The 20 Best Weight-Loss Tips Ever
Most people treat themselves by pampering in an exceedingly gallon
of frozen dessert or by lolling round the house, looking at TV. Blatner needs
"treat yourself" to mean precisely the opposite. Her definition is
intended to convey you a lot of energy, assist you slim and keep your body
healthy.
"It's preplanning your grocery list. It's being
within the market and shopping for foods that nourish your body. It's ingestion
heedfully," she told the audience at the fleshiness Action Coalition's
annual Your Weight Matters convention. "Those square measure particular
things that after you do them, it's treating yourself right."
In alternative words, you need to feel smart and appearance smart,
Blatner says. therefore putting in place 5 or ten minutes to arrange your meals
for the future week or defrayal half-hour at the athletic facility is that the
final act of self-love.
"There's no larger gesture during this world that
claims, 'You grasp what, Dawn? You matter.'"
Losing pounds does not ought to be torture
(we're gazing you, cayenne-pepper cleanse). Adopt a minimum of 3 of those
behaviors — they are straightforward to integrate into your regular routine,
and every one area unit sky-high backed by nutritionists — and you will be
agent and healthier in days. (Plus, the burden can avoid.)
1. Table. Plate. Chair.
Every time you put food
in your mouth, you should have three things, Blatner says: a table, a plate and
a chair.
These three items ensure
you're not sneaking snacks from the refrigerator late at night or gulping down
1,000 calories in your car from a fast food joint. And having them probably
means you're consuming more nutrients than a bag of potato chips would offer --
unless you're one of those weird people who puts potato chips on a plate.
"It's my answer to
eating mindfully," Blatner says.
Eating mindfully, research shows,
helps people pay closer attention to the enjoyment of eating and to feelings of
fullness. Studies suggest people who eat mindfully consume fewer calories at
meals, no matter how much is on their plate.
2. Willpower is a mental muscle. Exercise it.
Willpower is a limited
resource, psychologist Sean Connolly of San Antonio says, but we all have
it. The trick is in knowing how to use it efficiently.
"People list lack
of willpower as the No. 1 reason holding them back from improving their lives
in some way," says Connolly, who works regularly with bariatric patients.
"Willpower is not a gene. It's a tool that we all have that we have to learn
to use, develop and manage."
Like any muscle, your
willpower gets tired. So you have to plan, Connolly says, and know what you
will do in situations that offer a healthy choice and an unhealthy choice. You
also have to be prepared for emergencies, such as at the end of a long work
day, when your willpower is exhausted and the drive thru window beckons.
Willpower also needs to
be replenished daily. The best way to do this? Get enough sleep.
3. Be realistic.
Let's be honest, most of
us want to lose a lot of weight. And when we don't -- when we drop 5 or 10 and
then hit a wall -- we get discouraged and jump back on the fried food wagon.
One of the biggest
obstacles to losing weight is unrealistic expectations, says psychologist Gary
Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University.
"The less you
weigh, the less you need to eat and the more you need to move (to lose
weight)," Foster says. "And that's not fair."
It's nice to aim high,
but successful losers drop an average of 8.4% of their body weight. If you
weigh in at 200, that's about 16 pounds. And losing those 16 pounds improves
your health dramatically.
In other words, hoping
to weigh what you did in high school will derail your plan before it starts.
"Life changes, and
that's not an apology or a cop out. It's a realistic assessment," Foster
says. "What else in your life is the same at 45 as it was at 20?"
4. Find better friends.
It's known as the
"socialization effect." Cigarette smokers hang out with other
cigarette smokers. Drinkers hang out with other drinks. And overweight people
hang out with other overweight people, says Dr. Robert Kushner of Chicago.
"What do you do if
you're hanging out with a group of people who are overweight?" he asks.
You pick a restaurant. You go out for burgers and a beer. "You're probably
not talking about going rollerblading."
We tend to pick up the
habits of those we hang out with the most. So find some friends with healthy
habits, and you'll become healthier yourself.
5. Do a cart check.
You know the MyPlate diagram -- the one that shows
how your plate should be split into fruits, grains, vegetables and proteins?
Your cart should look the same, Blatner says. When you think you're finished
shopping, do a quick eye check to make sure it's filled with about 25% protein,
25% whole grains and 50% produce.
"Choice is the
enemy of weight loss," Blatner says. She recommends planning out two
healthy breakfasts, two healthy lunches, two healthy snacks and two healthy
dinners for the week. Buy the ingredients you need for each and then rotate
them throughout the week.
This gives you enough
choice that you won't get bored but not enough choice that you're overwhelmed
and end up looking for the nearest vending machine.
6. Do not eat in response to that thing.
You're at the movies.
It's your cousin's bachelorette party. Your son is at the top of his graduating
class. It's a ball game -- and what's a ball game without a hot dog? If you
want to lose weight, avoid eating in response to "that thing," Foster
says.
Plan what you're going
to eat at these special -- or not so special -- occasions so you don't have to
rely on your willpower. And only eat when you're hungry. There will be more
food at the next thing.
7. Tell yourself: "I have the right to be thin."
Self-sabotage is a real
problem in weight loss, Connolly says. A lot of times his clients say they want
something and then go out of their way to make sure it doesn't happen.
It's not a lack of
desire or motivation. "Something holds us back," he says.
We have to learn to
validate ourselves, Connolly says, because we'll never get everything we need
from other people. Tell yourself daily that you deserve to be healthy. You
deserve to look and feel good. Then believe it.
8. Set S.M.A.R.T. goals.
If you haven't heard
this acronym before, memorize it now. Any goal you set should be specific,
measurable, attainable, realistic and timely, says Eliza Kingsford,
psychotherapist and director of clinical services for Wellspring. If it meets
these qualities, you'll be much more likely to achieve it.
For instance, "I'm
going to be more active" is a goal. "I will walk for 30 minutes every
day for the next month" is a S.M.A.R.T. goal.
It's specific in that
you know how much activity you're going to do. It's measurable -- did you walk
today or not?
It's attainable and
realistic; everyone can find 30 minutes in their day, and walking doesn't
require a lot of equipment or special training. And it's timely because you'll
be able to see at the end of the month if you hit your goal.
9. Stand up.
Most of us now spend
eight hours a day sitting at our desks at work, and two to three hours sitting
at home. That kind of sedentary lifestyle is nearly impossible to counteract,
Dr. Holly Lofton of New York says, even if you hit the gym for two hours a
day (and who does that?).
She suggests wearing a
step counter that will keep you aware of the movement -- or lack of movement --
you're making throughout the day. Try standing up at your desk while on a
conference call, or walking to a colleague's desk instead of e-mailing him.
Take the stairs. Park farther away. Everything counts!
10. Life will never be stress-free. Learn to cope.
Scientists disagree
about whether stress itself produces a physical change in your body that can
lead to significant weight gain. But we all know the effect a stressful day can
have on our willpower.
The problem, Kushner
says, is that there never will be a long period in your life without stress.
And if we cope with everyday stress by indulging in brownies and vodka, the
weight will continue to pile on.
"Life happens. It's
not so much stress that causes weight gain, it's the coping, the push
back," he says.
The key is to learn
positive coping skills. If work is stressing you out, take a 10-minute walk
instead of hitting up the cookie tray in the breakroom. Take a yoga class at
the end of a long week. Use deep breaths to get through a phone call with your
mother.
And treat yourself to a
stress-less day.
11. SNACK,
BUT SMARTLY
Grazing between meals used to be on the
weight-loss hit list. But nutritionists now know that it's better to satisfy a
craving with healthy grub than ignore it and risk a junk-food binge later. The
best picks are filling, protein-packed snacks, such as one stick of string
cheese, a tablespoon of peanut butter on a piece of fruit, or a medium-size
bowl of edamame.
12. TURN OFF THE TV
Dining while viewing can make you take in 40
percent more calories than usual, reports a new study. And texting, driving, or
any other distracting activity during a meal can also result in your eating too
much. Instead, make each meal something you put on a plate and sit down to,
even if you're eating solo.
13. STEP ON THE SCALE DAILY
If your regular weight increases several days in
a row, it's a red flag letting you know you need to cut back a little or beef
up your workouts slightly.
14. SCULPT THREE TIMES A WEEK
Doing 5 minutes each of push-ups, lunges, and
squats (in 30-second intervals) will help build and maintain muscle mass. The
more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be, so you'll torch more
calories as you go about your day.
15. REACH FOR YOUR CELL
Next time your mind gets stuck on a certain
food, call a friend and redirect your brain by asking how her day's going.
Research shows that cravings only last about 5 minutes, so by the time you hang
up, the urge to devour junk will have subsided.
16. EAT A BIG, BALANCED BREAKFAST
An a.m. meal made up mostly of carbs and protein
with some fat keeps blood-sugar levels steady and hunger pangs away so you're
not susceptible to pigging out come lunch, studies show. Opt for something
satisfying for your stomach and taste buds — like egg whites and turkey bacon
with whole-wheat toast.
17. WATCH THE BOOZE
One innocent-looking margarita or cosmopolitan
can rack up hundreds of calories that do nothing to quench your appetite. Treat
yourself just on the weekends and cut back somewhere else or stick to a glass
of wine, light beer, or vodka and soda — three drinks that each have about 100
calories per serving.
18. HAVE FRUIT TWICE A DAY
Fruit has no fat and is mostly water, so it'll
fill you up while leaving less room on your plate (and in your stomach) for
high-cal fare. Don't freak about fruit's carb count — we're talking the good
kind of carbohydrates that contain lots of healthy fiber.
19. STAY ASLEEP LONGER
Getting to bed just 30 minutes earlier and
waking up 30 minutes later than you normally do can help you make better food
choices, researchers report. Also, when you're well-rested, you're less prone
to snacking out of fatigue or stress.
20. VISUALIZE YOURSELF THIN
When you feel your
willpower breaking, conjure up a mental picture of yourself when you looked and
felt slim. The visual motivation keeps you focused on your goal weight and
reminds you that it is attainable, since you've achieved it before.
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