My weight loss solutions didn’t come naturally, or willingly.
Implementing daily, constructive habits that are going to help me lose the weight and keep it off took longer than I anticipated.
Once I had given up the idea of yo-yo dieting, I was ready to make permanent changes to my lifestyle. This included a few incredibly easy weight loss solutions.
When you think of weight loss solutions, you probably think of a shake you drink twice a day or joining your local Weight Watchers.
It certainly sounds more serious than it is. When I set out to find a number of different weight loss solutions, I wanted them to be things I could do at home that are going to be easy to pick up. I didn't want a complicated list of habits that were either expensive or so off-putting that I was back to my old ways within a week.
I promise that you’ll find these weight loss solutions just as easy as I did. There’s really not much more to it than just making a conscious effort each day to choose the right way over the wrong way.
Some of them you’ll even end up enjoying. After all, losing the weight and keeping it off is supposed to be empowering and rewarding, not tiring and oppressive.
Let’s take a look at five weight loss solutions which can really help to motivate you, just like they did for me.
1. Keep to a Routine
If you’re a routine person already – great! If not, then you’ve got a tiny amount of work ahead of you – but don’t worry, you’ll pick it up before you know it.
Routine is essential when it comes to food if you want to give your body consistency and a chance to lose the weight.
This first weight loss solution means that you need to be eating at roughly the same time every day.
People who succeed at losing the weight and keeping it off indefinitely tend to have a regular meal routine that they stick to.
Knowing when you’re going to get your next meal can also help to prevent snacking and reaching for that treat at three o’clock. If your body has something guaranteed to look forward to, you’ll be able to be more disciplined.
2. Eat the Healthy Fats
If you do have to snack, make it a good one. I know how hard it is to be rushing around all day with fast food signs in your face.
That’s why you need to be prepared – if you know you can’t quite make it to the next scheduled meal, have a healthy snack in your bag to munch on.
My favorite healthy fats that are lifelines for me when it's the end of the week, and I need something to eat in-between all my meals are nuts, avocado, and oily fish.
Whether it's half an avocado and a tin of tuna or a bag of cashew nuts, I tend to plan ahead each morning that I know I'll be hungry around that 3 pm mark.
I’ve even managed to reduce myself to eating raw nuts, instead of the ones slathered with oil and salt. If I had to choose, I would say that Mavuno Harvest organic raw cashews are my favorite.
What I love about them is that they’re direct trade and non-GMO. Get your Mavuno Harvest cashews here.
3. Mindfulness and Your Food
Mindfulness isn’t just a great, new way to meditate and be present in the moment. It’s also an effective way to eat, and to be aware of what we’re eating and how we’re eating it.
I’m just as guilty as the next person of wolfing down my meals before quickly moving on to the next task at hand. However, there’s a lot to be said for slowing everything down and experiencing your meals with all five of your senses.
What does it smell, look and taste like? How well are you chewing your food, and how satisfied does it leave you?
Internal biological cues for fullness and hunger can stand out through the chaos when you slow down and think intentionally about your meals. You’ll be able to listen to your body better and get a regular idea of what it needs.
Plus, you’ll avoid that pesky indigestion.
4. Be Cautious with Your Portions
If you’re like me and terrible at knowing how much is too much, try changing up the way you eat your food.
My go-to trick with this weight loss solution is to use a smaller plate, especially at dinnertime. This means that I’m eating less and not feeling like I can’t even get out of my chair at the end of it.
Another weight loss solution within our fourth weight loss solution – inception – is water. Water is great, not only for keeping you hydrated by also at keeping the number down on the scale.
Try drinking a glass of water after your smaller meal. If you wait five minutes, you may release that you're not actually still hungry and you can be satisfied with that more modest portion.
5. Check the Label
Our fifth and final weight loss solution lies in the packaging of the food. I tend to turn a blind eye to packaging when it's on stuff I know I shouldn't be having. Maybe if I faced my fears, I would eat less crap and keep the weight off.
A go-to blanket rule when checking the labels on your food is to look for the salt, sugar and fat content. If all of these are looking good, then you’re in the safe zone.
When it comes to finding weight loss solutions that you can stick to, I know it can be hard. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that with more of these than I would care to mention.
However, I never came across any that were as simple and easy as these. At the very least, these five straightforward weight loss solutions are a great start to help you lose the weight and keep it off!
If you're looking for more information on how sugar may affect your weight loss goals, head on over to Sweet Defeat and check out their blog post.
Subscribe for more ways to live a healthy, happy life! If you want somewhere to start when it comes to diet, check out my blog post on the Swedish diet.
Which weight loss solution do you like the most? Let me know!