With all the diets floating around that claim to result in losing 20+ pounds in a month, to lose a pound a week might not sound worthwhile. But consider that 1 pound per week is over 50 pounds per year. How would you look and feel if you had started a year ago?
To lose "just" a pound a week try to use a few of these ideas each day:
1. Skip lunch and go for a walk. There’s a common misconception that eating 5 or more meals per day speeds up your metabolism and improves weight loss. But research has shown that increased feeding frequency has very little effect on body composition. But taking a 20-30 minute daily walk has numerous health benefits including, of course, burning more calories.
2. Perform 1 hour of housework. Not only will you lose weight, but the house will be cleaner too.
3. Reduce each meal by 25%. If you’re eating out, get a doggie bag. The best exercise for losing weight is pushing yourself away from the table. Avoid being wasteful. Take smaller portions, eat slowly and avoid going back for seconds.
4. Drink regular coffee instead of a latte. If you can’t give up your morning latte, go with skimmed milk and a non-caloric sweetener.
5. Avoid drinking any calories. It’s much easier to drink calories than it is to eat them. Drinking a bottle of Coke or a glass of fruit juice can easily add 150-200 calories to your meal.
6. Replace red meat with fish or chicken. Red meat isn't unhealthy in itself, but watch out for the fattier cuts. To save a few calories chicken and fish are usually leaner. This assumes you’re not adding a high-calorie sauce.
7. Replace rice and potatoes with vegetables. Rice and potatoes aren’t unhealthy. I don't believe in demonising any whole, natural foods, but most vegetables have a lower caloric density, so to lose a pound a week fill up on veggies!
8. Work in the garden for an hour. You'll have the best looking garden in the neighbourhood, and your pants will fit better.
9. Skip the escalator and use the stairs. If you work on the 47th floor, you might climb the stairs to the 5th floor and take the lift the rest of the way.
10. Drop the processed foods. If you limit yourself to foods that at one time flew, swam, ran, grew in the ground, or on a tree or plant, it's hard to be overweight. Man made carbohydrates like bread, pasta, crackers and sweets can really add a lot of calories.
11. Eat a salad before eating your meal. Eating a large salad with low-calorie dressing can fill you up before you get carried away with the rest of your meal.
12. Drink more water. Drinking a glass of water before a meal has been shown to reduce the total amount of food eaten during the meal.
13. Get up and move around for 5 minutes each hour. Studies have shown that you'll actually get more work done if you take a short break each hour. Take a short walk or pick up a dumbbell.
14. Do something else for 15 minutes. When you first get the urge to eat, find something else to do for 15 minutes. You might be surprised how much time goes by before you remember you were hungry.
15. Take a picture of yourself. For some reason that violates the laws of the universe, we all look better in the mirror than we do in a photograph. Take a full-body picture and take a look.
16. Stand up. More offices are moving to standing desks. It's much healthier, better for your posture and burns more calories. You could even try standing at home while watching television.
17. Replace a poor choice with a better choice. Once each day, replace one food you're about to eat with a healthier option.
18. Avoid eating while watching TV. According to scientists, people eat significantly more when watching TV than when sitting at the dinner table without distraction.
19. Sleep for a full 7-8 hours. Those that sleep less tend to eat more.
20. Check the serving size. You might be surprised how small a serving is for certain foods. Limit yourself to a single serving.
So there you have it. Twenty easy ways which, when used consistently, will help you to lose a pound a week. Simple lifestyle tips to help reduce portion sizes, improve your eating and move a bit more.
Losing a pound per week can be easy and painless. By utilising a few of these tips each day, you could find yourself 50 pounds lighter by this time next year. Wowsers!
