If you want to shed a few extra pounds and learn to love your body, you must first change your eating habits. You need to eat well, exercise and get enough sleep. In any case, the important thing is not to starve or binge. Eating disorders can lead to serious health risks and will not help you lose weight safely. If you want to lose more than 5-15 pounds, consult your doctor or dietician for a healthy weight loss program. Before starting a diet, talk to your doctor or dietician and explain which weight loss program you would like to follow: he will give you targeted advice. However, there are some tips to start off on the right foot regardless of your diet, such as not eating after 8 pm, drinking plenty of water, choosing low-sugar fruit juices and semi-skimmed milk, sugaring less tea or coffee, drinking lukewarm water with a couple of lemon slices. All of this will help you shed fat. Try to drink constantly throughout the day and take a short walk before bed as it will help you relax and rest much better. At night, try to get at least 6-8 hours of sleep so that you wake up refreshed and much more ready to face the day. Avoid foods that are high in sugar or salt and saturated fats. Also remember that some fruits, such as grapes, cherries, apples and bananas, contain a lot of fructose, which is still a sugar. When choosing yogurt, go for white low-fat yogurt, limit your consumption of red meat to a couple of times a week, and accompany it with mixed salads. For breakfast, choose semi-skimmed milk or Greek yogurt with a handful of cereals. Eat small, regular meals, to be scheduled at specific times.
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Changing Power
Step 1. Start dieting
If you want to get results right away, you definitely need to change your eating habits. However, this certainly does not mean starving, otherwise your metabolism, or the mechanism that among other things allows you to burn fat, will slow down drastically to store energy. You will not lose weight and you may even gain weight.
Try not to develop an eating disorder. Anorexia and bulimia are serious diseases that need to be treated. If you think you have it, talk to someone you trust and ask for help right away. There is no point in putting your health at risk to lose weight
Step 2. Understand the food pyramid
Knowing which foods and how many servings you should eat each day is essential for healthy weight loss. Try to follow these tips at the table:
- Accompany your meals with water. It is healthier than sugary soft drinks and artificial fruit juices. Try flavoring it with a few slices of lemon. It will help you expel toxins. Drink as much as possible and frequently.
- Calculate at least 3 servings of fruit per day.
- Allow for at least 4 servings of vegetables a day.
- Calculate 3-7 servings of protein [1] (meat, fish, etc.), milk and dairy products (cheese, yogurt, etc.) per day.
- Calculate 3-5 servings of healthy fats [2] (nuts, peanut butter, avocados, and so on) per day.
- Consume simple carbohydrates in moderation (refined and processed products, including muffins, cakes, cereals, white bread, pasta). Eating carbohydrates from artificial and refined sources will make you bloated. Instead, opt for complex carbohydrates, such as those found in sweet potatoes, yams, rice, quinoa, and couscous.
Step 3. Prepare your own menus
Understand which foods you shouldn't eat and create healthy menus that suit your needs. Here are some tips on what you should choose.
- Ideas for breakfast: toast with your favorite spread, bananas (rich in potassium) [3], cereals accompanied by skimmed milk and fruit.
- Ideas for lunch: if you eat out, better bring it from home. The foods you find at vending machines and bars are not always healthy, so it will be more difficult to make the right choice. Try a wholemeal or multigrain sandwich stuffed with chicken, lean ham, or hard-boiled eggs (don't fry them). Avoid refined bread: it is made with bleached flour and contains very few nutrients. Add a mixed salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, etc.), water, healthy snacks like carrot sticks and celery.
- Snack ideas: Fruits, vegetables, white yogurt with berries, a handful of nuts, vegetables (such as carrots), legumes (such as beans and snow peas) and low-fat sauces. Don't buy dried fruit coated in yogurt or chocolate - it's full of added sugars.
- Ideas for dinner: you could have a dinner consisting of half vegetables, a quarter of proteins and a quarter of carbohydrates. If your parents cook heavy food, serve yourself a small portion and make a salad as a side dish. If you cook yourself, choose brown rice accompanied by lean protein, scrambled eggs, a sandwich or some fish (rich in omega-3s, which are good for the brain).
Step 4. Observe the basic rules of healthy eating
Eat 3 small meals a day and 2 snacks in between. At each meal, have vegetables take up most of the plate, followed by protein and carbohydrates. You can integrate dairy into any meal at your convenience.
- Breakfast: carbohydrates, fruit, proteins.
- Lunch: vegetables, proteins.
- Dinner: proteins, vegetables, carbohydrates.
- Snacks: fruit, vegetables, proteins.
Step 5. Drink lots of water
Try to avoid other drinks, prefer water and unsweetened tea. Water is the best liquid ever to stay hydrated, not to mention that it helps the body to burn fat as well as to have a clean and blemish-free skin.
- As if that weren't enough, drinking just water means avoiding sugary drinks or energy drinks, which can contain up to 800 calories each. That's right: just one drink contains half the calories you should be ingesting daily! Water is healthy, tastes good, and is essential for keeping you fit.
- If you are always hungry after every meal, try drinking a large glass of water or a cup of green (unsweetened) tea before eating. It will help keep you full and contains no calories.
- To burn more calories, drink cold water. The body will dispose of more calories to warm it up. By the way, after exercising, a glass of fresh water is what you need.
Step 6. Eat everything in moderation
Try to control yourself at the table, but don't rule everything out. For example, eat red meat once a week or a month - this will also help you enjoy it more.
- Instead, try to eliminate fast food, sweets (chocolate, candy, etc.) and other junk products (soft and carbonated drinks, chips, hamburgers, ice cream…). Giving yourself 24 hours of "cheating" a week is not effective, as it can make you binge for a whole day. Once a week, you can reward yourself with an after-dinner treat. If it is too difficult to be this strict, then initially eat a small dessert every day after dinner, then gradually move on to a single weekly treat. You could eat it at any other time of the day, but it's best to wait for dinner to finish so you can enjoy it all day long.
- Fast food and candy are synthetic, fatty, and anything but healthy. McDonald's ice cream on tap is made with pork fat, fast food chips are often fried in lard, and milkshakes often contain very few natural ingredients. They are mostly composed of preservatives and additives. Find out what's good for you and what's not.
Part 2 of 4: Maintain a good balance
Step 1. Don't completely eliminate carbohydrates
You need to limit their quantities, but don't completely exclude them from your diet. You should include carbohydrate-containing foods in 50% of meals. The body needs glucose (sugar) to function. In fact, carbohydrates are transformed into energy. Unless you want to feel lethargic, fatigued, and risk regaining more weight, don't eliminate them.
Don't fall into the trap of the Atkins diet, which is low in carbohydrates. This regimen recommends eating high-protein meats, fish that are high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Excessive consumption of animal proteins (eggs, butter, chicken, fish, yogurt, milk, beef, lamb, pork, turkey, and so on) has been associated with an increased incidence of cardiovascular disease and cancer
Step 2. Eat lots of plant-based foods, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains
Base your diet on products like rice, oats, couscous, quinoa, yellow and sweet potatoes. It may seem strange to be able to eat rice and potatoes while on a diet, but these foods don't make you fat. Think traditional Chinese diet: it involves regular consumption of these starches, yet Chinese people are among the thinnest in the world. Eat until full, but not too full. Don't limit yourself and don't starve.
Step 3. Don't go on a calorie restricted diet
Diets that are temporarily out of fashion contribute to eating disorders and weight gain. Don't limit calories, but don't consume more than you need depending on your type of activity, weight, height, age and gender. For example, an active young woman should consume no less than 2000 calories per day.
- Low calorie diets of 1000 or 1400 calories often last 3, 7 or 10 days, 2 weeks maximum. In fact, they are not effective in the long term. You need to be able to maintain the effects of weight loss, not look for a quick fix.
- With careful supervision and advice from a doctor, calculate how many calories you should consume in order to lose weight in a healthy and stable way. You have to consider your weight, height, age, gender and activity level.
Step 4. Balance fats, carbohydrates and proteins
If you overdo the protein, your body will turn the excess into glucose, which is the substance you try to avoid in the first place by consuming fewer carbohydrates. Instead, fats have no effect on blood sugar and insulin.
- Limit the amount of fat you consume by not exceeding 35-60 grams per day. This means they should make up 20-35% of your daily calorie requirement.
- Aim for 200-350 grams of complex carbohydrates every day: whole grains, fruits and vegetables. They should make up 60-70% of your daily calorie requirement.
- Aim to consume 55-95 grams of low-fat protein, including legumes, nuts, and seeds. They should make up 15-25% of your daily calorie requirement. Did you know that one cup of oats contains 12 grams of protein? Think differently than usual, don't think that meat, eggs and fish are the only foods that will allow you to get protein.
Part 3 of 4: Physical Activity
Step 1. Introduce physical activity into your lifestyle
However, it shouldn't be an unbearable burden. Small changes make a big difference and will help you not regain the lost pounds. Walk, jog, or cycle to school instead of driving. Run with the dog. Do sit-ups when commercials are on the television. Take a bike ride with friends and family.
- Plan your week. For 3 days, do intense exercise, such as running or a spinning class at the gym. The other 3 days, do low-intensity activities, such as a long walk. The remaining day is free.
- Don't spend the day on the couch watching television. Try to exercise. Fast weight loss can only be achieved by combining nutrition and exercise.
Step 2. Spend enough time on physical activity
A training session should last at least 30-60 minutes. You should burn around 400 calories with a high intensity session. If you don't sweat, you aren't training hard enough. If you sweat a lot, are out of breath and thirsty, you are training well.
- Stretch before and after exercising. It also helps you not to overgrow your muscles and stretch them, so you don't look like a bodybuilder. If you do it right, you should achieve a harmonious physique.
- If you have suffered an injury, it will be more difficult to lose weight. Stretching and yoga can help.
- Lift weights. Muscles always burn calories. The more you have, the faster you will lose weight.
Step 3. Choose sports and hobbies that burn calories
It is ideal to play sports because it stimulates competitive energy, pushing you to give much more than normal. Don't worry about what others will say or if you are good enough to be able to join a team: look for a group of girls who are dedicated to a sport of your interest and propose to join them. Here are some activities that allow you to burn a lot of calories.
- Spinning / elliptical: for a normal weight or slightly overweight woman, these workouts allow you to burn a lot of calories. On average, a woman burns 841 calories per hour by spinning or on the elliptical.
- Downhill: skiing is another great sport to burn a lot of calories. Some find it more fun than spinning. Either way, it can only be feasible regular and trouble-free training if you live in a snowy or mountainous area. On average, a woman burns 645-841 calories while practicing it.
- Basketball: Requires good coordination, as well as the ability to run up and down the court. On average, a woman who plays basketball burns about 812 calories per hour.
- Competitive football: It is well known that footballers are among the fittest athletes in the world. No wonder, after all they run up and down a really long shot. Soccer players burn 742 calories per hour, even from all the strength and determination they put into the game.
Step 4. Try yoga or Pilates
If you don't want to, you don't have to play a particularly energetic sport: there are other possibilities. Many girls prefer less intense workouts, such as yoga or Pilates. Both allow you to burn calories, making you feel refreshed and full of energy.
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Yoga consists of a series of stretching exercises developed in ancient India. There are different types of yoga and each discipline allows you to burn a different amount of calories:
- The Hatha Yoga consists of performing a series of gentle exercises focusing on posture and breathing. In the case of a woman with an average build, she can burn about 175 calories per hour.
- The Vinyasa Yoga, who has more difficult postures and chained in faster sets, can burn about 445 calories per hour for an average-sized woman.
- The Bikram Yoga, which is practiced in a room heated to 40 ° C, burns about 635 calories for a woman of average build.
- Pilates is a stretching and muscle conditioning workout that allows you to work on the muscles of the corset. It was created by a German in the early 20th century and now boasts over 10 million practitioners. Pilates (for beginners) burns around 200 calories per hour. If you increase the difficulty of the workout, it makes you dispose of more.
Part 4 of 4: Sleep Well
Step 1. Make sure you get enough sleep, ie 7-9 hours a night
If you still feel tired, try to take 5-45 minute naps throughout the day. This can make a huge difference when it comes to weight loss.
Step 2. Avoid using alarm clocks
If possible, try to go to sleep early so you don't need to set the alarm. It can interrupt sleep in the middle of REM sleep, causing you to wake up groggy. It is always best to get up slowly, quietly and at your own pace. If you know how many hours you usually sleep, you should go to bed early to meet your needs.
Waking up suddenly breaks the cycle that allows you to shed fat and instead leads to the formation of fat. The organism therefore reacts in the wrong way
Step 3. Keep a glass of water next to the bed
It is normal to wake up because of thirst. The body needs the energy given by water to dispose of even more fat.
Step 4. Sleep straight and breathe deeply
Sleeping on your side makes arterial circulation less easy, the correct functioning of which can contribute to weight loss. When you lie straight on the bed before falling asleep, take long, deep breaths, holding them for as long as possible. Breathe slowly and smoothly. This should stimulate the body to doze off and start shedding fat.
Advice
- When someone offers you a food that will sabotage your diet, learn to say no. Refusing such an offer is a real healthier lifestyle choice that should spur you to take care of your body. Feed it only when it needs it.
- Listen to your body. It can tell you what you need, when you are full and when to stop filling yourself with junk food. If you are thirsty, drink. If you are hungry, have a snack. Do not eat out of habit or boredom, otherwise you will gain weight.
- Eliminate the sugar. Avoid hard or chewable candies, chocolate, pastries, and cookies.
- Plan your meals and snacks for the day. Don't leave much room for random, high-fat snacks.
- Physical activity will pay off in the long run. In fact, it will make you feel much more satisfied than fatty, sugary foods.
- Don't follow fads. You need to cultivate eating habits that allow you to always keep fit. Once you have reached your goal, you can decrease the intensity of the exercise slightly, but don't stop, otherwise your metabolism will slow down.
- Leave post-its around the house, such as in the room where you work out or in the kitchen, to inspire you, remember your goals and motivate you.
- Make a list of distractions that you might be doing when you want to eat something but you shouldn't because you aren't really hungry. Try playing sports, solving puzzles, or engaging in a certain activity.
- Don't overdo it with exercise. You will get hurt and you won't be able to move for a few days.
- To vary your training routine, take dance lessons (also self-taught via the internet) for at least an hour 3 times a week.
- Get around 1800-2400 calories per day based on the amount of exercise you do. Don't try to lose weight by cutting calories.
- Eat 3 light meals and 2 snacks a day to keep your metabolism active. Better yet, have 5 small meals. Don't eat fatty foods.
- Eat and chew slowly. The brain takes about 20 minutes to register that you have eaten or are full.
- Stop eating before you feel full. The brain is 20 minutes behind the stomach. Try to quit when you are 70-75% full.
- You cannot lose weight locally. Doing more situps will not allow you to have a flat stomach. It will only promote muscle formation in this area. You will lose weight in those parts of the body that tend to lose weight first for genetic reasons.
- Weigh yourself once a week to track your progress. If your weight disappoints you, you can check it again the next day or a couple of days later to see how much it varies daily. Don't be surprised if you gain weight but lose inches on your stomach and hips.
- Generally speaking, food that has a short shelf life is healthy. If it's longer, it's probably industrial in origin, so it won't do you any good.
- Drink water instead of energy drinks, sodas, and alcohol.
- Develop a training program by including abs and squats.
- Try incorporating large amounts of protein into your meals. With regular physical activity, they should help you not lose muscle mass. Try to drink water with lemon juice when you feel hungry.
- Try joining a team or signing up for a class. Involve some friends to make it more fun.
Warnings
- Weight is not only made up of fat, but also muscle. Starving will dangerously weaken your muscles and metabolism, which can make you feel even worse. When you start eating normally, starvation will make you gain weight very easily to store energy. If the metabolism slows down, the body goes into reserve mode and defends itself by putting on weight at every opportunity.
- If you are severely overweight, see a doctor. This lifestyle is only recommended for girls who want to lose 5-6 pounds.
- Before starting a diet, consult a dietician. He will develop a meal plan that suits your situation.
- Puberty causes many girls to put on a few pounds. This is perfectly normal. Don't expect to look like a 12-year-old girl if you're 15. The curves are beautiful.
