It is mostly recommended by health professionals to do exercises and maintain a healthy diet if someone wants to lose weight. By following this routine you can easily lose your weight and also can stay slim for a longer period of time. So, you don’t need to go to the gym to lose your weight instead if you exercise regularly you will get the same results. Most of the gyms and health clubs are quite expensive to afford for some people and some people don’t find it enjoyable or intimidating enough to spend time over there. It is also shown in the studies that making some changes in your diet plan is more effective in losing weight compared to doing any physical exercises.
Moreover, there are various ways in which you can do exercise to keep yourself fit and active and can stay high on your energy levels which don’t even need to hit the gym. So you can easily skip going to the gym and can make some changes in your diet plan which will greatly help you to lose your weight. For losing your weight give yourself some time to burn more amount of calories than you generally consume. 1 pound of fat is almost the same as 3500 calories. Every week if you keep the target of losing at least one to two pounds of your weight that is a very much effective and safe approach. So, you can easily lose up to 32 pounds in nearly about four months if you maintain a balanced diet along with exercising regularly. Moreover, you do not need to take any gym membership necessarily for staying in shape and losing weight. Though it sometimes becomes difficult to stick to your exercise plan and following your conventional diet. However, if you follow some of the proven tips given here will greatly help you to eat fewer calories with ease.
Here are some of the effective ways given below by following which you can easily reduce your weight and can also prevent any further weight gain in your future.
Eat high fiber healthy breakfast with high protein every morning.
Eating healthy breakfast in the morning is very important if you want to lose weight. It was shown in the studies that if you consume high protein and fibers in your breakfast regularly that will make you stay satisfied for a longer period of time and your hunger cravings will also get reduced throughout the day. Testing fibers in your meal helps in filling bulk to your dishes and also prevents constipation and cancers like rectal and colon cancer. If you prepare a breakfast rich in fiber in the morning that will help you to achieve your target should be 25 grams of fiber for women and 38 grams for men regularly.
Some of the examples of healthy breakfast meals include a scrambled egg with vegetables which are sautéed along with two ounces of sausage, a cup of greek yogurt low in fat and can also add fruits and nuts or make an omelet with bacon and spinach and drink one glass of milk or any other substitute of milk.
Include fruits, vegetables, and mostly lean proteins in your diet.
It was also shown in the studies that if you want to lose your weight, then the best diet to follow is a moderate to low carb diet which mainly includes lean protein, vegetables, and fruits. Try to include it in most of your snacks and meal items. If you focus mostly on such food groups that will help you to cut on your carbohydrate intake. Do not forget to include healthy fats because they are a very important part of our diet.
Some examples of the meals include stir-fried vegetables, grilled chicken, lean deli meat, and lettuce wrap having low-fat cheese, steamed vegetables along with grilled Salmon, apple sliced in pieces with low-fat cheese. You can also eat Tuna fish along with chef salad or egg salad. You should limit your carbohydrate intake. Also try to avoid foods like bread, pasta, rice, bagels, chips, crackers, couscous, etc. These foods are rich in carbohydrate content compared to any other foods. Though these foods also form a part of a healthy diet, you must limit your carbohydrate intake to lose weight.
Avoid taking snacks mindlessly.
Taking snacks for the whole day or at night will not help to lose weight. Taking healthy and planned snacks can help you to lose weight but eating mindlessly can reverse it. Eating mindlessly means when someone consumes food without realizing how much food and what food is consumed. This mostly happens when someone eats food while watching TV, driving, out of getting bored, or while doing any work at your home. When a person doesn’t become aware of what he is eating and how much then most people overeat.
If you feel that you are dehydrated mildly, then sometimes our brain might confuse our hunger with the need for water. You can easily avoid this if you make sure that you drink enough amount of water throughout the day. One should at least drink 2 liters of water per day.
Avoid drinking sweetened and high-calorie beverages
One reason people generally gain weight because they consume too much of sugary or calorie-filled drinks. Try to avoid sweetened beverages and instead consume hydrating, clear, and sugar-free drinks. One danger associated with drinking calorie-filled drinks is one does not feel full or get satisfied after consuming them. One is more likely to take normal calorie intake along with calories from sweetened drinks. Try to drink fluids from beverages like water, decaf black coffee, sugar-free flavored water, or decaf tea.
Avoid taking regular indulgences as much as possible
Treating yourself with sweet dishes, cold coffee with sugar, or a glass of wine are types of beverages that must be controlled while you are trying to lose your weight. Consuming items like these might not help you in the process of losing weight. Try to Limit yourself in taking all these foods as much as possible because this is very necessary if you are not exercising daily or doing any strenuous activities.
Go to bed every day on the same timing and avoid taking the stress
When it comes to taking care of your health, many of us neglect to get proper sleep at night and getting ourselves distressed. If a person does not sleep properly that might affect the appetite-regulating hormones like ghrelin and leptin. Another hormone named cortisol also gets elevated when we stay stressed. When these hormones start fluctuating our cravings and hunger for unhealthy and junk foods increases.
You can start writing a food journal
Writing a food journal is very effective if you want to lose weight. In your food journal, you can easily track your calorie intake, sleep, and hydration. A food journal is mainly created to keep you on track while you lose your weight. The more accurately you maintain your journal the more successful you will be in your purpose. It is has become very easy to maintain a food journal nowadays with the advancement in technology. All you need to do is to download an app on your smartphone which can track your fitness, food intake, and sleep and then keep all those records in your smartphone.
One thing you must keep track of in your app is your beverage and food intake. Food journals also give you suggestions about what diet can work best for your weight loss plan. You can keep track of your progress in your food journal app which also includes your dress size, weight, or the inches you lose.
Find a companion in your weight loss journey
Losing weight is hard if you do not maintain consistency in your weight loss routine. If you can find a buddy in your weight loss journey then you will become more confident, feel more motivated, and give you a long term success. If you go out for jogging or running with your friend then that can help you maintain consistency which will give you success. You can ask any of your family members or friend to go out for jogging or exercising. You can have meals with your buddy and do exercises and physical activities together.
Do some bodyweight exercises
You can do some bodyweight exercises like building muscles, strength training, and toning at your home which will not require any special machines or heavyweights. You can try normal exercises like stretching, sit-ups, pushups, lunges, tricep, dips, and planks at your home. Moreover, any normal item in your house for weight can be used as training equipment like a water bottle, a Jug filled with water, or canned beams while doing exercises like lateral raises or bicep curls. You can also buy a set of resistance bands or any free weights of reasonable prices so that you can practice various types of exercises and activities at your home. You should try to do at least 20 minutes of exercising or strength training for at least two to three times per week.
Start doing free cardio
There are various types of cardiovascular exercises that you can easily practice at your home or in your local area. Most of them are not costly and you do not need to go out to the gym for doing those exercises. In the morning or evening, you can simply go out for jogging or walking in your neighborhood or any nearby park or outdoor track. If you do not find the weather suitable for going out for walking or you do not find any area safe for ambling then you can also walk in loops inside any mall. It is mostly recommended by doctors to do at least 150 minutes of exercise of moderate intensity every week.
Increase the number of your daily steps
If you cannot afford enough time for exercising regularly or you do not like to do any planned physical exercises then you need to increase the number of steps you walk every day. The number of steps you take throughout the whole day the more amount of calories you will burn. You need to find out various ways to walk more.
You can park your car some distance away and walk from that distance to your destination and try to use stairs instead of using the lift. You can also move more while staying at home. For example, you can do normal leg raises while watching any TV serial or can practice sitting leg lifts when you are sitting at your office desk.
Chew your foods slowly and thoroughly.
Our brain needs some time to process the food that we eat. If we can chew our food thoroughly that will make you eat slower which also decreases food intake, helps us taking a smaller portion size, and also helps in increasing fullness. Our weight also gets affected by the time we take to finish our meal. It was shown in 23 observational studies reviews which reported that the people who eat more quickly gain more weight than the people who eat slowly. So, if you can chew your food slowly then you will feel full without gaining more calories. This is also a very easy trick for losing your weight and also keep you slim.
Take foods in smaller plates for unhealthy foods.
A few decades ago our food plates were not as large as it is today. This trend also makes us gain more weight because eating in a small plate makes us eat less as it makes the portion size looks larger. But eating on a big plate makes the portion size look smaller and makes us adding more food on our plates. It would be much better for us if we can eat more healthy foods on the big plates and junk foods on a small plate.
Take a high amount of protein in your daily diet
Eating protein in our diet is quite effective on appetite because it helps in increasing our feeling of fullness, makes us eat lesser calories and also helps in reducing hunger. This also happens because various hormones get affected by a protein that plays a very vital role in fullness and hunger including GLP-1 and ghrelin. If you mostly eat grain breast breakfast then you would like switching to protein-rich foods such as eggs. It was also found in a study that some overweight women ate eggs in their breakfast took lesser calories in their lunch in comparison to those who had grain-based breakfast. Some of the protein-rich foods are fish, quinoa, chicken breasts, Greek yogurt, almond, and lentils.
Keep unhealthy foods out of your reach
If you keep unhealthy food in front of your sight that can make you more hungry, increasing your cravings and make you eat them more. This is mostly linked to gaining extra weight. High-calorie foods quickly catch our eyes in the house, found in a study. You can store unhealthy food out of your sight in cupboards or any closets so that you’re less likely to have them. You can keep healthy food in visible places and can keep them in the center and in front of your refrigerator.
Eat foods that are high in fiber
Eating foods that are rich in fiber helps in increasing our satiety and makes us feel fuller for a long period of time. It was shown in studies that a particular type of fiber named viscous fiber helps in losing our weight, increases fullness, and our food intake also gets reduced. When viscous fiber comes in close contact with water it forms a gel which increases the absorption timing of nutrients and also helps in slowing down the process of making our stomach empty. You can find viscous fiber only in the plant foods like Brussels sprouts, beans, flax seeds, asparagus, oat cereals, oranges. A rich source of viscous fiber is a weight loss supplement known as glucomannan.
Drink enough water regularly
Drinking water makes you eat less food and helps you in losing more weight if you drink it before having your meal. It was found in a study among adults that if someone drinks half a liter of water before 30 minutes of having a meal helps in reducing hunger and also reduces calorie intake. It was found in a study that the persons who drank water before having their meal lost almost 44% weight in a time period of 12 weeks in comparison to those who did not drink water before having their meal. In spite of having water if you can drink some calorie-loaded drinks such as juice or soda then you can experience a much better effect.
Eat foods in smaller portions
In the last few decades, there is an increase in the portion size at most of the restaurants. By taking larger portions of food a person is likely to eat more and then they end up gaining more weight and become obese. It was also found in a study among adults that by making the dinner appetizer-size double, there is an increase in calorie intake by almost 30%. If you take foods in smaller portions that will make you take fewer calories and you cannot even spot any difference.
Eat without getting distracted by electronic devices
You are more likely to eat fewer calories if you can pay attention to what you are eating while having your meal. People who watch TV while eating or plays any computer games are most likely to lose track of the amount they have consumed which mostly results in overeating. It was found in 24 studies review that the people who did not pay attention while having their food ate almost 10% more than they eat usually. Moreover being absently minded while having your food has a much greater effect on your food intake in the other part of the day. The distracted people ate almost 25% more calories in their later meals than others who paid attention while having their food.
If you make it a habit to watch TV while having your food or using any other electronic gadgets then you are more likely to overeat. Those extra calories will get add up and will greatly affect your weight in the long run.