The Secret To Losing Weight For Good

One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when committing to losing weight is to assume they need to change their lives in really big ways. The tendency is to join a gym, start a new diet or in fact sign up for a marathon. While there is nothing inherently wrong with any of these choices, most people fail to stick with them. More importantly, such major changes are not necessary for sustained weight loss.

The key to losing weight and keeping it off is to make small, incremental and sustainable behavioral changes that, over time, make a significant difference in the overall development of an healthy life. Start with changes that are so small and manageable that you know you can't fail.

Here are three simple ways you can get started with your weight loss journey.

Go to bed 15 minutes earlier; Why will more sleep help you manage your weight? Two hormones leptin and ghrelin are your hunger management hormones, and they are greatly controlled by sleep. If you get too little, you will find yourself more hungry and craving starchy foods throughout the day. When you get just the right amount of sleep, these hormones (and your appetite) will stay in check. So try getting to bed 15 minutes earlier than you normally do. And when that becomes manageable, add another 15 minutes.

Ditch the sugar in your drinks; Did you know that studies show that diet soda sweetened with aspartame or sucralose can increase your appetite? If you enjoy carbonated drinks, opt for club soda and a squeeze of lime or lemon or look for drinks sweetened with stevia (a natural sweetner that doesn't have the same insulin impact as artificial sweeteners).

To that end, if you're still drinking juices, check the label and see how many grams of sugar per serving it contains. A glass of orange juice can contain up to 25 grams of sugar per serving, which equates to about five or six cubes of sugar.

Eat protein at every meal; Protein is an essential component to your weight loss strategy. One great approach is to consume at least a considerable amount at breakfast, which has been shown to reduce cravings and hunger throughout the day. Protein is also essential for building and maintaining lean muscle during the fat loss process.

With just a few adjustments to your diet you will start to see the positive results. And with momentum comes increased personal motivation to do more and get even better results.

Are you having problems losing or maintaining weight? What methods have you tried? Please let us know by commenting.

Reference
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@bidemii

Layman DK. Dietary Guidelines should reflect new understandings about adult protein needs. Nutr Metab (Lond). 2009 Mar 13;6:12. PubMed PMID: 19284668; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2666737.
Wang S1, Yang L, Lu J, Mu Y. High-Protein Breakfast Promotes Weight Loss by Suppressing Subsequent Food Intake and Regulating Appetite Hormones in Obese Chinese Adolescents. 2014, June
Simon SL1, Field J2, Miller LE3, DiFrancesco M2, Beebe DW4. Sweet/Dessert foods are more appealing to adolescents after sleep restriction. 2015, Feb.
Qing Yang,Gain weight by by p://www.ncArtificial sweeteners and the neurobiology of sugar cravings. 2010, June.

- See more at: http://www.livestrong.com/blog/secret-losing-weight-good/#sthash.nbEV5BRy.dpuf

The key to losing weight and keeping it off is to make small, incremental and sustainable behavioral changes that, over time, make a significant difference in the overall development of a healthy life. Start with changes that are so small and manageable that you know you can't fail. This process of slowly moving the dial toward your ideal weight will make the overall experience relatively painless. - See more at: http://www.livestrong.com/blog/secret-losing-weight-good/#sthash.nbEV5BRy.dpuf

One of the biggest missteps I see clients make when committing to losing weight is to assume that they need to change their lives in really big ways. The tendency is to sign up for a marathon, join a gym or start a new diet. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with any of these choices, most people fail to stick with them. More importantly, such major changes aren't necessary for sustained weight loss. - See more at: http://www.livestrong.com/blog/secret-losing-weight-good/#sthash.nbEV5BRy.dpuf

One of the biggest missteps I see clients make when committing to losing weight is to assume that they need to change their lives in really big ways. The tendency is to sign up for a marathon, join a gym or start a new diet. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with any of these choices, most people fail to stick with them. More importantly, such major changes aren't necessary for sustained weight loss. - See more at: http://www.livestrong.com/blog/secret-losing-weight-good/#sthash.nbEV5BRy.dpuf

One of the biggest missteps I see clients make when committing to losing weight is to assume that they need to change their lives in really big ways. The tendency is to sign up for a marathon, join a gym or start a new diet. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with any of these choices, most people fail to stick with them. More importantly, such major changes aren't necessary for sustained weight loss. - See more at: http://www.livestrong.com/blog/secret-losing-weight-good/#sthash.nbEV5BRy.dp

One of the biggest missteps I see clients make when committing to losing weight is to assume that they need to change their lives in really big ways. The tendency is to sign up for a marathon, join a gym or start a new diet. And while there's nothing inherently wrong with any of these choices, most people fail to stick with them. More importantly, such major changes aren't necessary for sustained weight loss. - See more at: http://www.livestrong.com/blog/secret-losing-weight-good/#sthash.nbEV5BRy.dpuf