Easy Weight Loss Secrets Guide - Harry Kainth (read ebook pdf .TXT) 📗

kind of thing, see if you can convince your work to get you a standing-desk. Commuting via the train? Stand to burn extra calories. Remember, all the small steps add up.

93. Reward yourself.

Have a list of REWARDS which will keep you motivated to attaining your weight loss goals. Make them realistic and achievable, but don’t make your rewards about foods – go for something totally different, yet just as rewarding, e.g.: watch a movie, go shopping, whatever tickles your fancy.

94. Go nuts!

Nuts are jam-packed with healthy compounds, from healthy fats and antioxidants to essential minerals and vitamins. Research is showing that FOR WEIGHT LOSS, eating bigger portions of healthy foods is actually more important than dieting because, simply put, you’ll have less room and less inclination to eat junk food when you’ve already got a belly full of the healthy stuff. Nuts are a great for this, because they are high in fibre and slow to digest, plus the healthy fats help make you feel full. Remember, we’re not talking about the roasted, salted kind – keep your nuts natural and grab a handful to snack on before you go out to keep hunger at bay.

95. Watch your weekends.

Many people are able to stick to a pretty healthy diet during the week when they’re following the work-week routine, but once the freedom of the weekend arrives: woohoo, all bets are off! You need to be strong, not weak, on the weekend. So one of the things you can do to make things easier, is allow yourself a single ‘cheat meal’ each weekend. This does not mean that you make up for a weeks-worth of not having deserts, but simply that you’re a bit more relaxed with the foods you allow for that meal. Warning, do not let your ‘cheat meal’ turn into a ‘cheat day’ otherwise you risk undoing all your hard work from the week! Many people skip ‘cheat meals’ entirely, so it’s down to your personal preference.

96. Count calories.

Studies have shown that people who count calories have dramatically more success at losing weight and keeping it off than those who don’t. It also helps you to structure your eating and reveals some surprising high-calorie culprits!

97. Drink water.

Zero calories, super-hydrating – need we say more? Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated. Add a slice of lemon and boom, you’ve got yourself a great-tasting, hydrating drink.

98. Count to 100 to beat cravings.

Next time a craving comes up, slowly count to 100 while you focus your mind on both your short and long-term weight loss goals.

99. Broccoli is your friend.

Broccoli is a powerhouse of nutrition: it contains more vitamin C than an orange, is contains a paltry amount of calories in comparison to its’ incredible nutritional profile and contains as much calcium as a glass of milk. It’s the perfect Volumetric diet food, with a very low amount of calories per bite and studies have even shown that it can help boost DNA repair in cells. Add raw grated brocolli to salads, or even try snacking on small florets.

100. Eat watermelon.

A recent study found that the group (animal models) who ate watermelon had a 50% decrease in arterial plaque, high levels of citrulline (which is good for general health) and even more exciting 30% less weight gain. Watermelon is such a treat, just make sure you also get close to the rind, where there is an abundance of citrulline.

101. Find your motivation.

Reaching your ideal healthy weight isn’t going to be easy in the beginning: it requires making hundreds of healthy mini-decisions every day. When you have to choose between a piece of cake and a piece of fruit, your taste-buds are going to tell you to eat the cake, so you have to dig deeper from the beginning and find out why you’re really doing this and why it’s important to you, because if it is important enough to you then you’ll make the healthy decision. This doesn’t mean that you won’t have times when you make mistakes, but it does mean that you wont waste time getting back onto the health-wagon when you do.

102. Ditch the diet.

Yes, you read that right. The problem with being on a ‘diet’ is that it puts negative psychological pressure on you. A diet by it’s nature is temporary; however, reaching and maintaining your ideal healthy weight is something which requires making lifestyle changes which stay with you for good. Find out what works for you, which activities are the most fun, the healthy foods you enjoy most and make those part of your life – remember, the more fun and enjoyable you make this, the more successful you’re going to be!

103. Chew gum while you cook.

If you nibble on food while you’re cooking then try chewing a stick of gum while you prepare your meals. You’ll freshen your breath and you’ll reduce your total calorie intake.

104. Find out your calorie requirements.

Fundamentally, weight loss is pretty simple: burn more calories (energy) than you consume. If you want to lose weight you need to consume about 500 calories less than you need every day, but in order to do this you need to know your daily caloric needs. Without knowing this, it’d be like trying to shoot a target while blindfolded – you have no idea where to aim.

105. Communicate with family and friends.

We humans are funny creatures, often people get attached to having you remain a certain way, for whatever reasons of their own (maybe even unknown to them). Unfortunately, this rarely serves you in being the person who you want to be. When you want to lose weight, and when you start losing weight family and friends may seem to tempt you off the path, the best way to deal with this is communication: explain to them that this weight loss is truly important to you and you’d love their support. If they’re unable to do that, respect them but stay focused on your weight loss goals – this is your life, not theirs.

106. Skip the solid fats.

Solid fats are an example of empty calories – high calorie foods, with little (or no) nutrients: butter, beef fat and shortening. These are fats which stay solid at room temperature and are added to many foods to appeal to our tastebuds (as well as occurring naturally in some foods), e.g. cakes, cookies, cheese, pizza and bacon. The problem isn’t that they’re necessarily bad, but that most people just eat far too many of them, so serious moderation is key!

107. Plan ahead.

Spend some time in the evening planning what you’re going to eat the next day. When you have no idea what you’re going to eat and hits lunchtime, it’s easy to reach for the most convenient or most familiar food – not usually the healthiest option. By planning ahead you will be prepared to make the healthy choice when the time comes. Check out restaurant menus, calorie counts or if you want to be really prepared: make and pack your healthy meals and snacks for the next day – well done!

108. Read the labels, read the labels, read the labels!

Make sure you check the sugar and fat content when you shop for food.

109. Healthy doesn’t mean low-calorie.

Especially when you talking about foods high in fats and oils, for example: an avocado has about 145 calories while olive oil packs a mammoth 120 calories per tablespoon. So even though they’re healthy, if you gorge yourself on them it won’t help you to lose weight at all. Find some healthy, low-calorie foods you can eat in a lot of and snack on those when you’re hungry, try: celery, spinach, cottage cheese, carrots.

110. Laugh!

You probably already know that laughter is a good way to reduce stress (and we’ve talked about the weight loss benefits of lower stress), but did you also know that British researchers

have found that 1 hour of intense laughter burnt up to 120 calories – that’s a pretty good workout! So if you’re going to watch TV, make sure you watch the sitcoms, grab some healthy snacks and ditch the remote – your waist will thank you.

111. Feast on flax seeds.

These little gems are an ideal weight loss food: they’re packed with healthy fats, fiber, minerals and vitamins. The high fiber content (1 ounce is 32% of your RDA) makes you feel full because it promotes the release of leptin (the hormone that makes you feel full), but even more so with flax seeds, because they form a gel-like substance which enhances the feeling of satiety. In addition to this, the healthy fats help increase your metabolism. For weight loss, make sure you have ground flax seed, which is far easier to digest and divide it into portions to have with you meals throughout the day (sprinkled on food, or in smoothies).

112. Eat healthy fats.

Fats have gotten a bad rap, but not only are healthy fats essential to good health, a Harvard study found that eating good fats actually makes your body more efficient at burning fat. In the study, the group eating healthy fats lost 5 more pounds than the low-fat diet group. Healthy fats are usually high in calories, and you should aim to get about 20% of your calories from these nutritional powerhouses; good sources include: nuts, avocados, extra virgin olive oil and wild salmon.

113. Get a daily dose of cocoa.

Now you’re talking our language: an excuse to eat more chocolate? Bring it on! Well, not exactly… a study from the Journal of Nutrition found that the antioxidants in cocoa reduced fat deposits in mice (as well as reducing degeneration in the aortic arteries). The trick is, normal chocolate wont do because it’s loaded with sugar, so opt for a high-cocoa (80-90%), low-sugar chocolate. Or even better, get unsweetened cocao powder and add it to smoothies and other recipes.

114. Skip desert most days.

Desert should be a infrequent treat, not a daily occurrence. Even the so-called ‘light’ versions are often not that diet-friendly (and they’re usually loaded with other unhealthy additives), plus they come in bulk packs which only make it harder to resist overeating these treats: remember, if it’s in the house you’ll eat it, so stock healthy and you’ll eat healthy. So, have deserts once in a while, but don’t turn them into a REWARD, just enjoy them for what they are: an indulgent treat.

115. Skip the soda.

If you’re still drinking soda… why?! It doesn’t matter if it’s diet soda or not, soda has absolutely no nutritional value, is filled with additives and artificial sweeteners, and is just bad news all round. It took us a while to break the cola habit, but it’s so worth it. Studies have shown that people drinking 2 or more diet sodas a day had waist size increases that were 6 times greater than non-soda drinkers. Need we say any more? Stick to water and avoid sabotaging your weight loss!

116. Reduce your plate size.

It sounds strange, but studies have shown that the smaller your plate, the less food you tend to eat. For example, a simple change from 12 to 10 inches can decrease the food you eat by up to 22%, isn’t that awesome?

117. Think before you heap.

Don’t heap food on your plate, otherwise you’ll be inclined to eat it. The exception is if it’s vegetables, in which case go crazy (but not with potatoes).

118. Follow the nutrients.

Try to pack your diet full of as many nutrient-rich foods as you can: lean meats, low-fat dairy, fruits and vegetables. Include as many of these foods (in the right proportions) as you can at every meal.

119. Get moving!

The less time you spend sedentary, the better. If you work an office job, you already spend most of your day sitting down (which burns very little calories). So stand up, move around. Remember, every little bit of activity you do all