10 Weight Loss Tips

With Summer fast approaching it's no surprise that people are wanting to watch what they eat, and slim down for the swimsuit, and bikini season. Here are ten sure fire ways to begin your journey to shedding a few pounds. Also, try not to look at it as a diet, but an ongoing process, or a lifestyle change. I can personally vouch for these tips, as I used to weigh 247 pounds, and now weigh 198 pounds, (please keep in mind that I am 6'4"). That is a total loss of 49 pounds. I'd also like to stress that while working out is obviously beneficial to your body, and your health, it should be noted that however, for weight loss it really isn't completely necessary. Good news for those of you who do not wish to exercise.

Number 10: Set yourself a realistic goal, and stick to it. This is perhaps the easiest goal in some aspects, and also the hardest. While it is easy to set yourself a goal, a lot of people will find it hard to stick with it. The first week , or two are usually the hardest. Staying focused, and determined is a must. You can do it!

Number 9: Work out at home. You will burn the same amount of calories at home then you would at the gym. Not to mention saving a lot of money in the long run. Develop a light, and easy work out at first, and gradually build up from there. If its just going for a 20 or 30 minute walk everyday, so be it. Its a start.

Number 8: Fidget. If you're not a person that fidgets, then start. People who fidget have the potential to burn hundreds of more calories daily, then people who do not fidget. It all adds up!

Number 7: Pause before you eat. Stop and think to yourself, "Am I really hungry, or am I just eating for the sake of eating?" You might find that most of the time you are eating, just because you walked by the fridge, and happened to pull the door open. Close it!

Number 6: Number 6 in my honest opinion is probably the best kept secret to weight loss. While a lot of dietitians, and personal traders may shun at this, I am in complete disagreement. Don't be afraid to treat yourself! Now, I'm not saying go out everyday and order that cheesecake for dessert, or to have second, or third helpings of mashed potatoes and gravy. What I am saying is set yourself one day a week where it is OK to let your guard down and have a treat or two. This may be an ice cream, a candy bar, maybe a bag of potato chips (hopefully a small one), but I think you get the idea. I am a huge advocate for treating yourself because one, you worked hard for it, and for two it helps to prevent binges. However when you do treat yourself, still be mindful of the calories you are consuming!

Number 5: Keep your mind, and body busy. Find a hobby, do something! I find that if I keep my hands busy, whether it be surfing the net, playing some video games, or just going outside to take myself, or my dog for a walk. This in turn keeps your mind off of eating. This is good advice for the nibblers out there, (myself included). You know what they say "Time flies when your having fun." If you having fun, or at least busy it will be that much easier to roll those hours over without eating.

Number 4: Slow down, and eat slower! Enjoy your food. You might find that this start to come naturally after you have changed over to healthier eating habits.

Number 3: Avoid soda, and other drinks with sugar. Did you know that one 12 ounce can of coke has 155 calories? I used to drink five to six cans of Coke a day! Six cans of Coke is 930 calories! Thats insane! For most adults that would be almost half their recommended daily intake of calories. Think of soda as a treat. I went from drinking five or six a day, to one can maybe every two or three weeks. Yes, it can be done.

Number 2: This is the other big kept secret. Drink lots of water! Now, I'm saying go out there, and drink the whole well dry. Do try to drink the recommended minimum of 8 glasses of water a day. The big secret, and the big bonus that most people don't know about is...drum roll please...Drinking two liters of cold water will burn 100 calories! You don't have to do anything, except go to the bathroom a lot! Thats it. Do be warned though. It is not safe to consume over 10 liters of water a day. There is such a thing as water poisoning, or water intoxication.

Number 1: Here it is. The best advice out there, and no this is not a commercial. Join Sparkpeople.com! I discovered this incredible website last November. While I initially went from 247 pounds to 209, I seemed to have plateaued. I was struggling to lose another 10 pounds. Upon my newly joining Sparkpeople after only about a month or so, I lost my last 10 pounds to reach my target weight of being under 200 pounds. What makes this website so great is that it makes it easy for you to keep track of what you eat with the use of their food diary, and calorie counter. You can even add your own food. I continue to use this website every day. Its a wonderful, and fun way to learn about what you eat, how many calories are in the foods that you eat (you might be surprised) and to keep yourself in check.

Here are a couple more useful bits of information you might find handy. There are 3500 calories to one pound of fat. What this means is in order for you to lose one pound, you must create a deficit of 3500 calories. For people who are on the metric system that is 7800 calories to one kilogram of fat. One more extra tiny bit of advice. If you don't buy it, you won't eat it. What I mean is if you go grocery shopping do not go and buy a bunch of stuff that you shouldn't, like junk food. If you have potato chips, chocolate, cookies, and whatever else laying around the house. Guess what? Your gonna eat it! So don't buy it until its time to treat yourself.

Eat light be light!

So, there you have it. My 10 most biggest tips to help you lose weight, and to get on track into a healthier, slimmer lifestyle. Remember its not a diet, its a lifestyle change.