Caught your attention, didn’t I? Well it caught mine when I first saw it! I knew I was overweight and I was desperate to shed off some pounds! But before that, I did what I thought would help me lose weight.

I stopped eating carbs, fatty foods, snacks, even to the extent of not having breakfast and dinner. Within 2 weeks, I weigh myself and saw that I had lost 1kg! I was so excited that my “diet plan” had worked out but let’s face it, it wasn’t a healthy one. Throughout these 2 weeks, I felt tired, out of focus and weak. So, I decided to stop my “diet plan” and start finding healthier alternatives; which brings me to these 6 approaches that has helped me to reach my goal and on top of that, to stay healthy.

1) Stay Hydrated!

It is crucial to stay hydrated as it can help with weight loss as it flushes out toxins and helps with improving bodily functions. You can try drinking a glass of water before every meal as it will fill you up faster and in turn, causing you to eat less.

2) Have a Balanced Meal

Overeating healthy foods like avocados, nuts, whole wheat pasta, doesn’t necessarily mean that you could lose weight any faster as these foods still have calories in them. For instance, a handful of almonds have approximately 130 calories and an avocado has over 200 calories. Hence, it is better to have a balanced meal of meat, fruits, and vegetables in order to help you lose weight and still stay healthy.

3) Eating before Exercising

Research has shown that the calories burned come from the muscle, not fat. So, you can lose weight faster if you have more muscle mass. Therefore, it is advisable to eat a little at least an hour before going for your work out so you can gain more energy to push yourself.

4) Get your Beauty Sleep

Getting at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep can also help in weight loss. Thus, having a good rest will give you the extra energy during your workouts.

5) Do Not Skip Breakfast

Even though you think that skipping breakfast can help you lose weight faster, it doesn’t; as there goes a saying “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day” which is true because you need to kick-start your metabolism. Avoid eating a heavy meal of course, you can start off your day with a sandwich or cereals which can help fill you up for a few hours.

6) Avoid Drinking Soda

Regular or diet sodas does not have any nutritional value for your body. Instead, it only has sugar and calories which will only contribute to weight gain. If you are looking forward to losing those waistlines, then avoid drinking soda.

These are the methods that I am following strictly now and I can say that I am in a much healthier and happier state than I was before. Weight loss takes a long time and it doesn’t happen within a few months. So it is important to make sure that whatever methods you choose to follow, it is a healthy one.

Always,

Jessy Lai Chai Yun (赖彩云)