In today's world of greasy fast foods only seconds away from anyone it is easy to see how losing weight can be challenging. Many jobs don't allow long lunch breaks so many people resort to fast foods. Trust me I know I have resorted to this many times and then wonder how come I can't lose any weight. Eating healthy takes a little longer and costs a little more, sacrifices that most people are not willing to do. However, I promise you that if you sacrifice a little and get fruits, vegetables and lean meat; you will find that weight will start to shed right off of you. These are a few simple tricks I have personally used to help me reach my fitness goals while still getting the proper nutrition.
WATER!
Drink lots and lots of water! Your body's metabolism will actually increase by drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day. I personally drink more than that but that is the recommended amount. Also, by drinking more water, it fools your body into thinking you are full. So by drinking a large glass of water before each meal, you will typically eat slightly less. This reduces your food intake for each meal and the day and there for helps you lose weight. Water helps keep you hydrated and helps keep your body functioning correctly so drink it! Also if you want to change it up a little I have heard adding lemons to your water will help you lose weight as well.
Tips-
Keep it colorful! Most fruits and vegetables are very colorful, so the more color you see on your plate the chances are the healthier the meal will be for you. One quick tip, your body can metabolize cooked vegetables a lot faster than raw vegetables, so throw them on a skillet or in the oven for a couple mins before you eat them.
The first thing is to eat breakfast no later than one hour after waking up. This is very important in helping speed up your metabolism for the whole day and to replenish nutrients that your body lost while you were sleeping. Now if you're like me and get your workouts in the morning and don't want to eat a big breakfast before hand, I have a trick that I follow. I like to eat a piece of fruit or two before the workout, this starts your metabolism and refuels your body with essential nutrients while not making you so full you feel sick during your workout. Then once the workout is done, a protein drink or meal (eggs) helps give your body the full breakfast desired.
Another thing to remember is just because you worked out today doesn't mean you can eat whatever you want. Sure its fine a couple times a week to go out and stuff yourself, but if you eat that way everyday it doesn't matter how much you workout you will not see good results.
Remember that smaller portions of food more often is also beneficial. Instead of eating one or two large meals a day and starving yourself the rest, it has been shown that eating small meals throughout the day helps keep your metabolism up and there for helps you lose more weight. Also, cut out the late night snacks! Try to not eat anything after 8-pm because your metabolism naturally slows down as the day goes on so eating later at night there is a better chance that food will be stored as fat rather than used up.
If you would like, try making a smoothie or meal replacement drink instead of having an actual meal. These are great alternatives and fairly cheap to make, especially the smoothies. You can find frozen fruits at any local grocery store. Add the frozen fruits in a blender with any fruit juice, milk, or even just some water to help make it not as thick. Since the fruits are already frozen you do not need to add any extra ice, ice cream, or frozen yogurt. These smoothies are delicious and you can't get much healthier and get better nutritious than drinking frozen fruits with not extra sugars or anything. One last thing if you just got done with a workout, feel free to add one scope of protein powder in the blender to give you that extra protein and vitamins you may want.
SUGAR
I know that a lot of people always look at the amount of calories and fat in foods; however, one value that most people skip over is the sugar in the products. The amounts of sugar in foods can be more harmful than that of the fats or calories. For instant the product may only have 100 calories but if it contains 30 grams of sugar this product is not good at all. In fact, most experts agree that the human body should only intake a maximum of about 30 grams of added sugar a day. It has been proven that the average person eats approximately 130 pounds of sugar a year. Think of how much weight you could lose if you cut half of that sugar out! (examples of easy sugar filled products to cut out of your diet- SODAS, candy & sweets)
