Thankfully the trend has shifted from being anorexic to being toned and taut. Being active invigorates you.You accomplish so much more than when you are unfit and lethargic. Keeping that thought in mind, let’s look at how we can accomplish our fitness goals.Consult your practitioner before embarking on any fitness regimen and diet .Remember the mantra -no crash dieting or excessive workouts at the gym.These methods take a toll on your health. Choose the right way to lose weight.
9 Best Ways to Lose Weight:
1. Diet Control:
Control your diet by reducing calorie intake and avoid fattening products.Every person has different dietary needs so it’s best to plan this step with the help of a weight loss nutritionist or the internet. Avoid the dangerous practice of slashing calories below 1200 calories a day. Lack of adequate nutrition may lead to side effects like fainting, lethargy and takes a toll on your skin and hair.Opt for a balanced and steady approach and count calories / record them in a journal or use an app like myfitnesspal and sparkpeople.
- Consume the right quantity at the right time. Skipping meals will weaken your metabolic rate and increase your weight.
- Opt for Fruits, vegetables, rice, rotis, fish, chicken, pulses, bread, and cut down on extra cheese, butter or ghee.
- Do not eat a lot of food together; eat at regular intervals, may be every two hours.
- Avoid sugar in your food, and go with boiled vegetables or a tasty fruit salad over oily snacks.
- Try and consume dinner no later than 7 pm , this gives your body adequate time to digest the meal.
- Roughage is your friend in the form of raw salads.Avoid processed breads and meats . They contain excess salt which causes bloating .
- Opt for grilled, poached, steam and baked over fried.
2. Liquid Intake:
Avoid liquids that have a lot of calories in them.Instead fill up on fruit and vegetable waters, thin broths and green teas.
- Drink lots of water throughout the day.
- Have a glass of seasonal fresh fruit juice.Processed juices have extra sugars and salt added.
- Drink lukewarm water after meals because it cut down the fats.
- Replace milk or smoothies with skimmed milk.
- Cut down on alcohol intake.Opt for skinny cocktails or mocktails
- Opt for 2-3 cups of green tea with lemon and honey
3. Walk, Walk and Walk:
- Use stairs instead of the lift.
- Walk to reach your destination.
- Homemakers can walk down to the park or supermarket and burn the extra calories.
- Enlist your partners / children as walk buddies. You will benefit from their motivation
- Invest in audiobooks as they help in motivating you. Fire up your favourite songs in a playlist so that you enjoy the walk
- Avoid talking while walking as this reduces your speed and decreases your energy
4. Exercises:
Exercise is the best option to weight reduction.
- Start exercises gradually and let your body get used to the exercises before increasing intensity Consult your doctor before starting any exercise programs. Warm up and cool down is a must
- If you have back pain / knee pain etc then yoga is the best place to start
- Always remember to hydrate while exercising
- Increase your calorie intake as per the intensity of your exercises
- Opt for some breathing exercises to reduce stress and tension.
- Check out noom , sparkpeople and other apps for exercise plans
5. Patience and Perseverance:
Fitness goals are hard to achieve but a good routine and patience will get you there.It takes 21 days for any activity to become a habit
- Choose exercise and nutrition plans from sites such as befit and tape them to a wall for a visual reminder
- Buddy up for extra motivation
- Choose a holiday or an outing as a motivation to stick with it
- Weigh and measure yourself weekly to check your progress. Nothing is more motivating than results
6. Keep In Mind The Advantages:
Weight loss makes you slim, healthy and boosts your confidence.You lose weight yet gain so many advantages .Losing weight helps in
- Lower blood pressure
- Reduced LDL [“bad”] cholesterol
- Improves glucose tolerance and lowers the risk for cardiovascular disease,
7. Introduce Blue Color to Your Life:
Studies prove that blue color has a magical effect on your appetite. To reduce your appetite, change your eating plates, tablecloth and everything to blue.Color does make a difference to the appetite. The blue color is considered as an appetite suppressant.You can add a blue colored lightbulb in your dining area as well. Blue is not a natural food color and is often associated with poisonous food, hence our systems do not appreciate the color and our appetites get suppressed.
8. Small Size Crockery:
Bigger plates mean extra lunch and dinner, therefore, downsize your crockery, eat less but healthy.You can control your portion sizes with smaller plates. We tend to load up on bigger plates .As per the Small Plate Movement you can drop up to 18 pounds a year just by changing the plates.Look for 10 inch plates with a bigger border; this reduces the plate size visually
9. Throw Away Oversize Dresses:
When you have almost reached your target weight-loss, throw away all those over-sized clothes. Buying an inch or two smaller size jeans motivates you to exercise and workout.
These are some of the easiest ways to lose excess pounds.The mantra here is resilience. If you stick with these healthy habits you will see the difference. Stay healthy and fit!