5 Simple Ways to Boost Your Weight Loss
5 Simple Ways to Boost Your Weight Loss
- Avoid Processed Foods
- Eat High Protein Diet
- Increase Fluid Intake
- Eat Fruits and Vegetables
- Eat When Hungry
Achieving your weight loss goals can feel like an uphill struggle, particularly if you have a lot of weight to lose. Shedding excess pounds is rarely a smooth journey, as the body goes through metabolic and other changes that can make it increasingly difficult to lose weight.
However, modifying your diet and weight loss plan can make a big difference, helping to improve your results. Here are five simple ways to boost your weight loss.
Avoid Processed Food
Processed food is often full of added salt, sugar, fat, preservatives and artificial additives. Not only are these added ingredients bad for your health, but some can even have an addictive quality, leading to food cravings and binge eating. In addition, processed food often provides little nutritional value and can leave you feeling hungry within an hour or two of eating. Choose fresh food, whole grains and homemade meals, rather than processed food.
Eat a High-Protein Diet
Eating a high-protein diet is one of the best ways to avoid food cravings and hunger pangs between meals, as protein makes you feel full for longer. High-protein foods like eggs, chicken and cottage cheese can also help to prevent spikes and dips in blood sugar levels, which are often responsible for tiredness and fatigue. Turkey is one of the best foods for losing weight, as it is high in protein, low in fat and contains nutrients that help to increase levels of dopamine in the body, making it easier to stay positive and motivated.
Increase Fluid Intake
Mild dehydration can cause symptoms that mimic hunger, which means that many people mistake thirst for feeling hungry. Increasing your fluid intake will
help to prevent dehydration and also make you feel more full, reducing the desire to eat. Water, green tea, herbal tea and fruit tea are excellent for weight loss, as they keep your fluids topped up without increasing your calorie intake. Restrict your intake of high-calorie drinks like alcohol, full-fat milkshakes and smoothies, as the calories from these drinks can quickly mount up.
Add Fruit and Vegetables
Fruit and vegetables are packed with essential vitamins, minerals, dietary fibre and other nutrients needed for optimum physical and mental health. In addition, fresh fruit and vegetables often have a high water content, which helps to make you feel full. Eating watermelon before a meal is a great way to cut down on calories, as the high water content found in watermelon can reduce your hunger, making it less likely that you will overeat. Fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruit also make great snacks to boost flagging energy levels.
Always Eat When Hungry
Extreme calorie reduction and ignoring hunger signals can be counterproductive, as your body may interpret this as a sign that you have no access to food. Consequently, your body will hold on to fat stores, making it more difficult to lose weight. Always eat something when you’re feeling hungry, as this lets your body know that everything is okay and there is plenty of food available.
Achieving your weight loss goals can be a difficult journey, but there are ways to increase your results. You can boost your weight loss efforts by avoiding processed foods, eating a high-protein diet, increasing fluid intake, adding fruit and vegetables to your meals and always eating when you’re hungry.