The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that one out of every three Americans are chronically obese, and chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension are rapidly rising. We want to lose weight, however most of us find it difficult to balance work, family, and dieting in our lives. Most people fail at losing weight because they try extreme methods to see results and fail to achieve longevity.
Those dieting plans place too much pressure on the average person; resulting in either yo-yo dieting or a complete weight loss failure altogether. When we crash and relapse on our dieting, we feel defeated psychologically. This, in turn, hurts our state of mind; often resulting in a drop in motivation. The great news is that you don’t have to work all that hard to lose weight in the first place and we are going to show you how you can effectively lose weight without killing yourself.
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Why Eat More And Not Less
I’m not telling you to get that bag of salty potato chips lurking in the cabinet. Instead of punishing yourself by eating less, you need to focus on eating more of the right foods and less of the bad foods that are full of Trans-fats, salt, and sugars.
- Most people are hard wired to only eat three large meals a day and often the evening meal is the heaviest onemeal. This is the exact opposite of what we should naturally do. As of a matter of fact, you should cut dinner out as much as possible since after dinner activities are normally sedentary in nature. Replacing three heavy meals a day for six light snacks throughout the day and finishing eating by 6pm is a more effective way of consuming your daily nutrition.
- It’s important not to skip meals, but if you must: dinner is the meal of the day that you should skip. If you skip other meals you will starve yourself; causing your metabolic rate to decrease and increase the risk of binge eating that night. Make breakfast the high priority meal of the day. It’s the meal that revs up your metabolism for the day and since you will be most active after breakfast you won’t have to worry about it accumulating around your waist.
- Consume plenty of low-calorie foods. Most of these foods are vegetables and actually use more energy to eat and digest than they contain. Such foods like Apples, Celery, Asparagus, Broccoli, and Spinach provide you with vitamins and good nutrients. They also help you burn more calories and all you have to do is eat them to shed the pounds! This is a perfect way to lose weight and burn calories for those of us who are stuck in the office all the time or have an aversion to exercise.
- Avoid or cut down on processed foods. Invest in organic or fresh produce.
Whatever you may do, make a final choice to avoid all prepackaged foods and fast foods. You need to make use of your kitchen and enjoy organic food to get started on the right track to losing weight. These few tips we have outlined are more important than exercise alone. You can exercise day in and day out and still not see results if you don’t change your eating habits first.
Most of us work in a sedentary environment where we sit all day long and stare at a computer screen. Unfortunately this routine; coupled with lunches from the local greasy spoon dubbed “fast food” is killing us slowly. Fortunately you can make this part of the day productive for your weight loss agenda by following some of these easy tips while at work.
Get Off Your Seat And Move!
Sure, most people will roll their eyes and let out a deep sigh when they’re around a co-worker who just can’t sit still for five minutes, but, at the end of the day, who cares?! It will certainly help you to burn calories. As a matter of fact research reveals that sitting up in a stationary position only burns 4% more calories than laying down does. Basically there’s not a lot of difference between laying in your bed and sitting up working at the desk, however by moving your legs, arms, and fingers around periodically throughout the day you burn 54% more calories than laying down which is a massive difference!
Here’s a very useful software that reminds you to take short and long breaks: EyeLeo (it is free and has no spyware/adware!)
Change Your Commuting Style
For those of us who enjoy close access to work, you can leave the car keys at home and walk to work. If the distance is too far for walking, then cycling is the next best thing. A case study from Iowa State University shows that people who walk just 20 minutes a day burn an extra seven pounds of body fat a year. Not only will it painlessly help you lose weight, but it will save you money that can be used to buy organic foods that will help change your dieting habits!
Take the time at work to set a timer that will remind you every hour to get up out of that office chair and move around a bit. You can use a pedometer to track your steps and have fun recording how many steps you can clock in one day. The main trick to losing weight easily at work is by trying to be as active as possible without irritating your colleagues or supervisor. With a little patience and work you can make office time a healthy time of the day.
Some Weight Loss Tips
Now that you know how to lose weight when you’re working in your office, let’s turn our attention towards how you can relax at home but still work towards losing weight. No, we are not going to tell you to invest in a home gym or buy expensive equipment. The methods below will allow you to lose weight while practically watching TV on your sofa!
Chewing on gum
Sounds pretty easy, right? Chewing on gum is a great way to lose weight while doing absolutely nothing at all. Gum is effective because it curbs hunger by tricking your body into thinking it is actually consuming food. Add in the factor that when you chew gum it stimulates the production of saliva, and saliva enzymes aid in breaking down starches and fats. Make sure you only chew sugar-free gum or it defeats the whole purpose.
Coconut Oil Magic
Now any time you hear the word “oil” you probably imagine it is something unhealthy. However, the fact is that although coconut oil is a saturated fat, the fat is 100% organic which means it is better for you! You wouldn’t find anything like this in your TV dinner. How is it different? The saturated fat found in Coconut Oil is called medium chain triglycerides which helps you burn fat in a more productive way. In order to enjoy the full benefit of coconut oil, we recommend that you take one tablespoon of oil twice per day before having your lunch and dinner.
Substitute Your Fizzy Drinks For Milk or Tea!
Each can of fizzy drinks has about 150 calories. How about drinking a can in every meal? That’s 450 calories – avoid them! A glass of milk would be a better choice or, better yet, a cup of tea (learn the amazing benefits of tea here).
Instead of eating the wrong foods, eat foods that help in your weight loss aim. With a little determination and implementing some of these clever tricks, you can shed pounds and not even feel like you are on a diet!