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Posted on October 16, 2008 by Gen Wright | Posted under Weight Loss
Top 10 Natural Weight Loss Tips
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These 10 natural tips will help you get on the losing end of your goals and relate to teens to seniors. So no matter what your age, apply these tips to get started today. Weight Loss Tips #1 Commit To It This may seem a bit metaphorical, but to really be triumphant at weight loss you have to want it. To really want it you have to go past just saying you want it, you have to commit to weight loss. The best way to commit to your weight loss is to create a goal and write it down. The goal does not have to be in expressions of weight loss. Instead you could write your goal as inches or fat loss or even clothing size. Make your goal attainable and quantifiable. Make it in terms that you can relate to and refer to often. For example your goal can be “I want to go down 2 dress sizes by by my high school reunion" or “I want to lose 5% body fat in 4 months" or “I want to weigh 135 pounds by next summer". Create smaller goals that you can use throughout your diet to make sure you are on track to reach your ultimate goal. Write down your goals and your progress by using weight loss tools such as a weight loss journal, workout routines or weight loss chart. Find or create a weight loss journal. Journalizing is a great way to track food consumption, water, exercise and feelings for the day and a wonderful method for you to stay on the path for weight loss. Weight Loss Tip #2 Ditch Bad Habits Established habits can be hard to let go. Let's face it, some things we do are because we have always done them that way. Now is the time to change. Ditch the thought that you have to eat everything on your plate. If you are in the “baby boomer" age then you know what I am referring to. We learned to clean our plates and not allowed to leave the table until the plates were clean. Well that was then this is now. Instead of consuming everything stop when you are full. Take smaller serving sizes and if you are still needing more go back for seconds but make it a smaller size. When eating on the road choose from the children's menu for smaller pieces and ask for a to go bag and save the remainder for another time. Weight Loss Tip #3 Eat in the Kitchen This is one habit worth mentioning as its own tip. A lot of people have a routine of snacking on the go or plopping in front of the television set when snacking. Statistics show people who eat in front of the T.V. tend to eat bigger servings. This is primarily because of being focused on the T.V. and not focused on what you are eating. So take your meal out of|away from} the family room and into the kitchen. Take advantage of this time to not only eat better and wiser but to find out how the kids are doing in school. By using your dinner time as a nice break from your day you are also slowing down your eating. This will give your stomach time to tell your brain that you are full and will likely eat less. Weight Loss Tip #4 Remove Temptation If it is impossible to keep your hands off of the wrong foods, then just hide them. The old cliché “out of sight, out of mind" may just do the trick for you. Go through your cupboard and refrigerator and clear it out. Replace the too sweet or too fatty foods with healthy foods. Sugar free jell-o is a wonderful way to get your sweet tooth satisfied without packing on the calories. Instead of potato chips get low fat popcorn. Aim for going a minimum of two weeks with no sweet or salty snacks at all. You will be amazed at how your passion for these foods will fade by going without for a couple of weeks. Have a bag of baby carrots or celery handy. These healthy snacks help satisfy the need to crunch on food and are low in calories. Weight Loss Tip #5 Weight Loss Support Weight loss is a big challenge for many of us, so do not try to do it all alone. Find a weight loss support group online or on-site or create your own support group. All of the really successful weight loss plans offer a support. However if you are losing weight without a weight loss company then start your own support method by including friends, family members, coworkers and neighbors. Your support can be as big or as small as you want. Let the people know you are headed on a weight loss journey and ask for their support and encouragement. Weight Loss Tip #6 Track Your Progress In order to be sure you are on the right track to achieving your goals you need to chart your progress. By charting how you are doing you can make alterations as needed to make sure you achieve the results you want and achieve your goals. Write down the foods you have and how many calories you have in a day. Track your workouts and how many calories you burned during exercise. This will help make sure you create a calorie short fall for weight loss. Measure yourself every week and chart your weight loss progress. Look over your progress and match up to your goal. If you see your progress going in the wrong direction, make alterations to your foods and/or workout routines. Weight Loss Tip #7 Variety is the Key You need a variety of foods to keep your weight loss meal plan interesting and tasty. Don't overdo it by eating the same things over and over. Be sure to eat all the food groups by including veggies, fruits, dairy, whole grains, protein and fats. Consume 5 to 6 smaller meals each day to help your metabolism stay revved up. Eat protein with each meal by eating beans and eggs, lean cuts of meat and fish in your meals. Eat at least 5 - 9 servings a day of veggies and fruit. Make your choices colorful by including dark green leafy veggies, red or orange peppers, etc. Vary your fruits as well including citrus fruits and non-citrus fruits. Your dairy and milk products should be low fat and fat free choices. Make your breads and other foods in this group whole grain foods. The complex carbohydrates and high fiber in whole grain breads, pastas and cereals help to boost your metabolic rate. Also you should have some good fats in your food choices. This is because your body needs some critical fatty acids from the foods you have as it can't produce these fats itself. Just watch the labels and select foods that have the right fats and try to eliminate or reduce trans fats. Weight Loss Tip #8 Choose the Right Drinks Most people do not chart or think about the amount of calories in their drinks. A regular flavored soda exceeds 100 calories and 10 teaspoons of sugars. Fruit drinks are also high in calories and sugars. Try drinking diet drinks and drink more water or green tea. Also be careful of alcohol intake. Many mixed drinks are high in calories and alcohol tends to turn to fat and sugar in your body. You should try to eliminate or reduce your alcohol intake while on a weight loss program. However, if you have a special occasion, wine and beer are the more diet friendly drinks. Weight Loss Tip #9 Cheat - in Moderation! As you head down the path to your weight loss goals there will be times when you want to cheat. If you let your urges marinate for too long then there is a chance it will spill over and create "binge eating". So go ahead and eat a delicious treat once in awhile. Moderation is the factor here. It's okay to eat a snack and not feel bad. Just make sure it doesn't become a routine but is just short break from your healthy eating. One of the major reasons people quit strict diets is their need for something sweet once in awhile eventually gets the better of them. So have that treat and make your sweet snack small but sufficient to satisfy your sweet tooth. Then get right back to eating healthy with your weight loss progress. Weight Loss Tip #10 Exercise! There are lots of people who workout constantly and then there are those who cringe at the very idea of exercise. However, if you want to lose weight, and here's the key, keep it off then you need to add exercise to your weight loss program. By working out you are burning excess fat and calories. You are also creating lean muscle mass. The more lean muscles you have the higher your metabolic rate. The higher your basal metabolic rate the more calories and fat you burn all day and all night. If you are just starting your workout routines, then start slow by taking a brisk walk 20 minutes several times a week. Also add some strength training 2 or 3 times a week. As you get used to this exercise routine then boost your speed and/or the duration. Increase the challenge to your muscles during your strength training as well. It doesn't matter what you begin with just so long as you get moving and get active. About The Author: Visit Exercise 4 Weight Loss for more exercise and weight loss tips, tools, recipes and much more. |
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