10 Tips to Lose Weight

Weight loss is a major goal for a lot of people so I wanted to provide my top 10 Tips on how to lose weight naturally.  The key to your success is to be consistent with your habits on a day in and out basis.  If you give your body a reason to change it will! Nothing will ever be perfect so if you are able to do things right 80% of the time you are doing great!

1. Eat breakfast! Yes your mother was right when she insisted to get something in you to start the day.  This IS the most important meal of the day because it helps kick start your metabolism after a night’s rest.  For every meal include a protein as this helps slow down the absorption rate of sugar which is unfortunately in most food products today.  Be careful of the type of cereal’s you consume as over 55% of them contain sugar as a primary ingredient.  I would suggest to purchase your groceries from a natural food market or farmers market where the food and ingredients are natural.

2. Minimize your sugars! As mentioned in point 1, they find their way in a lot of the foods / drinks we consume on a daily basis.  Ensure it’s not one of your main ingredients on your food/drink labels.  Sugar can also be disguised with the last three letters of “ose.”  Did you know that sugar is more addicting then cocaine? That’s a scary thought! Also a teaspoon of sugar can suppress your immune system for up to 8 hours.  Look at how many people are getting sick today with colds and flu’s!

3. Get active! You need to rev up that metabolism in order to burn body fat! Society is becoming more sedentary and North America is at and all time obesity high! Do something for at least 30 minutes a day.  It can be a walk, going to the gym, activity.  Anything to get you up and moving! If you can’t burn off the calories you consume you will put on body fat

4. 3500 calories is a pound of fat so in order to lose 1-2 pounds a week which is considered healthy, you need to cut down your overall calories and increase activity level as stated in point 3.  A good rule of thumb is if you are gaining weight on the scale and your pants are becoming tighter, that means you are putting on body fat.  If on the other hand the weight is going up on the scale but clothes/pants are looser that means you are putting on lean muscle mass which is fantastic!

5. Don’t starve yourself or limit your calories severely. This will put your body into an emergency state and it will conserve body fat as it is vital for your survival.  The weight you lose will come at a price of water and muscle loss.  Not what you want if you desire an efficient metabolism.

6. Eat small meals throughout the day. The key is to convince your body it is never in starvation mode.  This enables the metabolism to always be working at it’s maximum potential.  Another great benefit of this is it minimizes the chances you over consume at lunch or dinner.

7. Drink plenty of clean water! This means minimize how much caffeine you drink in the day as it can help with energy but too much can dehydrate your body.  Most walk around day to day dehydrated so it’s important they consume the amount determined by this formula: their bodyweight / 2 x 0.033.  This determines how many litres approximately you should consume in a day.  Another indicator or test is your urine should be a light yellow.

8. Minimize or better yet eliminate your junk, pop/soda, processed, fast foods. I put all of these in one category because they are all junk and filled with garbage ingredients. It’s foreign to your body as there are lots of additives, preservatives, sugars, and flavoring involved.  Not to mention the empty calories that these items contain.  The odd treat is fine but don’t let it be a regular occurrence!

9. Keep your stress level down. Stress comes in many forms, poor eating, lack of sleep, dehydration, financial, relationship, physical.  Too much of it is harmful to you from a health perspective but also this negatively effects your metabolism and body’s ability to burn fat.

10. Keep track of your food with a nutrition journal. There are several programs online that enable you to type in what you ate and how many calories it would contain.  Additionally I encourage you to log in how you feel after each meal / snack. Some people emotionally eat when they are upset or stressed.  Make note and keep track as you will start to notice bad habits.  I find this is a great tool to make yourself accountable but also to visually show you what types food you eat on a regular basis! 80% of your success has to do with what types of foods and how many calories you consume.  If you eat properly 80% of the time and are active on a regular basis you will be on the right track!

Feel free to share your experience with what’s worked for you!