Which strategies do weight loss and fitness experts believe in and encourage the most?
The below 5 tips are not only the most effective ways for you to reach your weight loss goals – they’re the ones that experts trust so much that they’d recommend them to their own family and friends, and even follow themselves.
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Eat more whole foods & less processed foods
You may crave certain not-so-great foods, but if you eat them too much, you’ll gain weight and sacrifice your health. But experts believe that if you eat more of the better-for-you foods, your taste buds will adjust and learn to love them.
Make a short-term commitment to choosing more wholesome closer-to-nature foods with less added salt, sugar, saturated fat, and trans fat. Within weeks, you’ll start to prefer these now-familiar foods.
Indulge a little every day
Experts agree that in order to feel more satisfied with eating healthy, you need to make your body feel that it’s not being deprived. Eat treats like small amounts of dark chocolate, a pudding cups and crunchy almonds. You’ll be much more likely to not reach for cookies or chips as often.
Keep your treats somewhere hard to reach
Stash your favorite calorie-laden indulgences in a really inconvenient place, like your basement or a really high cabinet. Why? You’ll be less likely to make the effort to get the food – and you might even forget that it’s even there. If you do make the effort, you’ll have to burn extra calories to get the treat.
Get into the habit of popping DHA-based omega-3s—take two 200-milligram capsules about 30 minutes before both lunch and dinner. Or, have 4 ounces of non-fried salmon or trout three times per week, along with six walnuts before each meal.
This will decrease your desire for food later on, since this type of omega helps release the hormone cholecystokinin, which reduces appetite. Less food equals a smaller waist!”
Eat less of more foods
People in other countries tend to eat smaller portions of more things, while Americans tend to eat larger portions of fewer things.
For example, for breakfast, eat a slice of toast, a sliver of butter, a bit of jam, and a piece of fruit, plus coffee or tea. Variety, color, and presentation go a long way toward fooling the stomach into thinking you’re eating more than you actually are.
Eat protein after you work out
Eating protein within 45 minutes after a moderate to intense workout (of at least 45 minutes to an hour) helps your muscles rebuild and repair—and also helps increase the number of calories you burn.
So for maximum fat-melting throughout the day, bring a small protein-rich 100- to 200-calorie snack with you to the gym, or keep a stash of yogurt or string cheese at work.