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Many people find themselves struggling to maintain their weight-loss journey. We often tend to give up, blaming our lack of willpower or bad habits, when in reality there are easy ways to keep the weight off and avoid a relapse that can happen really quickly.
Here are three simple tips you can follow to keep away from giving in and going back to old habits: first, be mindful of your hunger cues; second, exercise daily; third, take baby steps when you reach plateaus. These simple tips will help you reach your weight-loss goals.
1. Be Mindful of Your Hunger Cues
When you pay attention to how much food you eat, it feels less "bad" and easier to keep on track. You need to eat a healthy amount of food every day but if you continue eating when famished, you will be likely to binge soon after. This means that you will end up gaining pounds instead of losing them.
Taking supplements in hopes of losing weight faster is something you should avoid doing since it will only make you hungry and will eventually lead to binge eating. While on a weight-loss journey, you need to set a schedule on when to eat your meals.
It takes about 20 minutes for the food you ate to be digested and absorbed by your body. To avoid overeating, eat 3-4 small meals rich in fiber and protein at regular intervals throughout the day until 3 hours before bedtime.
You are less likely to overeat if you eat smaller portions of food. But it is important to remember that you cannot starve yourself and expect to lose weight. It's a common mistake made by people on a diet because they think that eating enough will make them gain weight, so they restrict their calorie intake.
But eating too little can actually slow down your metabolism, which makes losing weight very difficult. If you're hungry, eat but don't forget to include foods with high fiber content like fruits and vegetables in your meal plan.
2. Exercise Daily
Exercising is the key to losing weight, strengthen your heart and build lean muscle mass. In general, people find it easier to lose weight with exercise than without it. Besides, you will have a lot of energy if you start exercising on a daily basis.
You can make exercise as simple or as difficult as you want. The important thing is that you should do it consistently for at least 10 minutes per day and gradually increase the time as your body becomes used to it.
If you're having a hard time finding time to exercise, try the following tricks: do house chores like washing the windows, mowing the lawn or vacuuming; do your own form of exercises like jumping jacks, push-ups or sit-ups; run after the kids when they play outside.
If you want to lose weight faster and easier, try high-intensity interval training (HIIT). HIIT is a form of exercise that involves intervals of very intense bursts of activity followed by a period of low intensity, fast movement. Each interval lasts for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
The difference between this type of exercise and other forms is the amount of time that passes between the two like jogging or running. HIIT sessions are also known as sprint interval training and involve repeating a set distance in a short time frame (20 seconds to 2 minutes), which burns more calories than longer running or walking sessions.
HIIT sessions will blast fat and make you feel so much more energetic. But if you're sensitive to intense exercise, before you start HIIT, ask your doctor for medical clearance.
3. Take Baby Steps When You Reach Plateaus
When you're on a diet, it's only natural that you will experience some weight-loss plateaus from time to time. This means that the weight loss won't be as fast as you want it or expect it to be when starting out.
This is very normal as the body is programmed to keep it at a certain weight. To avoid giving up, you must take baby steps when reaching a plateau. You need to know the difference between a plateau and a regression when you're on a diet. A plateau happens when your weight remains the same for 2-3 days or longer during your weight loss journey.
Whereas regression means that you've gained some pounds back because of overeating or eating unhealthy foods. Regression can happen really quickly, so be careful.
A regression almost always happens when you reach a weight-loss plateau and this is exactly why you need to keep exercising. To prevent a relapse, take it slow, try small steps and stay focused on your goals. If you lose weight too quickly or too slowly, or if you get discouraged when reaching a weight loss plateau, consider changing your diet plan.
This will help keep your weight loss journey alive.