Each year millions of people set their goals to lose weight and improve their health.
But sadly, only about 8 percent of them actually achieve them.
We know sticking to it and achieving your goal weight is hard– In fact, very hard.
So why do some succeed at losing weight while others fail?
There is no sure way.
But there are a few traits of those that crush their goal year after year.
It’s not the goal setting.
It’s also not pure luck.
If you want to crush your weight loss goal in 2018 and achieve better health, these five tips are what make successful succeed.
Here are four health tips to help you crush your weight goal this year.
Eat a Healthy Diet
One effortless way to lose weight and improve your health is to be in good terms with nutritious, healthy foods – foods that nourish, fuel and support your body and your weight loss goal.
Eat mostly real foods and minimize processed foods and empty calories.
Ensuring that your foods are wholesome is the first step.
This way, you can avoid excess sugar and salt. By default, you also get to prevent high preservatives and unhealthy fats. Together, they all affect your weight negatively.
It’s essential to keep these in mind and plan your meals around weight loss friendly, healthy foods.
That means, fill half of your plate with fresh vegetables.
And add a serving of lean proteins similar to the Paleo Diet Plan.
While I don’t often recommend diets, but the Paleo diet plan is an exception. It is more of a lifestyle eating plan, and many people have had a great success losing weight and maintain a healthy weight following the program.
Drink Plenty of Water
Drinking water can help you lose weight in some ways.
First, it reduces your appetite especially 30 minutes before your meal. A study shows those who drink water before their meals eat 75 fewer calories, that’s about 27,000 fewer calories per year.
Second, drinking water can help you burn more calories.
When you drink water, particularly cold water, your resting metabolic rate increases, which ups the number of calories your body burns.
One study shows "people who drink 17 oz or 500 ml of water raises their metabolic rate by 30%. This increase happens within 10 min after drinking and reaches a maximum after 30-40 minutes".
There is another study on overweight and obese children. A 25% increase was found in their resting metabolic rate after drinking cold water.
These studies prove that drinking water can not only help curb your appetite but also increase the number of calories you burn.
Try this morning ritual start each day with a glass of cold water and one slice of lemon in it.
Trying Fasting Once a Week
If you are like most people, you are not a fan of counting and keeping track of calories.
That’s ok.
That’s because there is an automatic way to keep your calories under control.
And that’s by fasting for half a day.
Fasting has been around for ages, and people do it for many different reasons. Some do it for religious belief while others do it as a way to detox their bodies and give their digestive system a break.
But in recent years, many studies have suggested that fasting– or reducing food and drinking intake periodically can be useful for your health and weight.
And it’s becoming a favorite and safe way for many people to lose weight and improve their health.
For example, one of the most popular fasting methods around is called the 5:2 Fast Diet.
It’s a plan that involves regular eating for five days of the week while reducing calorie by 500-600 or 25% for the last two days.
Dr. Mosley, the father of the Fast Diet attests to its success.
He praises that this diet not only helps you lose weight but also bring many other health benefits.
Although it has significant weight loss effects, think of this as a lifestyle rather than a diet.
It’s an eating plan that brings terrific health benefits along with it.
Avoid The Gimmicks
Lastly, don’t waste your time with gimmicks.
There are so many weight loss gimmicks and diet hypes around.
As good as their claims sound, most don’t have any scientific studies to show for. For example, lose 10 pounds in 3 days as in 3-day diet.
It has a lot of hype around it, but science does not back it.
Whatever you do, don’t fall for this.
The rule of thumb is if it sounds too good to be true. It probably is.
Too often, we fall out of desperation.
That’s when we want to try anything to reach the weight goal. Skipping meals to avoiding specific food groups, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no magic bullet to a healthy weight loss.
Remember, losing weight the healthy way is an everyday lifestyle choice that takes a commitment.
It’s also not about the perfection.
So it’s ok to have a cheat meal once in a while.
That’s it!