It seems as if every day
there’s a new fad diet coming, while another slowly fades out. But why should
healthy eating habits be compared to the latest fashion trends? Let’s face it;
the best weight-loss tips are the ones that have worked for many years and have
lasted longer than a 24-hour miracle diet.
Here are 8 game changers for effective weight loss.
These tips come from health experts who say that although these habits aren’t
exactly the latest vogue, they’re definitely strategies that will put you
on the right path to weight loss and will never go out of style.
1. Make Exercise a Positive
Habit
For most people, exercise may seem like a forfeit or often a
struggle to get into the gym. While we often consider exercise as a way to wear
a certain size or achieve a number on the scale, a healthy body should be taken
into consideration. Many life-threatening diseases shoot from obesity. By
choosing to make exercise a positive habit, this will help others to love
themselves as well as prolong a healthy lifestyle.
Tip: During your fitness routine, only take 30-second rests in between
exercises as this may help you burn more calories.
2. Take Care of Yourself
Most often, we tend to take care of everyone else before
ourselves. This means no time to fit in a workout, eating right or focusing on
our goals. Studies show that those who follow a healthy diet and exercise have
shown to have more self-esteem as well as improved relationships around them.
Self-care time is just as important for your weight loss journey as tracking
calories or getting to the gym. Make time for YOU.
3. Eat Whole Foods, Less
Processed Foods
A wholesome, healthy diet doesn’t work by simply cutting
macronutrients and calories, but rather the quality of foods that you eat.
Cut back on processed foods as much as possible and add more whole foods to
your meal preparation. You'll quickly see a shift in your energy, digestion,
and may notice a weight loss from this act alone.
4. Take Small, Effective Steps
When it comes to weight loss, it is the small effective steps that
matter most. Something as simple as avoiding unhealthy late-night snacks
(especially 3 hours before your bedtime) can have a big impact. Those late
night calories will slow down your metabolism as you sleep and make your body
shift from fat burning mode to fat storage. By knowing the most effective steps
you need to take, small changes won’t seem too overwhelming and will ultimately
become a normal daily habit over time. Try and have an early and light dinner.
5. Focus on Foods You Can
Eat, Not Foods You Can’t
Because most fad diets are often very restrictive, it takes
the right mind set to help you stick to your goals without feeling deprived.
Focus on consuming 4-6 healthy servings of fruits and vegetables. By focusing
on the foods you can eat, it will shift your whole perspective on the foods you
can’t.
6. Take Note of How You Feel,
Not What the Scale Says
Pay more attention as to how
you feel rather than losing the next 20 pounds. This will increase your
confidence and motivation as well as energy levels to keep you moving forward,
despite what the scale says. Progress is progress. Sometimes, it doesn't have a
numerical value. When you focus on the positive things you feel about your
new habits and the journey you are on, you are more likely to make this a true
lifestyle change.
7. Know When to Ask for Help
Losing weight can be tough when you don’t know the basics or feel
lost in the confusion world of weight loss how-to's. By hiring a health coach,
personal trainer or a nutritionist, they will help educate you about how to eat
healthfully, exercise effectively, and shift your mind set for long-term
success. With the right guide, you will be on your way to achieving a
successful long-term weight loss more quickly because they can point out things
you don't see as an issue holding you back.
8. Give up Traditional Diets for
Good
The best diets are
the ones that don’t deprive you of food or have weird rules. If you're fed
up with relying on a tiny meal plan, weighing your food instead of savouring
it, or obsessing over the calories in one meal – consider following the mindful
eating approach to a healthy diet. By listening to your body's cues and giving
it the nourishment it needs throughout the day, you won’t feel as if you've
lost control of your body. This will help you regain the connection of
satiation cues that you might have lost when you were restrictive dieting.
