With all the diets floating around that claim to result in losing 20+ pounds in a month, 1 pound per 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?
Try to perform at least one 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. A research study has shown that it takes at least 9 meals to have even a small effect on metabolism. Additional studies have shown health benefits from eating one meal per day!
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.
4. Drink regular coffee instead of a latte. If you can’t give up your morning latte, go with skim milk and non-caloric sweetener.
5. Avoid drinking any calories. It’s much easier to drink calories than it is to eat them.
6. Replace red meat with fish or chicken. This assumes you’re not adding a high-calorie sauce.
7. Replace rice and potatoes with vegetables. Rice and potatoes aren’t unhealthy, but most vegetables have a lower caloric density.
8. Work in the yard for an hour. You’ll have the best looking yard in the neighborhood, and your pants will fit better.
9. Skip the elevator and use the stairs. If you work on the 47th floor, you might take the stairs to the 5th and ride the elevator the rest of the way.
10. Drop all 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. Manmade carbohydrates like bread, pasta, crackers, and candy 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. Use smaller plates. The average plate in the United States is huge. Studies have shown that people eat less when served food on a smaller plate.
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 and burns more calories. You could even try standing at home while watching television.
17. Replace a bad food with a good food. Once each day, replace one food you’re about to eat with a healthier option.
18. Avoid eating while watching TV. According to scientists, you’ll eat almost 300 calories more in front of the television than you will at the dinner table!
19. Sleep for a full 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.
Losing a pound per week can be easy and painless. By utilizing just one of these tips each day, you could find yourself 50 pounds lighter by this time next year. Summer is coming!
