If your new year resolution involves losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight, the first and foremost step is to realise the importance of changing small, everyday habits. From counting your calories to limiting sugar and salt intake, the quest to lose weight requires a tremendous amount of will power and patience. Sadly, not everyone has the time or energy to put the required efforts, that too on a daily basis. Thankfully, there are a lot of easy ways in which you can lose weight, without trying too hard.
However, most people are not aware of the fact that simple tweaks in your lifestyle can also do wonders. These small changes can help you in losing weight, without starving yourself.
Here are 8 such tried and tested ways that you can very easily follow in your day-to-day schedule to lose weight:
A lot of people, in order to lose weight, don’t eat breakfast. But this is actually counterproductive. Not only will skipping breakfast make you feel weak and irritable, but you are also bound to eat more throughout the day. So, if you are looking to shed a few kilos, start by eating your breakfast on time.
If you feel that you are doing your body a favour by having carbonated drinks to satisfy your cravings, your calculations are really, really wrong. The worst part is that you not only consume a lot of calories by drinking these sweetened drinks, they don’t even reduce your hunger. So, cut off soft drinks or packaged juices and stick to plain water. If you want more flavour, you can always infuse fresh fruits in the water.
That non-stop munching that you do while sitting on your workstation tapping away on your laptop does more harm than you realise. Whether it is a packet of chips or nuts, all these junk food contain preservatives which are really harmful to your health and may also contribute to weight gain.
The easiest way to control your portions is to switch to smaller bowls and plates, which will automatically reduce how much food you consume. Ideally, you should reduce your portions by 10 to 20 per cent.
This is the simplest trick of the lot, which can bring the most change in your weight. Take the staircase whenever possible, get up and walk while you are talking on the phone and get up and walk around the house during commercial breaks. Get down 5 minutes away from your house and walk home from there.
We cannot emphasize enough on the importance of having fresh fruits. Keep in mind that you should always have whole fruits instead of making a fruit chaat of assorted fruits. This will help you include fibre in your daily diet which in turn will help with your digestion.
We always underestimate the importance of having a good night’s sleep. Having quality sleep plays a very essential role in staying healthy and losing weight.
It is essential to add a good amount of protein in your diet to tame your hunger, which essentially helps you losing weight. Some of the best sources of proteins are:
1. Beans
2. Soy
3. Nuts
4. Seeds
5. Lean meat