Losing weight isn’t always easy, especially if you’re a woman. Your body wants to hang onto that extra weight. It figures you will need that fat in a time of food scarcity. It doesn’t know that you’re not likely to face a famine anytime soon in today’s modern world.
That’s why you might need to use hacks to encourage your body to shed those extra pounds. Whether you’re getting more sleep, building more muscle, or snacking on healthier options, these diet hacks will help you lose that stubborn excess fat.
Build More Muscle
Muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat, so the more muscle you’ll have, the higher your metabolism will be and the more calories you’ll burn even when you’re at rest. Resistance training can include weight lifting, yoga, and body weight exercises. First, aim to strength train for 20 to 30 minutes two or three times a week. Then, as you get stronger, you can lift heavier weights or do more strenuous exercises instead of increasing your workout times.
However, because muscle weighs more than fat, strength training may not change the number on the scale. You need to measure your progress by how you look and feel, not by the number on the scale. Worry less about your weight and focus on how your clothes fit, how you look in the mirror, and how your body measurements change.
Get Your Beauty Rest
Poor sleep habits are one of the most significant risk factors for obesity. Sleep deprivation makes you hungry. It makes you crave junk food and can erode your willpower to resist it. Get plenty of sleep to keep yourself healthy and stay on track with your diet.
Eat More Protein, Especially at Breakfast
If you’re trying to lose weight, you should aim to take 25 to 30 calories in the form of lean protein. Protein keeps you satisfied for longer, so when you eat a high-protein diet, you eat less and have fewer cravings for junk foods. Eat a high-protein breakfast to prevent cravings and keep hunger at bay all day. If you’re eating a lot of protein and still having trouble with hunger and food cravings, you might want to try a drug like Ozempic for weight loss.
Avoid Pre-Packaged Foods
Eating healthy and losing weight is easier if you’re preparing most of your meals at home from fresh ingredients. Avoid pre-packaged foods as much as possible – they tend to contain a lot of fat and sugar. Eliminating most pre-packaged foods will also eliminate junk food from your diet.
Keep Healthy Snacks Around
Just because you’re on a diet doesn’t mean you can’t have a healthy snack between meals. You should have a snack mid-morning to tide you over to lunch and one mid-afternoon to keep you satisfied until dinner. Keep plenty of healthy snack options, like fruit, nuts, and low-fat popcorn. Keep your healthy snacks accessible – you’re more likely to reach for whatever’s closest.
Use Smaller Plates
If you eat from a larger plate, you’re naturally going to put more food on your plate, and you’ll probably eat more before you start feeling full. If you place your food on a smaller scale, you’ll serve yourself less food, and you’ll feel more satisfied with it. Most people have been brought up to clean their plates, but that’s an easy way to overeat. A smaller plate will help you gain more control over your portion.
Also Read – The Power of Honey and Lemon Juice for Weight Loss
Keep a Food Diary
People who keep a diary of what they eat tend to eat less than those who don’t. Maintaining a log of everything you’ve eaten holds you accountable and helps you count calories. But, even if you’re not counting calories, keeping a food diary can help you become aware of eating patterns and make you more mindful of what you eat throughout the day. Write down the times of day you eat, the context, how you felt, and when and how you exercised.
Losing weight can seem like such an uphill battle, especially if, like many people, you have one of those bodies naturally inclined to hold onto some extra pounds. However, you might need to take steps to hack your weight loss with the proper diet and exercise techniques to reach your goal finally.
