Losing weight can be a titanic struggle against the rest of the world and, very often, against ourselves. There are countless diets – some of which we must get away from – and a large number of opinions and advice. Sometimes the information we receive is contradictory and we don’t know where to start or if we are doing it right.
For this reason, we have made a compilation of simple strategies that work are backed by science and that we can begin to implement today.
We tend to insist a lot on the importance of physical exercise to lose weight and stay healthy. And it is true that physical exercise is an important ally, but sometimes it is enough to increase our physical activity and move more, even if we do not exercise.
If we are very sedentary people, that for our lifestyle or our work we spend a lot of time sitting, simply walking to the sites or climbing the stairs will be a very important change for our body.
The simple fact of walking more, or making slight changes inhabits in our lives that force us to move more, will make us begin to see and notice the difference in our body. In addition, little by little we will feel stronger and more energetic.
Keeping a daily record of what we eat, drink and the exercise we do can also help us control our weight as indicated by some research.
This type of record forces us to maintain a self – control of our behavior, making us more aware of what we really do. Noting everything, we cannot fool ourselves and we will clearly see what we are not fulfilling, where we fail, how much time we really spend a week on physical exercise, etc.
Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables
The idea is that we consume satiating foods, but little caloric. For this, vegetables and fruits are our greatest allies. Ideally, we not only eat vegetables and fruits but eat them instead of eating other, less healthy foods. The reality is that to lose weight is not enough to eat healthy foods, you also have to stop eating the insane. That is, we must increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables and reduce the consumption of ultra-processed products or with many free sugars.
It may cost us a bit if we are too accustomed to that type of food, but the change in our body will begin to be noticed immediately. And not only in our physique but also in our health.
According to these investigations, people who have fruits and vegetables in sight weigh less than those who have sweets, cereals or sugary foods insight. So it would be as simple as not having unhealthy foods at home.
So easy and so difficult, because the reality is that sometimes we go to the supermarket and the only thing we crave is insane meals and none of the healthy foods we have on the list. To remedy that, we also have simple advice.
Go shopping with a full stomach
Some research suggests that if we go shopping with hunger, we will not only end up buying more food than we thought – and more insane – but we could also end up buying more material things even if they are not related to food.
The best way to avoid this is to make a list of everything you want to buy and go to the supermarket with a full stomach. This will make it much easier to avoid temptations, follow the list and keep our home free of products that boycott our diet.
Drinking water
It is the simplest trick of all, but its effect can be surprising. Several studies have found that drinking a glass of water before eating can help us feel full and cause us to consume fewer calories.
Not only that, but water could help speed up metabolism a bit, which would also influence weight loss.
Some research has found that seeing our plate full of food makes us feel satiated at the end of it. Apparently, this continues to happen if we reduce the amount of food, but place it on a smaller plate, so that even if we end up eating less the plate is full.
If we are trying to lose weight, but it is hard for us to feel satiated, reducing the portions and serving them in small dishes can help us to eat less without realizing it.
Sleep well
Sleeping little and badly can make us fat for three main reasons: it can cause hormonal alterations – specifically in leptin and ghrelin – that make us fat, causes us to have more time to eat and alters our thermal regulation, which would affect our energy expenditure.
Thus, sleeping well can be a great ally in our weight loss, so we must try to have good sleep habits and try to sleep well every night.
