Weight Loss Tips that Work

Weight Loss Tips that Work

by Rebecca MacLary (Berry)

This article is comprised of 20 weight loss tips that you need to follow in order to lose weight and keep it off.  Many weight loss tips from other sites give you poor or unproven advice.  The thing about these weight loss tips is, I KNOW THEY WORK.  I follow them myself. I have been successful in assisting others to lose weight – all based on following these simple weight loss tips.  If you think all of this is a little overwhelming, start with a few of the tips and work your way up.  You'll see that it's easier to continue once you've seen lost some weights and realize this really works.

Each point has been briefly explained.  I will delve into each one in a more in-depth manner in upcoming posts.  In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me.

1.  Forget about using a “diet” for a few weeks or months then going back to your old bad habits.  It won’t work.

2.  You need to change your lifestyle, for good.  You got to the shape you’re in now by having bad eating and/or exercise habits.

3.  Weight Loss is achieved through controlling what you put in your mouth.  It’s as easy as that.  Weight loss is 80% food choices and 20% exercise. 

4.  Drink water.  I can’t stress the importance of this point.  Every system in your body needs water to function at an optimal level.  Period.

5.  Weight loss is about calories in and calories out.  But not all calories are equal.  Confused yet?  To lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you take in each day.  But some calories are easier to burn.  Foods like processed foods, processed vegetable oils, and white grains (bread, pasta, etc) store more easily as fat and are harder to burn.

6.  Adequate Vitamin D production will assist in weight loss. Yes, that’s right.  If you have enough vitamin D (which  most people don’t),  it will be easier for you to lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.  So get outside and get some safe sun exposure.  Adequate sun exposure is 15-20 minutes a day over 85% of the body for light skinned people.  Darker skin needs more exposure time.  NO SUNBLOCK – sunblock prevents your body from manufacturing vitamin D.  Put sunblock on AFTER you’ve had your exposure.

7.  A strength training program will assist you in tightening up and losing weight.

8.  Muscles that are in good shape need energy (calories) just to maintain, so if you work out, you’ll burn more calories even when you sleep.

9.  A cardio exercise program will help you rev up your cardiovascular system and will help you lose weight.  Take it easy to start with, and go slow.  Increase intensity/distance by 10% or less a week.  Your heart will thank you.

10.  Go into your pantry and fridge.  Throw away all the processed and manufactured foods.  They’re full of poisons and additives and things that make you fat. 

11.  Eat real food – you know, food that hasn’t been processed or changed from its original state.  Dairy products (as long as they aren’t filled with a bunch of weird preservatives, sweetener, etc) are fine.

12.  Reduce or eliminate white sugar from your diet.  It does you no good, and certainly causes harm.  If you have to have something sweet, natural (unprocessed) sweeteners like maple syrup and honey are good choices.  But don't overeat those, they are a better option but still not totally good for you.

13.  Avoid fruit juices.  Like soda, they are full of sugar and, for the most part, aren't that good for you.  Eat fruit instead.

14.  Don't drink soda.  It's full of chemicals and colours and has absolutely nothing in it that is good for you.  Regular sodas are full of high-fructose corn syrup (glucose-fructose: bad bad bad) and diet sodas have toxic artificial sweeteners in them that trick your body into thinking it's consuming sugar, which makes you fat anyway.

15.  Forget about “low fat” stuff – it won’t do you any good, and could certainly do you some harm.  You need to eat fat to lose fat.  Our bodies are made up of a lot of fat, and they need fat to survive.  Most of the “low fat” products  are highly processed, anyway – so you don’t need it.

16.  Limit your alcohol consumption.  Your body easily burns the type of sugar found in alcohol, so any food you eat that day gets stored as fat.  

17.  Eat full-fat dairy products.  This ties in with Tip # 8.  Trust me, I lost more weight on a full-fat dairy regimen than I ever did on a low-fat diet.  Eat full-fat dairy in moderation (butter, sour cream, yogurt, whole milk, cheese) and not only will your body thank you by losing weight, but you’ll also be healthier.

18.  Don’t expect overnight success.  It takes a week or two for your body to start to burn fat.

19.  Join a support group – SparkPeople.com is a FABULOUS online community that provides useful tools and tricks and motivation.  It’s totally free.

20.  This is the last tip, but one of the most important ones.  If you have a bad day (or week), and you slip back into your old habits, YOU HAVE NOT FAILED.  You just need to start again.  Each day is a new one, with the opportunity to begin fresh.  Put your mistakes behind you, learn what caused your lapse (do you need a cheat day?) and continue on.

GOOD LUCK!