Weight Loss Tips based on Healthy Diet, Lifestyle and effective Exercise

Weight Loss Tips

A good weight loss program stands on three pillars- a Healthy Diet, Lifestyle changes, and an effective Exercise Regimen. By incorporating these three in your life, you can definitely achieve your weight loss goals and see many long-term health benefits as well. Before we look at various Weight loss tips, we should discuss why you should lose weight in the first place.

Why You should lose weight

1. Obesity causes many health risks – Being obese or overweight contributes to multiple health problems such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, mental health issues, insomnia, and many more. If you want to improve your health, it is important that you shed those extra kilos. You can add more years to your life by being more healthy and spending less money on doctor fees and medicines. You can read further about the health risks and problems associated with obesity here.
2. It improves sleep quality – Losing weight can help you fall asleep faster and also improve your sleep quality. Studies have shown that a good diet and exercise which contributes to weight loss can significantly improve the quality of sleep you get. When your goal is to lose weight, you eat healthier food than junk or sugary food. This leads to better sleep quality. Losing weight also reduces the fat around your neck which reduces your snoring and the risk of sleep apnea.
3. Better bone and joint health – It’s common knowledge that a high BMI(body mass index) leads to more strain on your bones and joints. Overweight people are at a much higher risk of suffering from arthritis than normal or underweight people. Losing weight can reduce this risk significantly. You should aim for a BMI of 25 or less for optimum joint and bone health. Even Basketball players employ the strategy of shedding weight when they injure their knee joint as they age since it is a sport that is highly reliant on knees.
4. Improves confidence – Losing weight can give you the confidence boost that you were looking for. When you notice your appearance after losing weight and achieving your weight loss goals you will start getting more confident. In addition to this, Physical exercise and working out increase the production of serotonin in your body. Serotonin is a mood-boosting chemical in your body that leads to a higher level of satisfaction and a better mood. Losing weight also provides you with a better appearance than when you were overweight. Therefore, losing weight can do wonders for your confidence.
5. Boosts Immunity – When you lose weight, you start eating healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, following a healthy lifestyle, and regular exercise. All these things improve your immunity. By following through on your weight loss program, you ensure that you don’t get sick often, stay healthy for longer, and enjoy your life to the fullest by doing all the activities you like without much worry.
6. Better skin – Losing weight is associated with better and clearer skin. When you work out, you release various toxins from your body through sweat. It opens the pores of your skin and keeps your skin healthy and glowing. Working out also improves the blood flow in your body which keeps your skin youthful by nourishing your skin cells.
7. Improves your impression of people – It’s no secret that good-looking people have a better impression on others no matter how their personality really is and that losing weight will make an overweight person more attractive. Studies have shown that people who are thin and attractive have a higher probability of getting hired for a job than their less attractive counterparts. Weight loss can also make it much easier for you to make new friends and get along with people.
8. Improves Mental Ability – People who follow a healthy lifestyle, eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole foods, and exercise regularly are more likely to have better mental functioning than people who don’t. You will also have a better time remembering things when you follow these healthy habits and are less likely to have brain fog.
9. Higher testosterone – Losing weight is associated with an increase in testosterone levels in the body. Testosterone is the male sex hormone that is developed in the testicles. It increases muscle mass, facial hair, and bone mass in the male body and is also the main contributor to sex drive in males. Therefore, Testosterone is very important for Men.

Now that we have discussed why you should lose weight, we will look into various Weight loss tips that we can implement in our lives.

We can divide Weight loss tips into 4 Categories:-

• Weight loss tips based on diet
• Weight loss tips based on Lifestyle
• Weight Loss Tips Based on Exercise
• Weight loss tips based on Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness

Weight loss tips based on Diet

1. Drink Plenty of water – One of the best weight loss tips is to drink a good amount of water every day, about 8-12 glasses a day depending on your weight. Water keeps your body hydrated which results in higher energy levels, and body temperature management, ensures proper functioning of the organs, releases toxins from the body, and aids in metabolism. As water is easily available and has no calories, one can easily start the habit of drinking more water. If the water feels boring or tasteless to you, you can try adding a dash of lemon and honey to it or try sparkling water to make it more interesting.
2. Reducing your sugar intake – Sugar is a huge contributor to weight gain. Sugary foods and drinks are very high in calories and low in essential nutrients which is why they are often termed empty calories. To stay consistent in your weight loss journey and get effective results you should reduce your daily sugar intake. However, make sure you don’t completely abandon eating sugar because this could lead to an increase in sugar cravings and you may end up relapsing.
3. Eat more fruits and vegetables – For effective weight loss, you should incorporate more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods into your diet. Fruits and vegetables are low in calories and fat and high in fiber- which is very essential for weight loss. They also contain plenty of vitamins and minerals. Fruits are also good alternatives for sweet foods as they contain natural sugars that can satisfy your sweet tooth. One very effective weight-loss food is a fruit Smoothie which you can drink as a pre or post-workout drink. You can check the recipe here.
4. Eat high-fiber foods – Dietary Fibre can only be found in plants. Therefore, you should eat plenty of vegetarian foods like fruits, vegetables, oats, brown rice, and whole-wheat bread. Fibre helps you feel full for longer than usual as your body takes more time to digest fiber than other nutrients.
5. Try drinking black coffee or green tea – Black coffee or green tea can aid in weight loss. Black coffee and green tea contain only 2 to 5 calories a cup. They also aid in digestion and are rich in antioxidants. Black coffee can also increase your exercise performance by about 5-10 percent as it contains high amounts of caffeine. Whereas, Green tea can be used as a post-dinner drink to aid digestion and get rid of toxins from the body.

Weight loss tips based on Lifestyle

1. Eat regular meals – To ensure consistent weight loss and weight management, eating meals every day at the same time regularly is crucial. Eating 3 to 5 meals, spread evenly throughout the day, is essential for weight loss. By eating regular meals your body digests food faster. It also reduces the urge to snack on junk food.
2. Eat-in moderation – One of the most effective weight loss tips is eating in moderation. Rather than eliminating tasty but unhealthy foods completely, you should eat those foods and even healthy foods in moderation. You can try the Hara Hachi technique of moderation used by the people of Okinawa, Japan to achieve your weight loss goals. Hara Hachi advocates eating only until you are 80% full and no more than that.
3. Use Smaller Plates – Some studies have shown that using smaller plates results in eating smaller portions. You can reduce your daily calorie count by 200-300 calories by just switching a 12-inch plate with a 10-inch one. This simple technique can give you astonishing results of losing around 5-10 kgs a year but
4. Sleep well – Sleep can affect your weight drastically. According to studies, sleeping less than 6 hours a day can result in weight gain, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other ailments. Sleeping less will also make you feel more lethargic and cranky throughout the day which can make you skip your daily exercise.
5. Being positive – Weight loss is as much a mental game as it is a physical one. You must be mentally strong and not get deterred by a few setbacks or lack of results in the early stages of your weight loss program. Sometimes you may also need to revise your diet or exercise if you don’t see lasting results. One must keep a positive attitude in achieving weight loss.

Weight loss tips based on exercise

• Do Cardio – Try to incorporate various cardio exercises in your exercise routine like walking, running, and cycling for effective weight loss. You can even do various cardio exercises in the comfort of your home like burpees, jumping jacks, HIIT(high-intensity interval training), jumping rope, etc. Cardio exercises reduce your body fat very effectively and are essential for long-term weight loss.
• Weight training – Just doing cardiovascular exercises is not enough for long-term weight loss, it should be coupled with weight training in order to get even better results. Cardio exercises reduce your body fat but it also reduces the muscle mass in your body, that is why it is essential to incorporate weight training because it converts the protein and fat in your body into muscle mass resulting in a better physical appearance.
• Calisthenics – Calisthenics is a form of strength training that does not use any equipment like weights or machines. Rather, it uses the person’s own body weight for resistance and strength training. Some calisthenics exercises are push-ups, pull-ups, squats, crunches, mountain climbers, etc. The best part about calisthenics is that you can do these exercises in the comfort of your home without worrying about paying exorbitant gym fees.

Weight loss tips based on Yoga, Meditation, and mindfulness

Yoga, Meditation, and mindfulness are alternate forms of exercise that you can incorporate into your daily routine. Earlier, these techniques were only used by a small number comprising mostly of sages and learned individuals but lately, they have gained popularity among people and are becoming more mainstream.

Yoga

Yoga originated in India. It is a form of exercise that incorporates mind, body, and soul developed by ancient sages of our country. It aims to create harmony between the self and the outside world through mental, physical, and spiritual development.

What’s famous as Yoga today is only a small part of Yoga known as “Hatha Yoga” which is a posture-based exercise aimed at physical fitness and stretching. This form of yoga is different from Traditional yoga which focuses on meditation and detachment from worldly pleasures.

Hatha yoga and other forms of physical yoga such as Hot yoga- Hatha yoga performed under high temperatures are good methods for weight loss. Yoga also makes you mindful and calm which allows you to take less stress and make you aware of the impact of various foods.

Meditation

Meditation is the act of focusing your mind on something- an object, thought, activity, or nothingness. Meditation can be easily practiced in the comfort of your home. You just have to choose a quiet corner of a room, put a cushion on the floor, sit on it, and then start focusing your mind on something.

Doing chants like Nam Myoho range Kyo or Om can be very effective while meditating to maintain focus. While meditation does not directly contribute to weight loss, it can make you more mindful about how your body and mind react to different exercises, foods, etc which in turn can help you make the right choices for your health.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is the act of being completely in the present moment. Mindfulness advocates focusing on the present rather than worrying about the future or regret about the past. You can practice mindfulness by doing an activity and focusing on how and what you do during it. For example, you can focus on how eating your breakfast makes you feel, how it tastes and what are your thoughts during eating.

Mindfulness makes you more self-aware and calm which can reduce stress in your life. When you practice mindfulness, you are more aware of the food you eat and you don’t end up overeating. Mindfulness also makes you enjoy your workouts more by being present in the moment and being aware of your daily progress.

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