Between forced starvation and absolute bans on their favourite foods, it seems that the dieting plans of many dieters are a little on the masochistic side. Though it might surprise many to hear this, dieting doesn’t actually need to be hell.
Provided you know what you are doing, it is possible to shed the pounds without torturing yourself. It’s all about dieting smart rather than dieting hard. Here are six simple tips for doing just that.
Eat Five Meals Per Day
If you want to drop weight, cutting your calories makes sense. Cutting the number of meals that you eat however certainly does not. If anything, you should increase that number.
Provided you keep your portions small, you can easily eat five meals a day and still lose weight. Just calculate what you can eat on a given day and divide it by five. The more you space things out, the less time you are going to feel hungry.
Cut Out Alcohol
If you want to lose weight without starving yourself, alcohol has got to go. Otherwise you will be wasting your daily calorie allowance on something that’s still going to leave you feeling hungry.
Many dieters seem to get it into their heads that alcohol doesn’t count but their bodies disagree. Five hundred calories is five hundred calories regardless of whether they come from three beers or a Big Mac.
Drink Plenty of Water
Unlike alcohol, drinking water while on a diet is essential. Not only is dehydration often misinterpreted as hunger by our brains, it’s also bad for your metabolism.
Aim to drink at least two litres of water per day. Doing so will ensure that your metabolism is burning calories as efficiently as possible. For extra points in the battle against hunger, choose the carbonated variety.
Look Closely at What You Eat
Just because something looks low fat, that doesn’t mean that it actually is. The term low fat is tossed around by marketing execs in an effort to get consumers to purchase their products. It doesn’t actually mean anything.
Before eating anything, always check the nutritional information yourself. You might be surprised by what you find. Fruit juice is a perfect example. If you think it’s a good choice for those on a diet, think again.
Get Plenty of Exercise
You don’t need to hit the gym to lose weight. You also don’t have to take up running. You do however have to get some kind of daily exercise. Aim for thirty minutes of light cardio, at the very minimum.
As you are probably aware, to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you consume. If you are not burning calories with exercise, you’re going to have to limit yourself to ridiculously small amounts. Constant hunger typically follows.
Don’t Push Yourself too Hard
Finally, if you want to set yourself up for failure, the easiest way of doing so is to push yourself too hard. Ambition is nice but slow, steady weight loss is nicer.
- Set small achievable goals.
- Allow yourself a treat once a week.
- Accept that occasional slips do happen.
Andrew Simpson has contributed a number of articles on health and fitness. He is the proud owner of a Fargo gym.