26 Proven Weight Loss Tips That Really Work
1. Drink Water, Especially Before Meals
Keeping yourself hydrated is a must as our body is made up of 60% of water. Including a moderate amount of water in your daily life is considered efficient for weight loss. Water helps us retain the sufficient amount of fluid required by the body.
If you drink water on a regular basis then your metabolism gets boosted up by 24%-30% within 1-1.5 hours. This often leads to burning off calories. (1)
If we consume half-liter water half an hour before our meal, then it aids in the feeling of fullness reducing our appetite. Doing this on a regular basis will result in 44% of weight loss among dieters as compared to those who didn’t consume a sufficient amount of water. (2)
2. Eat Eggs for Breakfast
Eggs are unquestionably healthy and delicious.
Eggs are a great source of protein and being nutrient-dense, they are enriched with all the nutrients that breakfast requires. Egg yolks contain almost all the nutrients required by the body. There was a time when eggs were considered high in cholesterol, however with time whole eggs are making a comeback. It is considered the best food to include in your breakfast. Though, some people faced issues like an increase in the level of bad LDL cholesterol due to a high intake of eggs.
Eggs are the most excellent sources of choline which is an essential nutrient required for brain and liver health. In addition, antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin are present in egg yolks which help to prevent any eye disorders like cataracts and macular degeneration. It is easy to prepare and is less time-consuming, which is a good sign as we are always in a rush in the morning.
An intake of three large eggs can give you as much as 20 grams of high-quality protein.
3. Drink Coffee (Preferably Black)
Drinking coffee can drastically raise your metabolic rate and make you shed off some extra weight. Caffeine in coffee is proven to boost metabolism by 3-11%. Remember not to add too much sugar to your coffee. (3)
Drinking coffee can be a great way of maintaining and losing weight as it has great effects on metabolism and fat burning. Coffee has been unfairly demonized. Quality coffee is loaded with antioxidants and can have numerous health benefits.
4. Drink Green Tea
Green tea is great for boosting up your metabolism. It is beneficial to shred weight that occurs due to a decrease in metabolism and keep it away. If you drink green tea, then it is proven to increase metabolism by 4-5%.
Green tea has a small amount of caffeine and is loaded with excellent antioxidants called catechins, which are believed to work synergistically with caffeine to enhance fat burning.
5. Try Intermittent Fasting
When it comes to reducing weight, people are always fascinated by a fast approach that can help them lose weight instantly. Therefore, these dieters highly recommend intermittent fasting to hastily make their way towards the Zen of their weight loss journey.
Now, what is intermittent fasting?
It is an eating cycle that needs to be followed daily between periods of fasting and eating. It is a calorie restriction way of dieting.
Intermittent fasting also aids to cut down on the loss of muscle mass caused by low-calorie diets. Nevertheless, these claims lack evidence.
6. Take a Glucomannan Supplement
Glucomannan is a kind of fiber that is known for its weight loss properties. Some studies revealed a higher rate of weight loss among people who consumed glucomannan supplements than people who did not.
Glucomannan functions as a fiber that absorbs water and accumulates in your gut for a brief period, making you feel full and reducing your appetite.
7. Cut Back on Added Sugar
Sugar is known to be the biggest villain in our life during our weight loss period. Consuming too much sugar can turn into a nightmare for those who are trying to burn some fat.
We, humans, tend to look for taste than the benefits of what we eat which results in excess consumption of sugar.
As per some studies, sugar (and high-fructose corn syrup) consumption has a massive impact on our health and the risk of obesity as well as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. (4)
If you want to achieve something for your body, then cutting down on added sugar is crucial. You can read the labels before buying any packed food as certain labeled healthy food can be loaded with sugar.
8. Eat Less Refined Carbs
Carbs are our worst enemy who pretends to be a friend but are dangerous. Stay away from such friends. Replacing refined carbs with unprocessed starchy carbs helps in improving metabolic health by reducing excess fat. A less intake of carbs per day can be beneficial for weight loss.
If you wish to eat carbs the eat them in their natural form.
9. Go on a Low-Carb Diet
Including a low-carb diet will work like a charm if you are looking for a carb restrictions method.
Several studies show that a low-carb diet regime aids in losing weight faster, approx. 2-3 times as much as a standard low-fat diet benefitting your health (5).
10. Use Smaller Plates
The amount of food on our plate indicates the weight we will put on. Inculcating small plate practice helps in less intake of food among people.
Although not everyone can see the result with this plate-sized effect. However, people who are overweight seem to be more affected.
11. Exercise Portion Control or Count Calories
You can often see people following regimes like portion control which is eating less or counting calories that is considered super beneficial among all the fitness freaks.
According to some studies keeping track of what you eat and following a strict calorie intake regime aid to lose weight.
Our weight loss is massively impacted by our diet, therefore things that increase your awareness about your diet will be beneficial.
12. Keep Healthy Food Around in Case You Get Hungry
Always stack your work desk or side table with some healthy snack that will prevent you from eating junk or unhealthy food when your hunger strikes.
You can easily get your hands on some healthy snacks like fruits, nuts, baby carrots, yogurt, and hard-boiled eggs.
13. Take Probiotic Supplements
Some probiotics like ones containing bacteria of the Lactobacillus subfamily are known to have a massive effect on your weight loss program.
However, the same does not apply to all Lactobacillus species as few studies also indicate Lacidophilus with weight gain.
14. Eat Spicy Foods
People who eat spicy food can get happy with the fact that spicy food helps you lose weight. This happens because when you eat chili peppers that contain capsaicin which is a spicy compound that boosts metabolism and restricts your food intake. (6)
However, people who are habitual and have a tolerance to the effects of capsaicin over a period will face a limitation of its long-term effectiveness.
15. Do Aerobic Exercise
Aerobics is great cardio for your body that has a huge impact on burning calories, improving your physical and mental health.
It is the best way to cut down those stubborn belly fats that don’t go easily and often build up around your organs and cause metabolic disease.
16. Lift Weights
We have been told a million times that diet is bad for our health and it comes with some serious consequences which are partially true. Dieting if done carelessly can lead to muscle loss and metabolic slowdown often referred to as starvation mode.
However, prevention of such side effects can be easily accessed by doing some sort of resistance exercise like lifting weights. Some studies revealed how weightlifting is necessary while dieting as it aids in keeping your metabolic rate high and prevents loss of muscle mass (7).
Your weight loss journey should not be only about burning but also building muscle. Resistance exercise is critical for a toned body.
17. Eat More Fiber
Fiber is great for weight loss. However, some studies oppose this, but some revealed fiber (especially viscous fiber) helps in increasing while keeping control of your weight for the long term. (8)
18. Eat More Vegetables and Fruits
Vegetables are the best solution to being healthy and fit loaded with nutrients required by our body. The vegetable can be consumed without any worries as it contains few calories and lots of fiber. They are known for their filling properties due to high water content which gives low energy density.
Consuming vegetables will help to maintain a healthy body and accurate weight as per some studies.
19. Get Good Sleep
From our childhood we have been taught “early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy and wise”. A “good” good night’s sleep is crucial as it affects your body. To lose weight, one should have a proper sleep cycle. According to experts, our body produces an enzyme called Melatonin which helps your body to grow and repair itself. And if we sleep around 8-9 ‘o’clock then it is the best time for the enzyme to work and do wonders for your body and helps in weight loss.
20. Beat Your Food Addiction
We all crave food and often end up committing the grave mistake of eating unhealthy food.
Having a food craving and not being able to curb your eating will lead to food addiction.
Consulting with a professional will help to combat this addiction.
21. Eat More Protein
Protein is extremely important for maintaining weight management. High protein intake increases the release of a hormone called PYY, which decreases appetite and promotes fullness. Protein also helps in maintaining muscle mass during weight loss, increasing your metabolic rate.
Many studies revealed high protein intake helps in less belly fat than low protein intake.
Consuming proteins like meat, eggs, fish, dairy, beans, and whey protein are crucial while losing weight.
22. Supplement with Whey Protein
Protein intake has become a necessity for a healthy lifestyle. If you want to get the best results of your several hours at the gym, then consuming protein before a workout will get you that excellent athletic resilience for your workout.
According to some research, if you take an intake of 20 grams of whey protein daily then the chances of muscle-building increase rapidly.
Some studies revealed weight loss of about 8 pounds over a period with an increase in muscle mass when you replace some calories with whey protein. (9)
23. Don’t Do Sugary Drinks, Including Soda and Fruit Juice
Sugar is like a villain in our life but sugar in liquid can be more harmful to our health. Aerated drinks come with a triggering warning for us to remember what a bottle of soda can do to our bodies.
Liquid sugar contains the most fattening aspect of the modern diet. As per a study consuming sugar-sweetened drinks resulted in a 60% increased risk of obesity among children for each serving. (10)
Eating fruits is 100% healthy than having fruit juices as it also contains an equal amount of sugar that we find in aerated drinks.
24. Eat Whole, Single-Ingredient Foods (Real Food)
Having a healthy and leaner body is a task and if you want to succeed then start consuming whole single-ingredient foods.
These foods are known to have natural filling properties which do not let you gain weight that easily if your diet is based on it.
25. Don’t Diet — Eat Healthy Instead
Dieting is tough to keep up for the long term and not anybody can maintain it. If your diet, then you might gain more weight as studies revealed dieting to be a consistent predictor of future weight gain. (11)
Choose to be healthier and worship your body instead of starving yourself. Weight loss should then follow naturally.
26. Chew More Slowly
Our brain has all the control of our body so when we eat it takes a while for our brain to register that we have eaten enough. According to some studies if you chew slowly then you might end up eating less and increase the production of hormones connected to weight loss. (12)
The more you chew the less weight you will gain. Have a practice of mindful eating that will result in healthy eating and a healthy body.