Aching to lose weight and don't know how to start? You've come to the right place. Here are 20 tips to help get you through one of life's most oft repeated struggles - the Fight Against Fat.
1. Have you tried to give up sugar and havent succeeded? Instead of forbidding yourself certain foods - just eat less of them. If you must have sugar in your tea, cut it down from two spoons to one.
2. Ever notice how if you eat when you're ravenous, you tend to overeat? So try eating more regularly, even if it means more frequently. Eat an average of 5 small meals a day, instead of 2 or 3 large ones, where you stuff yourself.
3. Be conscious about what you eat. Keep a food diary and note down everything you eat. You may be shocked at the results.
4. Eat or snack only on the dinner table, not on the couch in front of your television. Once you make a policy out of this, you'll cut down on snacks tremendously. Don't get too comfortable while eating. Its always better to eat on the go. Always sit straight on the chair.
5. Make rules for yourself. If you experience cravings, give yourself ten minutes before you attack the refrigerator. In most cases, the craving would just die down and you'd walk away.
6. Drink a lot of water. This reduces hunger pangs and gives you more energy.
7. When you decide to finally attack your weight problem, you want it gone by the weekend. But realise that that is just not a realistic approach. If you want it off permanently, you've got to take it slow. It may even take up to a year to get to your desired weight - that's fine, because you've got more of a chance of maintaining it.
8. Join an aerobics class. It's more disciplined and it's always better to work out in a group.
9. Stay busy. Don't just sit around wasting time. Chances are your mind will wander to that delicious chocolate cake Partake in activities that are not conducive to eating. Join a singing class, take up oil painting or gardening - cultivate a hobby.
10. If you have to snack, try this. Put your hand in the packet of wafers and take out a fistful. Finish off whatever you get your hands on - and that's it.
11. Don't stack up on fattening yummy foods. Its easiest to control food intake if you just don't have it around. If you feel like chocolate cake, buy a pastry so it doesn't hang out in the refrigerator all week till you polish it off. Similarly, don't keep tubs of ice cream in the freezer. Buy a cup or two and eat it when the mood strikes.
12. When you reach for the refrigerator, stop and question yourself. Are you just bored or are you really hungry? In most of the cases the answer will be the former.
13. Stick little post-it notes on the refrigerator saying, Stop! Or Reach for a glass of water.
14. Buy clothes a size smaller and work towards fitting into them.
15. Don't beat yourself up or lose heart just because you've slipped up a few times. You need to keep a positive outlook and keep encouraging yourself.
16. Visualise how you will look without those extra kilograms.
17. Take up yoga.
18. Find new and different ways to measure how far you've come. Don't just stick to the weighing scale. Scout around in your cupboard and try on old clothes that are big for you're excellent motivation.
19. Find a partner to work out with or to support you. Enlist the help of a friend and go for activities that don't involve snacking. Take up tennis, go cycling don't just meet friends over lunch or dinner.
20. Get motivated. No one is going to lose your weight for you. You're going to have to do it all by yourself, and if the motivation doesn't come from within you, no amount of friends and family pushing you to lose weight is going to help.
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