Top Six Tips To Lose Weight

Losing weight is something that 90% of the population has had to do at some point in their life. It's a fact, obesity is on the rise across the world and it's about time people looked at their lifestyle and tried to improve their waistline. If you're not a fan of fad diets these simple tips will actually help you change your diet and lifestyle to make losing weight really easy!

Add Some Spice

The easiest way to increase the amount of weight you lose is to actually increase the metabolism. When the metabolism is high the body is having to burn excess calories to digest food. This is why people with a naturally higher metabolism never seem to put on weight: they digest food quickly while using calories some of us would store as fat. A great way to naturally do this is to eat foods which cause a thermogenic effect (heat up), this added heat from foods increases our metabolism and calorie burn. Foods which have a thermo effect are generally spicy such as peppers and chillies. But, if you do not like spicy foods there are easy ways to disguise it such as adding a light chilli to your hot meals such as spaghetti sauce. Try simply adding a raw pepper to your salad dishes or in a salad sandwich.

Six Small Meals Better Than Three Bigger Meals

We are always told to watch our portion size and that a fist size is generally accepted as enough. Although this may be true it is much better to eat 6 small meals throughout the day instead of 3 regular or larger meals. This is because it maintains the metabolism throughout the day, helping to increase the amount of calories burnt. It also stops the slump you tend to feel after a large lunch when your body has to work really hard to digest a large amount of food instead of burning slowly and at a pace which can sustain energy production. Breakfast really is an important meal, many people skip it because of time but if you don't kick start the metabolism early your body will not be using all its waking hours to burn calories - which you need to lose weight.

See Also: Missed A Workout? Make It Up At Work

Increase Daily Exercise

Exercise is the key to weight loss. A lot of people think that if they go to the gym two or three times a week they can eat anything they want. Unfortunately this is not true, as much as we all wish it was. Diet is the key to weight loss but exercise helps to rid the body of excess calories and keep you healthy. Time is a huge barrier that people use for not being able to exercise and I am not going to dispute this because with longer working weeks it's hard to fit in the gym. The best way to increase your exercise is to undertake daily lifestyle changes that can add to your exercise total. For example a simple change you can make is to walk rather than drive if possible. If you use public transport try getting of a stop early and walk that extra ten minutes. Also, if you work in an office take the stairs instead of the lift once a day, use your breaks to walk down a floor to grab a drink or use the loo! It all adds up to an increase calorie burn.

Changing Your Eating Habits To Lose Weight

Large To Small Meals

Traditionally, dinner or an evening meal is the largest and most staple in our day. Some people even say they have a big dinner so they can skip breakfast! But in more recent studies it is shown that a good way to help a person lose weight is to eat a larger amount of calories in the morning and slowly lower them until your dinner which should be the lowest. So this makes the opposite of the traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner. Try eating a high calorie breakfast of eggs (for added protein) as well as your normal meal. A good breakfast should be between 300 - 500 calories for men and 250 - 400 for women. Dinners should also be a bit lower in their carbohydrate level and be made up mainly of protein which is less likely to be stored as fat as if its not used it is digested and excreted by the kidneys. But too much protein can put excess strain on the liver and kidneys, usually 1-2g per pound of your body weight is sufficient.

Lower Carbohydrate Intake

Notice that I have suggested to lower the intake and not eradicate it completely. One of the worst types of fat diets to come out in the last ten years is the no carbohydrate diet, it is unsustainable and has numerous side effects such as lethargy, concentration problems and general lack of mood. Carb's are essential for daily living, they supply the body and brain with its main source of energy - take it away and the body is constantly in starvation mode. But carbohydrates are calorie dense and many people do overeat this staple food group. So cutting down the amount you eat can be important if you are looking to lose weight, and try not to eat heavy carbohydrate based meals too late in the evening as the calories tend to be stored rather than burnt/digested.

Lesson Your Fat Intake

Probably the most obvious and common way to lose weight is to lower the amount of fat in your daily diet. On average, an adult should take in no more than 70g of fat a day, it's a good idea to count your fat grams for a few days and see how much you are actually eating. The biggest problem is a lot of foods have "hidden" fats, some foods we consider relatively healthy have a high fat content and need to be careful. For example, yoghurts and dairy foods are generally considered to make up a healthy diet but they can be very high in fat so make sure to check the serving sizes so you are not overeating. Also, granola and cereal bars are very high in sugar and should be treated much like a snack or treat rather than something to replace a meal, particularly as a breakfast because that spikes the blood glucose and leads to a mid morning crash when you are more likely to snack on the wrong foods.

See Also: The Benefits Of A High Protein Low Carb Diet

If you implement these easy to remember tips in your daily life you will lose weight easily, it doesn't have to be starving yourself or stopping yourself from eating your favourite food but moderating what you do have and getting a bit more exercise.