The weight loss industry is laden with myths and misguided advice. With information easily accessible, we’re now more than ever aware of fad diets, dangerous advice that involves excluding various food groups, and “tips for losing weight quickly”. Some of these diet plans are strict and elaborate, some suggest ingesting a magical ingredient daily is all it takes to shed pounds, but what they all have in common is knowledgeable disapproval from the scientific community. Thus, we present you with weight loss tips that don’t rely on starving, magic, or trends and are backed by long standing evidence. You may find that you’ve encountered many of them before – that’s because they’re the ones that work in the long run.
Get More Sleep
We tend to skimp on sleep in our busy lives, but its role in maintaining bodily functions can never be overemphasized. Various studies show the connection between poor sleep and weight gain; a recent analysis of eleven intervention trials indicates that sleep deprivation can affect appetite hormones (called leptin and ghrelin), as well as insulin, leading to increased hunger and food intake the next day, increased fat storage, and slower metabolism. Sleep your usual amount (between seven and nine hours per night) and don’t restrict your sleep. It can be difficult, but make it a priority.
Drink More Water
Drinking water, especially before meals, is proven to be hugely beneficial to weight loss. Water boosts your metabolism by up to 30% over a period of 60-90 minutes, so you burn more calories in that time. Also, it helps keep you energized and less sluggish. You’re surely aware that avoiding sugary drinks is crucial to weight loss and maintenance, and if you’re in the habit of drinking them, try substituting them with water – you’ll be surprised, not just by the energy you’ll feel in your body and mind, but also by how much better it quenches your thirst. Regarding drinking water before meals, one study showed that drinking half a liter of water about 30 minutes before meals helped people eat fewer calories and lose more weight.
Use Smaller Plates
It’s pure psychology, but psychology plays an important role in our eating habits. It’s fairly simple, once you fill up your plate, you’re likely to eat everything on it, and so a larger plate can mean eating portions larger than those you need. Also, not filling up a large plate makes you feel like you’re eating very little. It’s about portion control and eating until fullness, not over it. Studies showed that reducing the plate diameter by 30% leads to an average 30% reduction in amount of food consumed per meal. But don’t overdo it and start eating from saucers, because obviously, you’ll be going back for thirds.
Intake Carbs In Planned Cycles
By all means, don’t exclude carbs from your diet. Rather, use them smartly to help you lose weight. A method of dieting known as carb cycling revolves around “alternating between low and high carb days, depending on the amount of activity levels” – and it is backed by research from the University of South Carolina, as you will read in the provided source. Carb cycling requires exercise during high- carb days, so there it is, once again – there is no weight loss without increased physical activity.
Eat More Protein
You don’t have to count calories or restrict anything – simply eat more protein from wholesome foods to lose weight. Protein naturally helps you feel more full, and enriching your diet with it will consequently lead to eating fewer calories. It’s also been shown to boost metabolism and there are studies to indicate that protein-rich meals can reduce obsessive thoughts about food and the desire for late night snacking. Keeping at hand a bag of almonds, which are extremely rich in protein, is a great, healthy way to outsmart your brain and cut the cravings in case you get hungry.
Cook At Home
It’s simple and fundamental. When you decide to eat healthier foods and inadequate portions, it will be much easier to control what you eat. Cooking at home is also important because it helps you be more mindful about eating and develop a healthier relationship with your food. Of course, this can be difficult when you lead a busy life, but eating healthfully takes dedication, and it is surely worth the time. Develop a healthy meal plan and designate a day for preparing a whole week’s worth of meals that you can refrigerate or freeze, so you’ll have a healthy meal ready in minutes when you come back from work.
Use Coconut Oil When Cooking
When you’re preparing your own meals, you get to decide which kinds of fats you’ll be ingesting. Coconut oil is high in medium chain triglycerides, a group of fats which are known to boost metabolism and reduce appetite. Use coconut oil instead of the oil you usually cook with and make it a regular part of your diet to reap all the benefits.
Fight The Fat
Make a habit of using all of these tips, and you can expect changes. There is no one single trick to losing weight, and it is certainly not a matter of dieting. Instead of viewing your weight loss efforts as dieting, approach them from a different point of view: You are consciously making a decision to be healthier, to nourish your body rather than to deprive it. First and foremost, appreciate the body that you have, as it is from this appreciation that a truly positive attitude towards eating will stem.
I hope you enjoyed this article about simple and scientifically proven healthy weight loss tips for any budget.
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