This 12 steps will help you lose weight on the 12-week plan
After reading this article, you will be sure to know how and what to do to loose weight. Its a few minutes read article about the weight loss challenge for you. Let's do this together folk.
I don't want to sound more of a doctor or with a prejudiced judgement, but the fact is that in this 21 century, 8 out 10 people are fighting and perousing books and articles on how they can loose weight. This has been greatly contributed to high disposable income and ease access to high caloried foods. Besides these two factors, adding weight has been contributed to ease of travelling for example using motor bikes, vehicles which means people rarely walk long distances to burn down the calories consumed from their previous meal. No wonder when you walk along the streets people tend to keep their thighs apart to reduce friction in between the skin in the thighs.
But today we want to talk about the 12 steps that will help you to loose weight on the 12 week plan. Be keen to follow all the steps and not to miss even a word. Below are the steps:
1. Don't skip breakfast
Skipping breakfast won't help you lose weight. You could miss out on essential nutrients and you may end up snacking more throughout the day because you feel hungry. Much keen needs to be taken on what you consume for breakfast. The picture below contains some healthy breakfast meals such as proten packed scrammbled eggs. Check out five healthy breakfasts.
2. Eat regular meals
Eating at regular times during the day helps burn calories at a faster rate unlike consuming food at once and waiting until the next meal That could be dangerous and as such, its recommended to take small quantity meals at regular intervals. It also reduces the temptation to snack on foods high in fat and sugar. Find out more about eating heathily.
3. Eat plenty of fruit and veg
Fruit and vegetables are low in calories and fat, and high in fibre – 3 essential ingredients for successful weight loss. Potatoes should not be counted as vegetables but seweet potatotes are a good.Potatoes play an important role in your diet, even if they don't count towards your 5 A Day. It's best to eat them without any added salt or fat. Fruits and Veges are also a good source of fibre, so leave the skins on where possible to keep in more of the fibre and vitamins. They also contain plenty of vitamins and minerals. Read up on getting your 5 A Day.
4. Get more active
Being active is key to losing weight and keeping it off. Waking up in the moring and doing house chores doesn't count into being active. You need real full body exercise such as jogging in the morning or late in the evening or carrying some weights or having a long distance walk. As well as providing numerous health benefits, exercise can help burn off the excess calories you can't cut through diet alone. Find an activity you enjoy and are able to fit into your routine.
5. Drink plenty of water
People sometimes confuse thirst with hunger. You can end up consuming extra calories when a glass of water is really what you need.
It takes about three hours for your body to finish digesting a meal. If you eat every two or three hours, as many experts now advise, your body will constantly be in what nutritionists call the “fed state.” This simply means that you are always in the process of digesting food.
If, on the other hand, you don’t eat again, you’ll go into something we call the “post-absorptive” state after about three hours. Several interesting things happen in the post-absorptive state, which continues for another 12 to 18 hours if you don’t eat again. First, you begin tapping into your body’s stored energy reserves to run your engine. Your hormone levels adjust to shift your body out of fat-storage mode and into fat-burning mode. Hanging out in the post-absorptive state also reduces free-radical damage and inflammation, increases the production of anti-aging hormones, and promotes tissue repair.
6. Eat high-fibre foods
This is where the real dancing tune comes into play. I don't want to sound ridiculous but most people do not really understand what high-fibre foods are. Just as a defination; these are food that contain a lot of fibre such as;
- Wholegrain breakfast cereals, wholewheat pasta, wholegrain bread and oats, barley and brown rice.
- Fruit such as berries, pears, melon and oranges.
- Vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and sweetcorn.
- Peas, beans and pulses.
- Nuts and seeds.
- Potatoes with skin.
On the list above, please take note that whole grain cereals and whole grain bread is low in calorie and is recommended for loosing belly fat unlike the refined white bread.
Foods containing lots of fibre can help keep you to feel full, which is perfect for losing weight. Fibre is only found in food from plants, such as fruit and veg, oats, wholegrain bread, brown rice and pasta, and beans, peas and lentils. I wish I gad much time to talk about this high-fibre foods!
7. Read food labels
Yet another interesting area where most people just dash into a shopping store/supermarket and start picking food stuffs without reading the food labels. Is it because we don't have much time to read?Yes, that little time we have is what costs us to add weight and develop belly fat. Knowing how to read food labels can help you choose healthier options. Use the calorie information to work out how a particular food fits into your daily calorie allowance on the weight loss plan.
Most pre-packed foods have a nutrition label on the back or side of the packaging.
These labels include information on energy in kilojoules (kJ) and kilocalories (kcal), usually referred to as calories.
4.2kJ is equivalent to approximately 1kcal.
Find out more about reading food labels.
8. Change your Big plate to a smaller plate
This might sound funny but its not. In fact, the amount you are used to eating like a mountain of plate should be reduced or cut into a small portion. This one requires high level discpline which one must be ready to work on. But then, how much food is enough? Using smaller plates can help you eat smaller portions.
By using smaller plates and bowls, you may be able to gradually get used to eating smaller portions without going hungry.
It takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain it's full, so eat slowly and stop eating before you feel full. And immediately after feeling fool, stop eating so that the extra food after digestion will not be converted to glycogen and fats which will automatically lead to weight gain.
Just to add spice to the information above, here is the recommended way to reduce the portions of the food you eat:
- 1. Make at Least Half Your Plate Veggies. Vegetables have lots of filling water and fiber, but not a lot of calories (1). ...
- Eat Protein With Every Meal or Snack.
- Drink Water With Your Meal.
- Begin With a Vegetable Soup or Salad.
- Eat Mindfully.
- Spice Up Your Meals.
- Eat More Soluble Fiber.
You should take note that foods in protein are good since once the body digests and absorps what is enough for metabolism, it automatically converts the excess into waste unlike carbohydrates which is converted into glycogen and fats leading to fatty skin and weight gain.
9. Don't ban foods
Don't ban any foods from your weight loss plan, especially the ones you like. Banning foods will only make you crave them more. There's no reason you can't enjoy the occasional treat as long as you stay within your daily calorie allowance.
According to NHS, Within a healthy, balanced diet, a man needs around 10,500kJ (2,500kcal) a day to maintain his weight. For a woman, that figure is around 8,400kJ (2,000kcal) a day. These values can vary depending on age, metabolism and levels of physical activity, among other things.
An average woman needs to eat about 2000 calories per day to maintain, and 1500 calories to lose one pound of weight per week. An average man needs 2500calories to maintain, and 2000 to lose one pound of weight per week. However, this depends on numerous factors.
10. Don't stock junk food
Defination: Junk food is a pejorative term, dating back at least to the 1950s, describing food that is high in calories from sugar or fat, with little dietary fiber, protein, vitamins or minerals.
To avoid temptation, try to not stock junk food – such as chocolate, biscuits, crisps and sweet fizzy drinks – at home. Instead, opt for healthy snacks, such as fruit, unsalted rice cakes, oat cakes, unsalted or unsweetened popcorn, and fruit juice.
11. Cut down on alcohol
A standard glass of wine can contain as many calories as a piece of chocolate. Over time, drinking too much can easily contribute to weight gain. Find out more about the calories in alcohol.
And least of all avoid what is termed as Binge Drinking. This might be your next killer.
12. Plan your meals
Try to plan your breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the week, making sure you stick to your calorie allowance. You may find it helpful to make a weekly shopping list.
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