10 Small Changes You Can Make To Lose Weight Faster

If you are looking to lose weight and get fit, don’t start by making drastic, widespread changes in your life. Research has shown that making small, tiny, baby steps is far better for you than taking gigantic, running, leaps.

“When you focus on just a couple of small changes at a time, you begin to ingrain some healthy habits that last for a lifetime, rather than trying an all-or-nothing approach that more often than not fails because it’s too hard to follow,” says Lesley Lutes, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of psychology at East Carolina University.

Makes sense, right? Why make a change if your can’t sustain it? But where exactly do you start? Here are are 10 little things you can do to get you started. Add one or two of these habits a week and you’ll be seeing results before you know it. And once these habits become second nature, they will benefit you for a lifetime.

1. Pick up a pen.

Keeping a food log is a great way to lose weight. It will help you control your calories by keeping you planted in reality and away from mindless eating. It will also prompt you to make better food choices because there is a sense of permanence when you write things down. Writing things down can also make you more aware of your food habits, reminds Dr. Lutes. “Knowing your routine helps you figure out what changes are right for you,” she says.

2. Skip through commercials.

Get moving while watching your favourite TV shows. Skip, jump, dance, run up and down the stairs. Do something that will get your heart-rate up and make you feel breathless, says Geralyn Coopersmith, senior national manager at Equinox Fitness. If you do this for every 2 minute break during your average 2 hours a night TV session, you will burn up to 270 extra calories a day.

3. Limit high-fat foods.

Identify the high-fat, high-calorie foods that are your favourites and gently shift yourself away from them. “If you’re eating six of these foods a week, try to go down to five,” says Dr. Lutes. Continue to drop each week until you are at no more than 2. While doing this decrease, start adding in extra healthy food like leafy greens and other colourful fruits and vegetables.

4. Sign up for e-newsletters.

A study from Kaiser Permanente found that people who received weekly e-newsletters about diet and fitness for 16 weeks substantially increased their levels of physical activity and intake of healthy foods like fruits and vegetables while cutting back on trans and saturated fats.

5. Walk 5 minutes more.

Dr. Lutes’ pilot study found that increasing your activity level by a few minutes a day helped people lose weight. You goal should be to do 30 minutes of activity a day but you don’t have to do it all at once.

6. Add mini strength training.

Body-weight exercises like squats and push-ups are a great way to build the muscle you need to boost your metabolism. “Your muscles don’t know the difference between working against your body’s own resistance and on a fancy piece of equipment,” says Wayne Westcott, PhD, fitness research director at Quincy College and Prevention advisor. “The one rule to follow is that each exercise should fatigue your muscles within 60 to 90 seconds.”

7. Climb 3 extra flights.

If you have a choice between riding the elevator/escalator, and taking the stairs, we say take the stairs. If you add 2 to 3 minutes of stair climbing (enough to cover a couple flights), you will increase your calorie burn enough to counteract the average American’s annual weight gain of 1 to 2 pounds a year. Start with a few flights a day. If you are already someone who takes the stairs, add 3 flights to what you normally do.

8. Take a pedometer with you.

Make your pedometer as essential as your cell phone. Research shows pedometer users take nearly 2,500 more steps a day (over 1 mile, or about 100 calories) than nonusers. That enough to burn 10 pounds over the course of a year.

9. Brown-bag it more.

Not only will packing your own lunch save you hundreds of dollars over the course of the year, it can also save you thousands of calories. “When you make and eat your own food, you not only control the quality and portion sizes but also reduce the amount of sugar, salt, and fat that you’re consuming, which can be significantly higher in restaurant fare,” says Ashley Koff, RD, a Prevention advisor and nutrition consultant based in Los Angeles.

10. Obey the 1-mile rule.

If the errands you need to run are located within a mile of where you are, don’t drive. Walk there at a brisk pace. Or park your car where you can walk to all your errands without having to more your car each time. If you make a vow to walk more everyday, you can lose 13-17 pounds over the course of a year!

Did you lose weight by making gradual changes? Where did you start?

Source: Prevention

 

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