Math is involved in losing weight. If you consume more calories than expended, your weight goes up, but if you burn a surplus of calories than you eat, your weight goes down. That sounds simple, but there are other factors involved.
When you are trying to lose weight, take a good look at your eating habits by keeping a food diary for a week before you start your new diet. This will show you where your problem areas lie. For example, are you prone to overeating while at work, in the evenings, or at friend’s homes?
A good way to lose weight is to put up motivational pictures of the body you want to look like, around your house. It’s very easy to lose motivation when trying to lose weight, but by having pictures readily available you’ll be more likely to keep up with your weight loss plans.
A quick way to lose weight is to spend just fifteen minutes a day exercising. Exercise is any activity that elevates your heart rate, so even taking a brisk fifteen minute walk counts. Combine this with a once a week intense workout and you will be able to lose weight easily.
Eating your fat is important for losing weight. There are bad fats and good fats. Bad fats are saturated fats like those in meat and dairy products. Good fats include fats like the ones found in foods such as nuts, fish, and olives. Good fat consumption will help you lose body fat.
Making a shopping list will help you lose weight. How? Carefully write down everything you will need from the store. Do not deviate from your list. Nothing extra should go into your cart, nor should you spend any amount of time in isles or areas of the store that are unrelated to your list items.
When working out, it might be useful to do strength training along with aerobic exercise like running. Strength training with weights or resistance can give you more energy to burn more calories during each workout. Also, you will feel more energetic in your daily life, and help lose weight faster.
When beginning your diet, learn to read food labels. Reading and understanding food labels is essential because if you cannot read labels it is hard to make good choices at the grocery store. When you can read food labels you can make educated decisions about what foods are healthy and which are not.
To continue to make your weight loss plan a reality, closely monitor the amount of alcohol that you consume. Alcoholic beverages like apple martinis are extremely high in calories. Save these drinks for special occasions, and if you feel you have to indulge, consider picking up a glass of wine or a can of light beer.
Each week, try to set a reasonable weight loss goal for your program. It can be unhealthy to lose more weight than that a week. If you lose weight to fast, you risk your health and place yourself in a situation where you will likely gain back all of the weight you’ve lost.
Invest in a comfortable pair of workout shoes. You’re going to be pushing your body and the last thing you need is extra soreness or even an injury because you didn’t take the time to find shoes that fit properly. These shoes do not have to be expensive. What you are looking for is a pair that fits well, feels good and provides adequate support.
You’ll gain weight more quickly from fat calories than you will from protein calories. Also, metabolizing certain foods can cause your body to burn more calories than the foods contain. Use the hypoglycemic index to help you decide what foods to eat. This guide is invaluable to dieters.