G.A. Viray
Summer is already here! Just a couple of weeks more and it’s time to head off to meet friends, have fun with the family, take a holiday with your partner, stay up all night for parties and head off to the beach for summer! Every year, April and May are the months with a lot of holidays and this is the perfect time to flaunt what you’ve got.
Too bad, not everyone can flaunt what they’ve got, and a lot of people have no time to exercise. Some people go on an unhealthy diet or starve. But there are some ways on how one can lose weight, and the good news is, you don’t have to starve yourself. Truth is, there are ways to enjoy eating and here are some simple tips on how to get off those extra pounds and extra inches off your waistline without making yourself suffer!
Here are ten ways to lose weight for the summer without starving yourself:
1. Hydrate with water.
This one is a giveaway. Of course, we all know that water is calorie-free. Substituting a glass of a 12 oz soda with water can actually reduce at least 140 calories from what you have consumed. That’s actually around 6-8 teaspoons of sugar for each glass of soda. A cup of hot chocolate is about 200 to 300 calories, and creamed coffee is about 140 calories. That’s why its best to just hydrate yourself with water to reduce your calorie intake.
2. Break the fast!
Eating breakfast actually makes you less hungry during the day which helps you avoid snacking too much. Also, when we don’t “break the fast” our body makes metabolism slower, thus, making it harder for us to lose weight even if we choose to eat less during the day. But of course, eat a healthy full meal breakfast too!
3. Don’t rush to finish your meal.
Aside from making our digestive system suffer, eating too fast will make us eat more, not just because we feel hungry easily, but the feeling of hunger will not be satisfied. Remember, it takes 20 minutes to get a feeling of fullness. When we eat too fast, we tend to eat more food as we don’t get the feeling of satisfaction. It’s that plain and simple.
4. Jot it down!
It’s like monitoring your budget but you do it with food. When we are aware of what and how much we eat, we will develop a mindset that becomes conscious of what we consume on a daily basis. Try to keep a food diary for a week, and you won’t need someone to remind you to be careful of what you eat anymore in the succeeding weeks.
5. Minimize.
Use a smaller plate, eat smaller servings and try to reduce what you eat one day at a time. Remember, when observing a reducing diet, you don’t need to skip meals and starve. The key word is reduce. Lessen. Decrease!
6. Reduce alcohol intake.
Better yet, avoid alcohol. Fact is, a gram of alcohol has 7 calories, that’s just 2 calories less than a gram of fat. And so you wonder why your belly is like a full load of jelly!
7. High fiber fruits and veggies can help.
Not only do fruits and veggies have low calories, they also have fiber which can make you feel fuller longer. Fiber also helps in digestion, sweeping away bad cholesterol and making your trips to the throne on a daily basis.
8. Eat what you love as a reward, but eat it moderately.
Don’t make yourself hate going on a reducing diet! Eat what you love but eat it moderately. Nutritionists believe there are no bad or good food, only too less or too much food. Anything in between is okay. If your favorite food is sinful (meaning it will hurt your reducing diet), try to eat only as a reward when you’ve accomplished being faithful to losing weight by decreasing your food intake. A once a week cheat day of your favorite foods in moderation is okay.
9. Any form of exercise is okay.
People have a notion that going to the gym is the only way to reduce weight, but there are a hundred ways actually! Cleaning your house, walking around the mall, playing with your kids and making love to your spouse are ways to burn calories. What’s important is that your body is able to use the energy from the food you eat, and sitting does not count!
10. Never get discouraged, losing weight takes time.
This tip may already discourage you, but the truth is, the easier you lose weight, the faster you will gain it back if you are undisciplined, short but sure steps are the key to losing and maintaining your ideal weight. And like clothes, one size doesn’t fit all. There are foods that can make some people gain weight, and there are some foods that can make people lose weight. Get to know your body, and never be discouraged. Only yourself can help you get a healthy body.
*The tips on losing weight stated in this article were written by a Registered Nutritionist-Dietitian in the Philippines and is intended for a generally healthy group of people or people who are overweight but are generally healthy. People suffering with obesity and other illnesses need to personally consult a Physician and a Registered Nutritionist-Dietitian for proper medical advise and an individualized nutrition care plan.
