Usually, when you read about tips to lose weight, you get the standard formula: eat less, exercise more.
When you go into more detail and follow some of the best weight loss plans available, you will find lots of foods listed on the “do not touch” list. This can vary from one plan to another which can make it tough to sort through all of the information out there and find the weight loss plan that is most effective for you.
Before you start sorting through tons of materials that are going to tell you how to shed some pounds, check out these 7 little known, easy-to-do tips on losing weight.
7 Useful Tips to Lose Weight
1. Drink More Water
You heard that right. Drinking more water on a daily basis is one of the best weight loss plans you will find. Something as simple as drinking a full glass of water right before your meal can help curb your hunger and keep you from overeating.
Another benefit to drinking more water, and not just before a meal, is that you will be better hydrated. A well-hydrated body will not be as likely to trick you into thinking you are hungry. Many times, people believe that they are hungry when they are actually thirsty.
Thirst associated with dehydration can feel like hunger and can lead to snacking or overindulgence.
2. Get More Sleep
Even though it sounds out of place among tips on losing weight, sleep plays a significant role in the body’s metabolism. Sleep has a direct impact on our hormone levels which controls how fat is burned and stored.
It also plays a role in how your body maintains its muscle mass, and muscle always burns more calories than fat. Getting an adequate amount of sleep helps keep your hormones balanced which helps you lose more weight.
3. Don’t Go to the Gym
What? Isn’t a good workout essential to the best weight loss plans? Yes. Working out helps you burn calories and build muscles, both of which help you lose weight and keep it off. But the atmosphere of the gym can be intimidating for some people.
If you are intimidated or uncomfortable going to a local gym, you are less likely to go on a regular basis. So don’t go, but do something. Find something you enjoy and be active, even if it doesn’t involve the gym.
You can achieve your weight loss goals by doing something you like. Maybe you enjoy hiking, casual biking, canoeing, or playing sports with neighbors and friends. If you are uncomfortable or embarrassed about using a gym, don’t. Just find some other way to get active.
In fact, here’s a video that’s going to show you some weird and unconventional ways to burn 200 calories:
4. Designate an Eating Area
Do you like to veg out in front of the TV while you eat? Do you eat while you are sitting at your computer? If you eat while doing these types of activities, you may be sabotaging your own weight loss efforts.
One of the essential tips to lose weight is to eat at the table, or another designated area, away from the TV, computer or other distractions.
Studies have shown that people who eat in front of the TV while watching a movie or show, or while working at the computer, eat more calories on average than those who do not. You are less likely to overeat if you are eating in an area free from distractions.
5. Don’t Skip Breakfast
When someone wants to lose weight, it seems logical to skip meals. However, the opposite is true. By skipping breakfast, a chain reaction begins.
First of all, your blood sugar level drops. As a result, you become hungrier and are more likely to eat unhealthy snacks during the morning, or tend to eat larger portions at other meals. By eating breakfast, your hunger is satisfied, and overeating is less likely to occur later on.
Some studies have shown that by eating a healthy breakfast, the risk of developing obesity and diabetes is greatly reduced.
6. Learn Your Colors
Many diet plans encourage dieters to stay away from fruit due to the high levels of natural sugar which can inhibit weight loss. But some fruits can be helpful in losing those extra pounds. When you choose fruit, select those darker in color and stay away from green ones.
Recently, studies have indicated that fruits darker in color like watermelon, cherries, blueberries, strawberries and grapes have more flavonoids than lighter colored fruits and veggies. Flavonoids found in deeper colors can reduce the activity of genes that store fat.
Not only do flavonoids decrease the amount of fat the body absorbs and stores, but they can also help the body’s metabolism burn more calories. Eating colorful fruits can be a flavorful way to reduce your weight.
7. Keep Your Cool
For those who want to know how to lose weight and keep it off, it may be as simple as adjusting the thermostat in your house. Some new studies have indicated keeping the room temperature just a few degrees cooler can be beneficial for those who desire to lose weight.
By keeping the temp a little cooler, you force your body to burn extra calories to keep warm. The technical term for this is “thermogenesis.” In simple terms, it means activating brown fat cells to raise your body temperature, which in turn burns more calories.
You can easily burn off an extra 100 to 200 calories a day just by keeping your house a bit cooler. And for those who just don’t want to be “cooler,” just turn it down while you sleep and you can achieve the same effect.
Conclusion
These seven tips to lose weight that you may not have heard about can make a big difference. If you are uncomfortable making big changes to your routine, exercise regimen or eating plan, these seven tips might be the best way for you to lose weight.
Any one of them can be enough to make a difference over time. You don’t have to look for the best diet to lose weight fast. Just make these 7 simple changes, and you may be surprised how easy it actually is to lose a few pounds.
