Losing weight can be one of the hardest obstacles in life. So many things that you are told to do that are much easier said than done. Here are some tips that can hopefully help anybody who is on their own weight loss journey and looking for a little push.
Drink Water, Especially Before Meals
It is often claimed that drinking water can help with weight loss, and this is true.
Water can boost metabolism by 24-30% over a period of 1-1.5 hours, helping you burn off a few more calories (1, 2).
A half-liter (17 oz) of water about half an hour before meals helped dieters eat fewer calories and lose 44% more weight (3)
Eat Eggs For Breakfast
Whole eggs can have all sorts of benefits, including helping you lose weight.
Replacing a grain-based breakfast with eggs can help you eat fewer calories for the next 36 hours, and lose more weight and more body fat (4, 5).
If you can’t eat eggs for some reason, then that’s fine. Any source of quality protein for breakfast should do the trick.
Drink Coffee (Preferably Black)
Coffee has been unfairly demonized. Quality coffee is loaded with antioxidants and can have numerous health benefits.
Caffeine in coffee can boost metabolism by 3-11%, and increase fat burning by up to 10-29% (6, 7, 8).
Just make sure NOT to add a bunch of sugar or other high-calorie ingredients to it. That will completely negate any benefit you get from the coffee.
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Drink Green Tea
Green tea also has many benefits, one of them being weight loss.
Contains small amounts of caffeine, but it is also loaded with powerful antioxidants called catechins, which are also believed to work synergistically with the caffeine to enhance fat burning (9, 10).
Although the evidence is mixed, there are many studies showing that green tea (either as a beverage or a green tea extract supplement) can help you lose weight (11, 12).
Cook With Coconut Oil
Coconut oil is very healthy. It is high in special fats called medium-chain triglycerides, which are metabolized differently than other fats.
These fats have been shown to boost metabolism by 120 calories per day, and also reduce your appetite so that you eat up to 256 fewer calories per day (13, 14).
Keep in mind that this is not about adding coconut oil on top of what you’re already eating, it is about replacing some of your current cooking fats with coconut oil.
Take a Glucomannan Supplement
Glucomannan has been shown to cause weight loss in several studies.
This is a type of fiber that absorbs water and “sits” in your gut for a while, making you feel more full and helping you eat fewer calories (15).
People who supplement with glucomannan lose a bit more weight than those who don’t (16).
Cut Back On Added Sugar
Added sugar is the single worst ingredient in the modern diet, and most people are eating way too much of it.
Sugar (and high fructose corn syrup) consumption is strongly associated with the risk of obesity, as well as diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and others ( 17, 18, 19).
Cut back on added sugars. Just make sure to read labels, because even so-called health foods can be loaded with sugar.
Eat Less Refined Carbs
Refined carbohydrates are usually sugar or grains that have been stripped of their fibrous, nutritious parts (includes white bread and pasta).
These carbs can spike blood sugar rapidly, leading to hunger, cravings, and increased food intake a few hours later. Eating refined carbs is strongly linked to obesity (20, 21, 22).
When eating carbs, make sure to eat them with their natural fiber.
Go On a Low Carb Diet
In order to get all the benefits of carb restriction, consider taking this all the way and going on a low-carb diet.
Numerous studies show that such a diet (or “way of eating”) can help you lose 2-3 times as much weight as a standard low-fat diet while improving your health at the same time (23, 24, 25).
Use Smaller Plates
Using smaller plates has been shown to help people automatically eat fewer calories in some studies. Weird trick, but it seems to work (26).
Exercise Portion Control or Count Calories
Portion control (eating less) or counting calories can be very useful, for obvious reasons (27).
Keeping a food diary and writing down what you eat, or taking pictures of all your meals, can help you lose weight (28, 29).
Anything increasing your awareness of what you are eating is likely to be useful.
Keep Healthy Food Around In Case You Get Hungry
Keeping healthy food close by can help prevent you from eating something unhealthy if you become excessively hungry.
Snacks that are easily portable and simple to prepare include whole fruits, a handful of nuts, baby carrots, yogurt, and a hardboiled egg (or two).
Brush Your Teeth After Dinner
Many people recommend brushing your teeth and/or flossing right after dinner. Then you won’t be as tempted to have a late-night snack.
Eat Spicy Foods
Spicy foods like Cayenne pepper contain Capsaicin, a compound that can boost metabolism and reduce your appetite slightly (30, 31).
Do Aerobic Exercise
Doing aerobic exercise (cardio) is an excellent way to burn calories and improve your physical and mental health.
Particularly effective to lose belly fat, the unhealthy fat that tends to build up around your organs and cause metabolic disease (32, 33).
Lift Weights
One of the worst side effects of dieting is that it tends to cause muscle loss and metabolic slowdown, often referred to as starvation mode (34, 35).
Keeping this from happening requires some sort of resistance exercise, like lifting weights. Studies show that weight lifting can help keep your metabolism high and prevent you from losing precious muscle mass (36, 37).
Not only is it important to lose fat. You also want to make sure that what is beneath looks good. Doing some sort of resistance exercise is critical for that.
Eat More Fiber
Fiber is often recommended for the purpose of weight loss. Although the evidence is mixed, some studies show that fiber (especially viscous fiber) can increase satiety and help you control your weight over the long term (38, 39).
Eat More Vegetables and Fruits
Vegetables and fruits have several properties that make them effective for weight loss.
Contain few calories, but a lot of fiber. They are also rich in water, which gives them a low energy density. They also take a while to chew and are very filling.
Those who eat vegetables and fruits tend to weigh less (40). These foods are also super healthy and nutritious, so eating them is important for all sorts of reasons.
Chew More Slowly
Your brain can take a while to register that you have had something to eat. Some studies show that chewing more slowly can help you eat fewer calories and increase the production of hormones linked to weight loss (41, 42).
Get Good Sleep
Sleep is highly underrated, but it may be just as important as eating healthy and exercising.
Poor sleep is one of the strongest risk factors for obesity, being linked to an 89% increased risk of obesity in children, and 55% in adults (43).
Beat Your Food Addiction
A recent 2014 study of 196,211 individuals found that 19.9% of people fulfill the criteria for food addiction (44).
People suffering from overpowering cravings and can’t seem to get their eating under control no matter how hard they try, may be food addicts.
In this case, get help. Trying to lose weight without dealing with this problem first is next to impossible.
Eat More Protein
Protein is the single most important nutrient when it comes to losing weight.
A high protein diet has been shown to boost metabolism by 80 to 100 calories per day while helping you feel so satiated that you eat up to 441 fewer calories per day (45, 46, 47).
Protein at 25% of calories reduced obsessive thoughts about food by 60% while cutting the desire for late-night snacking in half (48).
This is the single most important tip in the article.
Adding protein to your diet (without restricting anything) is one of the easiest and most effective ways to lose weight.
Supplement With Whey Protein
Struggling to get enough protein in your diet? Taking a supplement can help.
Replacing part of your calories with whey protein can cause weight loss of about 8 pounds while increasing lean muscle mass (49).
Don’t Drink Calories, Including Sugary Soda and Fruit Juices
Sugar is bad, but sugar in liquid form is even worse (50). Studies show that liquid sugar calories may be the single most fattening aspect of the modern diet.
Sugar-sweetened beverages are linked to a 60% increased risk of obesity in children (51).
This applies to fruit juice as well, which contains a similar amount of sugar as a soft drink like coke (52).
Eat whole fruit, but use fruit juice with caution (or avoid it altogether).
Eat Whole, Single Ingredient Foods (Real Food)
To be a leaner, healthier person, eat whole, single-ingredient foods.
These foods are naturally filling, and it’s very difficult to gain weight if the majority of your diet is based around them.
Keep in mind that real food doesn’t need a long list of ingredients because real food IS the ingredient.
Here is a list of the 20 most weight loss-friendly foods on earth.
Don’t “Diet,” Eat Healthy Instead
One of the biggest problems with “diets,” is that they almost never work in the long term.
People who “diet” tend to gain more weight over time. Studies show that dieting is a consistent predictor of future weight gain (53).
Instead of going on a diet, make it your goal to become a healthier, happier, and fitter person. Focus on nourishing your body, instead of depriving it.
Weight loss should follow as a natural side effect.
For more tips and tricks like these, feel free to keep exploring the Matador Furniture blog!
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