Over the past years, I’ve put together a long list of simple lifestyle changes that combine to form a practical, long-term approach to dieting. Add a few of these changes to your present routine one at a time until they become habit. Before long, you’ll notice better, more lasting results if you truly absorb these changes. Plus, they’ll help jump-start any fast weight lose diet.
Ice cold water: drink an ice-cold glass of water (make it at least a pint) when you first wake up and before each meal. Your body will be forced to raise the water to your body temperature, burning a few extra calories in the process. Plus, it will make you feel fuller when you eat and help keep you properly hydrated.
Add negative calorie foods: there are a handful of foods out there that require more energy to burn than are contained within the foods themselves; i.e. they have a net negative caloric impact. Try adding asparagus, broccoli, blueberries, beets, radishes, cucumbers, strawberries, tomatoes, and similar foods.
Evening lockdown: don’t eat for at least two hours before bedtime, and ideally, in the final three hours that you are awake, consume only fresh vegetables or salad. This is actually easier than it sounds. If you eat dinner at 7:00 PM and go to bed at 11:00 PM, add a small garden salad as an evening snack around 9:00 PM. There’s no sense consuming calories that will not be burned efficiently as your metabolism slows (this is especially true in the winter time).
Drop your cardio: you are probably aware that you burn calories every minute that you are exercising. But when you stop, your metabolism quickly returns to normal. Combat this by engaging in interval training instead of cardio. Interval training can be completed in 15 to 20 minutes and will boost your metabolism for a full 24 hours. Just make sure you exercise. Muscle burns calories, so build muscle to help achieve quick diet loss.
Eat brown foods: try to stay away from processed foods or foods that increase your blood sugar. Whole wheat bread, sweet potatoes, brown rice are good substitutes for white bread, potatoes, and white rice.
3:1 deficit-to-normal ratio: after three days at a caloric deficit, add a normal day. If you’re dieting at a 30 percent deficit for 3 days (e.g. 2400 calorie diet dropping to 1650 calories), make the fourth day a 10 percent deficit. That is, in this example, give yourself an extra 510 calories on every fourth day. This will keep your body guessing.
Remember, for maximum effectiveness, add these habits into your current fast weight loss plan. When you stop dieting, retain these habits for the long-term to help you keep off the weight it took so long to lose.
It’s always easier to maintain than to lose!
About the Author:
I am a preschool and primary school teacher and mum to 3 children. I have been involved in education since 1997 and have trained in a variety of educational specialist areas. It is with this expertise that I write articles to help parents and educators provide quality learning experiences for the children in their care.
