Sticking to any long-term habit is a struggle on its own, but if you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you know how difficult avoiding comfort foods can be. Staying committed to a healthy diet and exercise is the surest way to keep weight off for life, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use some extra help. These 7 weight loss solutions will keep you motivated until you reach your goal.
1. Use Supplementation
When you reduce your calories, you sometimes lose vitamins and minerals in the process. Don’t forget to take a daily multivitamin filled with iron, iodine, magnesium, calcium, vitamin D, B12, and A because they’re the most common deficiencies. If you’re anemic, you’ll crave more food for energy and likely binge. Supplementation doesn’t have to stop at vitamins; you can also include this thermogenic fat burner and appetite suppressants to expedite weight loss.
2. Don’t Buy Unhealthy Snacks
Never buy any food triggers while at the grocery store because you’re always going to reach for them in a time of need. It’s easy to do this when you live alone, but if you share a roof with a spouse, family members, or roommates, you could struggle in this area. Ask your housemates to keep unhealthy snacks in a place you can’t reach or unlikely to find to deter yourself. When high-calorie foods are out of sight, you can increase your chances of sticking to your diet.
3. Add Exercise to Your Weight Loss Journey
Depending on your weight loss goals, you’ll need to have a massive calorie deficit to lose a pound a week effectively. That can put a lot of stress on your body, but you can eat more calories as long as you work them off. Even adding a 30-minute jog to your day can shave off 300-500 calories, making it easier to add more food to your diet. Plus, exercise and healthy eating complement each other because both provide positive reinforcement for both behaviors.
4. Start With a High-Protein Breakfast
Protein is essential for a successful weight-loss journey because protein helps you feel more full by maintaining stable blood sugar. Don’t just skip breakfast to consume fewer calories! Eating early in the morning warms up your fat-burning engines and helps you eat fewer calories throughout the day. Oatmeal is the best breakfast food for adequate protein. Adding a few berries, nuts, and dates to your oatmeal can give you the best food-start to your day.
5. Research Before Eating Out
Eating out while on a diet can be incredibly stressful because of the limited options some restaurants have to support health. If your friends want to go to a pub, you’ll likely only find greasy, calorie-rich foods with little nutritional value. Even the salads are drenched in dressing! To resist temptation, research the restaurant’s menu before leaving the house. If you can’t find anything that helps you stay on your diet, ask your friends to meet elsewhere.
6. Monitor Your Progress
Gaining weight on a diet can derail your journey and make giving up more likely, but if you monitor your progress in a food diary, it’s easier to see flaws in your program. Sometimes we eat more calories than we think, or we aren’t entirely sure how fattening foods can be. Placing your meals in a diary will also keep you accountable and provides you with daily motivation. Plus, it helps you understand if weight gain is really from calories or from water weight or muscle mass.
7. Have A Accountabilibuddy
Losing weight with a friend isn’t just fun; It’s also proven to improve the possibility of consistent and permanent weight loss significantly. Most of us love a little competition, especially if it’s friendly and supports our own goals. You’ll also have a friend, spouse, or family member that’s on the same journey as you and can help motivate you to get to the gym. Just make sure your accountabilibuddy is reliable, or you may become less motivated from missed gym sessions.