30 ways to lose weight – plus win a Fitbit Alta!
Many of us have been there, done that, and bought the T-shirt when it comes to weight loss, from juice plans, to low-carb and even cabbage soup diets. but losing weight doesn’t take a rocket scientist to explain and it certainly doesn’t require banning tasty foods and living a life of restriction. In fact, it’s straightforward!
Scott baptie is a nutritionist, weightloss coach and now an author, having written his first book, 101 Ways to Lose Weight and Never Find It Again. ‘There are two words that, when combined, create the foundation for weight loss – calorie deficit,’ explains Scott. ‘If a calorie deficit doesn’t exist, you won’t lose fat.’
a calorie deficit is when you consume fewer calories than you’re burning – or you’re burning more calories than you eat.
‘When this happens, your body looks elsewhere for fuel,’ he adds. ‘body fat is loaded with energy, so when you’re in a calorie deficit, your body turns to fat for fuel. body fat is burned and you lose fat, and weight!’
most of diets have this in mind – they create a huge calorie deficit, where you’re eating next to nothing. ‘you might lose lots of fat in the beginning, but the diets are often unsustainable and the weight just goes on again when you’ve finished,’ explains Scott. ‘but that’s not going to happen this time!’
1 Ditch the diet mentality
Diets generally contain a rigid set of rules that ban certain foods. One of the biggest flaws with dieting is that restriction increases food cravings – studies have shown this time and time again. You’re not going to make a lot of dramatic changes all at once. You will make small, simple changes that accumulate over time. You’re not going to try and lose 6lb in six days, you’re going to focus on the process, not the outcome.
2 Slurp soup to satisfy your tummy
Soup can be a fantastic low-calorie, high-volume food that can help you to fight the hunger demons. Think about making a big batch of soup once a week so you’ve got some emergency portions in the freezer and a few meals for the week ahead.
3 Notch up your NEAT the easy way
If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s crucial that you keep on top of your neat, which stands for non-exercise activity Thermogenesis, the calories you burn by fidgeting, walking, standing – basically any form of energy expended that isn’t sleeping, eating or exercise. adopt habits and routines that will keep it high and recognise that the longer you’re in a calorie deficit, the harder it will be.
4 Enjoy your eggs (not just for breakfast)
Eggs are probably not the heart attackinducing villain that some outdated publications would have you believe, but the rules of moderation still apply.
5 Go with the grain and eat bread
Grains have benefits. The unwarranted removal of grains from the diet can be time-consuming, reduce the enjoyment of food and make eating a balanced diet inconvenient, so don’t make healthy eating harder than it needs to be. Plus, bread tastes great, so why ban it?
6 Dominate the diet with dairy
There’s a lot of evidence that eating dairy boasts a load of benefits and, from a weight-loss perspective, folk who have a few servings per day often lose more weight than those who don’t.
7 Shed pounds with your friends
build a team, share your goals, find a tribe. Telling someone about your goals makes them real and holds you accountable. Find like-minded folk on social media groups.
8 Eat, exercise – and repeat!
The idea of fasted exercise (exercising on an empty stomach) being superior is a bit of a myth and you’re likely to have more energy if you eat two hours before.
Reconfigure your kitchen
you can turn your kitchen into a ‘fatfighting environment’ by making some simple tweaks, like giving the surfaces a good de-cluttering and keeping a full and varied fruit bowl in plain sight. Hide that biscuit jar while you’re at it!
10 Skip the sit-ups and perfect planks
Avoid sit-ups if you’re trying to get leaner and focus on compound exercises, such as squats, lunges and pull-ups and cardio. If you want a strong core, consider the plank. Get on your forearms and toes, keep the body in a straight line with muscles engaged and hold for 30 seconds.
11 H op on the HIIT bandwagon
If you love the idea of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) because it’s quick and you can do it at home, go for it. Make sure you start off slowly, avoid it if you have sore joints and take enough time between sessions to recover.
12 Learn the weight of a portion of nuts
If you do include them in your daily diet, please be smart. Weigh out a portion (25g) if necessary, and just apply the usual guiding principles of moderation.
13 Walk off the weight with a step-tracker
Get yourself a step-tracker and commit to a daily target like 5,000 or 10,000 steps per day. Walking is free, sociable, and very effective for losing weight.
14 Downsize the plate to drop the weight
Switch to a smaller plate and you’ll end up eating fewer calories. If you have a buffet lunch in the canteen, then this habit is one that you should definitely think about starting as soon as possible.
15 Chew gum to reduce carb cravings
Keep some chewing gum at the ready to combat any mid-afternoon carb cravings.
16 Win with butterfly and backstroke
Swimming has a whole host of benefits and, if it’s something you do regularly, it can be a great way to improve your fitness and decrease your body fat.
17 Cut back but don’t cut out
Don’t impose unrealistic food bans on yourself and prioritise the positives – think what you can eat, not what you can’t. You’ll find it far easier to stick to.
18 Limit your liquid calories as well
To reduce your overall calorie intake drastically (depending on how much you drink at the moment), cut back on liquid calories and find a lowercalorie alternative. Swap regular fizzy drinks for diet versions and beware of sugar-laden coffees!
19 Build more muscle to burn fat
If you don’t have very much muscle on your frame at the moment, set a goal to build more if you want to burn more fat. This means lifting some weights!
20 Moderate the dried fruit intake
No food is off limits, but I’d go for fresh fruit over dried every time, especially if you usually have a handful of dried fruit mid-afternoon or go wild throwing it onto your porridge in the morning. Gram for gram, fresh fruit has lower calories.
21 Design dinner with the rule of quarters
The rule of quarters is a simple model to follow that will help you create a healthy dinner plate every time. One-quarter protein source, one-quarter carbs and two-quarters of green veg.
22 Go easy on the fats
Try to make smart fat choices, most of the time. Eat a range of healthy fat sources and don’t go crazy by adding loads of oil to food.
23 Get more kip to move more kilos
If you get fewer than six hours per night, set a sleep goal and go to bed earlier. It’s a simple habit that can have serious results.
24 Fight fat with fruit
You don’t need to avoid fruit if you’re trying to lose fat but, like any food, just be mindful of the calories and aim for a variety for a range of nutrients.
25 Get some jelly in your belly
Swapping a sugar-laden snack to a pot of jelly is going to reduce your overall calorie intake and will help you to eradicate a sugar craving.
26 Scrutinise sneaky packaging
Don’t be fooled by fitness buzzwords (think sugar-free and high protein) plastered on packaging. Look at the ingredients on the back and see if the quantities add up and if it’s worth the price.
27 Stand more to burn more
Standing is a simple, sweat-free and easy way to increase your calorie expenditure, improve your posture and even increase your life expectancy.
28 Do go big on awesome omega-3s
omega-3s have a range of health benefits and to ramp your healthy diet up a notch, make an effort to include more in your diet. Look to whole foods, such as oily fish, for a boost.
29 Stop stressing over your scale weight
They say that if you want to progress in something, you need to track it. For fat loss, this needn’t be scale weight. A combo of weight, photos and measurements is going to be less frustrating and more motivating in the long run.
30 Treat yourself to a diet break
A planned and controlled diet break can be an excellent weapon in your fat-loss arsenal, if it’s implemented intelligently and not used as an excuse to binge and erode all your hard work.