extra weight off!
Planning to lose weight faster need not be overwhelming. These 20 tips work. Pick one or three and make them a habit. Keep at it consistently to see results. And you will reach your healthy weight.
Stay healthy!
