Drink More Water.
Okay, let’s get the most obvious one out of the way. Every website you visit, every fitness fanatic you talk to says you have to drink more water. And you know why? Because it definitely works. Not only does drinking your recommended 2.2 litres a day work wonders for your skin, but it also keeps you fuller for longer, gives you more energy, flushes out toxins and prevents headaches. You replace your liquid calories with water and the weight will melt off! Try drinking a litre or so before noon, another by 4 and one last one before bed.
Prep Your Meals.
This one is a real lifesaver, especially if your days are as busy as mine. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve wanted to eat healthily but I’ve just been too pushed for time, or I haven’t got the food in for it. But of course, McDonald’s was always there and in ten greasy, finger-licking minutes my diet has gone down the drain. My game-changing moment came the first time I prepped a meal and reheated it the next day; it really isn’t as bad as you might think. Get yourself a load of microwavable plastic trays and select a few days in the week to cook. Unless your planning on freezing these meals, try to cook three days in advance max, any more and the food’ll start getting a little funky.
Balance Your Meals.
Might be a tad obvious, but if you really want to lose weight you really need to be keeping an eye on what’s going on that plate. I don’t worry so much with calorie counting, but just be sure to include two types of carbs (starchy and fibrous) and a type of protein. Once you get this down you’re well on your way to dropping those sizes. For your starch, you’ll be focusing mainly on things like brown rice and sweet potatoes (delicious baked and with a touch of cinnamon); for your fibrous, you’ll be aiming to get a good helping of veggies. I know, I know, this is where most people fall down, but you need to try out all kinds before you find what works best for you. My personal favourites are roasted brussels sprouts, roasted asparagus with cajun seasoning and green beans with a dash of crushed garlic. The last is the easiest, in my opinion: the protein. Easy because there are so many delicious proteins to choose from, just keep it lean. Turkey steaks and mince are both great, not to mention salmon, tuna steak, beef mince (as low a fat percentage as possible), chicken and even sirloin if you cut the fat off.
Cut Or Significantly Reduce Your Sugar.
Sugar is, simply put, the work of the Devil himself. You will not realise just how addictive the stuff is until you ditch it one day. But there is very good news, once it’s out of your system (give it a couple of days) your cravings will plummet. Purge yourself of all chocolate, order your food shops online so that you’re not tempted to walk around a store and pick up a pack of mars bars, just in case you might want a treat. Get it out of your life as much as you can; you’ll thank me later.
Ditch The Alcohol!
Calories in alcohol are extra-fattening; they are completely and utterly empty, with no nutritional value whatsoever. At seven calories a gram, alcohol is almost as fattening as fat itself. And that’s not even touching upon the fact that your self-control goes straight out the window when drunk and you’ll likely end the night compulsively stuffing your face to fill that weakened stomach of yours. Also don’t forget that, when alcohol is in our body, we want the stuff out. Our bodies will burn that off before we get to work on that burger you had for lunch. Put simply, whilst you’re drinking you’re burning that pesky fat.
Luxuriate Every Now And Then.
Not essential, of course. By all means, if you can stay sane eating clean all the time then do so of course, but I cannot. Don’t put yourself on a “diet”, just start eating clean in the week. Take that healthy wrap to work, eat the sweet potato and salmon for dinner, but by all means treat yourself a little on the weekend. Don’t go crazy, and don’t go jeopardizing your hard work by eating something you know you won’t be able to kick again. Keep it one cheat meal a week, or two max if you really can’t take it, just not consecutive meals, not consecutive days.
Good luck everybody, I hope this helps. I know it’s helped me.
The Writer's Block 