How To Lose 10 Pounds: 25 Everyday Tips
Losing weight takes work, it is not easy, but it is well worth it. Here are 25 tips to lose 10 pounds, and of course more in time, if you stick with it.
1. Drink plenty of water. Our body needs a lot of water so give in to water. Water is not just way to flush out toxin but if you have more water in your body you will generally feel healthier and fitter. This it self will discourage any tendency to gorge. The best thing about water is that is has no calories at all.
2. Start your day with a glass of water. As soon as you wake up, gulp down a glass of cool water. A glass of water lets out all your digestive juices and sort of lubricates the inside of your body. You may have your morning cup of tea but have it after a glass of water. It is good for you.
3. Drink a full glass of water before you start the meal. Water fills you up and you will eat less.
4. Have another glass of water while you are having the meal. Again this is another way of making yourself full so that you can actually rise from the table eating less but feeling full. Instead of drinking it one gulp, take sips after each morsel. It will help the food to settle better and make you feel more satisfied with a smaller meal.
Overall water plays a vital role in weight control, and can really help to lose weight by satisfying hunger.
5. Stay away from sweetened bottle drinks, especially sodas. Hey all those colas and fizzy drinks are sweetened with sugar and sugar means calories. Soda is very fattening because all that empty sugar has not other use on the body. The more you can cut out on these sweetened bottle drinks, the better for you. So if you must drink sodas, then absolutely stick to diet sodas.
6. Include in your diet things that contain more water like tomatoes and watermelons. These foods contain 90 to 95 % water so that they fill you up without adding extra pounds.
7. Eat fresh fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. Juice is often sweetened but fresh fruits have natural sugars. When you eat fruit, you are taking in a lot of fiber, which is needed by the body, and fruits of course are an excellent source of vitamins.
8. If you do have a craving for fruit juice then go for fresh fruit juice instead of these that contain artificial flavors and colors. Or even better, try making your own fruit juice with a juicer and fresh fruit.
9. Choose fresh fruit instead of processed fruits. Processed and canned fruits do not have as much fiber as fresh fruit and they are always sweeted with sugar.
10. Increase your fiber intake. Like I mentioned, the body needs a lot of fiber. So try to include in your diet as many fruits and vegetables as you can.
11. Go crazy on vegetables. Vegetables are your best bet when it comes to losing pounds. Nature has a terrific spread when it comes to choosing vegetables with leafy green vegetables being your best bet. They are low in calories, carbs and have not fat. Try to include a salad in at least one of your daily meals.
12. Eat intelligently. The difference between man and beast is that we are driven by intelligence while beasts are driven by instinct. Don’t just eat something because you feel like eating it. Ask your self whether your body really needs it. Always be on the lookout for healthy recipes that taste good too, there are tons of those that can make dieting and weight loss easier.
13. Watch what you eat. Keep a watchful eye on every thing that goes in. Sometimes the garnishes can be richer than the food itself. Accompaniments and side dishes like rice, beans and potatoes are very fattening. Remember that it is the easiest thing in the world to do is to eat something without realizing that it was not a good idea. If you do eat bad things sometimes here is one of the best health and fitness tips you can get, work it off!
14. Control that sweet tooth. Remember that sweet things generally mean more calories. It is natural that we have cravings for sweet things especially chocolates and other confectionary. Go easy on these things and each time you consume something sweet understand that it is going to add weight.
15. Fix times to have meals and stick to it. Try to have food at fixed times of the day. You can stretch these times by half an hour, but anything more than that is going to affect your eating pattern, the result will either be a loss of appetite or that famished feeling which will make you stuff yourself with more than what is required the next time you eat.
16. Eat only when you are hungry. Some of us have the tendency to eat whenever we see food. We use parties as an excuse to stuff our selves. Understand that the effect of a whole week of dieting can be wasted by just one day’s party food.
17. Quit snacking on junk in between meals. Do not fall for junk snacks in between meals. This is especially true for those who have to travel a lot. They feel that the only time they can get a bite to eat is snacks and junk food. The main problem with most snacks and junk food is that they are usually less filling and contain a lot of fat and calories. Just think about French fries…tempting but terribly fattening.
18. If you must snack, eat vegetables. You might get the pangs of hunger in between meals. It is something that you can very well control. Or even better, try munching on carrots. They are an excellent way to satisfy those hungry pangs and are good for your eyes and teeth.
19. Go easy on tea and coffee. Tea and coffee are harmless by themselves. It’s when you add the cream and sugar that they become fattening. Did you know that having a cup of tea or coffee that has cream and at least two cubes of sugar is as bad as having a big piece of rich chocolate cake?
20. Stick to black tea/coffee. Black tea or coffee can actually be good for you. But personally I would like to recommend tea rather than coffee because the caffeine in coffee is not really good for you because it is an alkaloid and can affect other functions of your body like the metabolism.
21. Count the calories as you eat. It’s a good idea to have an idea of the calorie counts that food items have. Check the labels of packaged food and buy yourself one of those mini calorie counter books that are about a buck and available at the grocery checkout.
22. Be sure to burn extra calories by the end of the week. If you feel that you have consumed more calories than you should have during the week, make sure that you work off those extra calories by the end of the week. Do some aerobic exercise, such as walking, biking or dancing for at least 15 minutes 3 times a week.
23. Stay away from fried things. Fried things are an absolute no-no. The less fried foods you eat the more weight you will lose. Fried things are called so because they are fried in oil or fat. On top of the oil is usually a coating or flour such as in fried chicken and fried fish, the combination of oil and flour or bread crumb starch is the worst one for weight gain.
24. Do not skip meals. The worst thing you can do while watching you diet is skip a meal, it will inhibit weight loss and actually slow down metabolism. You need to have at least four to five regular small meals every day. That is far better than just having 3 big meals a day.
25. Fresh vegetables are better than cooked or canned vegetables. Try to eat your vegetables raw. When you cook them, you are in fact taking away nearly half the vitamins in them. Steam them or grill them for the best flavor and best results. Also, eat them with a full glass of water, you will get really full fast.
