Are you tired of your significant other calling you a blob or pear-shaped? Do you want to get off the sofa and not break into a sweat thinking that standing up is an extreme sport? Do you want to remove that pot belly and have a nice lean, flat stomach again? Well, you can – if you have the will.
There are many ways to shed weight and contour your body without having to diet or participate in those fad weight loss programs, such as keto or Mediterranean. With a modest lifestyle adjustment here and there, you can shed several pounds and feel great doing it – we all know how dieting makes us miserable, giving us the feeling of just reaching for a box of Oreo cookies, defeating the purpose of your weight loss regimen.
So, what can you do to reach your weight loss goal? Here are the eight healthy ways to lose weight:
1. The Kitchen is Closed
We have all been there: it’s midnight, you’re up binge-reading Vladimir Nabokov’s collection of short stories, and you’re feeling peckish. You walk into the kitchen, your refrigerator is full, and you grab a couple of cookies, pour yourself a coke, and head back to the sofa and remain frozen for hours.
This is horrendous for your health, though Nabokov is good for your mind.
Moving forward, your household should institute a time when the kitchen is closed to everyone. After, let’s say, 9 p.m., no one can access the kitchen, unless it is for a glass of water. Anything else is out of the question.
2. Introduce More Produce
When you saunter inside of a supermarket, do you tend to have more junk than produce? Well, it’s about time you change that behaviour by introducing more produce into your diet. Apples and bananas, spinach and zucchinis, you need to have a greater portion of fruits and vegetables in your daily meals.
3. Walk It Off
Walking is one of the most enjoyable aspects of life. An early morning stroll in the middle of autumn when no one is around. A mid-evening walk in the middle of summer when there is that break between daylight and dusk.
It is also sublime for your weight loss endeavours.
Ideally, you should try to go for a 20- or 30-minute walk after your dinner. However, you can also add more steps to your day by getting off the bus early and walking a few blocks to work, parking farther away from the grocery store, or heading to the coffee shop by foot and not by vehicle.
4. What’s to Drink?
Sure, a Double Chocolatey Chip Frappuccino from Starbucks sounds good right about now, but it’s bad for your waistline. Indeed, anything other than water or coffee can add pounds to your body, particularly if these beverages are sugary and fatty.
Moving forward, you need to do a better job of what beverages you consume. A glass of orange juice is great in the morning, but a French vanilla in the afternoon is not. A cup of tea is great after dinner, but an energy drink to stay up and watch West Coast baseball games is not.
5. Add Protein to Meals
Believe it or not, we don’t eat enough protein. Despite much of society consuming meat on a regular basis, we’re not eating nearly enough. Or, if we do eat protein, we wait until the end of the day at dinner, which is a bad idea because it doesn’t give your body enough time to digest.
Ultimately, if you’re having three meals a day – breakfast, lunch, and dinner – it’s prudent to make the protein the star of your plate. For breakfast, it can be sausages. For lunch, it can be the cold cuts. For dinner, it can be the chicken. It might seem counterintuitive to losing weight, but your body needs protein – it is the sugar and sodium that do you in (see below).
6. Reduce the Three S’s
The three S’s are your biggest enemies on your journey to weight loss. Just what are the three S’s?
- Sugar
- Starch
- Sodium
These are the banes of your existence, the adversaries to your body.
Unfortunately, it seems like everything has glucose, fructose, lactose, or sucrose in them, from bread to corn to candy to soda. But what’s life without these delicious foods and drinks? Well, not much if you’re overweight and sick.
So, what can you do?
- Get rid of sugar-sweetened drinks.
- Remove fruit juice from your diet.
- Eat vegetables instead of potatoes.
- Consume eggs for breakfast.
- Curb your bread intake.
And that is how you reduce the three S’s.
7. Boost Coffee or Tea Consumption
This will be music to your ears!
Do you want to lose weight? Boost your coffee or tea consumption! That’s right. By pouring a bucket of coffee down your throat, or sipping on an orange pekoe tea, you can your metabolism and eat less.
8. Eat Your Food Slowly
Are you a fast eater? Or, do you take your time? Studies have found the longer you take to complete your meal, the faster the feeling of fullness. This makes sense. If you’re chowing down a six-course meal in six minutes, then your body is not going to catch up and garner the feelings of satisfaction.
Instead, the faster you eat, it will take until the food is sitting at the edge of your throat to feel full.
It is estimated that two-thirds of Canadians are overweight – and this includes adults and children. While it is a sign that we have an abundance in the West, it is not great for your health to be obese. Does this have to be the case? Not necessarily. By incorporating a few changes into your daily routine, you can shed pounds, start to look good, and begin to feel great! And, you don’t need to suffer in the process.