Almost everyone wants to lose some weight, but most of us don’t know where to begin. Many of us have tried fad diets or exercising more, but we just can’t seem to shed those pounds. Here are some tips from nutritionists that could help you lose weight.
1) Don’t just focus on carbs.
Many people try low-carb diets and experience quick success, so they try to stick with it permanently. Those diets are generally not sustainable. Although it’s good to limit your carbs, that’s not the only thing you should be focused on.
You want to make sure that your diet leads to a caloric deficit. If you’re cutting out carbs but eating a bunch of nuts or oils, you may actually gain weight because of the additional calories. Focus on overall calories, not just carbohydrates.
2) Try not to weigh yourself.
There’s nothing more frustrating than dieting and exercising for a month or two only to get on the scale and see you haven’t lost much weight. This is incredibly discouraging and leads to many people just giving up.
That’s a shame, because weight fluctuations can be caused by water intake, the time of the day you weigh yourself, and many other factors not related to calories.
Instead of weighing yourself, focus on how your pants fit and how you look. If you’re dieting and exercising, you should look (and feel) better, and your pants should be looser. That will show you that what you’re doing is working,
3) Enjoy the food you’re eating.
Some people think that eating right means depriving yourself of the foods you love. That’s not the case at all. In fact, you have to treat yourself from time to time in order to stick with the diet.
Allow yourself to cheat once in awhile, just make sure it doesn’t become a regular thing. The key to a healthy diet is moderation, not deprivation.
4) Ice water helps you burn calories.
We all know that it’s important to drink water throughout the day, but drinking the right type of water can help you burn extra calories. In fact, you can burn an extra 100 calories a day by drinking ice water.
When you drink ice cold water, your body burns extra energy to maintain your core temperature. Three 24-ounce servings of ice water is the magic number to drink to burn those 100 calories.
5) Losing weight requires a real change in lifestyle.
We’ve all been sucked in by fad diets that promise immediate results. These diets are good if you need to lose weight quickly for a big event or just want to boost your motivation. The problem is, some people get the wrong impression and think that keeping the weight off will be just as easy. It’s not.
To really stay fit and healthy, you’ll have to change your whole lifestyle. That means eating right every day, getting enough exercise throughout the week, and avoiding the unhealthy eating that can pack on pounds. It’s not necessarily “easy” to do, but the rewards are completely worth it.