Losing weight can sometimes feel impossible, despite how small or big your fat loss goals are. Exercise is necessary for weight management, but there is so much more to consider to shed some pounds. Even if you don’t have a weight loss plan, breaking a few patterns can start you on that journey. The following are habits that can help you speed up fat loss.
Get enough and quality sleep
Quality sleep greatly impacts your daily food choices. When you are not well-rested, your energy levels go low, causing you to consume high-calorie foods to give you more energy to take you throughout the day.
Getting a good night’s sleep allows you to be fully rested and energized for your daily activities. Practice good sleeping hygiene by maintaining a regular sleep schedule, eating lightly before bedtime, and reducing screen time at night.
Consume a high-protein breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because it sets the course for the rest of your day. A high-protein breakfast can help cut cravings by making you satisfied till lunch instead of reaching for the cookie jar when it’s just mid-morning. Eat a high-protein breakfast instead of normal protein to curb hunger and cravings and reduce weight gain. A high-protein breakfast from sources like nuts, eggs, and chia seeds can decrease ghrelin levels in your body.
Plan your meals
Planning your meals is an effort that helps you make better food choices and ultimately boost weight loss. Instead of having takeout for dinner and lunch, make a healthy home-cooked meal and pack your lunch. Meal planning is associated with a quality diet, food variety, and reduced risk of excess weight gain. Create time to plan your meals at the beginning of the week and leave no room for unhealthy feeding.
Stand more
For many people who have desk jobs, they run the risk of gaining excess weight. Sitting doesn’t use any muscles, but standing requires you to use your muscles for stability. Consider investing in a standing desk or make an effort to stand more frequently when picking phone calls, using the stairs, and walking to colleagues to pass information instead of sending emails.
Moderate portions and track calories
Weight loss is all about creating a calorie deficit. While exercising is an effective way of burning calories, if your diet has more calories than you burn, you will still gain weight. You need to moderate your portions and track your calorie intake while on your weight loss journey. Meal shakes are an easy way to diet as they are high in proteins and vitamins and curb hunger for effective weight loss.
Exercise
Squeeze in some physical activity in your daily schedule, especially in the morning. Include aerobic exercise and resistance training to lose weight and build healthy muscles while sculpting your body for an overall good look. Although you can work out any time of the day, try exercising in the morning to steady your blood sugar levels throughout the day and get your blood pumped for your daily activities.
Fast intermittently
When you’re used to snacking and overeating, breaking that pattern can be challenging. Particular moments of anger, stress, or excitement can cause you to eat more and consume more calories. Fasting intermittently shortens your eating window period so that you fast for 16 hours and have meals during the other 8-hour period. There are many ways to go about intermittent fasting but do not miss breakfast. Drink beverages that suppress your appetites, such as herbal tea and black coffee.
Take green tea
If you’re used to taking tea, milk, or juice for breakfast, switch to green tea. Green tea is a natural supplement that has been proven to speed up weight loss, reduce fat percentage, lower body mass index, and improve the waist-to-hip ratio. One of the reasons green tea is effective is its caffeine content. Although it is no match for coffee, its caffeine content is enough to boost your metabolism.
Green tea’s caffeine increases the heart rate that causes a high-intensity work rate to burn calories, and speed up fat loss. Additionally, green tea contains Catechin – an antioxidant that boosts metabolism and breaks down unwanted fat.
Bottom line
Changing your daily habits can greatly boost your weight loss journey. Break the patterns of mindless feeding by tracking calories and moderating portions, plan your meals to eat nutritious foods, and consume a high-protein breakfast. Take green tea to boost metabolism, exercise regularly, fast intermittently, stand more, and ensure you practice good sleep hygiene for a well-rested night.