Have you been working hard to lose weight but for whatever reason it keeps coming back? Do you want to know how to lose weight and keep it off? Well, I can let you in on the secret ways to do this. Although, I must admit there is no secret behind this. There is no crazy diets, detox, cleanse, or shakes involved in this weight loss plan. Just plain and simple strategies that can make a HUGE difference for weight loss and maintenance.
If you are tired of crash diet after crash diet that only results in weight gain than keep on reading. These strategies are about being practical. Furthermore, they are strategies that you can follow for the rest of your life. On the other hand, crash diets are called such because they can only be maintained for a brief period. Sure, they help you to lose weight quickly but doesn’t help you to keep it off.
So, if you are frustrated with yo-yo diets and feel defeated that you can’t keep weight off than how about you try something new! If you want in on this life changing concept of how to lose weight and keep it off than allow yourself to try the following strategies!
Use smaller plates and utensils
This strategy is so simple and easy to put in place. Instead of using your typical dinner sized plates and adult size utensils, opt for the lunch or appetizer sized plates and smaller utensils. With smaller dishes it allows for less food on your plate yet tricks your brain into thinking you are eating lots because the plate appears full. As for the smaller utensil, this allows for you to eat smaller bites which slows down eating and gives your brain more time to tell you when you are full.
Set a timer
We are all guilty of rushing through our meals for one reason or another. Heck, there are days when I stand through most of my meal because I’m running around trying to make sure my kids are fed. With that said, most times we don’t even realize how quickly we are eating. As a result, we are likely to overeat. To combat this issue, try setting a timer when you eat. Set it for at least 20 minutes and be sure to not be finished your meal until the timer goes off. This will allow you to pace yourself. Additionally, it will ensure that you eat mindfully and savour all that delicious food you are eating.
Don’t deprive yourself (everything in moderation)
As much as it isn’t healthy to regularly indulge in our guilty pleasures, it also isn’t healthy to deprive ourselves completely of these items. My rule of thumb with this is to always eat in moderation. The more you deprive yourself of something the more forbidden it becomes. Consequently, you are more likely to binge eat these guilty pleasures because you’ve been craving them for so long! The key here is to allow yourself permission to eat these pleasures so that they are no longer “guilty pleasures” if you eat them mindfully and in moderation.
Hydrate
This is by far the easiest strategy out there! Drink H2O EVERY SINGLE DAY! Try a glass as soon as you wake up in the morning before food or caffeine. Have it before, during and after your meals. Finally, before reaching for snacks drink water first to ensure that you aren’t in fact dehydrated as opposed to hungry. If water is difficult for you to drink that add some fruit and herbs to add some flavour!
Cut back slowly
If you are used to large portion sizes that it would be completely unrealistic to go from extra large to extra small. Thus, slowly reduce portion sizes week by week so the change isn’t as drastic. This will also allow your stomach and brain adjust to the difference as you go along.
Leave extra food off the kitchen table at mealtime
Are you a sucker for going for seconds and thirds at mealtime? The best strategy for this challenge is to simply leave the extra food off the kitchen table and in the oven/elements instead. Out of sight out of mind, right? It also creates an added intentional step of getting up from the table and going to get more which ultimately reduces your chances of doing so. For convenience we tend to bring all the extra helpings of food to the table so people can serve themselves without getting up. So, let’s make things a little more inconvenient for the sake of your health!
Make small changes
Look for areas in your eating where you can make minor tweaks or changes. Trust me, this will add up! For example, if you go through the Tim Horton’s drive-thru everyday for a large double-double coffee, that is an extra 250 calories (as per Tim Horton’s nutrition value information here) per day that can be adjusted. If you consider moving to a medium double-double, that would save 50 calories every day. Once you adjust to that, maybe you can consider switching to a regular medium coffee which is only 100 calories saving you a total of 150 calories per day. I must stress, I always advise against counting calories however, my point here that cutting down on size or cutting back a little with add-ons are small yet realistic changes that are very beneficial in the long run!
Plate portion
Does your plate consistently look like the one below at meal time? Well guess what? It should! Go ahead and take a closer look. Half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables. You read that correctly, HALF OF YOUR PLATE! Therefore, aim to achieve a plate like the one below for breakfast, lunch and dinner in order to consume the proper nutrients and measurement of food groups to maintain your energy all day long.
Exercise
This may or may not be obvious to you but exercise is a crucial way to lose weight and keep it off. It most certainly needs to go hand in hand with healthy eating but you need to get moving in order to make weight loss easier. Through my years in the health profession, I’ve had so many clients who really struggled to fit exercise into their life whether it be because of time or simply because they didn’t enjoy it. The video below called 23 and 1/2 hours by Dr. Mike Evans really resonated with me and many of my clients about the importance of exercise. Please watch below!
For more healthy strategies check out my post on How to Prevent Emotional Eating and How to Satisfy Sweet Cravings without Sabotaging your Diet
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Cheers to a healthier you!
Tricia
xoxo