Your mind is your best tool weight loss tool. Just don't try to lose weight, believe you can lose weight. Picture yourself thin. Every time you weigh yourself see your ideal weight showing up on the scale. If you have photos of yourself at your ideal weight keep them where you can glance at them often. Focus on that photo and see yourself now as you were then. Think about how comfortable your clothes will fit. How much more energy you'll have. If it helps, think about how much more attractive your significant other will find you at your ideal weight. When you reach for a snack, tell yourself you're satisfied with what you've already eaten. Focus on the thin you inside and soon it will be a reality.
Keep a diary of the food you eat for the few days before you start a new eating regime. Most of us don't realize just how much food we eat in a day. We have a tendency to 'forget' the extra cream cheese with the bagel, bag of chips with lunch, mid afternoon frozen yogurt break and bedtime snack of chocolate cookies. Being aware of how much and what you eat means you can make healthful changes. If you hit a diet plateau, get out your food diary again and start keeping track. The knowledge that you will be writing down every mouthful will motivate you to stick with your routine.
A food diary serves another purpose as well. If you make a note of what you're doing and how you're feeling when you're eating, or want to eat, you may realize there are certain situations that are triggers. When you know what triggers eating you can prepare for it, either by avoiding the situation, or if that's not possible, having a healthy snack ready to munch. Sometimes just the fact you realize that a situation has the potential for diet sabotage can help you avoid the eating response.
Plan to diet. Make sure your scale works properly. Clean out the cupboards and fridge of foods that are too tempting. Schedule your menu for the week, or at least for several days in advance. Include healthy snacks as part of your menu. Stock up on bottled flavored waters that are low or no sodium and no calories. Make a list of what you'll need at the grocery store and shop right after you've eaten. Hungry shoppers buy more than satisfied shoppers. Stick with your list. Don't go back to the grocery store until your next set of menus are ready to go.
Set a goal for your weight loss and interim targets. Be realistic if you want to lose ten pounds it will probably take you two months. Plan to lose two pounds every week. If you're a little short one week, you can add more exercise or cut back on calories a bit the next week. Stock up on fruits and veggies and prepare them in advance. Clean, peel and chop and stash in zip lock bags so you can just grab and go. If you have to eat out, plan in advance what you will order. No bread or butter on the table. Stick with steamed vegetables, salad with dressing on the side, and broiled chicken or fish. If you just have to have that yummy sauce, ask for it on the side. You'll eat less.
Consider enlisting your family in your weight loss program. Most of us are a bit overweight. If you need to lose a few pounds the odds are so does your significant other. Dieting together can be more successful than dieting alone, but don't turn it into a competition.
If others in your family are at their perfect weight or just don't see the need to lose weight, they may not understand the need for less food, less fat, or streamlined meals. Prepare your meal and add an extra dish or two for them, that you don't particularly care for. Another alternative is to prepare a regular meal and you eat half of what you usually would eat.
Snacks and junk food can be a dieter's downfall. Buy your family their favorite can't-live-without-snacks. Keep those snacks in their rooms, laundry room, or their closets. Out of your sight is out of your mouth. Make it clear when those snacks are gone there won't be anymore until the next shopping trip.
1. Reduce your carbohydrate intake to 50 percent or less from your meals. Most people eat too much carbohydrate and before their body could burn up the carbs for energy, they will have been converted to glycogen and fat. However, you need not go to the extreme by cutting your carbs too drastically. Instead, choose complex carbohydrates like brown bread and whole grain - it contains the good carbs and other nutrition that will benefit your body!
2. Every step you take counts! Celebrate each small success and keep in mind every small step in the right direction is bringing you closer and closer to your main target.
3. Strength training is a key factor. If you want to burn fat by increasing your metabolism, try lifting weights - using compound exercises. The idea is not to build muscles but to raise your metabolism in order to burn fat. Since compound exercises such as dead lifts, squats and bench presses work on many muscle parts, you will be puffing and panting. The most effective way to do this is using very little rest between each set, or by increasing the weight itself. In other words, you are having a good fat burning cardio work out. Because the exercises work on large muscle groups, more calories are being burnt - and that means more fat is burnt.
4. Any kind of exercise you can start with is good for you. Walking is probably the simplest exercise program of all. When done properly, walking may be the only exercise that you require. You should gradually build up to to 45 minutes to one hour of brisk walking five times per week. And as your fitness improves, consider strength training and interval training to lose more body fat and shape up faster.
5. If you have an existing medical condition or overweight, get a health check up or have any medical problems properly addressed (such as hypothyroidism) before you change anything that will affect your overall health. The last thing you need is to increase any risk to your health. Always consult your family doctor to keep your health in check.
The above tips are just some of the effective ways to lose from your midsection - and it is really up to you to follow through with it now and stick with it for the long term. Fat loss will not happen overnight, but if you are consistent with your efforts, and make the necessary changes, you will see improvements to your body - and your health.
Both Dee Power & Shireen Ou are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Dee Power has sinced written about articles on various topics from Credit Cards, Sales and Negotiation and Business Plan. Dee Power is the co-author of several nonfiction books including "The Publishing Primer: A Blueprint for an Author's Success," "58 Ways. Dee Power's top article generates over 450000 views. to your Favourites.
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