Essential Takeaways
- Walk Daily: Walking burns as many calories as jogging over distance. Aim for 1 hour daily, even in short bursts.
- Shop on Foot: Walking to the shops adds extra exercise to your routine and helps keep you active.
- Jog or Run: Running needs no equipment and burns calories faster than walking, making workouts more efficient.
- Lift Weights: Strength training builds muscle, boosts metabolism, and improves overall fitness.
- Spend Time in Nature: Outdoor activities enhance mental health, reduce stress, and improve physical well-being.
- Prioritise Sleep: Good sleep is essential for recovery, energy levels, and overall health.
- Manage Stress: Reduce stress through mindfulness, exercise, and relaxation techniques.
- Avoid Fad Diets: Sustainable, healthy eating habits are better than restrictive dieting.
- Eat Healthy Foods: Focus on whole, nutrient-rich foods to fuel your body and maintain a balanced diet.
- More Tips Inside: Discover more lifestyle changes for long-term health and wellness.
There are 2 ways to effectively improve health and fitness, which are: to be more active and to eat healthy foods. However, many small lifestyle adjustments are needed to really make a permanent change. Here is our list of the most important changes that you can make. We have divided the 50 tips into Lifestyle Changes, Healthy Foods Choices, Rules For Getting Fit and the Root Causes of Weight Gain.
10 Lifestyle Changes
1. Walk – Get More Active
Walking is an excellent form of exercise and over a set distance you burn just as many calories as jogging. Try to walk for at least 1 hour every day. This can be split up, say four 15 minutes walks per day. Read our walking guide.
2. Shop on Foot
Shopping on foot can burn a lot of calories. If you spend Saturday afternoon wandering around the shops you may cover several miles in total and you may walk for almost an hour when you go shopping. Plus the work effort involved in carry bags of shopping will increase the energy you burn. Shop ’til you drop (weight)!
3. More Intensive Exercise
Whether it is sweating down the gym, walking to and from work or a weekly five-a-side tournament, experts agree that physical activity increases your energy and stamina. Make an effort to exercise at least 3 times a week, but ideally exercise every single day.
Increasing the amount of exercise you do does not mean joining a gym, you can walk more everyday, go running, cycling, swimming or play more sports. When it comes to exercising, you should ensure that you put all your energy into it. Research has shown that short periods of highly intensive exercise are just as effective, if not more so, than long periods of slow exercise. Look at our fitness section.
4. Jog and Run for Health
Jogging and running is still a great way to exercise and lose weight. The best thing about jogging is that you need no equipment, just an open space in which to run. The advantage of jogging or running over walking is simply that the exercise is completed quicker.
5. Lift Weights
Weight training is very effective in helping you to lose weight. Muscle requires a lot of energy to be maintained, so by building more muscle, you raise your metabolism and burn more fat, even when you are watching television or sleeping! Read our Beginners Weight Training guide.
If you do not want to lift weights, then using a cross trainer / elliptical trainer and increasing the resistance is a great way to work your muscles harder. One classic mistake that many people make is trying to lose stomach fat by exercising just the stomach. This is termed spot reduction, and spot reduction of fat is impossible. Full body workouts are required.
6. Get Back to Nature
Tending to plants in the garden burns a lot of calories, and growing your own fruit and vegetables is a great way to get organic food. Digging over the earth, sowing seeds and weeding all burn up lots of energy. If you do not have a garden then seek some healthy outdoor activities in your area. Make an effort to get back to nature for a few hours at the weekend. You could even join a boot camp fitness class!
7. Get More Sleep
Rest is essential and many people do not get enough sleep. When you are tired you are far more likely to snack on sugary foods. Also research has shown that not getting enough sleep can affect the way the body stores fat. When you are in bed sleeping you are not eating from boredom!
Make sure you follow consistent sleep patterns – go to bed and wake up at similar times each day to get your body into a routine. Getting more sleep has other health benefits too, such as increasing weight loss and reducing heart disease risk. Also, if you are exercising then good quality sleep is vital to speed up tissue repair and growth – more sleep helps to make you fitter and stronger. Read our article on The Relationship Between Sleep, Health and Body Weight.
8. Manage Your Stress
When you are bombarded with stressful situations it is hard not to let it get on top of you. Make sure you can manage your stress and take some time out for yourself, so it doesn’t affect your health. High stress levels sap your energy sources by affecting your sleep and weakening your immune system. The less energy you devote to stress, the more you will have for the things you enjoy. Read our guide to Stress, Your Health and Your Weight.
9. Do Not Go On a Fad Diet
Many people try fad diet plans to lose weight. These invariably fail in the long term and the short term weight loss is often little more than a reduction in the amount of water that your muscles are storing and a reduction in total muscle mass.
The main problem with diets that just involve restricting calories is that your body goes into a starvation mode, whereby your metabolism slows down (when losing weight you want it to speed up) and rather than burning fat your body uses up muscle tissue instead.
As soon as the fad diet is finished and you revert to your previous lifestyle, all the weight comes back. Often any fat that is lost accumulates very quickly. The body overcompensates for what was lost and the end result is often weight gain. Learn more by reading Dangerous Diets, or read our healthy eating guide.
10. Prepare Your Own Meals
Learning the cook healthy meals is a vital part of health and fitness. A reliance on processed foods, ready meals and snacks is one of the main reasons why so many people are out of shape today.
20 Healthy Foods Choices
By eating fat burning foods, not only do you improve your chances of burning fat, but you also fuel your body to help build more muscle.
So, if you are serious about losing weight then ensure that you are eating some of these fat burning foods every day. Healthy, lean protein is vital to athleticism and fitness, learn more.
11. Eat More Fish
Fish is a very healthy source of protein. Salmon is great for our brains and contains essential fats. Diets high in Omega 3 fatty acids have been shown to improve weight loss.
Also, liptin that is present in fish alters your metabolism to increase the chance of using stored fat for fuel. Ideally you should eat salmon or trout 3 or 4 times a week. Seafood and fish are great protein sources.
Sardines contain an amino acid called tyrosine which promotes the manufacture of norepinephrine and dopamine. These stimulants act on your brain to improve your mental focus and performance. Other lean protein foods containing tyrosine include lean beef, chicken, turkey, pork tenderloin and shellfish. One hundred grams of sardines in tomato sauce provide 177 calories, no carbohydrate, 17.8g protein and 11g fat.
12. Eat Soup To Stay Full
Soup is a fantastic way to lose weight, and the winter months make it more appealing too. A study published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Deitetics showed that on average men that ate soup 5 days or more a week had a body mass index of 23. This is an ideal bodyweight for a lean man with average build.
13 Beans, a Fibrous Way to Melt Away the Fat
Beans are great, especially kidney beans. So chili-con-carne with a large serving of kidney beans makes a good weight loss meal. Kidney beans can stop carbs from breaking down into sugar, which slows digestion. This in turn prevents carbs from converting to fat.
14. Yogurt
Yogurt helps to increase lipolysis (fat burning), but you need to eat at least 3 servings a day to see results. In a study carried out by the University of Tennessee, men that ate a fat free yogurt diet lost 81% more stomach fat than the non-yogurt eaters. The high calcium and protein properties make it a great weight loss aid.
Yogurt is also rich in magnesium, which activates enzymes in the body to metabolize protein and carbohydrates. Magnesium is vital to energy release as it transfers the key phosphate molecule to adenosine triphosphate, the explosive energy source you use when lifting weights. One hundred grams of low-fat yogurt contains 56 calories, 5.1 g protein, 7.5 g carbohydrate and 0.5 g fat. A word of caution though; Can Greek-Style Yogurt Aid Weight Loss?
15. Drink Milk and Whey
Whey protein is one of the most popular supplements for bodybuilders. In fact, it helps to strip away fat as well as build muscle. The University of Toronto found that men that drank two whey protein shakes a day would eat on average 200 calories less than other men. Also the men on the whey protein diet increased muscle mass by 8% and lost 3% more fat than the non-wheyers. Consider following a Whey Protein and Amino Acid Diet Plan.
16. Low Fat Milk
If you are not building muscle then full fat milk may contain too much energy. Replacing a full fat latte with a skinny latte will save you a lot of calories and likewise having a low fat milk with your breakfast cereal will also help.
17. Red Hot Chili Peppers Diet
The hotter the chili the greater the fat burning potential. Chilies contain capsaicin, which not only protects against prostate cancer and maintains a healthy heart, but also increases metabolism so much that it strips fat off. If you want super hot, go for Scotch Bonnets or Bird’s Eye chilies.
18. Eat Oats
Oats are low on the glycemic index as they contain a lot of fiber, which means that your body gets a steady stream of energy rather than a flash flood. They also contain energizing and stress-reducing B vitamins that help to break down carbohydrates into usable energy. Other low-glycemic carbohydrates include whole-grain bread, brown rice and high-fiber cereal containing bran. One hundred grams of oatmeal provides 385 calories, 68g carbohydrate, 11.8g protein and 7.3g fat. Buy our Low Gi eBook.
19. Cereals and Dried Fruits
Breakfast cereals such as Weetabix, Shreddies, oats and muesli all help to keep weight down. A study by the National Weight Control Registry found that people that lost weight and kept the weight off were more likely to eat breakfast cereals rather than any other breakfast.
Cereals release energy slowly, meaning that you are less likely to snack on junk foods before lunch. Add a generous helping of milk to feel fuller longer.
20. Eat Cottage Cheese
A favorite of bodybuilders and athletes. 200g of cottage cheese contains as much protein as a small steak, and it also contains casein.
This means that cottage cheese is a slow digesting food, meaning that you are less likely to overeat later in the day if you eat cottage cheese for lunch. It also makes a great snack if you have an intense training schedule.
21. Grapefruit for Sharp Weight Loss
Finally some fruit! The 5 a day rule is healthy, but does not generally help us to keep the fat off. Ideally you should eat one and a half grapefruits a day, split into 3 snacks.
Grapefruits are high in vitamin C, which actually dilutes fat, making it easier the flush fat from your system. Researchers at Louisiana State University found that people who ate grapefruits regularly lost on average 4 pounds more over a 12 week period than other diets.
22. Coffee to Increase Energy
The caffeine in coffee blocks a chemical called adenosine that otherwise interferes with energy-boosting neurotransmitters. A mug or two per day can be beneficial but any more than this may trigger withdrawal symptoms, one of which is fatigue. Remember to drink additional water as caffeine has a mild diuretic effect.
23. Lentils are not just for Vegetarians
Lentils are a great source of both carbohydrate and protein. They are also high in B vitamins, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, calcium and copper. Lentils are also low in fat and calories. If you don’t eat beans often, start with a small portion or you’ll experience the flatulence factor and end up dining alone. Some other good choices include navy beans, chickpeas and kidney beans. One hundred grams of boiled lentils provides 199 calories, 17.5g carbohydrate 7.6g protein and 0.4g fat.
Read Why Vegan Athletes Keep Winning to learn more about a healthy vegan diet..
24. Bananas, An Athletes Favorite Energy Snack
Bananas are packed with “easily digested sugars and potassium, which help to maintain normal nerve and muscle function. Potassium isn’t stored for long in the body and levels can drop during times of stress or during strenuous exercise, when it’s lost through excessive sweating. 1 medium banana contains 105 calories, 27g carbohydrate, 1g protein and 0.5g fat.
Take a look at our banana smoothie recipes: 10 Banana Smoothies to Keep You Running
25. Chocolate to Help Digestion
The feel-good factor in chocolate comes from certain bioactive compounds such as tyramine and phenylethylamine, according to a study in the Journal Of Food Science. Chocolate has also been credited with combating anaemia, awakening the appetite, aiding digestion and improving longevity. Of course the sugar, fat and calories mean it should be consumed in moderation. Dark chocolate has the fewest calories and the most antioxidants. Half of a 50g fruit and nut chocolate bar contains 240 calories, 27g carbohydrate, 3.9g protein and 9g fat.
26. Eat Lean Meat
Strict low-fat diets are often iron deficient. Iron is a component of haemoglobin and when stores are depleted, the cells in your body slowly suffocate and burn carbohydrates inefficiently. Consequently, you feel sluggish, can’t concentrate and are exhausted after minimal effort. Red meat delivers the most accessible form of iron, so a high-quality steak once-a-week will ensure that iron levels stay healthy. One hundred grams of top sirloin steak provides 229 calories, no carbohydrates, 29g protein and 11.5g fat. Lean meat is a recommended protein source.
27. Eat More Nuts
Not all fats are created equal. While almonds are high in fat, it is the monosaturated variety which provides high-powered fatty acids known as omega-3s and omega-6s. These promote an alert mental state. The saturated fats found in butter and cheese, on the other hand, make you lethargic by lowering the amount of oxygen being pumped around in your bloodstream. 12 almonds provide 83 calories, 3g carbohydrate, 3g protein and 7g fat.
The classic party nut. Pistachios are high in lean protein and they also curb the effect of carbs on your blood sugar. This means that eating pistachios helps to keep your waist slim. These make an ideal snack.
28. Drink Less Alcohol
As well as the long term damage alcohol does to the liver it also stops you from burning fat. When you drink alcohol your body starts to metabolize it, as alcohol is a form of energy. While your body is using the alcohol all other metabolism is put on hold, so you do not burn sugar or fats for energy. So although you do not gain weight from alcohol itself (there is no way for the body to store alcohol) it causes weight gain because the body uses less sugar for energy, which is therefore stored. Alcohol also disrupts healthy hormone function, which further hampers fitness and weight loss. See British Celebs Stay Slim By Avoiding Alcohol.
29. Give Up Bread
Most people grab a sandwich when they are feeling a bit hungry. Many have toast for breakfast. Add a pizza in the evening and all this bread contains a huge amount of calories. It also has mostly “empty calories”, meaning that the energy is not combined with nutrients and vitamins. Give up bread for a week and you will see a difference.
30. Drink plenty of water
Mild dehydration can affect your mental and physical performance. A loss of just one per cent of your body’s water stores can cause you to feel sluggish. Make sure you drink at least eight to ten glasses of water a day and more during hot weather and when exercising.
Water makes it possible for your body to digest, absorb and transport nutrients. It also helps to regulate body temperature. When you’re dehydrated, your cells receive nutrients for energy less efficiently, and your body can’t properly expend heat through sweating. Both conditions lead to fatigue. Aim to drink eight to ten glasses of water every day and more when exercising.
It is important to remember that alcohol and caffeine both act as diuretics, which mean that if you drink these then you will urinate more and become more dehydrated. Water really is the best drink you can have for your health.
5 Rules For Getting Fit
Fitness is all about good planning.
31. Know That You Can Do It
And never give up! If you do not believe in yourself you will not be able to achieve your desired results. There will be days when you feel close to giving up, but be determined to fight back. You can do it.
If you are like most other people, a key reason for wanting to change is to look better. Place a picture of how you currently look somewhere that you will be able to see on a daily basis. This picture should provide you with additional motivation to follow this program. Or post a photo to your training log, so that others can see your progress, and give advice and encouragement.
32. Goal Setting
How can you get somewhere if you don’t know where you are heading? Share your fitness goals with others, that way people can provide you with greater support. New Year is a good time to readdress what your goals are. Resolve to get fit and healthy. This should include a list of things you wish to achieve (your goals) and ideally something about how you will work towards your goals.
Remember those resolutions you made? Maybe by the summer you may have forgotten why you are exercising every day! Write down the reasons why you are following your fitness program and put them on your Facebook page so that everyone can see them – and hopefully remind you too.
After each month, compare your results against what you had in your original goals. Be critical of your own progress, but also be realistic. You will not always fulfil your goals, but it is better to aim high, and work hard, than to give yourself a task that is too easy. Challenge yourself.
33. Check Your Progress
Place a calendar on your fridge. Mark a back slash on the days that you followed your diet without cheating. Make a forward slash on the days that you trained. If you trained and followed a good diet on a given day, you should have an X marked on that day. Remember, long-term fitness and health comes one day at a time.
Take pictures of yourself every month and place them next to the before picture. This is to keep reminding yourself why you are doing this and also get motivated by seeing the progress that you are achieving.
34. Plan Your Meals
Remember to prepare all your meals the day before, so that when you are at work, you already have all of the food that you will need for the day with you. That way you limit the amount of times you’ll be tempted. Being prepared really is one of the most important factors in successful weight loss. Without a plan all good intentions end in chaos.
Keep your house free from any foods that are not good for your program. Only on Sundays can you bring these foods in the house. Hide your junk food away where you cannot see it – sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective.
35. Remember That Your Are In Control
Remember that only you control what goes in your mouth and how active you are. Food does not control you and your feet do not control you. You think, therefore you are. Think yourself fit – eat healthy, exercise often.
Understand the 10 Root Causes of Weight Gain
In the technical or business world whenever a serious problem arises analysts work hard to determine the root cause of the problem, so that it can not only be put right, but also it does not happen again. So we at MotleyHealth.com have taken this same approach to the obesity and weight gain problem. The serious problem is weight gain, so what is the root cause?
The seemingly logical answer is that people are putting on more weight than ever before because of lack of exercise and poor diet. This is only partially true though. If these were the only problems, why do so many people fail to lose weight?
The real reason why people fail to lose weight is because of the lack of will power. You may want to lose weight, but unfortunately your mind has other ideas, as it continues to wanting to eat more food just in case of a future disaster. So, how do you learn to overcome your natural desire to eat too much food? Just follow our rules based on the root cause analysis of weight gain.
36. Not Eating When Hungry
It is important that you learn to eat whenever you are hungry. This is counter-intuitive, but one of the main reasons you put on weight is because you binge on sugar-laden foods when you get hungry. The way to avoid this situation happening is to not allow yourself to get so hungry that you act irrationally.
Of course, this does not mean that you can eat all the time. The trick is to not starve yourself while at the same time not overeating. It is a careful balancing act, balancing your nutritional needs and your mental desires. If you consume small, planned meals throughout the day as part of a nutrition program, while also doing plenty of exercise, you can avoid getting hungry and therefore avoid binge eating.
If you do not think that this is possible, watch how a child eats. Children only eat when they need to eat, and then will only eat enough to fill them. You cannot even force a child to eat food that they do not want, but as an adult you eat food that you do not need. Be like a child, eat when hungry, but only what you need.
37. Emotional Eating
Emotional eating comes in many forms, but it is most common when you are feeling depressed or suffering from anxiety. Although some people stop eating when stressed, many others will combat their emotional turmoil with food. It is when you are stressed that you become weak and your natural desires start to take over. How many times have you grabbed a packet of biscuits and convinced yourself that “only 1 biscuit won’t hurt” and then go on to eat half the packet?
These events almost always occur when you have just had a stressful experience, either a bad day at work or an argument with a partner. Somehow our subconscious knows we are in a weakened state and tricks the conscious mind into having “just one” biscuit. Why? Well, the brain feeds on sugar and that is the real reason why we crave sugar.
So, how can you overcome this? The easiest way is to plan your kitchen better and also put up notices. For instance, place all the bad foods (check the glycemic index for information on what is bad, bearing in mind high sugar content is the biggest problem) into a separate cupboard. Put all your cookies and chips away in a tin and write a label on top of the tin that says “Come back again in 10 minutes if you really want one”. A child will not bother reading the note, but it could well save you from binge eating.
Another way to help prevent any form of binge eating is to ensure that there are healthy grabs and good foods available. So, always have fresh fruits and salad items that you can eat instead if you really feel the need to snack. Instead of grabbing cookies, toast and ice-cream when upset grab the carrots and humus dip or chopped pineapple and banana.
38. Not Eating What You Want
This is a somewhat controversial approach to weight loss, but it can be very effective. The idea is simply that people that are of a naturally healthy weight do not deprive themselves of treats. The reason why they do not put on weight is because they never overindulge. It is OK to have some cookies, chocolate cake, ice-cream, beer or even white bread every now and then. You give yourself these as treats though.
Do not fall into the trap of having whole days where you treat yourself, or even 2 days in a row of small treats. Limit yourself to once a week at most where you can have your favorite treats, such as a piece of chocolate brownie with your meal on Saturday night or a bacon sandwich on Friday morning.
The trick is to learn when a treat becomes an obsession. Some children are given “occasional treats” by adults, but adults who lack self discipline often treat themselves several times a day!
39. Not Questioning Your Reasons for Eating
This is another method for overcoming your instinct to eat. Every time you are about to eat something, ask yourself if your are really hungry, or do you just want to change the way you feel. The most important question is:
Am I really hungry or do I want to change how I feel?
So often people eat because it is the time to do so. It is “lunchtime”, “dinner time”, “supper” or because friends and family are also eating. A very common reason people give for eating when not hungry is simply because they just felt that they should eat something. Not because they need to eat, but because it is a designated feeding time. We are not animals in the zoo, we should not have to follow strict feeding times.
40. You Do Not Think About Your Food
Thinking about what you are eating will help you to control your food intake. Overweight people are thinking about food all the time, except when they are eating. While eating the mind goes blank, almost into a trance, until all the food is gone. Why is this?
When you eat, a hormone called serotonin is released making you feel happy and wanting to carry on eating. The effect this has is that when you eat quickly you ignore the signal from your body to stop eating when you have eaten enough which results in overeating and then bloating.
By thinking about your food as you eat, you naturally slow down, chew more and feel full at the right time. One trick is to put your knife and fork down while you are chewing, or if eating a sandwich, put it down too. Look at your food as you eat it, think about the food, its texture and the way it makes you feel. Savor it. And chew your food up to 20 times before swallowing it.
It is important not to eat while watching television, reading, drinking or working, as these all distract you from the food. The purpose of this is to teach yourself to eat slower all the time. The longer you practice this method of eating the easier it will become and in time you will naturally eat less because you will want less.
41. When You Are Full You Carry on Eating
So often people feel the need to finish their dinner. As children we are conditioned by our parents to “eat it all up”. Parents are often so concerned about children not eating enough that they end up encouraging their children to eat too much. Adults are literally programming their children to eat more than they need, to eat more than they want, and to eat faster and ignore their own natural body signals to stop eating.
To reverse this you must learn that it is OK to leave some food on your plate. If you have a sandwich, or pizza or bowl of pasta then you should not feel that you have to finish it. Food actually keeps in the fridge much better than most people think. If you cannot finish it today, eat it tomorrow. Save money and lose weight!
42. You Do Not Taste Your Food
This is a fun experiment that you can try. In a study a few years ago researchers found that when people we blindfolded they ate about 25% less than normal. Why? Because by not being able to see how much food they had eaten, or how much food was left on the plate, their only indication as to how much food they had had was by how they felt. More often than not, people felt full enough to stop eating long before finishing the food on their plate.
By being blind folded you are also more aware of the taste and texture of the food. Some people actually found that they disliked their usual daily meal when blindfolded. A classic example is the full cooked breakfast. In the study when subjects were sat down with their usual sausages, bacon, fried eggs, baked beans, hash browns, toast and ketchup, but then blindfolded, many found that the food was too salty and stodgy for their taste. Even though they had been eating this very meal every day for years.
Quite simply we have learned to ignore our natural body signals that tell us if we need food, or even like food, or not. By being blindfolded we can learn to start listening to our body response to food again and not just going with the flow out of habit. To lose weight you must learn to break old habits.
43. You Punish Yourself Over Mistakes
Often people are so serious about losing weight that if they miss a workout or allow their diet to lapse they punish themselves emotionally. If you slip up you have not failed. Learn to forgive yourself and move on, carry on with the plan.
44. You Are Not Drinking Enough Water
If there is one magic weight loss elixir, then it is water. Water is really the only liquid you should drink in large amounts on any day. Black coffee is good for a caffeine boost to help increase your workout performance. Water should be drunk the rest of the time.
Fruit juices are high in sugar and your body does not react differently to sugar from fruit juice to that of sugar from candy. Sugar is processed and turned to fat if it is not used as energy. So do not drink those healthy fruit juices, as you should be getting enough vitamins and nutrients from your healthy diet. All juice just adds to more sugar.
Also, many people mistake thirst with hunger. So, next time you start to feel a little hungry in between meals, have a glass of water before your start to think about getting a healthy snack to eat.
So the secret weight loss weapon is water.
45. You Weigh Yourself Too Often
If you are doing all the right things to lose weight, if you are exercising properly, eating healthily and not cheating yourself, then weight loss will come eventually. The worse thing you can do is to keep weighing yourself.
Whenever someone weighs themself and finds that they have lost less weight than planned they start to doubt their methods and themselves. All regular weighing can do is reinforce the idea that you are not doing things right. If you are losing weight then your progress should be obvious anyway, you will have more energy, your clothes will be looser, you will be fitter and feel stronger.
If you have to weigh yourself make it a monthly event, not a daily nor even a weekly chore.
5 Key Rules to Living a Healthier Life
46. Exercise Every Day
Many people fail to get in shape or lose weight because they simply do not exercise enough. To get fit you need to exercise often, and a little exercise every day is possibly the best way to stay fit. Also research revealed that exercising for one hour every day is the best way to lose weight.
47. Eat Healthy Every Day
Many people adopt diet plans which allow weekends off or “cheat days”. Really it is better to make your diet healthier 7 days a week, with the rare treat (birthdays, Chrismas etc.).
48. Vary Your Diet
Eating the same things all the time can become monotonous and lead to snacking and comfort eating. If you ensure that your daily diet consists of many of the foods mentioned above then you will experience greater energy levels throughout the day, and also have more energy for exercise. However, please ensure that if you do enjoy a lot of these foods, that you do some exercise, otherwise this extra energy will turn to fat.
49. Enjoy Living
Sounds rather clichéd, but enjoy living. You only have one life, make the most of it. Do not spend your whole life in front of the television!
50. Follow Your Own Rules
These rules are very simple to follow. Stick with them and make them your own. Make them part of you daily routine, and you will soon find that you have higher energy levels. More energy means that you can do more of the things you love and you should also feel more motivated to exercise. A few positive lifestyle changes can quickly have a very beneficial knock on effect, leading to many more health gains, both physical and mental.
Conclusion
To conclude, the best way to lose weight really is to combine all of these points, make a full and permanent lifestyle change, and never give up. Life is precious, and if you want to live as long as possible in good health losing weight is essential.
This is not a list of things to do in isolation to lose weight and get fit, it is 10 things you can do to enhance your current weight loss plan. Losing weight really is a matter of eating less than your body needs. Every minute spent sitting in a chair watching television is a wasted minute if you want to lose weight!
These small changes will help you to burn a few extra calories. Do these, plus some more, and you will become a more active person and weight management will start to feel more natural to you.
Eat a healthy diet, do regular exercise and learn to relax and get a good night sleep. If you follow these rules, not only will you successfully lose weight, you will live a fuller, happier life.
Although you do not need a system to lose weight, many people do respond very well to a structure weight loss system. By following our guide to losing weight you can more easily stay on track and fulfil your goals.
The weight loss systems provide more information on nutrition, feeding your muscles while burning fat, and various different exercising methods to help lose weight.
I’m not trying to lose a lot, just the excess I don’t want, and I actually think that this meal plan might work for me! Thanks!
Fantastic list of fat burning foods. I’m currently on the fat loss phase of my diet plan. And I’m always on the lookout for new foods to add to my plan.
I love cottage cheese but always though it was too fatty to eat when your trying to lose fat. I’m going to think about adding it to my diet now thanks!
My waist is getting big. I ve reduce taking food at night n yet don’t see any improvement. What shall be the best way to reduce my tummy. My bmi is 25. Pls advice
Hi Raj, you probably need to alter your diet to ensure that you eat a good balance of protein, fats and carbs. Reducing what you eat in the evening is just one step to losing tummy fat. You need to eat a lean diet and exercise on a regular basis. Compound weight training is ideal for losing weight.
Hi im Tee im trying to lose weight in 4-5 weeks before this summer im not fat i just have a lower belly problem its not a lot but i would really like this to go away before the summer i workout everyday twice a day i ‘ve been losin weight but i want faster result … what do you recommend for my lower stomach ?
The best thing is to increase the intensity of your workouts – more sprint intervals, lift heavier weights. You need to do this to burn more fat. Alsotake a careful look at your diet. Cut out the sugar, the high GI carbohydrates and eat a greater balance of protein and healthy fats.
Hi, I’ve been trying to loose weight for the longest of years now. I don’t really that much food my doctor said since I don’t eat breakfast and a lot of times do not eat dinner that my metabolism has slowed so much that what ever I eat stays on me. I am not really a fan of sugary or starchy foods. I don’t like bread either and I can’t have anything with milk, eggs, soybean, corn, peanuts, or pecans being that I have an allergy to them. But anyhow, I weigh 295 pounds, I have only lost one pound in the past months and I work out daily I do a lot of cardio but I just keep gaining weight more than what I initially had. I would lose ten pounds then gain twenty back. I don’t have any medical problems besides the ones that I had before I became over weight. I barely sleep the most sleep I get is about two hours a day could that also be a factor? I don’t know what to do anymore. I have tried everything. Oh the reason I don’t eat breakfast or dinner is because its either too early, I do not feel like chewing, I’m tired, or just plain not hungry.
Hi Kea. Well, I think you doctors advice to skip breakfast is not very good. The general recommendation for those wanting to lose weight is to eat a breakfast that is lean and high in protein to help kick start the metabolism in the morning. For cardio you need to be doing intensive workouts, gentle cardio workouts are not that effective. Just cutting calories a little is also ineffective. Start by eating a healthy breakfast, eat several small meals throughout the day. You are doing well to avoid bread and sugar, this is vital. Exercise intensively in the evening and go to bed on time. Lack of sleep is also a common cause for weight gain. Also sleeping less than 6 hours a night leads to other health problems.
I go to gym about 4 days a week my problem is that I weigh about 107kg I wanna slim down but keep my muscle. can you give me any tips on what kind of diet I could go on?
Hi Dean, eat low GI foods and generally cut back on the amount you eat. Get your proteins, cut out all bread and other food made from refined carbohydrates.
wat kind of food are gi?
Hi Dean, look at the low GI foods listed. These foods have less sugar, just think about it like a higher percentage of their energy is from more nutritious sources so rather than just turning to fat inside you they make you healthier and you use that nutrition.
Hi, I am at 172 lbs. right now, but I want to lose 15- 30 lbs, within 10 weeks. I am a vegetarian, but I do like eggs. So is there a good way to subistitute chicken and fish, but still lose weight? And also are medium GI foods like mangos still okay to eat for my weight loss goal? I also would like to ask how many meals a day should we really eat?
Hi again Jenna. If you reduce portion size, eat low GI foods (with some medium, but mostly low) and eat up to 6 meals a day, and exercise, you should lose weight. The most important thing is to ensure that when eating 6 meals a day none of them take you over your calorie limit for the day. These meals are small.
Cottage cheese is a good option for vegetarians, good source of protein, healthy, low fat etc. Eat leafy salads, only olive oil for dressing, fresh tomatoes and other salad items. Add sliced boiled egg and cheese and you have a healthy meal that is well balanced. For many people cutting out all bread, white rice, sugar, cookies, cakes etc. is enough.
By eating small meals throughout the day and exercising you keep your metabolism high and burn more fat off.
Hi My name is Perla I am a 14 Year old Girl and I have a fat stomach, I am 5’6 and I weigh 142. How can I lose weight/stomach fat?
Hi Perla, whether you are 14 or 40 the way to lose weight is to adjust your diet so that you are not eating too much of the wrong things (sugar is the biggest problem) and also exercise more.
Start by exercising 5 times a week for at least 30 minutes with the plan to increase this to 45 minutes after a few weeks.
Eat only low GI foods to help control your sugar cravings. Make no exceptions for the first 2 weeks, then slowly introduce medium GI, but mostly eat low GI.
Do not fill up on bread, ever. Stop drinking all soda and stop eating processed foods and other junk food.
Exercise should be varied. Find a sports club to join to help motivate you. Martial arts and dance are two excellent ways to get fit.
Hi my name is Joe, Im 32 years old, and have not always had a healthy lifestyle. About 8 months ago I became a vegitarian, and began working out 5 to 6 times per week. I have a home gym and a stationary bike, which I use to do a 45 minute circuit training twice per week. I also jog about 3 miles twice per week and then I play competitive hockey for about an hour once per week. I lost 27 pounds rather quickly and at least 3-4 inches on my waist. My doctor told me I have about 10-15 more pounds to lose, and it is all on my stomach. My wife notices my stomach is smaller, and Im super happy with my progress, but it seems that Ive reached a plateau. I dont seem to be losing the pounds and inches as efficiently as I was. I eat 2 apples, 2 oranges, a bag of grapes, a salad, a veggie meat sandwich, a granola bar, a veggie burger, a bowl of cherries on average per day,(sometimes a dessert) and throughout the day, not really in meals. I also drink about 4 beers and a bottle of red wine on the weekend. Any suggestions on my diet or excersize that will help me reach my goals? I gave up alot in 8 months, and I do want to live a little bit, but is the dessert and beers holding me back?
Hi Joe, to start with cut out the bread and granola, so the veggie sandwich, granola bar and veggie burger need to be replaced with non-bread and low sugar alternatives. Also see what others foods you can replace with low GI food. You are still consuming a lot and taking in sugars so look to reduce this.
Are you doing sprint intervals on the bike? This will help burn more fat too.
I’m 18 years old and finaly decided to do somthing about this belly. So I started exercicing in a gym 3 days a week and 1hour 30 min +/-
About 45-50mins weight training and 40 mins bike riding. I know im building muscles and I’m not supposed to loose weight yet but its been 3 months and I still have NO result! Can use advise please?
Ianblo, are you following a diet plan as well as fitness plan? Are you increasing your workout intensity? You should have seen results in 3 months, in fact if you are dieting properly you should see results within a week.
I do not realy have a diet but I do watch my food, leave out the fat eat more healthy drop soda drinks etc.
The only result I see is that my shoulders and bicep are increasing alot but the fat is still there.
Low fat is not always healthy. Do you eat much bread? Rice? Lots of things accumulate fat. If you want to lose weight you must ensure that your daily energy intake is less than expenditure. Working out is important, and if your shoulders and biceps have increased a lot, then you are doing some things right. But to burn more fat you need to either increase exercise intensity or reduce calories. How about your legs? Are your thighs developing with the cycling?
Hi my name is kelly, i am 16 and i’ve been trying lose weight and get rid of my tummy fat but its really hard for me i exercise but the problem i have is when i see junk food i have to eat it. and in school they don’t healthy food they give pizza and burgers,that is just fat and i want to avoid that. What can i do to replace that and have a better lunch without having to crave junk food and leave it for good so i can get results HELP!!
Hi Kelly, it can be really hard at times, I know. First, you need to avoid seeing the junk as much as possible. Out of sight, out of mind – and out of stomach!
Are you able to take a packed lunch to school? If so you could make up a salad the night before and eat that. Or if there is only pizza or burger just eat less, with the burger do not eat the bread, and if they do a salad or vegetable side, have that instead of fries.
The only reason why you crave junk food is because you are eating too much sugar. Cut down on sugar, and the junk cravings will go eventually. So, ideally, eat much less sugar (carbohydrate) in all meals. Have eggs for breakfast instead of cereals or bread/toast. Eat salads with chicken, have soups for dinner, or fish. Avoid white rice, bread, pasta, pastry, cakes and cookies. If you feel hungry, eat something healthier, like a piece of fruit. Avoid drinking fruit juice, it may be healthy, but is still full of natural sugars.
why should i have eggs for breakfast instead of cereal i thought that was a healthy choice for the morning.
i am able to take packed lunch. what other choices are their instead of salads?
Eggs – many people consume too much sugar, and cereals are generally really high in sugar. Lots of energy that gets digested quickly and the body does not use, so stores as fat. Oats (muesli, porridge) are good options though as the oats break down slower and release their energy slower. See this article for more on cereal: Sugar warning over breakfast cereal.
Alternative to salads? Tricky really, sandwiches are generally going to leave you eating lots of bread again. But better than pizza. If you make sandwiches then wholemeal bread, stuffed with lots of green salad and protein (meat, eggs, chicken etc.). Soup is a good option, so long as you do not have bread with it. I used to often just eat chicken drumsticks and watercress/rocket salads when I was losing weight. Simple, east to prepare, eat with hands, nutritious and tasty, and helps you lose weight and build muscle.
well, I’m eathing healthy and trying to leave out the fast food but still try to eat “normal” not just salads. So enough pasta, bread, protein.
And yes my legs got alot slimmer but its more the belly that I want to get rid off
Sounds to me like you need to adjust your diet. I suspect too much refined food – bread, pasta etc. You have to reduce calories and eat more low-medium GI food.
hi there, ive been going to gym for the past 6month n that has helped me a lot to lose weight, ave lost quit a bit
but still has some fat n that does look too good..
what can i do to cut down this excess fat without losing my muscles?
thanks
:)
Kamlesh, you need to diet, but that means cutting back on sugars, maintaining good levels of lean proteins and healthy fats. Reduce calories, do not reduce protein. Plus keep exercising hard and working the abs.
Hi l’m shella from Nigeria. I’m fat but after an operation I look slim and fat s no more. My problem now is dat I want 2 remain slim but exercise disturb my singing. What can do 2 keep slim?.
HI Shella. Firstly, welcome to MotleyHealth, you are our first Nigerian reader, at least the first to ask a question!
To remain slim you have to change what you eat. You gained weight before because you ate too much food. Just a little bit too much every day will mean gaining a lot of extra fat after a year. So start by making your meals smaller, and eat more vegetables and fruits, less bread, rice and other starchy foods. Read this article on healthy eating and look at the Eatwell Plate. This provides a guide for a healthy diet. Although still, too much of that will cause weight gain. Small portions is key.
Why does exercise disturb your singing? Many good singers exercises, Beyonce is a good example of a wonderful singer that exercises every day to stay in shape.
One trick is to ensure that the only time you are around food at home is when you are preparing a meal. The rest of the time, keep food out of sight. This certainly works for me. If you see food, you are likely to grab it. It’s a natural instinct.
hey this is shivali. I am 15 years and weigh 75 kilos . I have been regular to gym 6 days a week and exercise a lot but this has not shown any effect on me. I can no longer bear this fat structure of mine and this makes me feel really depressed. plzzz plzz plzz advise it’s urgent.
Hi Shivali, have you changed your diet as well as started exercising? A healthy diet is essential. Provide an example of an average day eating so that I can advise what you can change. Also, what exercises are you doing?
Hello, my name is Ciara and I’d like to know some dietary tips. I’m seventeen years old and weigh eight stone. According to my doctor my weight is quite normal for my age however I still have a bulging stomach. It’s not flabby or anything like that, but rather it’s more of a bloated stomach.
I have just started regular exercise and, I won’t lie, I do snack. Other then that I want to go on a healthy diet but I have no idea what foods I should ditch and what I should eat.
Could you please help me?
Hi Clare. First off, read through Basics Of A Healthy Diet – What To Eat. This provides just about all the information you need on healthy eating, and if there is anything you are unsure about, you can ask specific questions there.
Your snacks could be a problem, so why not just swap any unhealthy snacks for healthy ones to start with? Exercise is good, but you need to make sure that you are exercising to a high enough intensity to sweat well to help get fit and burn fat.
hi, my name is Maria and I’m 16 years old, I’m about 5.5 feet tall, and I weight 135.5 pounds, my measurements:35-28.5-39. I’ve always had problems with my weight. Two years ago I lost 44lbs (165lbs to 121lbs). For the first 5 months, I only ate every other day, because that was the fastest (but not the healthiest) way to lose weight.
After that, I gained about 130lbs, and I started eating every day, but smaller portions (about 750-1200kcal a day), without any junk food or sugar (no candies, no cakes), and i started exercising (cycling, fast walking) that way I lost rest of the weight (In that time I also tried a lot off yo-yo diets).
When I had stoped exercising, and started eating normally (I increased the sugar and junk food intake) I also started gaining weight. During last year, I have tried (in many ways) to lose the weight. During the winter I tried many diets and exercise, but my weight didn’t change. In spring I decreased my caloric intake (eating only 800-1000kcal a day, without the white bread, sugar or junk food), but I only lost 7lbs in two months!! After that I tried the Atkins and Dukan diet (without the exercise), but I didn’t lose a pound, I even gained some weight, even though I didn’t cheat on my diet).
I was really desperate, so since october I’m on -eating every other day- diet again, and I lost 6lbs in the first two weeks, but after that I didn’t lose a pound, I gained 7lbs! I’m really desperate now. I don’t feel good with this weight at all. I have a lot off fat on my buttocks and tighs, I also have stretch marks and cellulite. The skin on my tighs and buttocks is like I’m 60 not 16. This is really a big problem too me. I need to lose weight and make my skin look better. Please help!
Hi Maria. First, your BMI is 22.5 which is actually a healthy weight to be. Your main focus should be on eating a healthy diet and doing regular exercise.
I suggest that you keep a very strict food diary for at least 1 week. Write down everything. There are a few problems in your attitude to diet that I can see. Firstly, you say “I had stoped exercising, and started eating normally (I increased the sugar and junk food intake)” – this type of diet is not normal. OK, many people eat junk food and sugar, but that is the main cause of obesity. You have clearly stated the reason why you gained weight, so to reduce weight you have to change that attitude to eating.
Following a Every Other Day Diet is not actually so bad, it is not really unhealthy so long as you are eating healthy foods only on the diet. You lost weight the first time, did you do it the same the second time? Maybe you ate too much of the wrong things the second time you tried this type of diet?
Your 800-1000kcal a day diet should have seen you lose around 2 pounds per week, so it is really possible that you were still getting too many calories from one source or another. Remember that everything you consume except water contains calories, that includes healthy food like fruit, milk, cheese, meat and soft drinks.
You would probably do very well to increase your exercise and make sure that you perform a variety of exercises and different intensities, such as walk more, running, swimming, bodyweight workouts, yoga and even some weight training.
So make sure your diet is really healthy by keeping a food diary and then checking it against a guide to healthy eating. Also get more active, at 16 you could be doing sports, dance, martial arts or athletics, or anything else really.
Thank you for your answer, it really helped. I had a food diary, and I’m planning to take your advice, and start writting down everything I eat , again.
I’m also planning to start exercising. Is 30 minuts on exercising bicycle enough? Other: walk 20 minutes home from school, lift weights (2 kg) and do squats, push-ups… Is this enough exercise to start with?
30 minutes on an exercise bike is good. To make it better perform 5 30 second sprints during the workout, go as fast as you can for 30 seconds then slow down to normal pace. This will help you get fitter and stronger as well as burn some fat.
Squats and push ups are good, what exercises are you doing with the weights? 2kg is not a lot really.
Bicep curl, hammer curl and lateral raise, 50 times each. I could use 4kg weights instead of 2. But is this exercise enough to lose fat and get fitter? Combined with healthy eating, of course. I want to exercise because i want to get fitter and healthier, but i also want to lose fat. When will i be able to see the results of my exercise and diet?
Hi Maria, you really need to work other parts of your body also. Those exercises will tone and strengthen your arms, but these are relatively small muscles. Squats and lunges, push ups / bench press, rows, shoulder press and deadlift all hit the bigger muscles and will help burn more fat.
I am 22 years old man and am 5’1″. my weight is 225 lbs. I want to lose weights by doing excersies and watch what i eat. i just don’t know what excersies i can do at home?
We have many options here, best to chose one of the home workouts. The Weekly Fitness Workout Schedule for Weight Loss could be good for you, or you could just get some ideas from the home fitness workouts articles, or just do the circuit training or a 20 minute home workout.
I have a diet built from the ingredients listed here, but I was hoping you could check my numbers too. In a day I eat 1207 calories, 9 grams fat, 45 grams sugar. I think it’s pretty good, but I’m a little worried about the sugar. It’s coming from the cottage cheese and the yogurt. I have to eat Kosher, so the fat free/sugar free varieties are out for me (because of the gelatine). I’m also doing daily cardio and resistance exercises. I am male, 6’3”. Am I doing ok?
Hi Jon, I would say you are doing OK. 1200 calories for a tall guy such as yourself is restrictive, you should be losing weight. Try to keep your protein levels up though as you will lose muscle mass if not.
Thanks, I just had one more question. I know someone who told me that the only way to be effective is by cutting out carbohydrates. He said if I’m eating over 50 to 100 grams per day, then results are impossible, and a high fat diet is better than a high carb one. I’m consuming 201 per day, mostly from muesli and chili, and the advice I received seems a little suspect. Should I be worried?
Well, you need carbs, but limiting them is good, in a way. Really what you need to do is eat mostly low GI carbohydrates as these send less glycogen rushing into the blood. To lose fat you need to breakdown fat reserves, but so long as there is glycogen in the blood the body has no need to break down those fat reserves. Of course, you need glycogen for muscle fuel, and if you have none, you cannot exercise well. Also if you do not get enough protein catabolism starts, when the body starts to breakdown muscle tissue to gather more protein for vital body functions. So a good balance of low GI carbohydrates (that are also slower to digest and provide both soluble and insoluble fiber), lean proteins, healthy fats (fish, chicken, eggs, olive oil, cod liver oil) is what you need. Without exceeding your daily calorie limit.
Hi my name is niquee I’m 5″2 and weight 215 I don’t know how to eat right and I wanna lose weight so bad I have a 2year old and I haven’t lost the weight yet….and everytime I try to lose my belly fat at the bottom of my stomach it nevers goes away..help me plzzzzzzz….
Hi Niquee, you have to start a weight loss plan. Read this article on healthy eating and look at the fitness articles for exercises.
The two things that you MUST do are: 1. Change your diet, and eat less. 2. Exercise as often as possible, ideally 6 days a week. It does not have to been intense, but just do something everyday.