Losing weight isn’t easy. But if you pay attention to the small things, they can quickly add up to impressive slimming success. These seven simple lifestyle hacks will help you achieve your weight loss goals, whichever diet plan you follow.
1. Eat a Healthy Breakfast
You might think that skipping breakfast is a convenient way of cutting a chunk of calories out of your day. However, things aren’t quite that simple, and breakfast is actually an important meal for dieters. A small, healthy breakfast kick starts your metabolism so that you actually burn calories faster, and this effect will last for several hours. What’s more, eating breakfast will help stop those willpower-sapping hunger pangs from striking before lunch.
2. Exercise, Then Eat
Our bodies store about 2000 calories of sugar (glycogen) and hundreds of thousands of fat calories.Physical activity burns some fat and some sugar stores. Slimming down requires burning the most amount of fat. If you exercise in the morning, eating after rather than before exercise will increase the amount of fat you burn during exercise. Be sure to get at least 15-25 grams of protein after moderate physical activity.
3. Cardio, then Weights
Any physical activity improves heart fitness and lowers the risk of diabetes and stroke. “The best exercise” is the one you can do regularly.If you love to walk, then that is best for you. If you want to do both cardiovascular activities (running, swimming, or biking) and weight training, that is even better. Your muscles will respond most to the activity you do last. So, if you want to grow your muscles, warm up with cardio, and finish with weights.
4. Smaller Plates, Smaller Portions
Eating smaller portions will naturally reduce the number of calories you consume, but it can leave you feeling unsatisfied and hungry. Fortunately, you can trick your body into thinking you’ve eaten more by using smaller plates. When a smaller portion fills its space, it looks far more generous, and the same amount of food really can make you feel more satisfied.
5. Drink Plenty of Water
Drinking plenty of water throughout the day is essential for general health, but it also has powerful weight-loss benefits. Your stomach will have less room to be filled with food, and so your appetite will decrease. There’s also an extremely helpful side effect. Drinking cold water drops your core body temperature, and you’ll burn extra calories bringing it back to normal. Exercise without the effort!
6. Switch to Proteins
Carbs lead to weight gain and hunger. Trying to eat more proteins instead of carbs will help your diet a lot. You’ll feel satisfied after eating less, you’ll stay fuller for longer, and your blood sugar levels will be more balanced to keep hunger pangs in check.
7. Get Plenty of Sleep
Whether you need five hours of sleep a night or nine, getting enough is essential for successful weight loss. When you’re tired your metabolism is sluggish, reducing your calorific burn rate. Also, when fatigue strikes, you’ll quickly crave the energy boost that sweet and fatty foods provide. These cravings are almost impossible to resist, but sufficient sleep will help bring them back under control.
8. Boost Your Physical Activity a Little at a Time
Lastly, you don’t need to hit the gym to work off a few extra pounds. Small changes to your routine such as taking the stairs rather than the elevator will add up over the course of days and weeks. Even slight increases in physical activity can burn off plenty of calories, but it also becomes a habit which you’ll enjoy rather than dreading the chore of the treadmill.
Sometimes the little things make the biggest differences. Changing your lifestyle in these simple ways can have a big impact.
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