6 Smart Tips to Lose Weight and Keep It Off!
by Daniel DeMoss
You decided to lose weight. You start reading on the topic, looking for diets and exercises, asking friends how they did it. But, losing weight is more than just a fad diet. It is more than eliminating a few foods or counting calories.
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Science often talks about calories in and calories out, and while that is the basis for weight loss, there is more to it than that. More importantly, losing weight is only the first step. Keeping it off is another challenge that proves to be harder than the weight loss itself.
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Below are simple-to-adopt ways to succeed on your weight-loss journey!
So, You Want To Lose Weight And Keep It Off? Follow these 6 Tips below…
#1 Stay Away From Fad Diets
Fad diets are everywhere. While they might help you lose weight quickly, you’ll gain it all back (and then gain some more) as soon as you stop the diet. If reading this you started thinking “I won’t”, stop and think again!
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The one thing these fad diets have in common: they are unsustainable long-term!
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Why? Because they are based on the complete elimination of certain food groups that are otherwise essential for your health.
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Take, for instance, low-carb diets or the more extreme ketogenic diet, which require you to get most of your calories from fats. They will provide a quick weight loss for most people. But how long do you think you can live eating only about 10% carbs? Keep in mind that carbs include all fruit and vegetables, not just bread and sugar. Not too long!
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And when you finally go back to eating carbs, all that weight will come back with a vengeance.
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The same goes for other popular diets that are based on eliminating food groups. Even the less drastic intermittent fasting can have serious side effects. With this diet, you’re only supposed to eat for a few hours every day, during which time you can eat anything you want. For the rest of the time, you’ll be fasting.
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What could go wrong? The immediate side effect is that your blood sugar will drop while you fast. And instead of eating a balanced meal during your eating window, you will binge on every sugary food in site. That’s both dangerous for your health and your weight!
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Believe it or not, even if you only eat for 6 hours a day, you can still gain weight if what you eat is unhealthy!
#2 Do Meal Prepping
One of the most important things for a successful diet is meal prepping. Otherwise, when hunger strikes, you’ll find yourself eating something unhealthy.
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Dedicate one or two days a week to prepare all your meals for the following days. Take your food with you at work to reduce the risk of being tempted to eat something unhealthy.
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If you know there’s already good food in the fridge, you’ll be less likely to go for other options. It will also ensure your blood sugar is balanced and you’re less likely to binge eat because the food will always be ready.
#3 Satiety Is Key
One of the main reasons many diets fail is that they starve you. But let me tell you a secret: to lose weight, you don’t need to feel hungry all the time!
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On the contrary, satiety is the key. You’re more likely to stick with a diet if you feel satisfied. Consider adding to your diet high fiber foods like pears, strawberries, apples, broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, brown rice and quinoa.
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You should also consider increasing your protein intake. Studies have shown that protein activates the satiety hormone release, thus making us feel fuller longer.
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A great way to increase your protein intake without feeling you’re eating tons of meat is to use sugar-free protein powders. You can add them in smoothies, or just prepare them with water, milk or vegetable milk for a great tasting beverage.
#4 Find Your Favorite Exercise
Weight loss is more than just what you eat. Exercising and moving your body is just as important. If you hate running or lifting weights, or if high-intensity interval training feels impossible, don’t worry! There’s always an exercise that can fit your strength and endurance.
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The idea that you need to do strenuous exercise for many hours each week is just as unhealthy as the fad diets I was talking about earlier. If you’ve never exercised in your life, you should not go straight to HIIT or trying to run a marathon.
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You’re a beginner. So start with beginner exercises. Also, find the exercises that work for you. If you have any injuries or health issues, some workouts may not be ideal for you. However, since there are so many types of exercises nowadays, everyone can eventually find something they will love!
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But how can you find your favorite exercise? I would suggest trying a bit of everything. Maybe start at the gym, ideally with a personal trainer who can guide you and create a workout appropriate for your level. On the other hand, you can try group classes like dancing, yoga, or even swimming.
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When you find something you love, you’ll be more likely to stick to it. If your workout routine makes you feel exhausted and miserable, you’ll probably give it up sooner or later. Sure, you want to feel like you’re working out, but you don’t want to feel like you’re about to die any second.
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Find something fun that you look forward to! In time, you will naturally go towards more advanced exercises, as long as you listen to your body.
#5 Talk With A Dietitian
Finding the right diet for you can be hard. There’s so much information out there, which is good. But, for someone who is just starting out, the information overload can also be very confusing.
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I’d like to urge you to not try the diet that worked for your friend or for 100 girls in that group online. We’re all different people and we all have different dietary needs.
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The best thing to do is to consult a dietitian. They will be able to assess your current eating habits, what you should eliminate, what you should be eating more of, and what your ideal macros are.
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#6 Listen To Your Body
Your body knows what it needs! You might have lost touch with it…but no matter!
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Forget about fad diets and obsessive calorie counting because they take away part of your ability to listen to your body ~ you will always be
second-guessing and never listening to hunger cues.
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It is also proven junk food is addictive, so it might take a while to kick that addiction and start understanding what your body needs.
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Intuitive eating is not only possible, but it is also the healthiest way to lose weight. But what exactly does it mean to eat intuitively?
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In a nutshell, it really means eating when you’re hungry and stopping when you’re full. Sounds easy, right?
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Sadly, for many people, it isn’t. We are used to stuffing our faces on different occasions. If you are a calorie counter, chances are you’re even more out of tune with what your body needs.
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In short, the key aspects of intuitive eating are:
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● let go of the diet mentality
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● eat when you feel hungry
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● don’t consider any food good or bad – unless you have a medical condition, allow yourself to have everything in moderation if your body needs it
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● when you eat, just eat – no watching tv, working, or talking on the phone. Focus on your plate and enjoy your meal. You’ll be able to feel when you’ve eaten enough
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● be mindful of how certain foods make you feel – you should feel energized and well, not overly full and sick
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● don’t use foods to address your feelings.
Physical vs Emotional Hunger
Let’s talk a bit more about that last point – using food to address certain feelings. In other words, making the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger.
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Think about it. How many times have you when you’ve been sad, or angry, or lonely, and went to the kitchen to grab a snack? How many times were you rewarded with sweets as a child? How many times did you do the same as an adult and celebrated accomplishments with food?
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All these are clear examples of emotional eating. And these emotional states are situations you need to learn to avoid! It’s time you knew how to distinguish between real hunger and emotional hunger.
In Conclusion:
To lose weight and keep it off, you need to change your lifestyle. Diets might help you shed a few pounds, but that weight loss won’t last.
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Eat intuitively, consume a healthy and balanced diet, and move your body in a way that makes you feel amazing.
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Unsure if you’re on the right path? Look at your current diet and exercise routine and ask yourself this: Do I see myself having the same lifestyle 10 years from now? If you answer “No”, it means your lifestyle is unsustainable long-term and it will fail, sooner or later.
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Article Contributed by
Daniel Demoss
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Visit His website to learn more about nutrition and home exercise
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