Tip #1
Keep track of everything you eat. It's a good idea to keep a food diary or a weight loss journal. Whatever you prefer to call it, it's basically a list of everything you eat in a day. Don't forget, this includes beverages too! This helps you to lose weight because usually you don't realize just how many calories you are actually eating in a day, or maybe even in one snack food sitting. I know for me it really made me realize how many of my daily calories I was getting just in eating my normal 5 double stuffed Oreos (which I would do 4 or 5 times a day!). There are many weight loss tools online and they even have really cool weight loss apps now that help you keep track of how much you are eating, your calories and a whole lot more! Research even shows that people who keep track of what they eat lose twice as much weight as those that don't!
Tip #2
Weigh yourself regularly. Do you ever avoid the scale because you don't want to face how much weight you might have gained? I know I am guilty of this one a time or two. That's why it's a good idea to keep the scale in a place that makes it easy to just step on it. Maybe in your bathroom right next to the toilet or even in your kitchen! Anywhere that you go often and will have to see it. Back to the apps and online weight loss tools, most of them make you put your weight in on a regular basis. Making yourself face the truth, or face the scale, might just give you that extra push you need to skip your double stuffed Oreos. Oh wait, that's me lol, but I'm sure you have your favorite junk food too that has contributed to gaining a few pounds!
Tip #3
Cut out liquid calories. Some of our liquid drinks, such as Starbucks cappuccino, can have more calories than an entire healthy lunch! Others can add up and if you start keeping track, you'll see how many daily calories are coming from your drinks. Eliminate soda and sugary drinks such as sweetened iced tea, sports drinks, coffee and alcoholic beverages. Liven up the taste of water by adding lemon, lime, cucumber or mint.
Tip #4
Hydrate yourself before meals. Drinking one to two full glasses of water before eating a meal can cause you to feel much fuller, much faster.
Tip #5
Avoid hunger and eat protein. When you go for too long without eatting it causes your blood sugar to drop, which in turn will give you cravings, mostly junk food cravings. I can attest to this first hand. I can remember craving a certain type of junk food that for one reason or another I couldn't get my hands on until a later time, but after I would put something in my belly, even a healthy sandwich, I would finally get my junk food of choice and would no longer have that mouth watering craving for it. That wouldn't stop me from eating it though lol. Eating lean protein can help you stay fuller longer and it also helps to stabilize your blood sugar, helping to avoid those devastating drops in blood sugar that can be detrimental to your weight loss. Some good forms of protein include yogurt, tuna, beans, fish or chicken.
*One more tip about protein foods is that they help to promote certain good hormones in your brain, like serotonin, that make you happy. There is evidence that shows when these certain chemicals are low they cause depression and weight gain/cravings.
Tip #6
Pay attention to portions. If you are really serious about dieting to lose weight then invest in a small kitchen scale to weight your foods. Usually we are eating much more than just one portion for our size. A 3-ounce portion of meat, poultry or fish is about the size of the palm of your hand or a deck of cards; 1 teaspoon of butter or margarine, a standard postage stamp; a cup of cold cereal, berries or popcorn, a baseball; 4-inch pancake or waffle, the diameter of a CD.
Tip #7
Don't eat late at night. This one is very hard for me. I don't know why but for some reason my cravings seem to come on a lot more at night and I cannot sleep on an empty belly. However it is a proven fact that when you eat after about 8 o'clock at night or within a few hours of going to sleep that you are much more likely to gain weight faster. the reason for this is because when we sleep we aren't burning as many calories as we do when we are awake. So the food we just ate pretty literally just goes straight to your thighs and butt! We don't want that, so try your hardest to avoid eating after 8pm.
Tip #8
Give yourself motivation. Like getting a pair of jeans that you love but can't fit into and keep them in your kitchen, or at least right out where you can see them. For me I would get pictures of myself from when I was thin and looking hot! I would hang them on my fridge so that I would see it constantly. I believe this really does help significantly!
Well that's about all I have for weight loss tips for now but come back soon to read more about how to lose weight fast and what is the best way to lose weight. Please feel free to comment on anything that you read on my blog. I would love to hear from you! Tell me and my other readers what your best weight loss tips are.
