With the holidays winding down, it’s about that time of year where people start shifting their focus to the never-ending list of new year’s resolutions they put in place for themselves. Probably the most common one? Weight-loss. Here at Fit Minutes, we are all for wanting to live a better and healthier lifestyle. The issue is, we’ve all heard the same old tips and tricks, year after year. “Eat less sugar”, “calorie deficit is a must!”, “incorporate strength training into your routine!”, “count your calories!” – these are not unheard-of pieces of advice. And while these are in fact all very important things to take into consideration, there are other factors to focus on if you’re looking to shed those few extra pounds you may have put on over the holidays.
Rather than focusing solely on counting calories or just working out more, sometimes it’s important to focus on the “why” behind the desire to lose weight, and perhaps the inability to lose weight and focus on creating healthy, long-lasting habits. So, to help you navigate through all the buzzworthy and clickable fitness fitness tips out there, we’ve rounded up 7 weight-loss tips you probably haven’t tried yet. Give them a shot come the new year!
1. Change Your Mindset
According to Dr. Adrienne Youdim, Weight-Loss Specialist, how we approach a habit is so critical to our ability to change in a durable or long-lasting way. Without a proper mindset to address the process, we will not be able to maintain the necessary changes that result in healthy weight loss. So, it’s important to first find the core motivator for your weight loss journey – whether that be to feel your best or to get more energy, this core motivating factor will help you stay inspired and make changes based on self-love, rather than self-consciousness.
2. Identify the “Why” Behind Your Eating Patterns
If you feel disconnected from your eating habits or seem to have a lack of control and eat more than you know you need, the problem may be that you’re surprising an emotional need that you’re subconsciously using food to attempt to soothe. Emotional eating is super common, it’s actually hardwired in our neurobiology. Where you think you may be craving a donut, your body is trying to tell you something else. Whether it’s a break, stress relief, emotional comfort or even something deeper. Listen to your body and try and determine what you are trying to soothe with food.
3. Stop Restricting
Previously, you may have restricted calories or specific food groups in an effort to minimize calories to lose weight. You’ve probably rigorously tracked macros just in an effort to get the scale to budge. But we’re done with that, ok? In reality, restricting and limiting food intake invariably makes us want to do the very thing we are restricting. It focuses on scarcity and makes the body think it needs more of that food. Restriction is just not sustainable. Try to eat intuitively, rather than basing it on numbers or percentages.
4. Practice Self-Love
Beating yourself up over food is an unsuccessful trap that many dieters fall into. Rather than shame your appetite, treat yourself with respect, understanding, and affection. It’s super important to learn to love yourself as you are right now (I know, it’s cliché, but it’s so true). While this may sound like fluffy advice your mother gave you back in middle school, it holds a lot of truth. Without accepting ourselves as we are in the current moment, we’re inevitably self-sabotaging. All this to say, you don’t need to accept your body when you reach a certain health goal; you can reach health goals because you accept and love your body as it is now.
5. Make Healthy food Convenient & Accessible
Convenience is key when it comes to making healthier choices. If you’re anything like me, when you’re hungry, you’re reaching for whatever you can get your hands on first. For this reason, it’s super important to make sure healthy foods, like fruits and veggies are conveniently in your fridge, ready to go!
6. Let the Light In
When you’re alarm goes off in the morning, try to refrain from dragging yourself, in the dark, to your coffee pot. Instead, go immediately to your blinds. We know, it sounds a like wonky, but trust us. Studies have shown that people who get direct exposure to sunlight in the mornings between 8 a.m. and noon reduce their risk of weight gain. Researchers believe it may be because the morning sun helps synchronize your metabolism, so you burn fat more efficiently. Try it for yourself & see if it helps!
7. Improve Your Stress & Sleep Levels
While fitness routines and eating are super important when it comes to weight loss and its effectiveness, there are two additional key factors which should be taken into consideration – stress & sleep. Countless studies have shown that sleep deprivation results in surging hunger hormones, greater appetite for calorie-dense foods, and weight gain. Stress also is a huge player and can affect your hunger too – both physiological and emotional. So make sure you’re getting those under control for optimal results on your health journey.
Looking for some new recipes to try on your weight-loss journey? Try these crispy, crunchy & healthy air fryer recipes we can’t get enough of!
Hayleigh Butcher is a Content Writer & Brand Strategist for Blender Networks. When she’s not managing blogs for FitMinutes, The-E-Tailer, Cartageous, InStyleRooms, NurturedPaws & Shoelistic, she’s finding a new trail to hike with her dog, Gemma or finding the best new spot in her hometown of Bedford, Nova Scotia for an iced coffee!
