Weight Loss Tips for Beginners

Weight loss is an issue that concerns all of us. Many recent studies have found a connection between obesity & diseases like diabetics, cholesterol, heart attack, etc... hence the rush to lose weight. But with a fast lifestyle & junk food we tend to put on more weight! Here are some simple tips that are not difficult to implement but go a long way in helping you shed those pounds.

• Get up 5 mins than your usual time & stretch all your joints... go head to toe or the other way but do it. It energizes you & will be more active during the day. You can slowly increase your time for exercises
• Drink at least 10 - 12 glasses of water everyday. Water helps in clearing in impurities & it also keeps your joint lubricated & supple. Carry a bottle of water with you so that you don't get the urge to buy soft drinks. Its a healthy & no or low cost alternative!
• Eat healthy & get your daily recommended dose of calories. Under eating leads to slow metabolism.
• Eat 5 - 6 small meals a day instead of binge eating when you are famished. Studies have shown that this pattern of eating helps in raising your body's metabolism. Also this is a very good way of keeping yourself satisfied & preventing binge eating.
• Plan your meals so you know what you will have during the day so that you have enough stock with you & you don't land up buying unhealthy things outside.
• Maintain a food diary. Keep a check on what you are eating & every week change one item in the diary to add a healthy alternative.
• Scan through your pantry & fridge and replace few things to include healthy alternatives. For example: change to skimmed or low fat milk, have dry fruits like dates in stead of chocolate or other sweets, steam your veggies instead of using oil or butter for cooking, change to olive oil, have fruits instead of juice / soft drinks, etc.
• Have your dinner early. Give your body enough time to digest the food so you can have a good sleep & you can get up energised. Try to finish your dinner at least 3 hours before bed-time.
• Include a short slow paced stroll after dinner. It helps relaxing your system & your mind.
• Try to include 10 - 20 mins of exercise in your daily schedule. Start with 10 mins twice a week then slowly increase the time & the days. Do it first thing in the morning or you will never land up doing it.
• Don't shop when you are hungry or you will land up with many unwanted items in your trolley and always go with a shopping list to avoid wandering.
• Cut down your intake of alcohol. Its not just because of the calories but when you drink more you land up eating a lot or sometime under eat. Both are bad. Red wine is good but don't over do it!
• Do not keep weighing yourself every day. It doesn't help, it only increases your stress & stress is also something that increases your weight.
• Speaking of stress... it is very important to relax everyday. As it is important to exercise it is equally important to relax. Relaxing helps your body ease its tension & then it accepts changes faster.
• Eat to fill your stomach not to fill your heart.
• Make small changes it is easier to include it as a part of your schedule instead of making drastic changes in your schedule. When you make drastic changes most times we are not able to keep up the schedule as it is not planned. Make slow changes which will be steady & continuing.

Lastly, don't be obsessed with losing weight. Eat healthy... exercise... be happy... relax & have fun you will reach your optimum weight!

Happy Living!!!