Obesity and desired weight loss is a condition that affects both men and women. Fortunately, most of the time, men have an easier time of losing weight than do women. This is often because of the effects of testosterone and the increased amount of muscle mass which burns more calories in men than in women. Men do continue to have difficulty with weight loss but, with a few simple tips and tricks, these complications can have simple solutions. Read through the following 15 suggestions for weight loss and use the ones that fit your lifestyle the best.
- Understand that weight loss is a lifelong commitment to eating well and maintaining the weight that is lost. Give up the notion that the weight will just fall off in the next six weeks and you’ll have rock hard abs. Instead, focus on the long-term goals and desire for a healthy lifestyle.
- Start small and stay consistent. Each pound is equal to 3500 calories. This means that in order to lose a pound you have to either burn off more calories or eat less. The best way is to do both. You can lose 1 pound every two months by achieving a calorie deficit of only 60-100 calories a day. This means that by giving up the Coke or candy bar in the afternoon or gourmet coffee you’ll blast through a pound every 2 months in no time.
- Beware of burgers and fries. While they may be fun to eat they are loaded with fat and calories. Make your own burgers at home with beef round or round steak. This is as low-cal as a skinless chicken.
- Trim the calories from your dessert by combining whipped cream with fresh fruit or berries instead of ice cream.
- Have at least 8 – 8 oz glasses of water each day. Have a glass of water with each meal. If you substitute water for soda or alcohol every other day you’ll lose between 7 and 15 pounds in a year, making no other changes to your diet.
- Substitute fish for beef a couple of times a week. This will cut the calories by 200-400 for the week if you don’t use creamy sauces on the fish. Seafood is lower in fat and high in omega – 3 fatty acids that lower cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease.
- Snack more during the day and stave off hunger pangs but use foods that are healthy like pineapple, apple slices with peanut butter or a handful of nuts and seeds with dried fruit. These snacks will satisfy the sweet craving, are healthy and will save you thousands of calories a month.
- Losing weight isn’t about discipline or will power but rather about controlling your environment. Get rid of the high calorie snacks and high fat foods in the kitchen and replace them with healthy snacks, fruits and dried fruit.
- Eliminate butter or oil when sautéing by using non-stick pans. Use a spritz of olive oil to coat the pan. Olive oil is healthier and better for you than other oils.
- Take your time while eating. Savor each bite. It takes the stomach about 20 minutes to register that it’s full. By this time you can have over eaten by 20 minutes! Prepare to stop eating when you are full. Healthy people are not members of the clean plate club, instead they take a healthy amount of food and stop when they are full.
- Your body will get hungry every 3 – 5 hours – so feed it! Make sure you have foods on hand that are healthy and you aren’t reaching for the candy bar. Keep mini-meals on hand to stay full and stave off cravings that lead to over-eating.
- Although it’s possible to lose weight by diet alone, when combined with exercise it goes faster and smoother. There is no need to hit the gym for hours though. Set up a reasonable workout schedule that you can follow and stick with. Don’t kill yourself – find something you like and you’ll be willing to continue. You’ll find that the more active you are the more healthy you feel and the more active you’ll become.
- Be aware of what you put in your mouth every day. Keep a food journal for a week and you may be surprised by how much food actually does pass your lips as you are cooking, snacking at work or grabbing food on the go. Watch what goes on the table by reading labels and spend more time preparing your food instead of grabbing processed convenience foods from the freezer.
- Watch for and seek out a support system. These are people who know your goals and support your desire to be healthy. This means they won’t sabotage your efforts to cut back on desserts or exercise daily. These are people you can call at 10pm when the ice cream shop down the road seems to be screaming your name.
- Be prepared, and willing, to fail. You won’t be perfect every day and to expect perfection is to embrace frustration and failure. There will be good and bad days but as long as there are more good days than bad days you’re on the right track. The trick is to never give up, even when you do mess up. You aren’t a loser – just human.
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