With all the horrors of artificial weight loss methods such as liposuction and gastric bypass surgery, we need to seriously look at more natural weight loss methods. Below are seven practical things you can incorporate into your day-to-day lifestyle that will help you lose weight the natural way.
1. Drink plenty of water.
Water is essential to human survival. Our bodies are made up of 80% water, our primary source of refreshment. Water is essential in the performance of basic bodily functions and at the same time it helps keep our skin clear and our eyes healthy and sparkling. Drinking a lot of water also aids in weight loss by creating a feeling of fullness that allows us to avoid overeating.
2. Exercise.
Walking is a simple, practical and convenient form of exercise. You don’t have to set aside a special time to do your walking, in fact you can just try to do more of it while doing what you normally do. Park your car farther away than you usually do. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Answer the phone using the extension that’s farthest from you. Just focus on getting more calories burned.
You can do the same thing at home. Get your body moving! When doing your cleaning and other household chores, exaggerate your movements and try to work up a sweat. Not only will you burn more calories, but you will also get your place all spic and span.
3. Eliminate refined and processed sugar from your diet.
Refined sugar contains a large amount of calories thus by not consuming foods that contain it, you can significantly lower your caloric intake. Limit the amount of sugar you put into your coffee or tea. Drink fresh milk, natural unsweetened juice and water instead of soft drinks.
If you crave for something sweet, eat fruits and berries instead. At first these may not be sweet enough for you but after a while your taste buds will get used to them. Removing added sugar from your diet will dramatically boost your weight loss effort.
4. Eat healthy foods to that promote fat loss.
Although calcium in itself will not make you lose weight, increasing your calcium intake will help speed it up. Contrary to what most of us think, a low-calorie diet that reduces or completely eliminates dairy products does not produce rapid weight loss but having dairy in your diet will. In other words, if you follow a low calorie diet, eating low fat cheese and yoghurt as well as drinking milk can actually help you get rid of fat faster.
Calcium is stored by your body inside your fat cells to be used as reserves when needed. If you take calcium regularly through the food you eat, your body doesn’t have to store up a lot of it in your fat cells. If there are low calcium levels within the fat cells, fat is metabolized in a way that is favourable to weight loss.
5. Eat more natural food for natural weight loss.
Not only do processed foods have a lot of chemicals, they are also laden with calories. Such foods contain large amounts of salts, fillers and flavorings thus the meat gets lost in all the additives. Start eating lean roast meats and fresh fish served with a side dish of fresh vegetables and salads. If you’re a dessert eater, you can have natural unsweetened yoghurt, fresh fruit, baked apples with chopped nuts with a bit of honey or mixed cheese like they do in Europe.
6. Keep yourself occupied.
A sedentary lifestyle packs in the pounds. Sitting in front of the television, when done frequently enough, would easily thicken your waistline. When you have free time, do something besides munching and sitting around. You can start on that hobby that you have been putting off, organize the boxes of pictures you have collected over the years on your scrapbook or photo album or call an old friend for a long catch-up chat.
If you stay idle, you would only end up stuffing your mouth with useless calories whereas if you keep yourself occupied with something interesting, you will be less prone to engaging in destructive, fattening behaviour (i.e. snacking).
7. Find a pair of motivational pants.
I’m sure that somewhere in your pre-weight gain past you wore a nice pair of jeans that flattered your figure and that they’re still tucked away in a little corner of your closet waiting for that day when you’re slim enough to wear them again.
Even if it seems like it would take a miracle to fit into them, take out your old jeans and put them in a place where you can see them everyday. Let those jeans serve as a reminder and inspiration to you that your goal is to fit into them like you used to.
Slip into your motivational pants on the same day each week to check on your progress. As every week passes, you will discover that getting into them becomes easier and easier. If you don’t give up, you will experience the unique pleasure of putting on an old pair of jeans that only ex-fatties could ever really understand.
About the Author
Charles Volcolatte is a health and weight loss researcher for www.skinnyASAP.com. He writes and researches actively on Dieting Reviews and shares his knowledge at www.skinnyASAP.com where he works as a staff writer.