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Are you trying and failing to lose weight? For many, trying to get in shape feels like fighting a losing battle. Luckily, there are some science-backed tips for serious weight loss.
Here are six tips for serious weight loss that you may want to try:
1. Always eat a high-protein breakfast
While making time for breakfast may not be at the top of your priority list, it should be. As the old saying goes, it’s the most important meal of the day. What’s more, there is a body of research to support this argument. If you struggle with overeating, you could find that a hearty breakfast is the answer.
In fact, according to the results of a 2011 study published in the US National Library of Medicine, eating a high-protein breakfast actually serves to “reduce reward-driven eating” in the long-run. Avocados, eggs, yogurt, and cottage cheese are all high in this particular nutrient, which means that they are ideal breakfast ingredients.
2. Quit eating out all the time
Portion control is one of the most effective weight loss techniques. However, there are times when you’re not in control of how much ends up on your plate. In the last two decades alone, the average food serving sizes in US restaurants has doubled or even tripled, according to a report by National Institute of Health. Logically, the more food we are served, the more likely we are to consume it.
One of the easiest and most manageable ways to combat this problem is to eat at home and start packing your own lunches. When you make your own food, you know just what’s in it and, crucially, you can also control the size of the portion. Eating healthy-sized servings of your meals help you to lose weight at a steady rate.
3. Slow down when you eat
Eating your food too fast could well be the root of your weight problems. Slowing this process down to a moderate pace leads to ‘more pronounced anorexigenic gut peptide,’ according to research. These peptides activate the catabolic circuit and alert the brain to the fact that the body does not need any more food.
In effect, what this means is that the faster a person eats, the more hungry they are likely to feel. Since no fullness signal will have been sent to the brain, the person may continue to eat more calories than their body actually needs. If you’ve struggled with overeating in the past, you could well find that taking a longer time to eat is the answer.
4. Start self-monitoring your progress
Self-monitoring has proven to be one of the most effective ways to ensure weight loss, according to the Obesity Action Coalition. There are many ways in which you can keep track of your progress on a regular basis. You should log your exercise routines using either a journal or a fitness app so that you know how active you are. Aside from that, you may also want to write down your food and calorie-intake too.
You should also track how much weight you’re losing on a weekly basis. Invest in the best body fat scale so that you know your results are accurate and so you can measure not just weight but your body fat percentage, bone mass, and water content. Remember, gaining muscle and losing fat may not reflect much of a change on the scale, so measuring your neck, hips, waist, arms, and thighs will also help you monitor how many physical inches you are losing.
5. Avoid liquid calories at all costs
Few of us care to consider these things when we’re trying to slim down and yet we most certainly should. A recent study of obese women aged 25-50 years old, found that switching high-sugar drinks for tap water or spring water had a strong link to weight loss. If you’re currently in the habit of drinking fizzy soda or even high-sugar juices, it could be worth making this small change and seeing what happens.
6. Educate yourself on weight loss
There are new study results coming out all the time, so you need to keep on top of the latest news. Educating yourself on how best to shed those pounds could be the simplest way to manage your weight. The results of a recent study found that overweight participants lost the most weight over a six-month period when they combined their exercise and dieting programs with listening to weight loss podcasts and using Twitter. Bottomline, the more you know about the science behind gaining and losing weight, as well as the more you invest in learning how new trends can help, the easier you may find it to lose weight.
