Weight Loss
5 Simple Lifestyle Changes That Help Excess Weight Fall Off
Believe it or not, there are simple, easy ways to lose excess weight. Losing weight should not have to mean dramatic lifestyle changes, crash dieting, or endless exercising.
The basics of weight gain and weight loss are very straightforward. If you eat more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. If you eat fewer calories than you burn, you will lose weight. Keeping those facts in mind, here are 5 simple lifestyle changes that will help you lose those extra pounds.
Drink More Water
If you are overweight, chances are that a portion of the weight is excess water. These days, people are very busy and neglect their water intake. With the popularity of coffee, soda, and other alternatives, most people live their lives in a state of partial dehydration.
Keep in mind that about two-thirds of a human body is made of water. To help flush out this extra water weight, drink 1 gallon of water each day. This may seem like a lot at first, but your body will adapt. You will eventually have more energy and will lose a few pounds as the retained water is flushed from your body.
To help meet this goal, buy a cheap water bottle and keep it with you wherever you go. You’ll find yourself drinking much more water this way.
Buy a Pedometer
Most modern jobs involve a lot of sitting. People just aren’t walking, exercising, or moving. To combat this, try buying a pedometer that measures the number of steps you take each day. Measure how many steps you normally take, and set a goal to increase that number.
Easy ways to do this include parking the back of parking lots, walking to the corner store instead of driving, and taking an evening walk through your neighborhood.
Skip the Butter, Dressing, and Sauces
Butter, dressings, and sauces taste great, but they pack a lot of calories. For example, a tablespoon of butter has about 100 calories. By loading your salad with dressing, or eating a plate of fettuccini alfredo, you are getting a huge amount of calories just from the dressing and sauce alone.
Try limiting, or eliminating, your use of these things together. Otherwise, you can purchase “light” versions of these products that contain significantly fewer calories.
If you ate two pieces of buttered toast, and a salad each day, you could eliminate about 400 calories from your diet. This would equate to losing about 3 pounds each month.
Control Portions
In the age of “super-sizing it,” portion sizes have gotten out of control. Limiting calorie-dense foods like grains (cereal, pasta, bread) and focusing your meals on lean proteins (like chicken and fish) will drastically lower the number of calories you consume. Rather than load up on French fries, try eating a larger piece of skinless chicken breast, and more vegetables.
Focus on One Thing at a Time
Most diets fail because people get overwhelmed. They can’t handle the sudden and drastic changes associated with most dieting programs. A diet isn’t something that happens once; it’s a lifestyle change. To make a lifestyle change, focus on one thing at a time, and don’t let yourself get overwhelmed or disappointed.
For example, focus solely on upping the number of steps you take each day with a pedometer. Whether it takes a couple of weeks or a couple of months, once you are satisfied, move on to the next thing. Maybe you want to work on eliminating butter from your diet, or you want to increase your water intake. In any case, focus your attention on one thing at a time until it becomes a habit, and never, ever let yourself get overwhelmed or disappointed.