10 LITTLE STEPS TO BIG WEIGHT LOSS
WHETHER IT’S PUTTING ON LIPSTICK TO BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE OR DOING SOMETHING KIND FOR A NEIGHBOUR, LITTLE THINGS CAN MAKE A GREAT DIFFERENCE TO HOW YOU FEEL. IT IS OFTEN THE LITTLE THINGS THAT MAKE THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE TO YOUR WEIGHT LOSS TOO, SO TRY THESE 10 TIPS AND WATCH YOUR WEIGHT FALL. LET RUN WALK FOR LIFE HELP TO DISPEL SOME COMMONLY ACCEPTED MYTHS REGARDING EXERCISE.
1. Chew, chew and chew. Research shows that chewing allows your body’s satiety signals time to register that you are full. So remember to chew each mouthful 15-20 times before swallowing.
2. Go for the burn, not the muscle ache. A touch of spice can make bland foods more interesting and make low fat foods more appealing. Try salsa on a baked potato, curry powder to jazz up lentils or cinnamon or ginger on fruit.
3. Go for the big chill. Keep a bottle of water handy to sip throughout the day. Water not only helps your body run more efficiently it also helps you feel full. Have a glass of water first thing in the morning to put a spring in your step and before a meal to help you avoid over-eating.
4. Eat alone. Eating with friends is liable to make you consume more than usual because you are less likely to focus on what you are eating. When eating with others, people eat 75% more than they normally would according to recent research. And dining with just one other person ups our food intake by almost a half.
5. Be consistent. When it comes to food intake, aim to stick to a plan and your personal daily calorie allowance as closely as possible. Weight loss can be much more difficult if there are huge fluctuations in the amount of food you eat. The crash/binge syndrome reduces your metabolic rate in the short term, while increasing fat mass and decreasing lean muscle tissue in the long term. So keep close to your calorie allowance for maximum weight loss.
6. Be brutally honest. Studies have shown that we under estimate how much we eat by 20% and over estimate how much we exercise by 25%. All of this could mean an average weight gain of one pound every two weeks. Be honest - don’t cheat yourself. Avoid the guessing game - use a food diary and you will always be sure.
7. Never walk if you can run. That might be a slight exaggeration, but you could realistically say, “Never walk slowly if you can walk fast” or “Never drive if you can walk”. Move a bit more often and move a bit quicker and you will also move lots more pounds.
8. The bin is not a sin. Try not to cook more food than you need or more than you can eat. However, if you do have left over food, freeze it or store it safely to have another time.
9. Never look back. Your face is on the front of your head so you can see where you are going and not where you have been. You might hit difficulties, hitches and plateaus – but just ask yourself honestly whether you want to be back where you started. If you don’t move forward, you will move backwards. So live and learn then move on.
10. Never say never. Keep telling yourself that you can lose weight and that you will lose weight. Your thoughts dictates the way you live your life. So think positively and you will act positively.