Below are 10 easy to follow weight loss tips, guarenteed to help you lose those extra pounds!

BE MORE ACTIVE IN YOUR DAILY ROUTINE.

Going for your morning run is a fantastic way to burn calories, but what’s really needed is to be active throughout the entire day, not just when you ‘exercise’. While going for a run in the morning will give you a great start to the day and burn a few hundred calories, you may not lose weight if you spend the rest of the day sat at your office desk, then relaxing at home on the sofa. Try to incorporate activity into your daily routine, for example, use the stairs at work instead of the lift, or park your car a mile away from your office and walk the last part.

LIFT WEIGHTS.
There’s no denying it, the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn. Muscle is active tissue, fat is not. Therefore muscle burns a significant number of calories each day for its own maintenance. Fat is basically lazy! Aerobic activity directly burns calories while you are exercising, while muscle even gives your metabolism a boost when at rest.

KEEP A FOOD DIARY.

Keeping a food diary can really help you to understand exactly which aspects of your diet need changing. It’s worthwhile making a note of what you have eaten, how much, your hunger level prior to eating and any feelings or emotions present at the time. Do this for at least a week and you will gain an insight into not only what you are eating, but also why you are eating those things. For example, you may find that you tend to eat sweets and chocolate when you are bored or feeling depressed. The food diary can identify emotions and behaviors that trigger overeating. It is important that you are 100% honest with your food diary, include absolutely everything that you eat and drink. If, once you have completed your diary, you need some help to evaluate it, consult a registered nutritionist for advice.

CONTROL YOUR PORTION SIZE

It seems that portion sizes, especially those at fast food restaurants, are getting bigger. Food and drinks often carry labels such as ‘now 15% bigger’, or ‘10% extra free’. While this may be great for our wallets, it’s not great for our waistlines! Be very mindful of your portion control and try to eat 5-6 smaller meals, rather than 2-3 large meals a day. Put small amounts on your plate to begin with and if you are still hungry afterwards, have a second serving. Do not pile as much food onto your plate as you can, then force yourself to finish every last mouthful! One useful tip is to always leave some food on your plate, even if it’s just a small amount, this then gets you out of the habit of feeling you have to eat everything.

SLOW DOWN YOUR EATING

Your meal times are not a race! Eating slowly and chewing your food properly can help reduce the amount you need to eat. This is because from the time you begin eating, it takes the brain 20 minutes to start telling you that you feel full. So slow down and enjoy your food. Try putting your knife and fork down between every mouthful and chew your food at least 20 times before swallowing. Chewing your food is the first step in the digestion process, by chewing properly you will absorb more vitamins and minerals from your food.

MAKE CHANGES TO BOTH YOUR DIET AND YOUR EXERCISE LEVELS.

Losing weight is dependent on burning more calories than you consume. Therefore, the easiest way to achieve this is to make alterations to both your calorie intake and your calorie output. By making small changes to your diet, for example cutting out late night snacking, you may reduce your calorie intake by 250 calories per day. In addition to this, if you go for a 20 minute run each day, you will increase your calorie output by around 250 calories. Combining both changes means you are now 500 calories a day better off. Over the course of a week you will be 3500 calories lower than before, the exact amount required to lose 1 lb of fat.

PUT SOME PHOTOS OF YOURSELF ON THE FRIDGE.

This is a very basic, yet extremely effective, way of keeping yourself motivated. Find some photos of yourself that you really don’t like, possibly showing you carrying a few extra pounds. Put these on the fridge, then when you are tempted to look in the fridge for that late night snack, that you really don’t need, you’ll see the photos and think twice! If this seems too much of a negative way of motivating yourself, use positive photos as well. Use a photo of when you were looking at your healthiest and this will inspire you, in a positive way, to commit to your healthy eating.

DON’T GO SHOPPING WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY.

We’ve all done it, gone to the supermarket when we haven’t had any lunch and come home with all sorts of junk food we wouldn’t normally buy. There’s no denying that when we are hungry, we make bad food choices, everything seems to look extra tasty and the temptation can be too much for us. Plan your meals for the week and make a shopping list before you go to the supermarket. If you only buy healthy foods, you can’t be tempted by high calorie snacks when you’re at home.

TELL EVERYONE!

Get other people involved in your weight loss goals. By telling everyone you are going to lose weight, you’ll probably get two different reactions. There will be those people that support you and help with advice and encouragement. While there will also be people that dismiss your intentions and say you’ll never do it. Usually these people are the ones who wish they had the motivation to do it themselves! Use both reactions to motivate you. You’ll get support and encouragement from the positive reactions, while you can use those negative comments as motivation to prove them all wrong. By telling everyone, you’ll be putting positive pressure on yourself to succeed.

EAT REAL FOOD!

Eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains. People who eat healthy, mostly unprocessed foods, including fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, often find that they can eat as much as they want without gaining weight. If they are switching from a diet containing lots of processed foods, they find that they can eat more, yet consume fewer calories. This is because the body recognises these natural foods correctly and becomes full much more quickly. It is easier to overeat processed foods that contain little fibre or natural nutrients.