7 More Weight Loss Tips

1. Eating small frequent meals on a regular schedule can help you lose weight. However, if you don’t know what “small” means this won’t work for you. A small meal should be between 200 and 300 calories. If your “small” meals are 700 calories each, you are now eating six large meals instead of six small meals. Morning intake is much more filling than late-night eating. If you’re eating at night, are you generally having a ball of cereal or a scrambled egg? Are you having a turkey sandwich? No. We usually go for sweeter snacks later at night with many calories but with few nutrients.
   
   
2. Your grandma was right. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Skipping breakfast can alter the way we use insulin. It can raise cholesterol and can lead to higher energy intake later on in the day. Maybe you say you don’t have much appetite in the morning, but at 3 o’clock you starve and you go for a cookie and coffee. You gotta eat your breakfast.
   
   
3. Physical activity is essential to weight management and it promotes overall good health. Also, as a really nice side benefit, it can discourage overeating by reducing stress. It also produces positive feelings of well-being. This is because of the endorphins that are released during physical activity.
   
   
4. If you’re just trying to maintain weight, 30 minutes of moderately intense exercise everyday is good. If you need to lose weight, you need to aim for 60 minutes per day. Create a program that includes some kind of cardio, like running or cycling. Also include some strength training and stretching.
   
   
5. Cardio that you can sustain for about an hour can help to trim that body fat permanently. However, strength training is also important, as it can help to increase lean body mass. Lean body mass burns more calories at rest than body fat.
   
   
6. You don’t need to do all your exercise at one time. You may go out and take a 30 minute walk in the morning and ride the bike at night. For strength training, concentrate on big muscle groups. Lift heavy enough weights for it to be a challenge.
   
   
7. Be easy on yourself. You’re going to screw up a lot, I assure you. Don’t beat yourself up because of that. I’ve learned that perfectionism is not the best way to go to achieve your goals. You may end beating yourself up for small things. I think that a better way to live and to achieve great things is by following this standard: “It is okay if you’re not perfect, as long as you’re persistent”. Focus on the five days you DID GO to the gym, not on the two days you skipped. Whenever you don’t live up to your expectations, whenever you don’t act as your ideal self would, say to yourself: “It’ okay. You’re growing. What did you learn from this?” This takes practice, as anything.