9 Most Easy-to-Follow Weight-Loss Tips

Overview

Slimming down doesn't happen overnight, but it doesn't have to consume your life either. There are easier ways to lose the weight than endlessly counting calories, watching every mouthful, avoiding restaurants, or spending hours at the gym. Keep reading for 9 simple ways to enhance your fat-loss efforts and bid your belly rolls adieu.

Take advantage of your cup of Joe

Let your morning coffee fuel your sweat session. Consuming caffeine an hour before you hit the gym diminishes how tired you feel so you can work out harder and longer, found British researchers. Athletes who consumed 5 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per kilogram (kg) of body weight were able to perform more reps than those who didn't. "They also felt less muscle pain during and after the exercise," says study author Michael Duncan, Ph.D. 

And while that may sound like a lot of caffeine, it's not much more than an average guy consumes per day. Other studies show that anywhere from 3 to 6 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight will produce this effect, says Duncan. If you weigh 180 pounds (about 82 kilograms), that puts your caffeine consumption between 246 mg and 492 mg of caffeine—or 12 to 20 ounces of coffee, according to the National Institutes of Health. However, effects can diminish over time if you rely on it every day, says Duncan. He suggests drinking coffee before your workout twice a week for an extra boost.

Raise the stakes

Betting some dough can help you lose belly fat, according to a recent Brown University study. Researchers studied more than 40,000 weight-loss warriors on a social gaming website called DietBet and found that those who wagered more lost an average of 5 percent of their body weight in just 4 weeks compared to their non-betting counterparts who only lost 2 percent. The tendency to avoid losing something—like your hard earned cash—is a significant motivator when trying to stick to your goals, the researchers report.

Use interval training

Want to crush cravings? Intense intervals might make you eat less, reports new Australian research. Men who completed a sprint session consumed fewer calories during the following 38 hours than those who completed a continuous workout at moderate intensity, the researchers found. "Intense exercise may suppress ghrelin, a hunger-stimulating hormone," says Aaron Sim, Ph.D., lead author of the study. Give it a try for yourself with these 3 Sprint Drills That Squash Hunger Pains.

Dial up your intensity

Even if you feel like you're killing it at the gym, it might not be enough. Only 5 percent of people correctly gauged how hard they worked during a high-intensity routine, while everyone else overestimated their efforts, according to research published in the journal PLoS ONE. In other words, most people think they're going all out, but they're really working at a moderate or even light intensity.

"Many people don't know what high-intensity exercise feels like," says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., owner of Results Fitness in Newhall, California. "They think they're working hard, but they're not. High-intensity exercise calls for your heart rate to be between 77 and 83 percent of your maximum heart rate." That's why Cosgrove has all of her clients wear a heart rate monitor during workouts. It let's you know if you're working your hardest and burning as many calories as possible.

To find your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from the number 220. For example, if you're 30 years old, your maximum heart rate should be 190 beats per minute. During a high-intensity workout, your heart rate should be between 146 and 158 beats per minute.

Snack smart

You don't have to skip a snack to lose weight—you just need to choose the right snack, according to research published in The FASEB Journal. Researchers found that people who ate a snack containing 26 grams (g) of protein felt fuller and were less likely to snack later in the day, particularly on unhealthy foods high in sugar and fat. Stay lean with these 6 Treats You Can Make With Protein Powder.

Indulge on the weekends

When trying to drop pounds, put in the majority of effort from Monday to Friday. Due to the combination of social outings and a natural, weekly weight-loss cycle, you're more likely to gain weight on the weekends and lose weight during the week, according to Finnish reseachers.

It's when you don't take advantage of your weekdays that you'll find yourself avoiding the scale. In the study, participants who failed to lose weight Monday through Friday experienced incremental weight gains of 1 percent of their bodyweight with each week. And while that doesn't sound like a lot, those 1 ½-pound to 2-pound increments quickly add up over the course of a couple months. So go ahead and enjoy that burger with your buddy this weekend—just make sure you have plans to get back on track come Monday.

Stick to the plan

Should you cut carbs or cut fats? Should you eat 7 meals a day or only eat 3? Sorting through the myriad of diets will make your head spin. But it turns out that as long as you stick to one healthy-eating plan, you can increase your chances of losing weight, according to research in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers analyzed the results of more than 7,000 overweight and obese adults who followed either low-carb and low-fat diets. After 6 months, the low-carb group lost 19 pounds more and the low-fat group lost 17 pounds more than those who didn't follow a diet at all. But by the end of the year, both diet groups lost the same amount of weight—which was still significantly greater than the group that didn't stick to a plan. The key: Consistency. Pick a diet that fits within your lifestyle, and adhere to it for the best results.

Work your biggest assets

If you want to burn a ton of calories in less time at the gym, make sure you hit your lower body, says BJ Gaddour, C.S.C.S, creator of the Bodyweight Muscle Burners DVD. Big muscles like your glutes, quads, and hamstrings take more energy to recover than your smaller muscles. Because of this, you'll burn calories long after you leave the gym—while you're in the car, sitting on the couch, or sleeping. For a workout that hits your entire lower body from all angles, try this 15-Minute Workout That Will Turn Your Legs to Jelly.

Decode your dishware

The color of your plate may decrease your waistline. Eating off bright red plates can help you consume less, according to a study published in the journal Appetite. You're more likely to associate the color red with the command "stop," which causes you to finish your meal before you normally would using a plate of a different hue, according to the researchers.

Other studies have found that your plate size can also affect how much you eat. Plus-size plates can cause your eyes to override your stomach, so switch to smaller plates that are no bigger than 10 1/2 inches when trying to lose weight. The same portions will look much bigger when heaped on the smaller dish.

1. Prev:Rewire Your Brain
2. Next:Pig-Out Pitfalls