Easy Tips for Effective Weight Loss

4:58 AM Weight Loss Trainer 0 Comments

Diets, diets, and more diets. Every day there is a new diet that is supposed to magically melt the pounds away. Most of them work to some degree simply because the dieter eats less. It's no secret that when a person consumes fewer calories then what is used through daily activity, the result is weight loss. The problem with most of these diets is, aside from the fact that people are getting rich at the desperate dieter's expense, they don't produce permanent weight loss and weight maintenance. These diets are just sets of rules that are difficult to live by for an extended amount of time. The good news is that there are small changes the dieter can make that will produce weight loss and help to maintain a healthy and balanced weight.

Know When to Eat and When to Stop Eating

The human body can be compared to an automobile. Most cars these days come equipped with a signal, a flashing light or a beeping sound, that alerts the driver when the fuel is running low. The human body is equipped with a signal of its own. It is called a hunger pain. Food is the fuel that the body uses and when that fuel starts running low a signal is sent out, a pain or a rumbling that means more fuel is needed. This signal also means it is all right to eat now. Waiting until this signal is felt before eating keeps things in balance.

Just as important as when to eat is when to stop eating. The proper time to stop eating is when the hunger pain subsides. This is the brain's alert that the stomach has reached the proper level. Beyond this point, food is just extra, unneeded calories that will turn into weight gain. Look at the car example again.

Continuing to pump extra fuel into a car that is already full will cause a nasty overflow of fuel. It is the same with the human body.

It is best to stop eating for the day four hours before the normal time for sleep. If a person goes to bed at 10pm, they should not eat after 6pm, even if hunger pains are present. Those who work night shift and don't get into bed until maybe 7am should not eat anything after 3am. If food is eaten during the four hours before bed, it should be very light. Water, of course, should be consumed as normal.

Drink Plenty of Water

Looking at the car again, another fluid a vehicle must have is oil, and there is usually some sort of sensor that indicates when the oil is low, as well. Water is to the human body what oil is to an automobile. You won't get far without it. The body also sends signals when it needs to be replenished with water. Sometimes, those signals are mistaken for hunger pains and food is eaten when it is not needed, resulting in more weight gain. Drinking at least eight glasses of water a day will prevent this confusion. Water should not be used, however, to drown out the appetite. If oil is put into a car to try and stop the low fuel signal, the driver will soon be sitting on the side of the road.

Make the Best Food Choices Available

Food restrictions set a person up for failure. Rather than totally cutting off certain foods, such as carbohydrates or fats, the better option is to choose the healthiest ones. For example, if a person is working and their only option for lunch is a vending machine, instead of not eating at all, they should choose the healthiest from what is available. If there are cakes, cookies, chips, and peanuts, the peanuts would be the best option. If the machine was filled with only candy bars, choosing one that has some protein in it would be great, such as a candy bar with peanuts in it. In the same manner, eating at a restaurant need not be forever off limits. Just make the healthiest choices from the menu. As long as hunger is present and eating is stopped as soon as the hunger pain subsides, food restrictions should be avoided.

Sometimes slight changes are more effective than enormous ones. Small steps are easier than huge leaps, and certainly make the weight loss journey a more comfortable and pleasant one.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is not intended as medical advice and, as with any weight loss plan, a licensed physician should be consulted before following any of the advice in this article, especially if a physical condition is present that is either treated or regulated by the diet, such as diabetes or heart disease.