Hitting the gym and working hard on your physical appearance by smashing cardio sessions and lifting heavy weights to work up a sweat is one part of a web of interconnected things you need to do to see good results on the scale and shrinkage of your waistline. Losing weight and getting fit starts with good, healthy habits and a balanced diet, as well as making changes to your relationship with food and snacks. That’s not all you can do to help your body along on its weight loss journey. Here are eight ways you can augment the time you’re spending in the gym by creating healthy eating and lifestyle habits and give yourself the best chance of weight loss success.
Drink More Water and Include Caffeine
Not only does drinking more water help with good hydration, there is evidence in some scientific studies to show that it can also boost your body’s metabolism by up to 30%. Resting energy expenditure, or the number of calories your body burns while at rest, can be affected by drinking more water and that effect can last up to an hour after drinking about 500ml of water. Combining this with the introduction or continued consumption of foods or drinks containing caffeine can also be beneficial for its appetite suppressant effects. Unsweetened black coffee is a firm choice for experts for a lean way of getting a caffeine hit to help with fat burning. Try not to add sugar or milk into your coffee or you’re undoing the benefits of drinking caffeine in the first place.
Keep a Food Journal
Understanding the calories that you’re consuming and what foods they’re coming from is an integral part of understanding what might be holding you back when it comes to weight loss. If you have an accurate record of what you’re eating, drinking and snacking on during the day, you can reference it and try variations to better service your weight loss agenda. If you can read back and identify trends, like what time of day you tend to snack or specific activities that lead to increased calorie consumption, then you can use this knowledge to make better choices.
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is one of those eating plans that people either love or are strongly against, but the results they can produce can’t be disputed. Studies about using intermittent fasting show that following a short term intermittent fasting regime can be effective if you’re trying to lose weight. It can also be effective in restarting your weight loss if you find yourself plateauing after a few good weeks of the scale showing progress. While the study of the practice of intermittent fasting needs some more comprehensive studies before we can be sure about its effectiveness, it can be a good tool to have in your toolbelt of weight loss tricks.
Eliminate Sugar from Your Diet
In our modern world, we find that sugar is added into so many different foods and food products, particularly in pre-cooked and pre-packaged foods and processed foods. If you have a habit of turning to fast food for your meals then you should also know that fast food is also high in sugars and syrups, even when you might not expect it to be, and should be avoided wherever possible if you want to achieve effective weight loss. Not only will cutting down on sugar mean a stark drop in calories, but you’ll be lowering your risk of associated diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Avoiding sugar completely means a lot of label inspection on any food that isn’t fresh from the ground, but the benefits of doing so will be apparent on your weight loss trajectory.
Embrace a Low-Calorie Diet
In principle, low carb and very low carb diets work because you’re consuming fewer calories than you’re burning, which is the basis for any diet. While many variations of this principle exist, the idea is always the same. A low-calorie diet combined with a good exercise and sleep routine are the cornerstones of any good weight loss program. By combining healthy low-calorie meals with meal replacement shakes that contain 100% of your daily vitamins and minerals, Shake That Weight offers an easy and convenient way to maintain a low-calorie diet easily. You can use the Shake That Weight plans in a combination of home-cooked meals and shakes or shakes only.
Have Healthy Snacks on Hand
There are some good psychological tricks you can use like eating off smaller plates to make your helpings feel bigger, but many of us fail in our weight loss journey thanks to the easy availability of snack foods and pre-packaged snacks. Potato chips and candy are easy and convenient when we need that mid-afternoon pick-me-up and we can unknowingly consume a huge number of calories this way. Being able to get that mid-afternoon snack without the high-calorie content is very beneficial to any weight loss plan, so keep healthy snacks around the house and office for these moments. These should still be snacks you enjoy – begrudgingly making your way through a snack pack of sugar snap peas might be incredibly healthy, but if you have to force yourself through them, you’re likely to break your diet quickly.
Get a Good Night’s Sleep
There are a few spokes on the diet wheel and one of the least considered ones is a simple, honest good night’s sleep. Not only will you eliminate late-night snacks that will add calories to your diet and take longer to digest thanks to their proximity to bedtime, but you’ll get all the added benefits of better sleep like increased energy levels that you can redirect into your gym workouts. Maintaining a steady bedtime and getting in at least 7 hours of sleep is incredibly important and it’s a win no matter how you look at it.
Chew Slower and Wait Before You Have Seconds
Don’t try and wolf down food as fast as you can. Rather, you should stop for a moment, chew slower, and enjoy it. If you spend the time enjoying your food, you’re less likely to need more to satiate your hunger. Reaching for seconds should also be something you wait at least 10 minutes to do as often you’ll find that you don’t want or need more if you give your body time to realise you’ve just eaten. If you’re still in the mood for a bit more, consider reaching for a healthy snack instead of a more calorie-rich second helping. This is all about creating healthy habits and playing the long game for maximum effectiveness. The more often you have a second helping, the longer you’re going to be strictly dieting.
It’s evident to those who take the journey of weight loss seriously that it’s a tough road that needs big adjustments to your habits and lifestyle. The time commitment and mental challenges that come along with the physical ones of getting active are going to be bigger than you might first anticipate but the rewards are infinitely worth it. There are so many benefits – health and otherwise – that you’ll realise from getting more in shape that the journey, although tough, will be worthwhile in the end.
