Most people associate starvation with dieting. To lose weight, you obviously need to eat less and because most of us want to lose weight fast, we go on crash diets that are hard to maintain. This leads to frustration and most of us give up. The good news is you can lose weight without going on a hunger strike. These 5 weight loss tips will help you blast that flab away, burn more fat and get you to your target weight without spending a fortune on weight loss programs. Everything discussed is common sense and easy to do. So, let’s get down to your target weight without spending a fortune or going on a fad diet.
#1 Reduce Calories by 25%
The best way to diet is to gradually reduce your calorie intake by 25%. For most women, this means an intake between 1200 and 1400 calories per day. Men should consume between 1500 and 2000 calories per day. You will lose about a pound per week but that’s a perfect rate to lose weight without slowing down your metabolism or gaining the weight back. Crash diets never work so avoid them at all cost.
A gradual calorie reduction over a long period of time will give you the best long-term results. Resist drastic calorie reduction to lose weight. This will leave you vulnerable to overeating after a few days and only leads to frustration. Also, crash diets burn more muscle rather than fat. The idea is to lose body fat and maintain as much muscle as possible.
#2 Greatly Reduce Simple Carbs
The secret to losing weight is simple. Avoid simple carbs as much as possible and watch the weight fall off. So what are simple carbs? They consist of white flour products such as bread, pasta, all sugary desserts and highly processed and refined foods. Simple carbs cause a sudden rise in blood sugar that leads to excess insulin secretion. The fat burning process is interrupted in the presence of excess insulin.
Complex carbs from vegetables, fruits, and whole grains don’t create excess insulin spikes and are good for your diet. This includes brown rice and beans which are filling and high in fiber. The more you get simple carbs out of your daily diet, the less cravings you will have for junk food. Sudden cravings for fatty foods are usually the result of consuming heavy amounts of simple carbs which leads to binging on salty or sugary processed foods. You may not be able to eliminate simple carbs but you should get as much out of your daily diet as possible.
#3 Experiment with Low Fat Recipes
There are many delicious lower calorie recipes that can be discovered on the internet. You can test many different recipes and stick with the ones you like. Recipe websites have many great tasting foods that are low in calories and can be prepared quickly. Various spices give food an excellent taste and the use of less oil or fat substitutes can transform your original recipe into a delicious lower calorie recipe. Have fun and experiment with different easy to prepare foods. Read the label for fat and calorie content. You don’t have to sacrifice taste to lose weight.
#4 Plan Your Meals and Prepare Your Foods in Advance
Having a good plan is essential to losing weight. Write down the foods you will eat throughout the day and plan small snacks between the main meals. You should eat about 5 times per day, eating smaller portions. After writing down your diet plan, prepare foods in advance and put them in Tupperware bowls that you can bring to work. The idea is to always have a source of good food available and not be vulnerable to eating out or eating whatever is available. Self control is much easier when your foods are available and you eat often.
#5 Give Yourself Positive Feedback
Self talk happens whether you acknowledge it or not. Reward yourself with praise for a job well done on days when you stick to your plan! This may sound like nonsense but it’s extremely important for you to hear the message that you successfully stuck to your diet plan. If you’re on a 90 day diet plan, mark off each day that you have been successful at sticking to your plan and review your successful mark offs each day.
The motivation from positive self talk propels you successfully into the next day. Unfortunately, negative self talk does just the opposite and sets you up for failure, so avoid negative self talk on your bad days. On those days where you don’t follow your diet plan or binge, don’t beat yourself up. Also, don’t give yourself permission to keep eating the wrong foods. Just acknowledge that it was a bad day and stop the binging as quickly as possible. Tell yourself that you’ll do great on your plan the following day. Imagine yourself at your ideal weight and constantly keep that picture in your head. Let’s say your ideal weight is 110 pounds, see yourself at 110 pounds throughout the day. Tell yourself often that you’re limiting food intake so you can get to that 110 pound goal. Its Imagery of your goal and positive self-talk that helps you stay motivated.
