7 Secrets of Successful Weight Loss

If you want to successfully lose weight, there are several steps that you can take to ensure you get to the body weight you desire. It will take some effort and willpower, but I know that you will agree it is worth the effort!

1. Eat more fresh vegetables and fresh fruit every day. Fresh vegetables and fruit add important vitamins and fiber to your diet and tend to make you feel full. When you are full you are much less tempted to eat more. When you eat processed foods you are not giving your body the fiber that it requires. Protein is digested slower than carbohydrates, so it takes fewer calories to make you feel full. Fiber actually slows digestion and absorbs water in your stomach, giving you that feeling of being full.

2. Instead of eating 3 large meals per day, eat several small meals a day. Studies show eating several small meals actually increases your metabolic rate, increases your energy and decreases your appetite. Most importantly, do not eat anything 3 hours before bedtime.

3. Don’t starve yourself! Studies show that by starving yourself you do lose weight, but you are losing up to 50% of that weight loss from muscle tissue. You are actually slowing your metabolism down and not burning any fat.

4. Eat slowly and enjoy the taste of your food. When you eat fast you are just filling yourself up quickly and you don’t realize it until you are stuffed. By eating slowly you are giving your body a chance to say “hey, I’ve had enough”. By eating healthy snacks during the day you won’t be so hungry that at meal time you feel you have to eat a lot of food as quickly as you can.

5. Drinking water maybe one of the most important parts of weight loss. You should try and drink 8 glasses of water per day, everyday. Water has no fat, no calories, no cholesterol and is low in sodium. Drinking plenty of water also helps your body metabolize fat by flushing the kidneys of body fat and body muscle during fat loss. Water works as an excellent appetite suppressant by filling you up and making you feel full when you are hungry. Besides some studies show that drinking water may even help you burn a few more calories each day.

6. Get exercise everyday, whether it is weight training or aerobics. When you are dieting your metabolism tends to slow down. Exercise helps you increase your metabolism. When you increase your metabolism you are burning more calories and loosing weight faster. The other positive effect of exercise are the endorphins that are released. These are chemicals that keep you feeling good.

7. This is mostly common sense, but here are a couple of foods to avoid:

Simple sugars- the type in cookies and candy bars. It has zero nutritional value and spikes your blood sugar level up and then shortly after you crash, you feel tired and lethargic.

White flour- all nutrients are removed during bleaching. Then it is enriched with vitamins by the processors. This leaves you with a feeling similar to the effects of the simple sugar.

Processed foods- are carbohydrates. Carbohydrates metabolize faster than proteins and also can leave you feeling tired and lethargic.

By following these 7 steps you should be able to successfully lose body fat and you will be well on your way to your ideal weight. Besides feeling good about yourself, you will be living a healthier life style. So don’t you agree, it is worth the effort!