Tough but Useful Tips to Really Lose Weight

Planning to lose some weight in time for some summer activities with your friends? Sadly,

losing weight for such occasion isn’t as easy as many people say it is. You have to

understand this and know that you need to work hard for weight loss. Once you accept that

you need to put some effort into it, you won’t easily quit whenever you feel how difficult

things are. Consider it as tough love—it’ll be hard, but it will pay off well.

The two tips you will find here are tips for mental preparedness and physical satisfaction

and nourishment. Basically, you need to have a good attitude towards losing weight as well

as know what to eat and what to avoid. Supplements can also play a big role in your weight

loss efforts, specific extracts like Garcinia Cambogia have show dramatically positive results.

1. Remember everything you consume and do. This includes food, drinks, and exercise.

Take advantage of the many free mobile apps you can find around you. It’s nice to have a

mobile app for this because it’s so easy to track the calories that you consume and burn.

Try Lose It! or MyFitness Pal. With the help of these, you will know whether your eating

pattern and exercise pattern is enough for you to attain your goal. Once you know this, you

can easily change your food consumption and exercise to fit your needs. Remember to be

honest and track everything, otherwise it won’t be of any help.

2. Consume non-starchy vegetables throughout the day. Vegetables are great for weight

loss because they have low calories and high water content, making you feel full. They also

take up a lot of space in your plate so that you think you’re eating a lot. There’s also a good

amount of fiber in there, plus vitamins and minerals to nourish your body. Start adding bell

peppers, cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, celery, squash, onions, broccoli, asparagus,

coleslaw, radishes, water chestnuts, and leafy greens to your daily diet.

3. Avoid alcohol consumption. If you want serious results, you need to be serious about

cutting back on alcohol calories and one thing you can cut back on is your alcohol

consumption. Stay away from those cocktails, mimosas, and even wine. Remind yourself

that alcohol has a lot more calories than protein or even carbs. Besides, your body considers

alcohol as a poison, which means it’s the first to be metabolized by the liver. This results to

your meal waiting for its turn to be processed. Furthermore, alcohol causes dehydration,

which leads to overeating.

4. Avoid drinking calories. It’s nice to have a flavorful drink every once in a while, but you

have to be aware of the excessive sugar in there. Sugary drinks give you more belly fat and

make you more vulnerable to diabetes. You’ll also be insulin resistant, plus your chance of

getting heart disease is increased. There’s also a risk of high blood pressure and gout. A

simple solution for your cravings is by replacing sodas and fruit juices with teas—black,

green, white, and even oolong teas taste good and have benefits for the body.

5. Do daily exercise. Yes, it’s definitely hard to like exercising, so you have to have a

motivation when doing it. Think of something related to a slimmer body and have that “do

it” attitude.

6. Stand up straight. Aside from helping you improve your posture, standing up tall and

straight will also help you get a stronger core. On top of that, it will make you look thinner.

Tighten your core and work your shoulder blades downward for a slimmer frame. You can

try Pilates as a good core strengthening technique. Start with the plank position and work

yourself to more complicated ones.

7. Be friendly to good fat. Not all fats are bad. There are vood fats, which are important in a

healthy diet. In fact, good facts can even prevent you from gaining weight. By adding good

fat to your diet, your body will feel fuller for a longer time. This is because fat is

metabolized at a slower rate than carbs or proteins. You can add dried apricots, string

cheese, avocado, grapefruit, or cucumber slices seasoned with Italian dressing. Just make

sure that the overall calorie intake is still low and that each snack is less than 200 calories.

8. Know the difference between appetite and hunger. Your hunger kicks in as a way to tell

you that it needs energy. Appetite, however, is simply your craving to eat. More often than

not, your appetite is the reason you gain weight. To combat this, portion your food and

keep the rest away. Eat only the portion that satisfies your daily nutrient requirement. Try

not to think of the food that’s stashed away. Distract yourself with other things. If you still

feel hungry after 20 minutes of doing something else, though, then perhaps you should

really eat some more.

9. Eat in small dishes. It’s a trick that can help you portion your food better. Smaller plates,

bowls, and even glasses, will only be filled with a smaller amount of food. Since it’s our eyes

that first see the food, your body will think that it’s eating a lot. You’ll be satisfied with a full

plate even though it has lesser foods than when you eat on bigger ones.

10. Rise to the weight loss challenge. The most important thing for you to do when aiming

to lose weight is to actually accept the challenge. It won’t be easy, so you have to prepare

yourself. The sooner you accept that this is no walk in the park, the sooner you can get into

the right attitude towards weight loss. With that you are already one step closer to your

goal.