There is no sugar-coating the fact that losing weight is hard work. If it was so simple, we wouldn’t be scrolling through pages and pages of fitness questions like:
‘Where is the first place you lose fat?’ or ‘ how does weight loss work?’
The problem nowadays is, there are so many weight loss ‘hacks and tips’ that it is hard to know what to follow, most of them are based on myths and untrue. When you are first starting out on your journey and throughout the course of it, there are many things that happen when you lose weight.
We’re going to give you 10 things you need to know about losing weight, and a little extra too (we just couldn’t help ourselves!).
So here it is, 16 not so secret secrets on losing weight.
1. Forget the word ‘diet’, you’re eating healthily
When we think about losing weight, we tend to first think about what we’re eating. Many of us automatically restrict our foods in order to shed the pounds. Building a healthy relationship with food is the key here though.
‘Dieting’ is often the reason many of us are yo-yo dieters and what we don’t realise is that it can actually do more harm than good for us in the long term. Naturally making changes from processed snacks to healthier foods will form a better relationship with food in no time.
More often than not, when we’re wanting to lose weight, we think about the foods we can’t have. In doing this, we want them more. But, there is so much food we can eat, instead try to focus on those.
2. Slow down during your meals
For us to feel full, our brains need to process that we’ve eaten enough.
Eating too fast can make it easier to eat far more, while our brains cannot pick up on the signals very well.
Studies have shown that when you eat a bit slower, it can help you to eat less. This then increases the production of the hormones linked to weight loss. Not only does this aid digestion as you’ll be chewing your food more, but it’ll also stop you from consuming more calories or distraction eating.
3. Getting good sleep
Who doesn’t love to sleep? Not only is it important to give us the energy we need for the day, but bad quality sleep has been linked to obesity.
Take a second to think about it. When we haven’t eaten for a long period of time, we start to crave junk food and healthy eating goes out the window. Good quality sleep lets our bodies repair and recover (especially after working out) but also keeps us on track.
4. Do your strength training
Also Read: How to get slimmer arms without adding bulk
Muscle loss is just one of the many things that happen when you lose weight. It is a very common side effect of dieting, as well as metabolic slowdown.
How can we stop this happening you ask? Well, in addition to all the cardio you’re doing, add some strength training into your routines too. It’ll help stunt the muscle loss and create definition as you start to lose weight.
Lifting weights can also help keep your metabolism high, keeping us on track long term.
5. Food swaps
When you’ve got pantries full of sugary snacks and processed junk food, you’re going to crave them! Do your best to minimise these and swap to healthier alternatives.
We know that snacking is really tempting sometimes, trust us, been there and done it! Try to snack on fruit and other healthy options instead of filling your cabinets with candy and cookies.
6.Boost your metabolism with spice
You’re going to love this if you’re a spicy food lover! Chilli peppers contain something called capsaicin, a fiery compound that has been known to slightly reduce your appetite and enhance metabolism.
In saying that though, don’t get your hopes too high. This isn’t a long-term solution as over time it’ll become less effective.
7. Use smaller plates
It goes without saying that part of successfully losing weight is portion control. If you’re still wondering ‘how does weight loss work?’ Well, it’s all about calorie deficit.
For us to be able to shift the weight, we need to be burning more and consuming less. A quick and easy way to ensure you eat less, use smaller plates. You’ll be less inclined to pile it high and you’ll be more aware of how much you’re eating.
Also Read: How to lose thigh fat and tone your legs
Research has shown that taking photos of our meals and keeping a food diary can help support and keep us on track with our weight loss. There are many mobile apps out there to track what you eat, what else could you possibly need?
8. Carbs are welcome: The right ones
Whilst you’d be depriving yourself if you cut out carbs completely, leaving out refined carbohydrates will lead you on the right path to your goal weight.
In spite of the fact that restrictive diets will tell you to not eat many carbs, we need complex carbs as they’re full of important nutrients our bodies need. By bad and refined carbs, we mean white bread, beer and pasta; they have no nutritional value and lack in fiber.
Not only that, studies have shown that processed carbs can increase your blood sugar levels, making us hungry and craving sugary snacks.
9. Support your weight loss by cutting back sugar
Much of the time, even without realising, we all consume far too much sugar. There are so many benefits to lowering your sugar intake.
Research has shown that consuming too much sugar (and high-fructose corn syrup) is strongly linked to risks of obesity, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
So it goes without saying really, if you’re wanting to lose weight, cut down on the sugar. By this we mean processed sugar like candy, so opt for the natural sugars in fruit instead.
10. Boost fat burn with green tea
Green tea has so many health benefits, including boosting weight loss.
It does contain a small amount of caffeine but green tea is also full of powerful antioxidants too! They work in a similar way to coffee in how they enhance fat burn.
Green tea is going to be much better for you than coffee (unless it’s black) and sodas.
11. Increase fat burn with coffee
Coffee (in an ideal world, black) is great at helping us feel full, but it can also enhance your metabolism by 3-11%. Not only that, studies have shown it can also boost fat burn by 10-29%.
Be careful though, when you add sugar and creamer into the mix, you’re then adding more calories. In order to reap the benefits and maximise antioxidants, try and drink your coffee black.
12. Become besties with HIIT
To work within a calorie deficit, you’ll need to be burning a substantial amount of calories. So, what is the best workout for this?
There are plenty of bodyweight exercises you could be doing, but HIIT (high intensity interval training) can have you burning loads of fat. Instead of taking it slow mindlessly walking on a treadmill, do 30 minutes of intensive exercise to maximise your results.
You heard right, there is just no need for you to be spending endless hours in the gym to reach your goals. HIIT workouts are quick workouts with small rests in between; this boosts fat burn and your metabolism even when you’ve finished the workout.
Take a look at ‘the best workout for busy women’ if you’re wanting to add some HIIT into your life.
13. Make your plan and stick to it
Still trying to figure out how weight loss works? We promise, you’re not alone. In its simplest terms, you lose weight when you move more and eat less.
If one day you missed lunch and left your stomach rumbling away, you may think you’re doing it right. But, this type of consistency is needed for the long term.
When you consistently burn more than you eat and you’re in a calorie deficit, you’ll quickly see changes and be on the right path to reaching those body goals.
14. The myth of spot reducing
Whether you’re wanting to ‘lose thigh fat and tone your legs’ or have a flat stomach, we know the dream is being able to choose where we lose fat from first.
This issue is, when we start burning fat there is no way of knowing. ‘Where does weight loss show first?’ is a more common question than you might think. Many of us are eager to lose weight in specific areas. However, for us to tone up, we need to lose fat first and then build definition in chosen areas.
15. Enhance weight loss: drink water before meals
There will be some things, out of our control, that happen when you lose weight. The first place you lose fat from being one of these. In saying that, there are plenty of tips and tricks you can add to your life to support your goals.
According to research, drinking water can boost your metabolism by 24-30% over 1.5-2 hours, which supports calorie burn. So try drinking water before you eat a meal.
Further studies have shown that consuming 17 ounces of water 30 minutes before eating encourages us to eat less. This sees some of us losing 44% more weight than those who don’t drink water before a meal.
16. It is possible to lose weight without exercising
A question often searched online is ‘do I need to exercise to lose weight?’.
Yes, it is possible to lose weight without exercising, but it won’t be easy. You’re going to need some serious willpower to get there.
If you’re not going to exercise, you’ll need to lower your calorie intake quite a lot. We’re sorry ladies but this means cutting down on carbs and sugary snacks and eating smaller portions at meal times.
Give low calorie alternatives and salads a go!
We would always recommend pairing a healthy diet with some regular exercise to improve your overall health and lose weight, in order to avoid crazed, restrictive diets.
Ready to smash your weight loss goals?
With these 16 weight loss secrets, you’ll already be on the path to success!
Remember, pay attention to your diet, portions, and drink plenty of water. But of course, if you need a helping hand to maximize your fat burns, there’s always PhenGold.
Our 100% natural dietary supplement helps you lose weight faster and easier than ever before. Get ready to supercharge your metabolism and keep your focus – so you can smash those goals!
