If you want to lose weight, but want to do it on autopilot, you’ve come to the right place. Here are ten easy ways to make the weight drop without even trying!
1. Use a smaller plate
Feeling full and satisfied is as much on your mind as it is in your stomach. Every time you eat, you want to leave the table feeling satisfied. This causes you to finish everything on your plate even though you probably aren’t physically hungry anymore. If you reduce the size of your plate, it’s a good way to reduce the number of calories you eat, but still feel satisfied because you finished everything in sight. Depending on the food, reducing the size by 25% can help you lose 10 pounds in six months.
2. Watch your fluids
Although drinks are not called food, it does not mean that they do not make you gain weight. Soda, milk, alcohol, and even fruit juice can add a significant number of calories to your diet. By eliminating two 12-ounce sodas or two 12-ounce beers from your diet every day, you can lose 22 pounds in just one year! Water actually has zero calories, so you can drink as much as you want and not gain a pound. Staying hydrated also prevents your body from sending false hunger signals to your brain when you’re actually thirsty and not hungry.
3. Understand the science of weight loss
It is important to be aware that your weight does not magically increase, there is actually science involved. Nutritional science tells us that 3,500 calories is equal to 1 pound of pure body fat. If you eat 500 extra calories each day for an entire week, you gain an extra 3,500 calories or 1 pound of fat. Continue this behavior and you could gain 20lbs in just 5 months. Conversely, if you eat 500 fewer calories than you need every day for 5 months, you’ll lose 20 pounds! Find your basal metabolic rate and see how many calories you need in a day to survive and lose weight.
4. Count calories correctly
Knowing how many calories you need in a day won’t do much good unless you can count your calories correctly. Focusing on serving size, servings per container, and calories per serving are very important when looking at a food label. The number of calories you see is actually at your service and not the entire container. To get the calories in the entire container, multiply the number of Servings per container by calories per serving. If you are using an online calorie counter, you should make sure that the serving size of the tool is the same as the serving size you actually eat. Calorie miscalculation is a major hurdle for people trying to lose weight. It’s a good idea to add at least 10% to the number of calories you think you’re eating to get the actual number of calories you eat in a day.
5. Eat a variety
Human beings like variety. Eating the same thing over and over for weeks on end will not produce long-term results and will also deprive your body of valuable nutrients it needs to feel its best. Making your plate colorful and full of variety will stimulate your brain’s pleasure reward system, helping you control your appetite. It also helps make sure you get all the nutrients you need, keeping you feeling great while you lose weight. Use a plate with dividers and make sure each section is a different color.
6. Slow and steady wins the race
It takes some time before the stomach tells the brain that it is full. By eating too fast, you do more than satisfy your hunger, you “fill up” on unnecessary calories. Try to take smaller bites and chew slowly, taking time to enjoy the food. Put down your fork or spoon after every one or two bites. It’s even a good idea to take a 2-3 minute water break in the middle of your meal. Treat mealtime like a 5K run, not a 100-meter run.
7. Take control
You are the only one who can make weight loss happen. It is important to remember that the weight did not appear overnight; It doesn’t go away overnight either, but if you take control, you will lose weight. Do not make excuses. Excuses suggest someone who is not focused on success or someone who is afraid of failure. Apologies come in all shapes and sizes, some big, some small. To be successful, you can have ZERO excuses, not even the smallest ones. If you have doubts, eliminate them. Doubt will only hold you back and weaken your focus. If you don’t have faith in yourself, it will be extremely difficult to lose weight.
8. No seconds!
American culture has conditioned you to think that you can enjoy whatever you want without facing the consequences. Never eat seconds after any meal. The latter are fed entirely by appetite, not hunger. Instead of serving family-style meals, get food from the kitchen and bring your entire plate to the table. Once you finish your plate at one meal, close the kitchen because there is no need to eat more food. Get up from the table and occupy your mind with something other than food. Pay attention to how much food you’re actually preparing for each meal, and avoid leftovers. This can also save you money on your grocery budget.
9. Responsible partner
You probably act a little differently when your reputation is on the line. Find a couple of people you’re especially close to and don’t want to disappoint. Write a simple weight loss contract and make them your accountable partners! Your accountability partners don’t have to lose weight themselves, they’re just there to help keep you motivated and on track through the tough times. Set aside a day each week to weigh yourself and tell your accountability partners about your results.
10. Get out and move
Your body uses energy to keep you alive. Heartbeat, breathing, and even the brain require energy to function. Adding a few extra moves goes a long way toward burning extra calories and losing weight. Most call this exercise, but really it’s anything that gets your heart rate up. Use an exercise ball at work instead of a traditional chair. Walking up the stairs, jogging, mowing the lawn, swimming, exercise programs, raking leaves, are all ways to burn extra calories. WebMD has a great tool to help calculate how many calories an activity actually burns. You can also buy a pedometer to count your steps. Walk an extra 2,600 steps a day and you could burn enough calories to lose 7 pounds in a year.