With today’s obesity epidemic, scientists are working non-stop to better understand weight gain and how to lose the excess pounds. While losing a lot of weight can be a challenge, recent studies have come up with a number of simple tips and tricks that can help you slim down without putting too much of a cramp in your daily routine.
Drink Tons of Water
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You probably already know that you’re supposed to drink a lot of water if you’re trying to lose weight, but you might not know just how important water intake is to the cause. Simply drinking two glasses of water (around half a liter) prior to meals can make you think you are fuller and reduce your meal portions. Water can also help you digest. In fact, the average woman eats around 2,000 calories a day, but when she consumes water first, that number drops to around 1,200 calories. Similar decreased calorie consumption was seen in men as well.
Drink More Tea
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Water’s not the only thing you should be drinking. A Tufts University study has shown that drinking three cups of green tea a day can help you lose twice as much weight as you would otherwise. White tea is also beneficial and a German study found that it can help decrease the number of new fat cells you develop while helping you burn off the existing fat cells in your body.
Cut Out The Corn Syrup
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Speaking of beverages, if you just have to drink soda, put down your regular Pepsi products and grab some Throwback, which is made with real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. While both add on calories, a Princeton University study has shown that corn syrup prompts far more weight gain than sugar does. Of course, soda isn’t the only source of high fructose corn syrup. It seems to be in everything these days and it can even be hard to avoid. On a personal note, I can tell you that I cut almost all sources of corn syrup out of my diet and I’ve felt a lot healthier afterwards. Most noticeably, the shaking I get between meals if I wait to long to eat is mostly gone when I don’t have corn syrup for a whole week.
Enjoy a Fattening Breakfast
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While eating a high-calorie, high-cholesterol breakfast can seem counter intuitive to the goal of weight loss, it can actually be incredibly good for you. According to an article in the International Journal of Obesity, eating a fattening breakfast, a lighter lunch and a very light dinner can lead to more weight loss than eating light meals all day. Researchers believe that eating a hearty meal early in the morning revs up your metabolism, helping you to burn off everything you eat throughout the day. If you only eat cereal, your body will only be able to metabolize carbs throughout the day, but if you eat eggs and bacon, you will be able to digest fat and carbs much more efficiently.
Eat Slower
Eating slower helps you feel fuller after eating less food, your body also has more time to digest each bite individually, leading to better metabolization of the meal.
Put Leftovers Away Before Eating
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By now, you’re probably familiar with the importance of portion control, but sometimes it’s so hard when you have good food sitting right in front of you. A simple solution to reduce your number of second helpings is to put away leftovers before you start to eat your meal. If you do go back for seconds, you’ll also have to take the time to remove the food from the fridge and the Tupperware, which will often reduce the serving size of your second trip.
Overload On Veggies
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If you can’t handle portion control and love copious amounts of food, then just fill your plate with steamed veggies or salad with light dressing. These yummy foods have limited calories and massive nutrient values, maximizing the healthy side your indulgences.
Don’t Eat and Multi-Task
One of my biggest problems is the fact that I will snack while working at my computer and before I know it, I’ll have gone through a whole box of crackers. While you can always try snack packs so you can limit the amount you intake, it’s generally better to just avoid eating while doing other things. This also allows you to take a break and relax for a while, making your food more of a treat and less of a habit.
Instead of Snacking, Brush Your Teeth
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If you’re craving a snack, try brushing your teeth or using mouthwash. This will not only placate your mouth from wanting to nibble, it will also make you wait a while because most foods taste icky right after you brush. Your dentist will also like this plan.
Buy Food With Cash
Sometimes you’re going to end up having to eat fast food. It’s part of our modern world, but you can easily reduce the amount you order at the restaurant by paying with cash instead of a credit card. A study by Visa showed that customers spent 30% more at fast food restaurants when paying with plastic instead of cash.
Make A “Veggie Section” In Your Shopping Cart
A recent University of New Mexico study showed that shopping carts that have been modified with a “vegetable section” caused shoppers to buy over 100% more veggies than they normally would, while they did not spend any additional money. Although your local grocery carts may not have a veggies section, you can improvise by putting a basket in your cart and telling yourself to only put vegetables in the basket.
Listen to Music While You Work Out
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Of course, dieting goes hand in hand with exercise when it comes to weight loss, and if you want to make the most of your gym time, rock out while you work out. This not only makes exercise less tedious and boring, but this decreased boredom can help you work out longer and harder, increasing your performance by up to 20%.
Watch Less TV
When you watch tv, your heart rate slows and you burn 20 to 30 fewer calories per hour than you would doing just about anything else. Instead, read a book, take a walk, play with your dog. Just do something that requires more energy.
Wear Comfy Clothes
If your work doesn’t require you to dress up, then don’t. People who wear comfortable clothes walk an average of 8% more every day than those in business attire. Besides, why be uncomfortable when you don’t have to be?
Weigh Yourself
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You are 82% less likely to regain weight you’ve shed if you weigh yourself on a daily basis. It can also help motivate you to keep working out and stick with the diet. Before you start on any weight loss regimen, I seriously recommend learning your body fat percentage so you know what you’re working with. While many people think that your body mass index (BMI) is a good indicator of your health, this measurement doesn’t take body shapes and muscle mass into account. You may be overweight according to the BMI and healthily muscular according to a body fat test. For a simple test you can use at home, try this one at Health Central. Do any of you have any tips to add that help you keep your weight down?
Sources: Lifehacker #1, #2, #3, Health Assist #1, #2, BBC, KOB, About.com, Reader's Digest, InventorSpot, MSN and Medical News Today
And now, even if you do lost any extra weight again etc. you will still have that additional number of fat cells.
PS: Ashley, are you SURE?
I have found that cutting down on products made with HFCS, and doing things like baking my own bread (from scratch), using extra virgin olive oil instead of other cooking oils, real butter instead of margarine, etc, I have lost weight and have more energy than I used to.