Easy Fast Weight Loss Ideas

In today's world, where everybody is getting conscious about looking good, it has become all the more necessary to keep oneself in shape. If you have a good figure, not only it enables you to flaunt your body, but also it helps in boosting your confidence level. For some people, obesity becomes a serious cause of concern, thus affecting their mental fitness.

There are several reasons as why some people are overweight. It is interesting to know that your metabolism rate has a major impact on your weight loss program. People with low metabolism have a hard time in losing weight because of their slow metabolism fat gets stored in their bodies. There are some people who suffer from the problem of hormonal imbalance, but one of the major causes of obesity in people is their unhealthy eating habits and inadequate exercising.

Given here are some easy and fast weight loss ideas:

• Make water your favorite drink. A person must have a minimum of 8 glasses of water in a day. Avoid taking soft drinks or carbonated beverages; moreover replace them with water. Water helps in reducing weight in the most effective manner.
• Don't stuff yourself with food in a single sitting; instead have 5 to 6 small meals or snacks in a day. Eating several small meals helps the body to release less insulin, which keeps blood sugar steady and helps to control hunger.
• Make a habit of walking. Instead of driving car to the nearby market, prefer walking down. Walking is more important for people in sedentary jobs. Walk for at least 45 minutes every day; it helps in burning extra calories.
• Keep small plates for serving food because a study shows that the less food put in front of us, the less food we'll eat. So downsize your food plates and coffee mugs, and say goodbye to those extra calories.
• Eat more vegetables during meals as water-rich foods like zucchini, tomatoes, and cucumbers reduce your overall calorie consumption. Some other water-rich foods include soups and salads; they are good source of nutrition.
• Use vegetables to make hefty meals. Like pasta salad loaded with vegetables like broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes can be eaten twice. Same applies for stir-fries; add vegetables to make a fluffier omelet.
• Avoid taking white foods as they contain large amounts of carbohydrates, which may further lead to weight gain. Replace white sugar, white rice, and white flour with whole grain breads and brown rice.
• Switch to ordinary coffee because coffee drinks at shops has extra calories, owing to whole milk, whipped cream, sugar, and sugary syrups. A cup of regular coffee, having skim milk brewed with good beans, tastes great and moreover has fewer calories.
• Use skimmed milk as it is high in calcium and low in calories. For coffee, use nonfat powdered milk.
• Prefer eating cereal for breakfast five days a week. Following this, you will consume more fiber and calcium, and less fat than those who eat other breakfast foods.
• Prefer having meals at home. We're more likely to eat more - in fact, more high-fat, and high-calorie foods- when we eat out than eating at home.
• Try to eat slowly and put your fork or spoon down after every bite. Drink water often and talk about your day with your partner. If you eat slowly, you would feel contended with your meal.
• Eat only when your stomach wants food. Usually out of boredom, nervousness, habit, or frustration; many of us unnecessarily have food. If you want to have something specific, it's probably a craving, not hunger.
• Prefer flavorings like hot sauce, salsa, and Cajun seasonings rather than butter and creamy or sugary sauces. These flavorings not only provide flavor with no fat and few calories, but the spicy ones also turn up digestive fires, causing your body to burn more calories.
• Eat fruit rather than drinking fruit juice. Eating whole foods will keep you satisfied for longer period of time than juice. Moreover, fruit juices are very high in calories.
• Eat equal portions of vegetables and grains at dinner. A cup of cooked rice or pasta has about 200 calories, while a cup of cooked veggies has just 50 calories. This will help to avoid a grain calorie overload, and high-fiber veggies will help satisfying your hunger.
• After every two hours, get up and walk around the office or your home for five minutes. A brisk five-minute walk after every two hours will you're your body active.
• Once a week, make a habit of washing something thoroughly - could be floor, windows, shower cabin, bathroom tiles, car, etc. It helps in burning out about four calories for every minute spent in cleaning.
• Take a walk before dinner and it'll not only burn calories, but also cut down your appetite.
• Prefer not eating with a large group as we tend to eat more when we eat with other people, probably because we spend more time at the table. When eating in groups take a note of time and leave the plate, as and when you have had enough.
• Skip watching TV for an hour and go for a walk instead. Or else, you have now time to finish your domestic chores.
• Take most of the calories before noon because studies tell that the more you eat in the morning, the less you'll eat in the evening. Moreover, you will get more chances to burn off those early-day calories than late-night calories.
• Order alcohol by the glass, not the bottle. This way, you'll be more aware of how much alcohol you're intaking. Alcohol is high in calories, however moderate drinking can be good for your health.
• Stock your refrigerator with low-fat yogurt. Cut down 500 calories a day from your diet and eat yogurt three times a day for 12 weeks. It will help you lose more weight and body fat.

Weight-loss tips for men: Sizing yourself up

Weight-loss expert Andrew Dickson has advice for blokes who think of themselves as ‘naturally big’.
I'm going to talk about the reality and fantasy of ‘big men’. I’m not talking about the Jonah Lomus of the world, but average men who think of themselves as ‘naturally big’ when really, they just ‘eat big’. I was one of them.

Size matters

I spent many years eating huge quantities of food, while my wife Anna looked on with amazement and concern. When she remarked on the quantity, I would say, “But I’m a big bloke. I need to eat this much.” I ate what I thought I needed to – hunger and satiation were largely irrelevant.
One weekend, Anna and I were staying with my brother Mark and his wife. Anna suggested that for the entire day, I should try and eat exactly the same as Mark, who is about the same height as me and has always been in the normal weight range. I agreed to give this a go and although I was intensely anxious that I would starve, I didn’t. This was a turning point. I realised I was eating for what I thought I was, not for what I am – a normal-sized bloke.
Today, Mark weighs about 76-82kg and I weigh about 89-94kg, so at times I can still be 18kg heavier than him, and our BMIs can be fairly different. However, we are both active, healthy blokes. The interesting bit is that today Mark and I eat a similar amount, even though I am still physically bigger than him – the key is to realise our size difference does not mean I necessarily need to eat a lot more.
If you think you might be eating for the body you think you are rather than the body you truly are, check out the following tips for some tricks to put your perception of yourself to the test.

Tips to challenge your inner big bloke

Try out these strategies – you may actually find you are a normal-sized guy.

1. Con one of your mates into doing the ‘eat what he eats’ day. Pick a mate who you think of as a ‘normal-sized bloke’, and who is about the same height as you. Don’t ask Ma’a Nonu!
2. When you’re at a restaurant, order the same meal as the smallest adult at the table. See how you feel an hour after you have finished eating.
3. During your next café breakfast or brunch, order the vegetarian or cereal option instead of the ‘big breakfast’ – then take note of how you feel for the rest of the day.

4 Breakfast Items To Avoid

1. Carrot Cake Muffin
   Perhaps the word "carrot" make it sound like a healthy breakfast item, but most commercial carrot cake muffins are high in fat and calories. One serving of this favorite breakfast muffin from a coffee chain store contains a whopping 680 kilocalories and 40 grams of fat! Indeed, most muffins and scones are high in fat. Scones, in particular, usually contain trans fat as well.
2. DoughnutsDoughnuts are fried breakfast foods. If you do not eat french fries for breakfast, why would you eat fried doughnuts? One piece of glazed doughnut from a doughnut chain store contains 200 kcal of empty calories with precious few nutrients. What is worse is that it contains four grams of trans fat per serving. That is already two times more than the recommended amount of trans fat a day. Doughnuts with fillings contain even higher amounts of calories and trans fat, so stay away from this breakfast treat!
   
3. Frozen Waffles Similar to doughnuts, frozen waffles are another example of empty calories when it comes to breakfast foods. Most store-bought frozen waffles are basically refined grain combined with refined sugar and trans fat, lacking health-promoting vitamins, minerals and fiber. Most people add syrup and margarine on their breakfast waffles, hence adding even more calories and fat. Not a smart choice to start your day!
   
4. McDonald's Deluxe BreakfastWith such breakfast items as scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausages, pancakes and dressing and syrup, this deluxe breakfast contains a shocking 1,120 kcal and 61 grams of fat! With that much fat, it is like swallowing 13 teaspoons of vegetable oil in one setting! What is more shockingis that this breakfast item at McDonald's contains 11 g of trans fat, that is is 5 times more than the daily recommended amount of trans fat!

The recommended daily intake for dairy is three servings a day and whole grains is at least three servings daily. If you do not normally eat these foods for lunch or dinner, it is easier to include these items in breakfast. Hence, choose whole grains such as whole wheat bread, whole grain cereals or oatmeal if possible. In addition, include a serving of dairy such as low-fat milk or low-fat yogurt, which is rich in protein, calcium and potassium. In general, try including at least three food groups in your breakfast so that you do not need to prowl for a mid-morning snack.