Here are ten ways to lose weight. We hope this list helps you with your weight loss, and if you have any ideas or ways of your own, please leave a comment and let us know!
Effective Ways to Lose Excess Weight
1) Cut back on soda, fancy coffee drinks and possibly even juice
According to Seventeen magazine, cutting back on just one soda or sugary drink a day “can make a 10-pound difference in a year.”
Don’t think that fruit juice is always a healthy option! Check out how much sugar is in a cup of apple juice – sometimes it has more than soda.
And drinks at Starbucks or other stores can be very, very heavy on calories. Specialty drinks like Frappuccinos and Mochas can be tempting but can also have a lot of calories.
2) Record what you eat and the calorie values
This can help you focus on what can be improved. The risk to this approach is that it might make you too focused on reducing calories.
3) Be patient!
If you try to lose weight too fast by abruptly cutting back on food, you can signal your body’s alarm mechanism that is activated in situations of very little food. This makes it hold onto weight even harder than usual and can even cause weight gain.
4) Exercise!
In general, exercising is a great way to lose weight and just look and feel better. Some people recommend several hours of exercise a week, but that may be too much to try for at first. Start small. Just 10-15 minutes of moderate exercise a day can have really big benefits.
Consider hiring a personal trainer if you can afford it. They can make exercising that much more enjoyable while making sure you get the best workout.
5) Don’t try to do too much!
Telling yourself that you are going to give something you love to eat up entirely makes you feel great – until you break your pledge and have some. A better idea is to say you’ll cut back to half as much, or something similar.
Don’t make your goals too ambitious. Set goals you can meet.
6) Partner with a friend
Doing things with friends makes it more fun! Set reasonable goals together and support each other. For instance, you could agree to go to a hip-hop dance class together. Not only will you have fun, but you’ll also get exercise and spend time with a friend.
7) Set goals for your weight loss
This is reasonable yet still enough of a challenge to motivate yourself. You don’t want to say you’ll lose more than you can achieve, but you don’t want to set a goal that is too easy either.
8) Put your picture in front of you
Consider putting a picture of yourself looking a way you like in a place where you’ll see it often.
9) Get enough sleep
Getting enough sleep promotes overall health and can have a surprising impact on your weight.
10) Consider medication in the future
Although there is nothing on the market right now that works so well for losing weight, at the end of 2010 alone, 3 drugs are going to the FDA as possible treatments for weight loss. One of them, Qnexa, causes 10% weight loss in those who take it.