More tips and ideas for you
Ways to help you with your weight loss efforts
21. Encourage Yourself
You’ve likely seen at least one movie where the character leaves, or writes, inspiring notes to themselves and puts them in places to find later. This isn’t without reason. A study in The Journal of Marketing Research found that people were more likely to remain on their diets, eat healthier, and make overall smarter choices when they left inspiring notes for themselves. So, pick up a pad of sticky notes and don’t be afraid to tell yourself how great you are doing.
22. Set Down Your Fork
One really easy way to boost your weight loss, is by setting your fork down between every bite as you eat a meal. This is because your stomach experiences a delay in telling the brain that it’s full. By pausing between bites, you are less likely to overeat and more likely to stop eating sooner after you become full because you are giving your brain and stomach the proper amount of time to communicate with one another.
23. Don’t Eat Fast Food
Almost everyone knows that fast food like a burger and fries are loaded with unhealthy amounts of sugars, salts, and fats. But what may really surprise you, is the fact that even the healthy options, like the salads, are often loaded with these too! It’s best practice for your weight loss goals to simple avoid fast food as a whole. Pre-make some meals such as salads and healthy soups for yourself and keep them in the fridge for the days when you are hard pressed for time.
24. Park Further Away
When you go to the grocery store, or out shopping, don’t waste your time driving around looking for a spot at the front. Rather, pull in to one of those commonly empty spots near the back. This will add more steps to your day doing something you already planned to do, while also saving you from aimlessly driving around waiting for someone to leave near the front. You could also skip the driving as a whole and walk or bike to the store instead!
25. Say No To Family Style
When people have a family style meal, large portions are often brought to the table for everyone to share. Although this can often times be more cost effective (and delicious) this also often results in people indulging in more calories than they need. As you embark on your weight loss journey, just say no to family style meals. Or, if your family insists on eating that way, make your one plate in the kitchen and measure how much of each food you put on it. Then, as tempting as it is, resist the urge to reach for seconds.
26. Drink More Green Tea
Although drinking water is more important, you may consider adding some green tea into your diet, as it has been found by researchers to help boost metabolism and increase weight loss. Just make sure you are drinking it as is, or with a squeeze of lemon. Don’t add any sugar otherwise it will defeat the purpose of drinking the green tea in the first place.
27. Don’t Drink Your Calories
Americans generally have a tendency to drink their calories, whether that is in juice, soda, or a frilly coffee drink. What you may not know, is that the calories of these beverages can often exceed five hundred calories, which is almost as many calories as you should be eating in a meal. Not only that, but liquid meals don’t keep you full for very long so you will tend to eat a full meal shortly afterwards. Avoid this by committing to stop drinking your calories, and just stick to water or green tea.
28. Say No To Artificial Sweeteners
When you’re on a diet, it can be tempting to switch over to drinking some sort of diet cola. These diet sodas (or other diet products) are often packed with artificial sweeteners which actually lead to gaining belly weight, and habitual over eating. It’s time to ditch anything with the word ‘diet,’ and keep all of these products out of your diet for good.
29. Try To Switch To Organic
Most people know that organic food is better for them, but complain about the price, and instead choose the cheaper, non-organic option. Although organic products may be expensive, they are free from a number of toxins and pesticides which could be causing inflammation in your body without you even knowing it. Some of these pesticides can even lead to hormone deficiencies (or overloads!) which could be a part of why you can’t lose weight! So even though it’s more expensive, try to eat organic foods whenever possible, your health is worth the investment.
30. Record Your Progress
Besides just keeping your food journal, also keep a visual record of your progress. This doesn’t have to be numbers on a scale, but it could be inches around your waist via tape measure, or progress pictures taken at the beginning of each week. The method you choose doesn’t necessarily matter, but make sure it’s something you can keep up with that works for you. You’ll find yourself more encouraged as you see your goal slowly becoming a reality!