How to Lose Weight Fast by Taking Baby Steps When some people decide to lose weight, they look at the size of the problem and become overwhelmed. They feel that if they don’t do everything perfectly, they’ll never succeed in losing weight. The truth is, you can start losing weight today – it’s as simple as taking baby steps towards your goal. Here are 13 baby steps to help you with your weight loss goals.
1) Cut out sugar
Believe it or not, sugar is a major cause of weight gain. While avoiding sugar altogether might seem daunting, there are a few steps you can take to reduce your intake and lose weight. If you have a sweet tooth, start by cutting out soda, sports drinks and fruit juice from your diet and replacing them with water.
Read food labels carefully and try to avoid products that contain ingredients you can’t pronounce or that are in excess of five grams per serving. Sugar causes our body’s blood glucose levels to spike and then drop quickly (which is what leads us to feel hungry again so soon after eating), so staying away from it will help curb your cravings for sweets.
Next, don’t be afraid to say no when someone offers you sweets or dessert. No one is going to shun you for saying no thanks! In fact, it may even encourage others in your family or social circle to cut back on sugar as well. Another way you can reduce your sugar intake is by substituting sugar with natural sweeteners like honey and stevia. Although they contain calories, they have a lower glycemic index than white sugar and are healthier overall.
You can also replace half of all regular table salt with potassium chloride salt substitute—it has about half of your daily recommended intake of salt per teaspoon, so it helps curb your salt cravings while still getting some in your diet.
2) Drink more water
Water is your best friend when you’re trying to lose weight, whether you need help staying hydrated or getting a little extra kick out of your diet. Do (Need some help getting started? Here are some tips for how much water to drink each day.) Aim for at least 64 ounces of pure, clean H20 each day—more if you exercise or live in a warm climate.
If you find yourself a little short on time and don’t have access to a water bottle, keep an empty glass by whatever you use most often and fill it up every time you pass it. Then, wash it out and fill it up as soon as possible before refilling again.
3)Â Eat a light dinner
Dinner is a meal with a long digestion time, which means you’ll burn fewer calories by eating it. If you have dinner at 5 p.m., it may not even be digested by bedtime and that means you’re not burning any calories during your sleep. Having dinner too late, in particular, can cause an increase in blood sugar levels, which slows metabolism and promotes fat storage. If possible, try to consume most of your daily calories earlier in the day and then eat less as you get closer to bedtime; just be sure not to drop below 1,200 calories per day.
4) Take a walk
Now that you’ve written your weight-loss plan, it’s time to put it into action. The best way to start is with a quick walk. Walking burns calories and releases mood-boosting endorphins. Try walking just 20 minutes a day in addition to doing strength training—it will help you burn fat faster and increase endurance.
5) Eat only when you’re hungry
If you’re constantly eating when you’re not hungry, it might be time to rethink your strategy. There are plenty of ways that seemingly innocent eating habits sneak hundreds of calories into your diet on a daily basis. A single restaurant dinner can easily push over 1000 calories; those fries don’t seem so innocent anymore, do they?
When you practice mindful eating and keep track of how much you eat (and why), you are more likely to recognize—and understand—the cause-and-effect relationships between what you eat and how full or unsatisfied you feel later on. Small changes can make a big difference! You may be surprised by just how many extra calories you’ve been consuming without even realizing it.
6) Log your meals
People who keep food logs tend to lose twice as much weight as those who don’t, according to a recent study from Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Health Research. Why? There are lots of reasons logging works, but researchers believe that simply forcing yourself to acknowledge what you’re eating—and when and why—is enough to curb mindless munching. Plus, writing down what you eat forces you to think about portion control.
Here are a few tips on how to log your meals: List everything you eat every day (or almost everything). How else will you know if you have room for dessert? Log calories in order of importance, so that every time you eat something, it counts towards your daily total.
7) Chew slower and eat less
Did you know that how fast you eat can make a big difference in how much you end up eating? One study found that people who ate quickly (in less than three minutes) without noticing they were doing so ended up consuming 16 per cent more than people who ate slowly (in eight minutes or more).
Eating slower allows your body to register when it’s full, which helps prevent overeating. Instead of wolfing down your food, focus on chewing thoroughly. Put down your fork between bites and enjoy a nice sip of water—you may find yourself naturally slowing down. It’s an easy trick that can help with weight loss and also make meals much more enjoyable.
8) Stop eating before you feel full
If you’re still hungry after eating, that means your body isn’t getting what it needs from food. If you stop eating before you feel full and eat only when you’re hungry, your body can learn to feel full on less. It doesn’t matter if it takes a couple of weeks or several months, patience is key. Keep yourself focused by telling yourself: I know I will lose weight in time if I stick with it!
9) Eat An Apple Every Day
Do you remember in elementary school when your teacher told you that an apple a day keeps the doctor away? If you’re looking for an easy way to lose weight, it’s time to revisit that advice. An apple provides more fiber than most fruits and veggies do, and it’s full of antioxidants.
Those two qualities make apples one of the best snacks around—and one that can help you shed pounds quickly. Eat them before or after a meal or whenever you want a quick bite on the go. Need more reasons? Read up on what apples can do for your body!
10) Build Muscle
While it’s best not to focus on weight loss when trying to build muscle, knowing your target calorie intake is a good place to start. Generally, between 1,600 and 2,000 calories should be enough for most men who weigh more than 170 pounds.
If you weigh less than that, consume 1,200-1,500 calories daily. Once you’ve established a healthy baseline of calories and macronutrients (fat vs protein), eat around one gram of protein per pound of body weight each day. To figure out how many grams of fat you should eat daily (taking into account your body fat percentage) multiply your total body weight by 0.2 – 0.25.
11) Get more sleep
Getting a full night’s sleep not only boosts mood, it also helps people eat less. This is because when we’re tired, our bodies produce more ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and less leptin (the satiety hormone). Sleep deprivation has also been linked with poor food choices, including binge eating.
When you get a good night’s sleep, you have more willpower and are better able to resist the call of snacks and junk food. And getting enough Zzzzs is critical for burning fat because when we don’t get enough sleep, our body produces more cortisol – resulting in more fat storage!
12) Use smaller amounts of oil
Cooking with oil can add a lot of calories and fat to your food. Instead, choose a nonstick cooking spray or use less oil when you cook. You might be surprised at how little you actually need. This step alone could save you hundreds of calories each week!
13) Take Daily Vitamins and Supplements
Regrettably, a lot of adults do not get sufficient of the vitamins and nutrients they require from the foods as well as beverages they consume. However, the body requires the right amount of nutrients and also vitamins to remain healthy and balanced and also effectively function.
To make certain you’re sustaining your body right each day, take into consideration taking day-to-day vitamins and supplements. Assisting to enhance everything from the immune system to the digestive and also skeletal system, taking just a few tablets every day will certainly aid give your body the power it needs to continually shed fat, get rid of toxic substances, and ward off illness.
Conclusion
Baby steps are an excellent way to start losing weight safely. Taking one small step at a time, you’ll be less likely to burn out or lose motivation along your journey.
