For you to succeed at any weight loss program, one of the most important, and first, steps is make sure you have the right mind set.
You need to create a shift in your eating habits, and to do this effectively you first need to make a similar shift in your way of thinking. It's very difficult to maintain any weight loss program without doing one or the other.
The bald facts are that it is difficult to lose weight - the road you are about to embark on is not an easy one - that is why it's vitally important to get your mind right first of all. By laying down the foundations you will be more likely to sustain your program, achieve your goals and keep the weight off in the long-term.
Before you begin to lose weight, consider the following points to get your mental tool kit in order. These tips are based on successful case studies, real-life examples of people who were in the same boat as you are in right now and managed to reduce their weight significantly.
1. Eat slowly
Gobbling food quickly or on the go is very bad for your metabolism. If you are eating quickly you will not chew your food correctly, and you will be swallowing it in large lumps. These large segments of food take your body a lot longer to break down, and use up a lot of energy to do so. Chew your food properly, and swallow only when it has started to break down.
2. Stop eating before you feel full.
Studies have shown that your stomach becomes full up to 20 minutes before it tells the brain that it is full. This means you can be eating for 20 minutes on a full stomach.
This study, published in the British Medical Journal, also found that of the 300 adults tested, people who eat quickly and ate until they felt full were up to three times more likely to put on weight quickly. These people were not over weight (at least before they started the survey) and all of them had a normal BMI (Body Mass Index).
3.Lose the weight slowly
The motivation is flowing, and you are super keen to lose that weight quickly. Unfortunately, it's not much like reality. If you do lose weight quickly, you are much more likely to return to your old eating habits and put the weight back on relatively quickly as well.
This style of yo-yo dieting is incredibly common. You should be looking to lose the weight over a period of time, and make the necessary adjustments gradually so that they become the norm. Try not to focus on the numbers on the bathroom scales - concentrate more on changing your eating habits and living a healthy lifestyle. Do this and the numbers will look after themselves.
4. Eat frequently
People who lose weight and keep it off actually eat frequently throughout the day - at least every 3-4 hours. By doing this they maintain a high metabolism at all times and the calories are processed much quicker. It also assuages hunger so you are less likely to go binge eating and destroy any of the good work you have done so far.
5. Eat breakfast
Absolutely vital for kick-starting your metabolism at the beginning of the day - start off on the right note and it's easier to keep it at that nice healthy level throughout the day.
6. Exercise for 60 minutes every day
It sounds like an awful lot, and it can be very daunting when you first start. After time, however, it quickly becomes habit, and becomes a normal part of your daily routine. And we're not talking about running a marathon or doing 100 push-ups here either - the exercise you do can be something simple like walking, swimming or cycling.
7. Limit your TV
When you watch TV, you are not exercising. Everyone needs to relax, but try and limit your television watching to around 10 hours a week. You will be amazed at what a difference this can make - you will suddenly have loads of time for exercise! Also, you will be a lot less susceptible to those snacks that seem like such a good idea whilst lying on the couch.
8. Write down your goals.
This can be very powerful - tell yourself exactly what you want to achieve and empower you to do so. When you have your list of goals, a great place to keep them in mind is to fix them to the front of the fridge. Not only will this deter you every time you go for a snack, but it will also serve as a reminder of how well you are doing when you go to the fridge for something healthy!
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