7 Easy Ways To Lose Weight

Forget the strict diets and just follow these steps

Do you really want to go on a diet? There must be an easier way. Gym? No thanks! Are there any easy ways you can keep to your weight loss regime without going mad in the process?

Read on to discover some easy ways to help you do all this without too much hassle. Some effort is required, however!

I am not a licensed dietitian, nor medical doctor nor a fitness expert!

Let’s start off nice and easy so that you don’t get discouraged.

1. Drink water before you eat

This is a great trick but you have to drink 2 glasses of water about 30 minutes before you eat. Your stomach will feel fuller as you eat. But can this really work? I headed over to the WebMD site and there was indeed an experiment that showed that it really can help you to eat less which is already a step in the right direction. More experiments need to be done but this is very encouraging.

“When combined with brief instructions on how to increase your amount of physical activity and [get] on a healthy diet, this seems to help people to achieve some extra weight loss — at a moderate and healthy rate. It’s something that doesn’t take much work to integrate into our busy everyday lives.”- Dr. Helen Parretti, a researcher in the above study.

2. Smaller plates can help.

The Belgian philosopher Joseph Delboeuf (1831–1896) talked about how we perceive two identical circles (in our case food) when they are on circular plates of different sizes. The smaller the plate the better, as the food looks more than enough. But, put the same amount of food on a much bigger plate and it looks meager, to say the least.

A study conducted by the University of Groningen found that plates of 9–10 inches in diameter are ideal. They also found that we tend to fill our plates and bowls to about 70% of their total capacity regardless of plate size so the smaller plates are definitely an advantage here.

They also had a look at what people were doing in Chinese “all-you-can-eat” restaurants. They found that those who took larger plates left 14% of the food uneaten. This contrasted sharply with those who took smaller plates as they only wasted about 8% of the food. Plate size it seems was determining the amount of food being eaten and that can help us a lot.

3. Make a few healthy choices.

I just assumed that almond milk would be more fattening than skim milk. I thought it was because of the nuts. But how wrong I was! I was shocked to discover that a glass of almond milk has only 30% of the calories compared to what you will get in a glass of skim milk. That is a big saving.

I like raisins but again I was surprised to discover that they have double the amount of calories compared to grapes. Go for grapes when you can.

Another trick I found useful was that red meat has a lot more calories than leaner white meat. Here is an example. A beef patty can have 319 calories. If you go for a chicken one, that only has 150 calories.

4. Dark chocolate is a winner.

I love dark chocolate. Believe me! I grew up with milk chocolate and that was adding to my sugar and calorie intake. Discovering (70% cocoa or more) dark chocolate was an eye-opener.

According to the USDA (US Dept of Agriculture), 3 squares of milk chocolate has about 220 calories and 13 g of fat. Take a similar amount of dark chocolate (85% cocoa) and the calorie intake drops to 136 with 14 g of fat.

5. Start moving more.

How about finding a parking space for your car which is further from the office or supermarket? I always do this when there is the Sunday market so I have to walk further. Doing it on a daily basis can really help you burn a few more calories. Then, walking upstairs is a good idea rather than wearing out the elevator! If you are brave enough, you can even have a brisk walk before breakfast!

6. Once on the lips, forever on the hips!

The secret here is not to overburden your calorie intake with 3 big meals. This means that you will never burn off those extra calories. Give your hips a break! Dietitians now recommend that the ideal number is 6 light meals every day. In this way, your metabolism throbs away at a steady rate and also keeps the hunger monster at bay. Chocolate snack bars are not recommended here! Go for fruit and nuts to keep your hunger at bay.

7. Sleep soundly

When you cannot sleep at night, the temptation to snack in those cold lonely hours is always present. I know and I have been there. This is really the time you crave comfort food to make up for blissful sleep. You feel cheated so you reward yourself.

The fact is that those folk who get a good night’s sleep are going to burn 20% more calories than those who just cannot get enough sleep or are insomniacs. Those people who get less than 7 hours of sleep are more liable to put on weight, according to a study done by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

“Burning calories [during sleep] is certainly necessary, because sleep is not a passive activity,” says Mary Ellen Wells, Ph.D., director of Neurodiagnostics and Sleep Science at UNC School of Medicine.

Try these easy ways to help you lose weight and you will be a winner!

“Dieting is the only game where you win when you lose!” ― Karl Lagerfeld

If you are interested in the Mediterranean Diet, read this article

A big thank you to those Medium readers who read and clapped on the Campodimele Diet. Joe Luca Edward W Hackett Peggy Haven K M Brown Kristi Andrus Pedro Escudero Alfred Foresta Katherine Edmunds Joseph Serwach Joanna Mueller Cat Winske Rancho Encino