15 Easy Ways To Lose Weight

15-ways-to-lose-weight

A very important aspect to preparedness is your health. Without it, your quality of life suffers. Many people in our modern world today are considered overweight, and by shedding some of those pounds would become better prepared for what life brings them by having more energy and physical ability to cope.

Here are 15 easy ways to lose weight…


 
Treat high-calorie foods as a garnish or trimming. Instead of a bowl of ice cream, make a spoonful of ice cream the garnish on a bowl of fruit. Instead of eating lots of chips, pair them with salsa. Sprinkle a little cheese with a lot of salad. Get the idea?

Make water your primary drink. Instead of soda or juice, drink water. Lots of calories can be saved by avoiding sweet drinks. Water will quench and help trigger more of a sense of fullness for your thirst than sugary drinks.

Walk for 45 minutes a day. 45 minutes is better than the typically suggested 30 because to prevent weight gain in most relatively sedentary people, exercise beyond 30 minutes results in weight and fat loss. Burning an additional 300 calories a day with three miles of brisk walking (45 minutes should do it) could help you lose 30 pounds in a year without even changing how much you’re eating.

Downsize your dinner plates. The less food put in front of you, the less food you’ll eat. The more food in front of you, the more you’ll eat — regardless of how hungry you are. So instead of using regular dinner plates that range from 10-14 inches, serve your main course on salad plates (about 7-9 inches wide).

Serve your dinner restaurant style. Food served on plates rather than family style (food served in bowls and on platters on the table). When your plate is empty, you’re finished; there’s no reaching for seconds.

Put out a vegetable platter. Eating water-rich foods such as zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers during meals reduces your overall calorie consumption.

Use vegetables to bulk up meals. Every knows it… eat your vegetables. You can eat twice as much pasta salad loaded with veggies like broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes for the same calories as a pasta salad with just mayonnaise. Add vegetables to make a fluffier, more satisfying omelet without having to up the number of eggs. Etc..

Avoid white foods. Large amounts of simple carbohydrates from white flour and added sugar can wreak havoc on your blood sugar and lead to weight gain. While avoiding sugar, white rice, and white flour, you should eat plenty of whole grain breads and brown rice.

Eat cereal for breakfast. Instead of bacon and eggs, consider high-fiber, low-sugar cereals. Avoid reaching for sugary cereals – you know the ones… (e.g. Cap’n Crunch, etc..)

Avoid processed food that lists sugar, fructose, or corn syrup among the first four ingredients on the label. Ingredients on a food label are listed in the order of their quantity. Look for sugar-free varieties of foods.

Eat slowly. Your brain lags your stomach by about 20 minutes when it comes to fullness signals. If you eat slowly enough, your brain will catch up to tell you that you are no longer in need of food. Put your fork or spoon down between every bite. Sip water frequently.

Eat only when you hear your stomach growling. We eat far too often out of boredom, nervousness, habit, or frustration. If you’re yearning for a specific food, it’s probably a craving, not hunger. If you’d eat anything you could get your hands on, chances are you’re truly hungry.

Get up and walk around the office or your home for five minutes at least every two hours. Stuck at a desk all day? A brisk five-minute walk every two hours will add-up to an extra 20-minute walk by the end of the day. And getting a break will make you less likely to reach for snacks.

Switch from regular milk to 2%. If you already drink 2%, go down another notch to 1% or skim milk. Each step downward cuts the calories by about 20 percent. Once you train your taste buds to enjoy skim milk, you’ll have cut the calories in the whole milk by about half and trimmed the fat by more than 95 percent.

Get most of your calories before noon. The more you eat in the morning, the less you’ll eat in the evening. And you have more opportunities to burn off those early-day calories than you do to burn off dinner calories.

 
Ideas sourced from common sense and from around the Internet