10 Tips for Painless Weight Loss

4 minutes

Last update: 13 August, 2015

Painless weight loss is something that most people are interested in achieving. Imagine, you just slowly make a few changes to your life each month and get the massive reward of losing weight gradually. Here are our 10 top tips for doing just that. Don’t miss out!

Keep variety in your diet

Restricting the number of foods you eat is great in the short-term, but what about in the long term? You’ll simply stop supplying your body with the nutrients it needs.

So when it comes to variety, what do we mean? Cut out junk food. Cut out dairy and wheat, if you like. But leave in all the major food groups, and buy something different every week. Your diet might look like this:

Lean proteins from organic sources, including fish, chicken and red meat once a week.
Plenty of vegetables. Buy something you’ve never tried before or don’t buy very often once a week and give it a try. Don’t just stick to tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce! Give rocket, kale, sweet potatoes, turnips, cabbages and other under-rated veggies a chance. Don’t forget to add some healthy avocados.
Fruit: dried, fresh and blended into smoothies. Berries, sweet fruits, raisins, cherries, kiwis. Splash out on some interesting fruits to keep your palate happy.
Nuts and seeds. They make the perfect snack. Get your hands on raw peanuts, cashews, walnuts, pecans, etc. They can be expensive so try to fit in some cheaper staples like almonds. Make them into nuts milks with cinnamon and agave, and buy smaller quantities of some of the more exotic varieties. They’re jam-packed with great nutrition!

Your diet should have a moderate regimen

Starving yourself then binging won’t make you lose weight. The best thing to do is eat regular, moderately-sized meals. This might mean different things to different people, but essentially it means restricting your portion size a little bit, consistently. If you’re hungry later, snack on something super healthy every time.

Divide meals into 5 portions throughout the day

Five meals might seem a lot at first, but it really isn’t hard once you get going. Who doesn’t like eating more regularly? Five meals can be understood as three normal meals, plus two smaller meals in between.

You could try having a smoothie for breakfast, for example, then snack on fruit and nuts mid-morning. Steam some broccoli and grill some chicken for lunch, then help yourself to a portion of plain yogurt mid-afternoon, and top it with berries and nuts. Then for dinner you could prepare some salmon or trout, and combine it with a big salad with avocado.

Drink water

Water is essential for all life, and your body will love you if you stay hydrated during the day. In winter, you might not feel as thirsty as in summer, but herbal teas are a nice alternative to warm you up. However you choose to hydrate yourself, make sure you keep things interesting.

Avoid using salt

Table salt is not good for you. Moderate amounts of sea salt can be added to food, but adding a lot while cooking and at the table is best avoided. It won’t do you any favours when it comes to water weight!

Don’t obsess over the scale

Scales are great for monitoring your progress, but weighing yourself all the time can start to get addictive, and the lack of a change in the reading may discourage you, when you were actually doing fine. Weigh yourself no more than once per week.

Chew your food slowly

Chewing your food really well will help you feel fuller and more satisfied with less food. We’re not trying to lessen your enjoyment – chewing your food might even be more pleasurable for you. It will certainly help your body send you a clear message when it’s full. Try it out.

Get exercise

Exercise is wonderful for your mental health. Try doing something once a week, like a dance class or a walk. Then increase the frequency of your exercise sessions. It’ll distract you from picking out of boredom, and cheer you up when you’re feeling a little bit blue.

Keep a positive attitude

A positive attitude is all you really need to get you through challenges. Remember how far you’ve come, and celebrate the little victories. Be really kind and positive with yourself.