5 Weight Loss Tips for a More Confident, Sexier You.

It’s time to lose weight and I know this.

So, as I stand in Target’s dressing room, trying to squeeze into a size four dress, I notice something. I gasp and throw the dress to the side to get a better look into the mirror. To my surprise, there was a roll – a love handle if you will.

I just couldn’t believe it, I’ve never had one before. I’ve always been the skinny chick, this goes for before and even after having children.

It’s clear, the holiday season finally catches up to me. All the alcohol, food and lack of exercise took me to my heaviest weight ever and it was time to act quickly. I had to change the way I do things and adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Thankfully, I’ve begun to shed those pounds and I will be back to my regular weight soon. Along my journey though, I’ve picked up the fundamental tips for weight loss that will take and keep you at your ideal weight.

Tip #1:

Lifestyle Change for Weight Loss

We’re living in an era of fad diets. From the several different diets out there to fasting and laxatives for weight loss, trying to choose the diet for your weight loss goals will make your head spin.

Where these diets or even dieting fails though, is that it doesn’t incorporate a lifestyle change. Meaning, once you’ve lost the weight, there isn’t anything encouraging the beneficial behaviors to continue in order to sustain the weight loss.

A lifestyle is an approach to losing weight that carries on beyond the Keto or Carb Free meals.

Adopting weight loss as a lifestyle change means that you are taking on a way of life that will keep you at or just below your caloric needs, just enough for you to lose weight or keep the weight off.

Ultimately, this means trading in a sedentary lifestyle for an active one and changing eating habits to incorporate, healthier, lower calorie options.

Tip # 2

Drink Water for Weight Loss

Ditch the sodas and juice.

If you are committed to shedding those extra pounds, one of the biggest tips for weight loss is to drink more water.

Water contributes several benefits towards a weight loss regimen.

First, water acts as a natural appetite suppressant. When you drink a lot of water, it takes up space in the stomach which gives you a feeling of being full and reducing hunger.

As strange as it may sound, drinking water actually helps with water retention. The body retains water when it is dehydrated. By providing the body with plenty of water, it no longer needs to conserve water on its own. Your body is able to release stored water and this allows you to shed the excess pounds of water weight.

Accordingly, for the purposes of weight loss, experts recommend the 8 x 8 rule. This is drinking eight, eight-ounce glasses of water a day. While it’s impractical to carry several bottles of water or run to the kitchen eight times a day, use a water bottle like this motivational one from Amazon. The Venture Pal water bottle is a fun way to get more than enough water in for the day (it goes up to 128 oz)!

Tip #3

Change Your Diet

There can be no weight loss without a change in diet. Making a shift in what you eat is the single most important tip for weight loss.

Embracing a diet consisting of low calorie density, weight loss friendly foods including proteins, vegetables and lean meats will help with weight loss. These types of foods will keep you feeling fuller, longer.

Focus on substituting high calorie ingredients for lower calorie ones. For instance, I LOVE deviled eggs. However, the mayonnaise can add several calories to a girl’s bottom line. I swap out the mayonnaise for either non-fat Greek yogurt or avocado (avocado is another super-food for weight loss).

Watching what you eat can be pretty scary when you first start, but there are so many resources that can help. Look to sites such as Pinterest for weight loss meal plans and recipes.

Eating healthier is delicious! I’m having a ball cooking all sorts of new, healthy meals. I’m in love with burrito bowls at the moment.

Tip # 4

Get Active & Exercise!

Can you lose weight with only a change in diet? You can, but your weight loss results will be VERY slow.

This is because, adjusting what you eat only goes towards a portion of your weight loss. In order to really see those pounds come off – you’ll need burn fat through – you guessed it – exercise!

The benefits of exercise go way beyond weight loss. Exercise helps reduce your risk of heart disease as well as certain cancers. It also helps your mental health and mood.

The mental health part is something I can personally attest to. A good workout helps me clear my mind.

Take an hour long walk through the neighborhood. Look on YouTube for at home workouts. Join a gym. Incorporating exercise will not only help you lose weight, but will also make for a better overall you.

Tip # 5

Track Your Progress

If you’re taking all of the necessary steps to lose weight, but aren’t tracking your progress, then you can be throwing a stumbling on the path to success.

The fact is, successfully losing weight means tracking progress to see if you’ll need to make any changes to diet or exercise. In the same vein, monitoring progress means getting the right tools.

You’ll need a scale. There are so many to chose from, but the single most important factor is reliability.

The Withings Body Scale is ranked as one of the best on the market. Not only is this scale reliable, but it has Bluetooth connectivity and syncs with fitness apps such as My Fitness Pal.

Speaking of apps, you’ll definitely need one to reach your goals. Apps like My Fitness Pal allows you to track meals and daily calories. It also provides info on the nutrient content of the foods you eat. The feature I enjoy the most is the blog. My Fitness Pal’s blog is full of super useful information, including meal recipes for weight loss.

Finally, you’ll need to monitor exercise. This is important for two reasons.

First, you’ll want to know calories you’ve burned during exercise (calories burned should be entered into your fitness app). Secondly, you’ll need the heart rate monitor feature to assess the intensity of your work out.

The Fitbit Versa 2 Health & Fitness Smartwatch has everything you’ll need to track your workout. It even comes with Amazon Alexa built in. You can get news and check the weather before a work out – all on your fitness watch.

The Blissful Lesson

There’s only one sure way to lose weight and that’s through diet and exercise. If you take the tips mentioned here and mix them with determination and follow through, then you’ll undoubtedly shed the pounds towards a more confident, sexier, you.

Blissfully Yours Friends,