20 Easy Ways to Jumpstart Your Weight Loss

When the journey of having to lose weight is laid out before you, it can easily feel overwhelming – whether you need to lose 10 pounds or more than 100. Making changes in the way you live, such as your eating habits and exercise can be grueling if you turn to drastic measures.

 

This is what many people do, only to see their efforts diminished when the extreme plans they tried to carry out weren’t sustainable for any length of time. You want to lose weight, but you want it to stay off – not return the minute you’re forced to give up on a radical weight loss plan.

 

A better way to see lasting success is to find micro habits you can implement easily and quickly that will help you lose weight without adding additional stress on you. Below, you’ll find a list of 20 tips you can adhere to starting today if you want to set your weight loss plan into action and begin seeing results.

 

You can start with one and add more on as you feel ready, or make several changes all at once. None of these are going to be so severe that you crumble under pressure and feel as if you just can’t stick to it anymore.

 

Instead, you’ll see these small changes begin to help you build momentum with your weight loss without having a major impact on how you live your day to day life. In the end, these will be lasting results for a healthier, and happier you!

 

Rev Up Your Metabolism

 

One of the biggest reasons why you might not be losing weight easily, is that your metabolism has slowed down. This can happen for many reasons. For example, when you age, your metabolism becomes more sluggish naturally.

 

If you’ve been trying extreme diet fads, you may have also sabotaged your metabolism. Or, simply not eating or exercising regularly can have a negative effect on how well your body burns calories.

 

You have to stoke the fires of your metabolism and the best way to do that is through regular eating and movement. Small, frequent meals instead of one or two larges ones during the day will keep your body in fat burning mode.

 

Instead of eating two, 900-calorie meals, try to eat six 300-calorie meals or even three, 600-calorie meals. The increased frequency gives your body the energy fuel it needs to rev up and burn fat.

 

The same reasoning goes for your exercise, too. Instead of doing one burst of movement, you can break it up and give your body an extra boost of energy by not sitting so much throughout the day.

 

Hydrate to Quell Hunger

 

Water is key to easy weight loss. Whether it’s flavored water or pure water, it can provide you with an easy way to shed pounds just by drinking more of it. Water has zero calories, so it’s the perfect way to hydrate your body.

 

When you initially feel hungry, it might actually be your body’s way of telling you that it’s dehydrated. The signals appear to be similar. Once you drink a glass of water, you might realize you’re not hungry – but you needed some hydration instead.

 

Water also helps fill up your stomach before meals, so if you have a meal planned, try to drink an 8-ounce glass of water beforehand so that you’ll then eat less as you start to focus on the food in front of you.

 

Carry water with you throughout your day. You can continually sip a water bottle and make good headway on getting enough hydration into your day. Some people even get motivating water bottles that cheer them on as they reach each milestone of how much water they’ve consumed each day.

 

Hydration doesn’t just come in the form of a glass of water, though. You can get some water from the foods that you eat, both fruits and vegetables. Cucumbers, lettuce and celery are all over 90% water.

 

You can also eat watermelon (also 90%+ water), as well as pineapples, oranges, plums, peaches and berries that can also help with hydration throughout the day. These low calorie snacks can help you feel full, while also helping you reach your water goals for the day.

 

Set a Timer for 20 Minute Benefits

 

Do you have a problem eating too fast? This is a common issue for people who have gained too much weight. Sometimes, it’s because they waited to eat until they felt like they were starving.

 

Other times, it’s simply because they can’t wait to taste the delicious food, and they scarf it down quickly. Besides putting your fork down between bites, you may also want to give your mind at least 20 minutes to catch up to your stomach and alert you that you’re no longer hungry (or even full).

 

Time is a great buffer between eating enough to satisfy your hunger and making you overeat to the point of misery. Ideally, you’ll stop eating when you’re just not hungry anymore. You should never aim to eat until full.

 

Try Better Cooking Methods

 

Cooking styles can easily pack on the pounds. If you’re frying everything, slathering it in BBQ sauce and covering it all in gravy, you might be adding far more calories than you need or want.

 

There are many delicious ways to cook foods that won’t add unnecessary calories to your meal plans. Whether you’re cooking beef, pork, chicken, fish or other meats, you can cook them with your diet in mind.

 

Grilling, baking, steaming, and roasting foods are some of the healthier ways you can cook your meats to keep extra calories at bay. Of course, you have to be smart about it – not adding tons of condiments on them that would add flavor along with extra calories.

 

Try not to add breading to your foods, either. That packs on unwanted pounds as well. Learn how to get creative with herbs and spices that will flavor your foods instead of using breading and high calorie options.

 

You can also use these same cooking styles for the vegetables that you eat, too. You can roast vegetables instead of frying them in butter or oil, and grilled vegetables like squash, onions and eggplant make wonderful side dishes!

 

Shrink Your Dinnerware

 

Depending on your age, you may or may not know how much the average plate size has grown over the years. In the past 100 years, plates have ballooned from 8 inches to 12 inches.

 

When you’re sitting there staring at an 8-inch plate filled with food, you feel more satisfied. But if you look at a 12-inch plate where 4 inches are empty, it will automatically make you feel like you’re depriving yourself – even though it’s the same amount of food on both plates.

 

In fact, most dinnerware sets are sold in 10.5-12 inch sizes routinely. However, you can still find 8-9 inch plates if you shop specifically for them. Even our glasses have grown so that now, you’re getting far more than 8 ounces in a glass – it’s usually over 20 ounces.

 

Replace the plates, bowls, and cups you’re using with smaller options – like they used in the 60s and 70s and you’ll feel more satisfied with the amount of food on your plate (and being eaten) without even thinking twice about it.

 

By making the swap, you’ll be able to cut out about 20% of the calories you’re currently eating if you fill a plate created in today’s standard size. That’s a significant amount of weight lost each week.

 

Track Your Intake

 

Calories are sneaky. You might order a six piece chicken nugget meal at a fast food restaurant, and not even realize that you added on an extra 100 calories by using their dipping sauce.

 

Or you might think you’re eating healthy because you used a cooking spray instead of oil, but you failed to read that one spray is just 1/3 of one second. So if you’re standing there smothering your pan in cooking spray, you might be adding an extra 50-100 calories without even realizing it.

 

Likewise, normal food portions can be tricky when you’re used to overeating. A handful of chips might be more calories than you assume it is. A chicken breast can have huge ranges in size and calories, depending on what brand it was and which store you bought from.

 

The only way to combat sneaky calorie intake is for you to track every bite that goes in your mouth. Not just from the time it’s on your plate, but during the preparation stage, too.

 

Most people don’t even real the cooking spray container to see that a single serving is 1/3 of one second of a spray. They just try to make better choices. But they end up disappointed when the scale doesn’t budge.

 

You can use a tool like MyFitnessPal to track your calories. You can set a daily goal and even set the macros for how you want to divide up your spent calories. It can even calculate any additional calories you’ve “earned” through exercise, if you want it to.

 

Don’t Shun Fat

 

There are two kinds of fat in this world of foods – healthy and unhealthy. Fat, in and of itself, is not your enemy when it comes to weight loss. In fact, it wouldn’t be your fault if you believed this myth because dieticians once recommended low fat diet plans.

 

This leaves your body lacking the satiety it needs to adhere to a weight loss plan. When you remove all fat from your diet, your brain isn’t getting the signal that you’re satisfied with what you’ve eaten.

 

You can aim for healthy fats in your diet, and steer clear of the trans fat and other unhealthy options. Some of the best ways you can get healthy fat from foods include eating things like:

 

• Olive oil (or olives)
• Nuts and seeds (as well as nut butters)
• Fatty fish (like salmon, tuna, sardines, etc.)
• Avocados
• Eggs…and more

 

The key is not to overdo it with your healthy fats. Your fat intake needs to exist in your meal plan, but it shouldn’t be a higher percentage than the amount of protein and carbs you’re consuming.

 

Make Smart Swaps

 

Food swaps are a great way to keep eating many of your favorite foods, with a small adjustment. For example, if you love chicken enchiladas, swap out the tortilla for a thinly sliced zucchini wrap.

 

If you’re making a sandwich and you’re used to using mayonnaise, try a mustard instead – because it has zero calories. You might need to find a flavored mustard if you don’t like plain yellow mustard.

 

You can make swaps for your snacks, too. If you usually have a bag of chips near you, try to replace it with something like healthy nuts. These will satisfy your hunger, deliver a crunch and be a healthier option, too.

 

You can do the same with fruits and veggies, too. Instead of snacking on high calorie carb snacks, choose an apple with peanut butter, some grapes or berries. This works better for your weight loss goals.

 

If you have certain snacks you’re not willing to give up, like a nightly bag of popcorn, find ways to make it healthier so you can lose weight. If you usually buy the extra butter movie theater flavor, try to lower it to buttered and then plain popcorn instead.

 

You can find other ways to flavor the popcorn that won’t add the same calories – even if it’s just salt and pepper or a smart butter swap that won’t have the same health hazards as the movie butter would.

 

When you cook pasta, see if you can swap out the noodles for some spiralized vegetables instead. You can do this for spaghetti and many other dishes, and the zucchini spirals (known as zoodles) make a great substitute.

 

You can also make little swaps such as using lettuce wraps instead of a hamburger bun or bread for a sandwich. Even choosing a crust made from cauliflower rather than dough can go a long way in shaving calories off your meals and helping you to lose weight effortlessly.

 

There are many swaps you can make. Whenever you’re preparing a meal or snack, look up healthier and lower calories substitutions you could make – whether it’s a type of sauce or other product that can do the job.

 

Get Your Gut in Shape

 

Sometimes, the bacteria in your gut gets unbalanced, which not only causes digestive issues, but also causes an impediment in your ability to lose weight. Some things you might eat or even medicines you might take can wipe out the healthy bacteria and leave only destructive ones in their place.

 

There are many probiotics on the market that can help you balance your gut bacteria. But you can also improve the balance by eating a diet that contains fermented foods and other items that have beneficial bacteria in them.

 

For example, whenever you are purchasing yogurt, you want to buy the kind that has live bacteria in it. The bacteria inside your gut is what helps breakdown the food that you consume, allowing the nutrients you need to become absorbed into your bloodstream.

 

If the bacteria is not balanced correctly in your gut, you will not be able to digest the food properly, which can often lead to an increase in weight. Not only can you find the good probiotics in your yogurt, but you can also find them in tempeh and kefir, too.

 

These bacteria will need you to feed them what they needs to thrive. These include things like almonds and pistachios, blueberries, apples, etc. At the same time you are helping your gut bacteria thrive, you need to lighten up on the foods that will sabotage your gut health.

 

Processed foods with lots of sugar and salt as well as red meat can all wreak havoc on your gut. Try to eat a rainbow of colors when you are shopping for fruits and vegetables, and give the helpful bacteria a chance to work in your favor.

 

Choose a New Color to Shed Pounds

 

When fast food restaurants are looking for the right branding for their business, they often turn to the color wheel to figure out a good combination that will increase the appetite of their customers.

 

Certain colors have the ability to stoke your appetite more than others. Professionals not only use colors in their branding, but also in the design of the restaurant as well as the lighting inside.

 

One way you can lose weight effortlessly is to simply make an easy replacement with your dinnerware. Even if you have plain, white plates, you could be sabotaging your ability to eat less.

 

There is one color that has been studied and found to reduce your appetite, whether you are eating off of the plates or using some sort of light to get the same effect. Blue is the color that will reduce your hunger, so when you are shopping for those smaller plates, make sure they are blue and not a color that will make you hungrier.

 

Set Some Fitness Goals

 

Many times, people who are overweight will simply set a goal based on the number on the scale. But you don’t want to ignore the importance of fitness when it comes to achieving your weight loss goals.

 

In addition to simply losing weight, or looking better in your clothes, you want to have some measurable goals in terms of how your body is benefiting from your weight loss and exercise.

 

Instead of simply saying that you are going to work out six days a week, be specific with your fitness goals so that you are leveling up periodically, and naturally giving your body the ability to burn fat and shed pounds.

 

For example, if you’re going by time, you can say you are going to strength train for 30 minutes, three times per week. For cardio, you are going to walk on a treadmill at a level 4 for 6 days per week for one hour a day.

 

You may have other fitness goals that will help you burn calories. For example, you might set a goal to be able to run for one mile, instead of having to walk and run. You might also want to keep track of the amount of weights that you are lifting so that you can have a fitness goal based on your body’s ability to perform in that way.

Scout Out Some Fat Burning Supplements

If you’re trying to lose weight, you may have considered all of your options. There are many weight loss pills that can be prescribed, including new injections people are giving themselves that are meant for diabetics.

But a safer option would be to consider natural fat burning supplements that can help you burn fat faster and lose weight without trying to maintain extreme fad diets. Fat burning supplements are over-the-counter products, so you don’t need a prescription.

 

You can find fat burning supplements that help you raise your metabolism and burn fat by using many different ingredients – including caffeine, fiber, herbs and vitamins and other ingredients.

 

One of the most popular ingredients is green tea extract, which is in many weight loss products. You won’t find any unsafe herbs like ephedra anymore because they’ve been banned.

 

Some of the supplements come in pill form and other fat burning supplements are in juice or extract form. It all depends on the brand, the ingredients and how you prefer to consume them.

 

Stay Focused on Your Food

 

Mindless eating can be one of the primary causes for increasing your caloric intake beyond what you had planned. This can quickly lead to a situation where you are packing on the pounds, but not realizing where those extra calories are coming from.

 

Whenever you sit down to eat your meals, it’s best to do it without any distractions such as the Internet or TV. When you are distracted by other media formats, you won’t realize how much you are eating and not enjoy the process as much as you would if you were focused on your food.

 

Being focused not only means you are not watching anything else, but it also means you are taking your time to enjoy your meal fully. You want to eat slowly, stopping to put your fork down between bites so that you can chew your food thoroughly.

 

You want to enjoy and savor the food, not only with your taste buds, but with your sense of smell, the visual elements, the texture, and more. Your meals should be a very relaxing and enjoyable experience, and if you are rushed or distracted, it takes away from that and replaces it with volume.

 

Learn How to Fight the Mental Weight Loss Battles

 

Another thing you have to do when you are trying to lose weight without embarking on an extreme diet plan is to keep your mindset straight. There are many things that can sabotage you when it comes to your mental health regarding your weight.

 

For example, if you consider yourself a failure for having a slip up meal, it can snowball into something much bigger where you are off the rails and eating whatever you want to for days on end.

 

Instead of beating yourself up, you need to celebrate all of the small wins that you have. They might include things like making a healthy swap, getting enough water in for the day, sticking to your calories for a day, etc.

 

You want to fight the battle each and every day, rather than create these massive goals for yourself that make it nearly impossible to stick to them perfectly for a long stretch. It’s better to have many wins and a few losses over the course of a month than to slip up one day in the month and consider the entire thing scrapped.

 

Sometimes, your mental state may not be anything to do with weight, but it can affect your ability to lose weight. For example, if you stay in an extreme state of stress, and you are an emotional eater, this can sabotage your weight loss goals.

 

Stop Drinking Your Calories

 

When it comes to drinking and hydrating throughout the day, many people turn to unhealthy options that are packed full of calories. Instead of simply getting yourself a glass of water when you are thirsty, you might go to the vending machine and get a soda (soft drink).

 

Even if it’s only a 12 ounce can of Coke, you’re looking at approximately 140 extra calories that you are drinking, and not being able to enjoy feeling your hunger diminish in any way.

 

Sodas are packed with sugar, which can be very addicting for some people. If you are drinking a can of Coke several times a day, you are consuming about 35 grams of sugar (which is 7 teaspoons) with every can.

 

Some people also sabotage their weight loss by stopping by for a coffee at some point in their day. If you were to go to Starbucks and get a 16 oz mocha Frappuccino, you would be looking at almost 400 calories for that single drink.

 

A better option for you would be to drink beverages that have zero to very few calories, such as 35 to 45. You may find some with sugar substitutes in them, which some people prefer and others like to avoid.

 

Another thing you want to be careful of is drinking alcohol. Alcoholic beverages often have a lot of calories in them, and if you are not careful, one month of enjoying a few drinks can suddenly pack on a couple of pounds.

 

Set an Eating Schedule

 

Being on a set eating schedule can help you keep from overeating or snacking throughout the day. Whether you have a specific time of day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – or do you want to put yourself on an intermittent fasting schedule, both will help you lose weight.

 

When it comes to intermittent fasting, there are different versions you can do. For example, you can go 24 hours between meals, which means you will eat every other day.

 

Or, you can put yourself on a different type of time restriction, such as fasting for 16 hours and eating in an 8 hour window. There are some people who prefer to restrict their calories vastly 2 days a week, and eat normally for the additional 5 days of the week.

 

Any of these would be suitable compared to an endless grazing of whatever food you want. It all depends on what you personally prefer to do. Some people actually find fasting every other day easier than trying to narrow it down to a window of eight hours.

 

You can test various methods out and see what works for you in terms of hunger, mood, and a general feeling of well-being. You don’t want to refrain from eating if you tend to get lightheaded and feel sick.

 

Increase Your Food Volume

 

It may sound counterproductive, but you can actually lose more weight if you increase the volume of certain foods that you are eating. Of course, that doesn’t mean you want to increase the volume of cookies, cakes, and chips.

 

If you’ve ever heard of the Volumetrics Diet, this is one that helps you lose weight by filling up on lower calorie foods that are dense in nutrients. This will eliminate your hunger, help hydrate your body, and keep your metabolism fired up.

 

What you want to do is begin comparing the calories found in a certain measure of food. For example, you can eat one cup of spinach and only spend 7 calories, but if you substituted that with one cup of rice, you would be eating 205 calories.

 

If you choose nutrient dense foods to fill up on, they will keep hunger at bay. Not only does it physically do this, but it will also give you the mental assumption that you are eating more because you can fill a plate with low calorie, nutrient dense foods compared to the amount you would have with the other foods.

 

Learn How to Eat Out and Stay Smart

 

In a world where many people are on the go constantly, it is imperative that you learn how to eat out at fast food places and sit down restaurants in a way that doesn’t have you gaining weight all the time.

 

You want to still be able to lose weight and enjoy meals out. There are several ways you can do this. The first is by asking for and reviewing the nutritional facts for meals at the establishment you are eating at.

 

That way, you will be able to see an exact number of calories that you will be eating per dish rather than having to estimate or guess at how many calories you are eating. Most places will have this online, but if not, you can always ask for it.

 

The second thing you want to do is look for a light option. There are many restaurants that have specific menu sections for light or skinny dishes that will help you save calories automatically without having to research a lot.

 

Another thing you can do is ask the chef to tailor your meals for your low calorie needs. Contrary to popular belief, they don’t mind cooking food the way you ask for it. So if you want a grilled chicken breast instead of one that is breaded and fried, you can simply ask for that.

 

If you know they usually cook their broccoli in butter and slather it in cheese afterwards, you can ask for it to be steamed without all of the extra condiments included. Another thing you can do is ask for sauces on the side instead of placed directly on the meals so that you can carefully dole it out on your food.

 

Limit Variety Until You Achieve Your Goal

 

If you have too much of a focus on your enjoyment of food, it can sometimes cause you to overeat certain items. Studies have shown that The more variety you have in your diet, the more calories you may take in, simply because you are filling up on a myriad of products.

 

If you decide to create a bit of monotony with your meals, the process of eating becomes less important, and more a vain necessity for living. You might want to create a specific breakfast, lunch, and dinner that you eat until you achieve your goal.

 

Or, you can set it up so that you have two to three options for breakfast, two to three options for lunch, and two to three options for dinner so that you get a little bit of variety, but not a free for all.

 

Shake Things Up from Time to Time

 

While studies have shown that limited variety can help you lose weight, it’s also important that you shake things up every once in awhile so that your body does not become accustomed to processing certain foods or an exact exercise routine that you do day in, day out.

 

It’s important for your body to get a variety of nutrients, so you may want to swap out your meals at the end of the week so that your body then has the ability to get new vitamins and minerals, and your mental enjoyment of your food remains intact.

 

You can even shake up the time of day that you eat, or go from eating three meals a day to six smaller meals or put yourself on an intermittent fasting plan from time to time so that your body doesn’t get accustomed to anything and hold onto the weight.

 

With fitness, you also want to shake things up so that you are doing different routines and exercising different muscles. You might do a circuit training routine one week, and then go to free weights or body weights the next week.

 

Losing weight doesn’t have to be an overwhelming concept. Instead of approaching it as an all or nothing major event, start the process of integrating smaller, better habits that can have a lasting effect in getting you to a healthy weight.