6 Weight Loss Strategies That Actually Work.

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When you wake up one morning, step on the scale, and don’t like the number that shows up, you may react in several different ways. You could spend your morning researching diets, start an intense workout routine, or skip breakfast and promise yourself you’ll cut calories or certain foods from your diet. Each strategy has the potential to work, but more often than not diets fail, you’ll lose gym motivation in the first couple weeks, and your plan to skip breakfast and cut calories will only leaving you starving by lunch time. This frustrating cycle is why in a 2015 poll, 49% of Americans said they still want to lose weight. It can be hard to make a change that you can stick with long enough to see long-term results.

When trying to lose weight, it’s always better to take a slow, calculated approach that involves small, but impactful changes that lead to a healthier lifestyle. Start by evaluating where you could improve and then set some realistic goals. Use these six proven strategies to help you out along the way.

1. Get back to the basics

Your cupboards may be stocked with low-calorie, low-fat, and low-sodium foods, but often these foods are full of artificial sweeteners and chemicals, and devoid of any nutrition. Switch out those “diet foods” for natural whole foods. This swap doesn’t require any books, calorie counting, or complicated meals plans — just limit your consumption of processed foods and focus on eating whole foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. This means skipping the middle isles of your grocery store and stocking your cart with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy, and healthy proteins that are naturally devoid of added sugar, trans fats, excess sodium, and preservatives.

2. Slow down

Man quickly eating a large cheeseburger | Joe Raedle/Getty Images

You know that you should only eat until you’re full, but when you’re scarfing down a giant burrito you may not feel the fullness creep up until you’ve already overeaten. Whether you’re eating at your desk, out at a restaurant, or snacking on the couch, make a point to pay attention to the process of eating. Slow down, pay attention to taste, and feel the food’s texture. Tricks to avoid the temptation to gorge include counting your bites, focusing on chewing everything more thoroughly, or making sure you sit down to eat in a relaxed space (no TV allowed). By eating mindfully you will be more attentive to your body’s natural satiety cues, leaving you stomach ache free and down in calorie consumption.

3. Indulge in sleep

This is one tip we can all get behind. Many weight loss gurus agree that getting plenty of sleep is one of thebest ways to lose weight and keep it off. Your body reaches a metabolically active high as you sleep, so the more you sleep, the more you burn. Not getting enough sleep can mess with two of your body’s metabolic hormones, leptin and ghrelin. Leptin controls hunger and ghrelin controls the feeling of satiety. Skip a few hours of sleep and these hormones will get out of balance leading you to have strong cravings without feeling full. To top it off, you’ll have a tendency to crave high “energy” foods, which translates into all those things you should avoid: sweets, baked goods, chips, and soda.

4. Skip liquid calories

Two men working out together at the gym | Source: iStock

If you just can’t seem to give up or cut down on your daily food consumption, cut all caloric liquids out of your diet. You may not realize how many calories that morning latte, lunchtime Snapple, and afternoon soda add to your diet. Most conventional drinks contain well over 150 calories and can make up to 20% of your daily caloric intake. Anytime you want to reach for a sugary drink, grab a glass of water with lemon. It’s free, diet friendly, and helps flush toxins out of your body.

5. Partner up

Losing weight is hard. It takes a lot of dedication, planning, and time. Rather than trying to go at it alone, recruit a friend who is also trying to beat the bulge. Research as found that people are more successful at losing weightwhen they do it with a partner. Not only will your weight loss buddy provide support, hold you accountable, and keep you inspired, but they may instigate your competitive side, which will provide you with the drive necessary to drop the weight.

6. Get active

Exercise should be paired with proper diet, but if your time and energy is being used to get your relationship with food on track, the fitness component can be added in later to give your weight loss journey a little extra push. Exercise will help burn off excess calories, give you a little more flexibility in your diet, and has the power to burn fat and add muscle to your gradually slimming physique. If that wasn’t enough, exercise can boost your mood, makes you feel great, and can help you maintain your weight loss goals long term.