It’s not an official figure but is likely to be true all the same: how to lose weight is the most frequently searched key phrase on the Internet.
And there’s a reason why: obesity is a HUGE health problem and affects a good part of the world population.
What’s worse, there’s no instant fix to it. Losing weight takes time—and hard work. It is a TO-DO project.
You may gather as much information about how to lose weight you may want, but nothing will come out of your research efforts until you put in action some of the advice you’ve collected.
Here are 4 good tips to lose weight that work for everyone. Start you journey to a slimmer, healthier you by following these weight loss tips.
1. Stop Drinking Sugar
A calorie is not a calorie. Some calories are better than others, and those obtained from sugary drinks are worst of the lot.
Our brain does not register calories consumed from sugary beverages the same way as from food. In other words, you would feel just as hungrier after drinking 100 liquid calories as you would’ve been before consuming them.
So the problem with sugary beverages is two-fold. One, they increase your sugar intake and provide extra calories. Two, they increase your overall calorie intake as well.
Sugary soda drinks are not the only you should be staying away from, so called “healthy drinks” loaded with sugar are also problematic.
Fruit juices, if taken in huge quantities, can seriously up your sugar intake. Eat whole fruits instead, as they are many times healthier than juices.
2. Eat more whole foods
Processed foods are notoriously high in ingredients that make you fat and unhealthy: excess calories, sodium levels, and fat content.
On the other hand, whole foods are rich in all the good stuff: essential minerals, vitamins, nutrients, and good fats. Replacing processed foods with whole foods is the best dietary change you can do to becoming slimmer and healthier.
The following example give you a fair idea of how much you stand to gain by shunning processed foods and eating whole foods instead: eating a medium plain baked potato instead of French fries results in trimming your daily calorie intake by 215 calories.
3. Exercise daily
Dietary changes are essential to lose weight, but they are not be-all. Alone, they may not be sufficient to help you reach the desired weight.
One question which many weight-loss enthusiasts ask is which one is better to lose weight—hitting the treadmill or picking the dumbbell?
The answer is BOTH.
Minute for minute, cardio burns more calories. But it also lead to loss of muscle mass, something you’d want to hang on to. Resistance training allows you to retain the muscle mass you already have and also add more to it. Plus, you also burn calories when you lift weights.
So you should do both, in the same session or alternately.
4. Get adequate sleep
How much sleep is enough differs from person to person. However, if you are sleeping for fewer hours than 6 and feel groggy and low on energy in the morning, in all probability you are not getting enough sleep.
Experts agree that most adults need to 6 to 8 hours of sleep in the night. And sleeping for long hours on the weekend to make up for the lost hours during the weekdays doesn’t work, contrary to what many believe.
Lack of sleep is a major risk factor of obesity, both in adults and children. Fifty-five percent of adults who sleep less are at a greater risk of obesity. This percentage in case of children is even more—89 percent.
Say no to sugary drinks, eat more whole foods, exercise daily and sleep for enough hours is an effective way as any—or perhaps only way—to lose weight.