Top 10 Tips for losing weight:
Losing weight is
never easy, keeping the weight off is even harder. I lost over 8.5 stone over a
two year period, that was over 10 years ago and have maintained a healthy
weight and lifestyle ever since.
I have a real
understanding of the challenges individuals face and my top 10 tips for losing
weight are based on my own experiences as well as the experiences of my truly
exceptional clients.
1) Hydrate:
(water means life!):
It’s
basic but vital, it’s all around us, it’s FREE and it contains no calories….
Your
body is using water from conception until the end of your life. Water hydrates
the brain, lubricates skin and tissues, eliminates toxins helps digestion,
regulates body temperature, generates energy and reduces water retention. Our requirement
for water varies, somewhere between 2 and 3 litres (total hydration) per day is
ideal. Water is the simplest, best way to hydrate.
The
human brain is exceptional BUT it confuses thirst with hunger, so when you feel
hungry hydrate first, then reconsider.
In one study, middle-aged overweight
and obese participants who drank water before each meal lost 44% more weight
than a group who did not.
Another study also showed that drinking
water before breakfast reduced the amount of calories consumed during that meal
by 13%.
More information can be found here:
DRINK MORE
2) Find a way to move more:
(with resistance):
Bodyweight exercises, resistance bands,
kettle bells, the method is unimportant, move your body and include a
resistance. This will help you to increase muscle mass, speed up your
metabolism and BAM! You can eat more!!!!!
Increasing muscle mass means your body
is burning energy quickly and efficiently, it also means activities of daily
life (ADL’s) become easier (think household chores, playing with the kids, even
getting in and out of you car!).
According to www.webmd.com , every pound of muscle uses about 6
calories a day just to sustain itself, while each pound of fat burns only 2
calories a day.
More info here:
MOVE MORE
3) Fruit and vegetables:
(Yep old school, but it works!):
I
like to call these little beauties “natures jewels” They pack such
extraordinary qualities, water, fibre, colour (anti oxidants), vitamins and
minerals.“Natures jewels” will fill you up without wasting valuable calories.
-
Fruit, vegetables and starchy carbohydrates are 4 kcals per g,
-
Proteins are 4 kcals per g
-
Fat is 9 kcals per g.
“I
don’t like fruit and vegetables” I hear you scream! So try something new – sweet potato, doughnut
(or Saturn) peaches, grilled pineapple are all delicious. On a budget? Try a wonky vegetable box from
your local supermarket, just as nourishing and there’s an element of fun in
seeing a tomato with a nose, which looks like a face J
Tip: Keep
fruit and vegetables whole or make home made smoothie (not juices- as you will
be throwing away much of the goodness).
EAT
MORE FRUIT AND VEG!
4) ) Forget starvation:
Drop
your calories too low and your body senses a threat to life. In response it
down regulates many functions to preserve life. A body lacking energy will
behave as such: slow, lethargic, threatened, your hormones will be all over the
shop and your metabolism will slow in order to cope. Understanding
your energy requirement is critical to optimising life, use the link below to
calculate how much energy you need:
DON’T STARVE
5) Sleep (Yes rest can help you lose weight):
You eat
well, you move lots, you hydrate but you’re still not losing weight? How much
do you rest? Most adults require between 7.5 and 9 hours sleep per night. Sleep
is really important, it’s an opportunity for you to process thoughts, rest and
repair, balance hormones (particularly leptin and ghrelin AKA hunger hormones),
which aid weight loss.
Sleep
is the way your body preserves itself. You need it!
Read
more here:
SLEEP MORE
6) Celebrate small successes:
The
mountain that separates where you are today and where you want to be, is huge
right? So celebrate when you reach base camp. Having made the journey from obese
to where I am today I know that If I had focused on the long term goal (over 8
stones/ 100lbs) in weight loss I would have become pretty disheartened every
time I made a mistake. To succeed we must learn to enjoy small successes:
walking for 5 minutes extra per day, preparing dinner using single ingredients,
drinking more water.
Find a way to celebrate these successes in a healthy manner, try to avoid rewarding with food. Celebrate with a new album from I-tunes, a pair of shoes, or a new dress. If these things are out of reach financially then keep it simple, a five minute break after you have got home from work doing absolutely nothing but drinking that hot cup of tea, a relaxing bath, a walk around your garden… basically you choose something that makes you feel good!
Find a way to celebrate these successes in a healthy manner, try to avoid rewarding with food. Celebrate with a new album from I-tunes, a pair of shoes, or a new dress. If these things are out of reach financially then keep it simple, a five minute break after you have got home from work doing absolutely nothing but drinking that hot cup of tea, a relaxing bath, a walk around your garden… basically you choose something that makes you feel good!
CELEBRATE
YOUR SUCCESS
7) ) Build a lifestyle (not a DIEt)
I hate the word DIEt… it contains the word DIE, that can’t be good! Over the years I have seen clients, family and friends setting themselves up to fail, trying the latest fad DIEt. How long do you think you can live on cabbage soup? Seriously?
Build a lifestyle, which you are happy with, one, which supports your goal, one that you can stick with! Yoyo dieting (diet, give up because its too hard, diet again) does more to damage health than to sustain it, put simply your body (particularly hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin) become out of balance and cortisol / adrenaline (stress hormones) are elevated.
Build a lifestyle, which you are happy with, one, which supports your goal, one that you can stick with! Yoyo dieting (diet, give up because its too hard, diet again) does more to damage health than to sustain it, put simply your body (particularly hunger hormones leptin and ghrelin) become out of balance and cortisol / adrenaline (stress hormones) are elevated.
BUILD
A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE
8)
Eat slowly (slooowwwwllllyyyyyy):
Walk
the dog, do some exercise, make dinner, pick the kids up from school, do some
work from home, check social media, take an obligatory selfie, be a Wife, Mum,
Sister, Daughter Friend. Our whole lives
seem to be geared around rushing…Rush, rush, quick, quick!
When
was the last time you compared the time taken to prepare a meal with the time
taken to eat it? SLOOOOWWWWWW down, according to http: //www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/features/slow-down-you-eat-too-fast#1 eating slowly and mindfully can help you eat
less but more importantly it enhances the pleasure of the dining.
ENJOY
YOUR FOOD SLOWLY
9) Snack wisely (include
protein to boost satisfaction and reduce cravings):
When
time is at a premium, snacks offer consistent energy throughout the day, for
many people fruit is the snack of choice, a great choice at that, but even
better if we can add a bit of protein! Studies have found that increasing
protein can reduce cravings by up to 60% Great snack choices include: cottage
cheese, peanut butter, nuts and hummus, all of these can be added to a fruit or
vegetable to make the Perfect Snack. – Watch point: getting the volume of a
single snack right is really important (for many a snack of 150-200 kcal is a
good place to start)
SNACK
- BUT SNACK WISELY
10) Be patient (learn to fail!):
It’s 10
years since you were in shape, it’s going to take more than 10 minutes to get
back there. The road to health is a long one, with many twists, turns and
opportunities to screw up: Birthdays, Weddings, Funerals, Graduations, Easter,
Halloween, New Year, Christmas, WEEKENDS. Learn that any form of self-improvement
requires mistakes. Learn from your mistakes, embrace them as experiences, move
on and stay consistent.
BE
PATIENT
If
you would like to talk to me about how you can loose weight and keep it off for
the long term – then why not get in touch call me on 01273 258212
Andy
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