We are often bombarded by guru’s and advertisers trying to sell you the latest and greatest way to lose weight. We are often overwhelmed and lose heart, but the best way forward is to stick to the basics. Over the next few weeks I will be publishing tried and tested, backed by research, tips and articles on how to effectively combat the “The Battle Of The Bulge”.
In this piece I will focus on the best tips for ‘how to lose weight’, these include reducing your carbohydrate intake, consuming more fibre, walking or biking to work, taking the stairs, adding variety to your diet, going swimming, eating smaller and more frequent meals. Here’s a list of 10 things that could bring about big changes in your waistline.
- Reduce Carbohydrate Intake
If you are serious about your weight loss goals, cutting back on your carbohydrate intake is the key. When your body has more basic fuel than it needs (usually in the form of carbs), it will store them as fat. Only consume complex carbohydrates, but gear your diet towards protein instead.
- Boost Fibre Intake
By boosting your fibre intake, you will not only help to lower your cholesterol levels and regulate diabetes, two complicating factors for obesity, but you will also feel full after your meals. Fibre can also help reduce tendencies to overeat and snack between meals.
- Eat Variety of Foods
You shouldn’t repeat the same food more than once each day. The more variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds and lean meats you have, the more diverse your nutrient profile, and it will also keep your metabolism working properly.
- Meal Size & Frequency
You can eat 5-6 meals instead of 3 meals per day, and ensure that they are smaller than usual. This will keep the metabolism running at a higher level all day, but more importantly, it will keep you satiated and less likely to turn to unhealthy snack foods, which can otherwise torpedo your weight loss goals.
- Cooking at Home
Eating out less means having more control over the nutrients and calories that you take in, so try cooking at home with fresh ingredients and you’ll be surprised at the clear weight loss you see.
- Taking the Stairs
Avoid escalators and elevators whenever possible, from your office building to the subway. Taking the stairs means a small burst of cardiovascular exercise and a few extra burned calories on every flight.
- Weight Training
Combining weight training with an increase in lean protein, you are able to build more muscle and improve your body’s fat-burning ability. This is an excellent way to burn calories fast and replace fat with muscle.
- High-intensity Interval Training
Few exercises burn as many calories or have as marked an impact on weight loss; short periods of high-intensity exercise followed by brief periods of rest are an excellent strategy to shed the pounds.
- Swimming
Using every muscle group in the body, without the impact of running or more strenuous exercise, swimming is great for burning calories and losing weight, particularly for obese individuals.
- Walking & Biking
If you can walk or bike to work, or on some of your errands, you can burn more calories than usual and speed your weight loss efforts. The 1-mile rule is a popular one with weight loss experts – if you are closer than 1 mile to something, don’t drive.
