Healthy, sustainable weight loss goes hand in hand with lasting, healthy lifestyle changes. There is no need to cycle through all the fad diets and yo-yo up & down with your weight.
By making a few changes to your daily lifestyle, you can make great progress toward achieving your weight loss goals. All it takes is effort and commitment from you.
Sleep
Between 6-8 hours of sleep per night is optimal. In relation to weight loss, the rest & recovery helps to remove stresses in your daily life (physical and psychological) than can enhance your weight loss as well as generally helping you to feel better.
For anyone not getting enough sleep, not only do you live in a state of tiredness but you’re more likely to feel hungry, over eat and gain weight. More often than not, you will reach for the sugary calorie filled snacks to give yourself a boost throughout the day.
On top of that being tired will likely stop you from working out.
One thing we encourage our clients to do is to work out a regular bedtime routine to help you relax and get ready for a restful night’s sleep. For some it’s having a meal with the family, having a hot bath and then having some quiet time reading before going to bed. For others it’s about noting down things they need to do the following day so that they don’t think about them when they go to bed. Whatever your routine, try to stick with it each day and aim to increase your sleep a little each night…..you’ll be surprised the difference and extra 30mins of sleep will make.
Down time and Physical Activity
Weight loss is about burning more calories than you consume so it makes perfect sense that nutrition and exercise go hand in hand. To accelerate weight loss, add or increase the amount and intensity of physical activity in your daily life.
For many people this is the most difficult lifestyle change of all but the benefits are well work it. Aim for 30 to 60 minutes of intense exercise on most days of the week. When exercise is a normal part of your everyday routine you’re more likely to stick to it.
Why not start using your down-time more productively? Yes, we all need time to unwind after a busy day but sitting down watching TV isn’t going to help you lose weight but exercising can certainly help you to relax and lose weight.
Start by adding in 30mins of activity instead of getting home and watching TV. It can be anything but choose something fun that you will enjoy – take the dog out, go to a gym class, kick a football round the park with your kids, do a bodyweight work out, go for a bike ride, try a new sport…
Honestly, it can be anything so long as it’s active. Your options are endless.
Eat Breakfast
It is true – breakfast is important. Many people skip breakfast in an attempt to cut calories and lose weight quickly. This plan often backfires as they feel very hungry by mid-morning and reach for a calorie packed snack; which is usually followed by over eating at lunch as they still feel hungry.
Fit breakfast into your morning routine – it doesn’t take long to boil a couple of eggs or to make a bowl of oat or to grab some fresh Greek yogurt and fruit. Not convinced? Studies show that people who make time a habit of eating breakfast lose weight and keep the weight off.
Liquid Calories
What do fizzy drinks, fruit juice, fancy coffee’s and alcohol have in common? They all contain calories. When your goal is weight loss you have to remember the calories consumed in liquid form; your weight goals may remain out of reach until you reduce these drinks.