Are you trying to shed off those extra pounds of unhealthy weight that you’ve been carrying? We all know the drill to a healthy weight loss- eat healthy, exercise regularly, eat less and expend more and detox, YES detox! But what if you are told that this all-or-nothing approach that we practice is not all there is to the weight loss process. We generally focus at the big things that matter and ignore the teeny-tiny things that could play a paramount role in trimming our waist line.
Inculcating small beneficial changes in your normal routine could lead to more weight loss than you ever imagined. You do not need to be on a “starvation diet” or spend hours altogether sweating it out in the gym. Taking small baby steps and adopting healthy lifestyle habits can bring a bigger impact on weight loss mission. Here is a list of some simple and realistic lifestyle switch-ups that will help you lose weight.
#1 Chant your health mantra
Every heard of a self-fulfilling prophecy? Devise a health mantra for yourself. It can be something as simple as “eat those veggies” and then put in some effort to make it happen. This helps you focus at your weak points one at a time and keeps you aware of your shortcomings. Formulate a new mantra every week and say hello to healthy living one step at a time.
#2 Kick the habit and do it NOW
It’s never too late to give up on unhealthy habits that are trimming away your chances of a healthy body. Habits like smoking, consumption of alcohol, a sedentary lifestyle or unhealthy eating can be acted upon and reversed if you really have the determination and the dedication. Self-realization is a lifesaving skill can do miracles.
#3 Maintain a food journal
Try logging down every morsel of food that you put in your mouth. Write down the food that you ate and the portion consumed. Sounds absurd? Keeping a food log gives you are reality check about your habits and you can’t escape into mindless eating as everything that you eat in going to be recorded. Give it a try!
#4 Keep a check on portions
What you eat is as important as how much of it do you eat. We in general consume larger amounts of food than our body requirements. Packages portion are far bigger as foods come in supersized packages and cheaper deals and we cannot resist our temptation as we open up a family pack of potato crisps. Serve yourself smaller portion of food in plates, read food labels cautiously, use smaller serving spoons and do not go for second servings.
#5 Small frequent meals
Our body needs to fuel up at regular intervals. Divide your day’s intake to 5-6 meals throughout the day that will help you reenergise at regular intervals. This also helps in fighting the snacking urges and gives you a nutrient dense snack rather than processed ready to munch foods. This also helps spike up your metabolism and keeps you going throughout the day.
#6 Say NO to snacking
Snacking in today’s world is practiced as a religion, we practically snack everywhere. There is this innate urge to gobble up or binge on food in between meals and this can be a real barrier in your weight loss journey as Snacking could be adding up to your extra calorie and carbohydrate consumption. Fight this craving and identify the difference between a craving and real hunger
#7 Break the mood-food pattern
Do not relate food with emotions. Do not binge on comfort foods when stressed or reward yourself with a great meal on achieving something. Emotional hunger can sabotage your diet goals as it leads to unnecessary eating.
#8 Keep hydrated
Heard of a weight loss diet that restricts water intake? We do not pay attention to the amount of water we drink every day and this could be hazardous. Water can prove to be a magic bullet as it helps to detoxify the entire body, maintains optimum fluid in the body, energizes muscles and gives your skin a radiant glow.
#9 Learn how to read a food label
With our hectic lifestyles, packaged foods and meals have become a vital part of our lives. The supermarket is filled with food options and you need to judiciously pick out the healthiest amongst them all. Read the ingredients on the pack carefully. Read the nutrition label and pick out options that have less of “bad” and more of “good” fat, have the least amount of preservative and coloring etc.
#10 Be patient
Weight loss is not an overnight fix. Give your body and mind the time to get accustomed to the change and adapt to it. Do not let the emotional weight of the failures in your weight loss journey bring you down. Remember it’s all the effort and the consistency that counts. Enjoy the process of transformation and stay calm through it.
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