12 tips to lose weight NOW
17/08/2011
Having worked in the health and fitness industry now for 13 years i am absolutely passionate about helping people to have outstanding health and wellbeing... I am, as you can imagine, constantly getting requests for good weight loss tips, which work and will have an immediate effect on your weight now! So I went through and compiled a list of the best tips that worked on my clients over the years..
1.Do get support
This is really important if you are to succeed at losing weight in the long-term. Being surrounded by people who will eat the same foods and encourage you along the way is a good idea. Find a 'buddy' or someone in your family to boost your morale. Hire a personal trainer who can help you stay on track and keep you motivated with both your food and exercise.
2.Do monitor your food intake and physical activity
Using a diary to record what you eat how much you exercise is an excellent start. This helps you to understand your 'danger periods', such as in the evenings when you relax in front of the TV. Once you have found out when you are most likely to waver it is easier to find ways to help yourself e.g. going for a walk instead of watching TV or having a bath, reading a book etc.
3.Don't rely on just changing your food intake to lose weight
A combination of both exercise and altered eating habits is the best way to lose and maintain weight loss.
4.Exercise up to 30 minutes a day – minimum of 5 times a week
Do some form of exercise, be it swimming, fast walking, jogging, skipping etc to get the heart rate up and therefore increase your metabolism.
5.Drink lots of water throughout the day
Water makes up approximately 75% of the human body and is essential for nearly all of the body’s processes. Often you dont realise you are dehydrated until you feel thirsty, by which stage the body has been in need of water for some time already. We often confuse thirst with hunger and therefore eat when we actually need water. you automatically lose 2lbs or more week if you are kept hydrated – so drink throughout the day aND use water as a natural appetite suppressor.
6.Eat a little protein with each meal
Protein keeps you feeling fuller for longer. When you have a properly balanced meal, with a little protein, it means you eat less carbs generally and less food specifically – which encourages your body to use up its glycogen and fat stores. Ie when you at more protein , your body keeps less fat.
7.Eat smaller amounts more often
Eating small, regular meals will keep your metabolism going faster than if you were going to consume larger meals less frequently. If you let yourself start to feel hungry, your body will go into starvation mode causing your metabolism to slow down and your body to store energy as fat in reserve for next time you become extremely hungry. So eat every 4 hour or so.
8.Turn off the tv whilst eating dinner
Studies show that dining whilst viewing can make you take in 40 % more calories than usual. Also texting, driving, or any other distracting activity during a meal can also result in your eating too much. Instead, make each meal something you put on a plate and sit down to.
9.Reach for your phone to distract you
Next time your mind gets stuck on a certain food, call a friend, and redirect your brain by asking how her day is going. Cravings usually only last five minutes, so by the time you hang up the urge to devour junk food will have subsided.
10.Tone up three times a week
Doing 10 minutes of push-ups, lunges, squats, biecep curls (in 3 minute intervals) will help build up and maintain muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be, so you will torch more calories as you go about your day.
11.Watch the alcohol
A sexy looking cocktail or a couple of glasses of wine can rack up hundreds of calories that do nothing to quench your appetite. Treat yourself to a drink on a special occasion or just at the weekends.
12.Visualise yourself being thin
See yourself being thin. Conjure up a mental picture of yourself when you have looked and felt thin. The visual motivation keeps you focused on your goal weight and reminds you that it is attainable, since you have achieved it before. Imagine & you Can.....
