6 Easy Habits to Help Lose Weight and Keep It Off

The older you get the harder it seems to lose weight and keep it off.  Making a few easy changes to your daily routine can help you lose weight and keep it off.  Way to often we tend to jump into an overly complicated diet that is hard to stick with and totally sucks.  If your serious about losing weight and keeping it off, then incorporate these easy habits into your daily routine. 

Weigh Yourself

Time to face reality, go ahead and step on the scales every morning.  This truth can be an effective method to motivate you to get moving and improve discipline. 

A study presented at the American Heart Association’s recent Scientific Sessions conference concluded that daily weigh-ins might be beneficial. Researchers tracked 1,042 adults over a year and found that people who weighed themselves once a week or less did not lose weight, while people who weighed themselves six or seven times a week averaged a 1.7 percent weight loss.

Make weighing yourself a daily routine right when you wake up after you use the bathroom and track it.  Weight will fluctuate daily so stay focused on the big picture rather than on the small day-to-day changes. 

Get Moving

To aid weight lose you need to get physical.  Some sort of physical activity first thing in morning will help jump start your day and get it over with.  A brisk 30-minute walk in the morning or hitting the gym will increase your metabolism, which means you’ll continue to burn calories throughout the day.

Another reason for a workout in the morning is that exercising on an empty stomach could burn more fat.  A study has found that people who exercise in the morning before breakfast can burn up to 20 percent more body fat.  But the most important thing, no matter the time of day, just get some exercise.   

Track What You Eat

Food tracker apps have come along way.  Tracking what you eat isn’t the chore it uses to be but is one of the best routine changes that has helped me the most.  Tracking everything you eat, drink, and time can help identify the areas that need to be improved or changed.  This includes tracking snacks.  Make a habit of reviewing the tracker data every night before bed. 

Drink Water

Replace your soda and energy drinks with water.  Starting the day off with a glass of water is simple way to kickoff weight loss.  Drinking water in the morning has found to increase metabolic rate by 30 percent and increase your energy expenditure.  Another plus of drinking water it helps flush out toxins and helps regulate your appetite. 

Set your goal of at least 64 ounces of water at day.  I suggest a wide mouth water bottle for easy cleaning. I know it’s easier to drink a six-pack of beer but battle through it.  Drinking water is the easiest way to cut hundreds of calories from your diet. 

Go to Sleep

Stop binge watching TV shows and go to bed.  Going to bed on time or earlier may help increase weight loss.  The lack of sleep can increase hunger hormones and lower leptin.  Recent research suggests that there isn’t a magic number of hours, it depends on your body.  However, 8 hours of sleep should give your body enough time to rest and recharge.

In a study, 12 participants consumed an average of 559 more calories after getting just four hours of sleep than those that got 8 hours of sleep.  If you can’t sleep through the night, try 30-minute power nap during the day.   

Meal Planning

Planning your meals is a great way to see how much you are actually eating and learn portion control.  Eating out or takeout is almost always higher in calories, total fat, saturated fat, and sodium.  Having nutrient dense meals already prepared at your fingertips will help you make better food decisions. 

Set aside a few hours on the weekend to prep food or an hour a day.  It’s a great way to save money and prevent wasting food.  Use container’s that have dividers for portion control, that are reusable and dishwasher safe.   

Bottom Line

Losing weight and keeping it off can be a chore.  These simple habits are a great way to reclaim your life.  Start my incorporating a few of these routines to lay the foundation and then continue building.  Don’t give up and keep moving forward. 

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