Let’s be honest, when it comes to losing weight, we want to do it everything at once. But sometimes factors beyond our control get in the way of losing the pounds or shedding them off for good.Try these Small But Effective Ways To Lose Weight.
We need an easy weight loss plan, but with the best results. Losing weight doesn’t just depend on how much exercise and cutting back you do; how you manage to do it is just as important.
Here are some easy-to-implement tips from three experts on the ways to lose weight.
Portions
- “Eat small meals every 3 hours,” says Jenny Patrizia, author of Big Taste, Little Money: Healthy & Delicious Family Meals For Under $10. “We are meant to graze. It keeps our sugar levels at a balance and therefore controls our hunger.”
- Use salad plates to serve your meals. “It helps with portion control and caloric count,” adds Patrizia. “It also helps you stop when you feel full and keeps you from overeating.”
- Aim for 80 to 90 grams of daily protein (not for people with kidney problems). “Protein requires more energy to digest than carbohydrates,” says Lauren Minchen, RDN, CDN, explaining that we burn more calories by digesting the protein. She also suggests eating sufficient protein, especially when trying to lose weight, to decrease the amount of lean muscle mass loss.
Exercise
According to Minchen, adding weights, two to four times per week, to a half hour exercise routine, helps us to stay lean and toned. “Many women avoid weight training because they are afraid that they will bulk up,” she says. But, since women do not produce the same testosterone levels as a man, they won’t become bulky. “One pound of muscle burns 40-50 calories per day,” she says, adding that more calories burn at rest when you add lean muscle tissue.
Scheduling your meals
Start your day by eating a balanced breakfast within an hour of waking up. According to nutrition expert Manuel Villacorte, MS, RD, it is the meal that provides energy for your entire day. Having a healthy and complete breakfast “determines how much you’re going to eat up until 4:00 p.m.,” says the San Francisco-based author of Eating Free: The Carb-Friendly Way to Lose Inches, Embrace Your Hunger, and Keep the Weight Off for Good. Villacorte also points out that a balanced breakfast keeps ghrelin, a hormone that “controls our hunger and drives our appetite,” in check.
According to Villacorte, combining carbohydrates and protein at every meal gives the “optimal blend of nutritional elements to fight cravings, control hunger, gain energy, and stimulate fullness.” Carbohydrates, for example, lower ghrelin, help with brain function, and decrease cravings. Protein, on the other hand, “increases your metabolism and helps keep ghrelin down.” Villacorte suggest a salad with chicken or fish for lunch. “Add a carbohydrate such as quinoa, chickpeas, lentils, or brown rice,” he says. And for a snack, he recommends “an apple and a piece of turkey, low-fat cheese, or a hard-boiled egg.”