Whether you are struggling to lose the last five pounds or you are at the beginning of your weight-loss journey with miles to go, this article and Stop The Insanity can help guide you in the right direction. Information is power, and the information here will become a powerful tool to help you succeed.
To lose weight, replace foods with refined carbohydrates with unrefined carbohydrates. Refined carbohydrates include white sugar and white bread, while unrefined carbohydrates include raw/brown sugar and whole wheat bread. Refined carbohydrates absorb rapidly into your bloodstream without requiring your body to spend energy processing them. However, unrefined carbohydrates make your body burn calories processing them, reducing your weight in the end.
Lose weight with a partner. You may find it easier with a partner. Whether the partner competes with you or coaches you, it will add fun to your endeavor and lead to positive things.
Here is a really easy tip to make weight loss a little bit more effortless. When you are watching TV, do some kind of physical activity during every commercial break. Get up and walk around the house, do some lunges, lift some weights – anything to get your body moving. There are about 8 minutes of commercials in every half hour of television programming. So over a night’s TV viewing, you could get in an hour or more of exercise.
Legumes and beans of all kinds help greatly when people are trying to lose weight. Beans have almost no fat, are packed with protein and B vitamins, and satisfy the appetite in a way that extremely low-calorie vegetables don’t. They can provide a healthy and lower-calorie substitute for meat; even for meat lovers. Legumes lend body and flavor to soups, veggie burgers, ethnic dishes, and many other things.
A great way to help you lose weight is to drink a tall glass of water every time you feel a hunger pang coming on. This is a very useful trick when you’re dieting. It will prevent you from wanting to consume extra calories, or go off your diet.
To remind yourself to stay motivated on your weight loss journey, ask someone to take a photo of you. Post it where it will be easy to see, or keep extra copies with you. Each time you start to overdo it with food, or you don’t want to exercise, look at the photo to remind yourself of what you want to change.
A great way to help you lose weight is to treat yourself by buying yourself nice things whenever you notice a little bit of progress. Treating yourself to a new item of clothing can go a long way in keeping you motivated to continue with your goal of losing weight.
Pack your lunch for work or school. Do not give in to the temptation to pick something up from the fast food joint down the street or your school’s cafeteria. Instead, pack your own lunch. This way you can control your portions. You can also be sure that what you are eating is healthy for you.
A great trick to implement for reducing the fast food cravings that you have is to go to the supermarket and purchase frozen vegetables in bulk. When you get home, sort these vegetables into small freezer bags, that you can microwave as a snack any time you desire to have fast food.
Add in protein as an important part of your weight loss plan. Lean meats and legumes are wonderful sources. Protein helps you to grow and repair muscle. It is also quickly burned by your body. Your goal should be about one gram of protein for every pound you weigh.
Walking and other light exercise is good. You should invest in a pedometer so you can monitor exactly how much exercise you are getting each day. If you walk one half of a mile one day, challenge yourself to walk more the next day. Track your progress and you will find that, the exercise, along with dietary changes will help you reach your weight loss goal quicker.
Always be careful when it comes to eating muffins, bagels, croissants or biscuits. A large muffin can have a ton of calories and fat, about two times more then a regular size. If you are going to eat something like that, make sure it is small and the muffin is whole grain. Then you will not be consuming all the extra calories.
Weight loss can be made easier if you watch your eating habits. Many of us tend to binge eat when we are going through times of unusually high stress or trouble. In order to avoid this, think of other activities you can do to distract yourself when troublesome events occur. This will prevent you from overeating and gaining weight.
For most people, bad eating habits are what caused you to gain the weight that you are struggling to lose now. By working to reverse these bad habits on a regular basis, you will end up being more successful in your weight loss goals down the line. Stick with it for results and don’t give up.
When trying to lose weight, it is necessary that you treat yourself on occasion. If you are craving chocolate you can try to have diet hot-chocolate packets. If you are in the mood for ice cream, go out and buy small prepacked portions of ice cream bars. Treating yourself once in a while is necessary to keep your motivation up.
Do not go on any diet that instructs you to severely limit the amount of nutrients and calories you consume. Even if you do lose weight while you are on one of these types of diets the minute you go back to eating regularly you will gain all of the weight back.
Use what you have learned here to help you kick start your weight loss or to re-motivate yourself to get back to the serious business of dropping the pounds. Now that you have the knowledge, the next step is to take what you have learned and apply the advice to your life.