The Best Tips and Strategies for Every Stage of Your Weight-Loss Journey

Weight loss eventually comes down to burning more calories than you take in. If you've ever tried to lose weight, you know that following this seemingly simple approach isn't always easy. And that can be downright frustrating.
Of course, weight-loss ideas abound, but how can you know which are safe, effective, and will actually help you lose weight? You could spend days investigating and still not be 100% sure — so we went ahead and put everything that you need to know in one place - and this epic blog post is the result. Let’s get to the bottom of weight loss once and for all. 

Is It Necessary to Weigh Yourself Every Day?

The answer may not be so cut and dry. Continue reading to find out how often you should weigh yourself.

Pros of Weighing Yourself Every Day

Here are a few of the pluses to daily weight checks:

1. It Can Be Motivating

It can be motivating to see the pounds disappear if your objective is to lose weight. Sanam Hafeez, PsyD, a New York City-based neuropsychologist and professor at Columbia University, adds that weighing yourself every day might confirm that what you're doing is working.
Regular weight monitoring can also provide motivation or reinforcement if you get off plan, according to Dr. Srinath. In other words, the number on the scale motivates you to make decisions that will help you achieve your weight-loss goals.

2. It can help you stay on track.

The Doctor adds that weighing yourself on a regular basis might help with accountability, especially if you're on a weight-loss programme.
Hafeez acknowledges that daily weight monitoring can help some people stay on track. According to her, the number on the scale not only helps you become more conscious of the effects of your eating choices, but it also helps you recognise when you've reached a plateau and need to change your strategy.

Cons of Weighing Yourself Every Day

On the flip side, here are the drawbacks of regular weigh-ins:

1. It Can Be Misleading

Perhaps you've met this scenario: In the morning, the scale says one number, but a few hours later it displays another. So what gives?

Weight can normally fluctuate by a few pounds based on things including fluid intake, salt intake and your period, Dr. Srinath notes.

Yes, your daily weight can fluctuate dramatically (up to 5 pounds per day), which is why getting on the scale every day isn't the most trustworthy way to track your progress, according to Hafeez.

Furthermore, according to Hafeez, "the number on the scale isn't necessarily reflective of your body composition and, as a result, can't accurately predict your progress." For example, the scale can't discriminate between whether you gained a pound of muscle or fat.

2. It Could Be Discouraging

"Weighing in everyday can be useful for certain patients, but I've observed that it can be unpleasant and irritating for others," Dr. Srinath explains.
Regularly checking the number on the scale may cause you to overlook other indicators of health, such as your mental health or energy levels. "If you focus just on the number on the scale, you may lose sight of your physical improvement," Hafeez warns.

3. It may have a role in the development of unhealthy habits.

"If you don't see improvement through the numbers on the scale, your mental health could be jeopardised because you'll start obsessing about it," Hafeez adds. This is especially dangerous for persons who have had an eating disorder in the past. "If you weigh yourself every morning and are unhappy with the outcome," she explains, "it could negatively impact your mood for the day or initiate unhealthy habits like skipping meals or disordered eating."

Find the Best Weighing Schedule for You

No schedule is better than any other when it comes to the frequency of your weight check-ins. Consistency — not frequency — is the essential key to success, Dr. Srinath explains. That means that daily weight-loss monitoring isn't always beneficial: You can be just as effective accomplishing your objectives by weighing yourself weekly, bi-weekly or even less. 

The optimal weighing routine is one that motivates, energises, and excites you about your weight-loss goals. If you find that weighing yourself every day motivates you, go ahead and do it. However, if you're feeling down in the dumps after daily weigh-ins, it's time to reconsider; perhaps weekly or biweekly scale sessions are more appropriate.

Whichever you select, what's most essential is focusing on your overall progress rather than the number on the scale, Dr. Srinath adds. Hafeez agrees that you should evaluate your progress in terms of your overall health. The number on the scale represents only a small part of a much bigger image. She believes that how you feel physically and mentally is equally important. Do you have greater stamina now? Are you capable of lifting heavier weights? Is your mood becoming better? These are all signs that you're on the right track.

Here's everything you need to know about weight loss, including all the tried-and-true strategies.  

The Science Behind Weight Loss Success

To begin, separate the facts from the stuff you heard through the grapevine. For a variety of reasons, what worked for someone else — or even a group of people — may not be the best method for you. But having a firm grip on the essentials, such as knowing exactly how to calculate and manage your daily calories, will help you detect a unless fad from a mile away and build a personalised weight-loss routine that provides results.

Here's what happens in your body when you lose weight, as well as how to get started.

Understanding the real process of losing weight will help you build a regimen that works best for you.

Calculate Weight-Loss Calories

No one likes to count calories, but the reality is that weight loss requires you to be conscious of the balance of energy going in and out of your body, which is measured in calories. In a nutshell, to establish the energy deficit required for weight loss, you must burn more energy than you ingest.

The size of this deficit is determined by how rapidly you want to lose weight, which should be a progressive process, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in order to be both safe and long-term sustainable.

The CDC recommends aiming to lose 1 to 2 pounds each week, which most people can do by decreasing around 500 to 1,000 calories per day, respectively.
Subtract this caloric deficit from your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE), which, according to a study published February 2014 in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (JISSN), is the sum of calories used by your body for normal bodily functions, plus additional energy expenditures.

You may determine your TDEE by adding up the calories your body naturally burns in a day, called your resting metabolic rate (RMR), and additional types of energy burn, according to the American Council on Exercise (ACE), including calories burned conducting non-exercise activities.

If you wish to calculate your RMR on your own, utilise formulas like the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, which is shown below. (According to the ACE, you should measure your weight in kilos, height in centimetres, and age in years.) For reference, a kilo of weight is approximately 2.2 pounds. 1 inch is 2.54 centimetres. 

Male: 9.99 X weight in kilos + 6.25 X height in centimetres – 4.92 X age + 5

Female: 9.99 x weight in kilos + 6.25 x height in centimetres – 4.92 x age – 161

Subtract 500 to 1,000 calories from your TDEE to get your daily caloric goal. If your TDEE is 2,500 calories per day and you want to lose 2 pounds per week, you should eat about 1,500 calories per day to achieve your weight-loss goal.

Then, through portion management and/or consuming lower-calorie items, begin reducing calories in your diet. Limit or eliminate processed foods in favour of whole foods including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean protein. Processed food ‘products’ come in cans, boxes and mixes (packaging) with multiple ingredients inside. ‘Whole’ foods also sometimes referred to as ‘Eating Clean’ or ‘Clean Eating’ involves eating natural foods - vegetables, fruits, whole grains - largely single ingredient foods that are combined together to make meals. Whole foods have skin, not cardboard packaging. An apple might come in a bag, but its a ‘whole’ food. Organic meats may be packaged for convenience, but they are also single ingredient foods.

Follow a Meal Plan.

The Meal Plan comes with the Meal Plan Book, A Nutrition Guide and our Quick Prep Cook Book - grocery lists included. 

People that follow a balanced Meal Plan optimized for fat loss are up to 80% more likely to be successful with their diet than people who are ‘winging it’ on their own. A solid meal plan included grocery lists and easy to prep meals, snacks and deserts, along with the educational support to empower you to start making a lifetime of healthy food choices that actually support your fitness, weight loss and health goals. 

Weighing foods with a food scale can help ensure that you are reaching your daily caloric and nutritional targets - but this is largely unnecessary when following a Meal Plan. 

Select a Weight-Loss Plan

Start thinking about following a diet plan that includes more than simply calories once you've established your daily caloric targets and started tracking your calories. The right Meal Plan will balance specific ratios of macronutrients — carbohydrates, proteins and fats for you, and help you easily figure this out — while promoting eating "clean" foods and avoiding processed foods that are loaded with empty calories and excessive amounts of added sugar. Your Meal Plan is like a guard rail - checking in with it each day will keep you on the right track, all while you learn how to make the best choices that support your goals.

Go Low-Carb.  

Our low-carb lifestyle plan. Reduce carbs safely, without regaining all of the weight back. This plan makes going low-carb sustainable. 

Low-carbohydrate diets are one of the most popular and most researched approaches to weight loss. According to a meta-analysis published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in September 2014, low-carbohydrate diets are successful for weight loss. If you decide to take a low-carb approach, don’t attempt to cut off carbs in an extreme and unhealthy way - anything unsustainable might yield initial results, but almost always lead to gaining all the weight back, plus some interest. Carb-cutting can be a powerful approach, but follow a Low-Carb Lifestyle Plan, so that you can maintain your results for the long haul. 

Try Intermittent Fasting.

Our Intermittent Fasting Plan for Women has been described as a breath of ‘fresh air’. With zero food restrictions, fasting shifts the focus from what you are eating to when you are eating. Many people find this much easier than restricting foods and counting calories. 

 Fasting flips the traditional diet on it’s head. Instead of focusing on what you are eating, intermittent fasting focuses instead on when you are eating. With fasting, you can eat whatever you want (while maintaining a calorie deficit). There is no calorie counting, food scales, tracking food ‘points’ or anything else. Of course, your results will improve if you fast and eat ‘clean’, but the bottom line with Intermittent Fasting is that there are no food restrictions, and you can eat whatever you want. A lot of people experience Intermittent Fasting as a ‘breath of fresh air’ and ‘liberating’. Women that choose to fast must be aware of how to do it safely, and our Intermittent Fasting Plan will help you get started in a way that sets you up for long term success. 

Take your metabolism into account. 

Muscle mass and metabolism, in addition to caloric intake, have a part in determining your rate of weight loss. Your metabolism is determined by the following factors, according to the Mayo Clinic:

- Body size and composition. At rest, persons who are larger or more muscular burn more calories.

- Gender. Men burn more calories than women because they tend to have more muscle and lower body fat.

- Age. Because muscular mass decreases with ageing, older adults burn fewer calories.

Metabolism is very intricate. Genetic makeup, hormonal regulation, diet composition, and environmental factors affecting lifestyle, sleep, physical activity, and stress all play a role in a person's metabolic rate.

The metabolic rate adaptively reduces in response to weight loss, according to the JISSN review study. In English, this means that it starts to get harder to lose weight the more weight that you lose. Nature has a weird sense of humour. Hence the common saying ‘the last 5 pounds is the hardest to lose’. Long-term weight loss is challenging due to this slowdown, which necessitates losing weight in little increments and avoiding significant energy deficits (never go more than 1,000 calories per day into deficit) to maintain a consistent, gradual pace of weight loss.

Physical activity is recommended.

While a good diet and calorie deficit are vital to weight loss, exercise is also a crucial component.

The most efficient way to burn calories and reduce excess body fat is through a combination of HIIT and Strength Training .Recent studies have shown that just 10-15 minutes of HIIT with Strength Training per day is enough to get people in the best shapes of their lives. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, strength exercise, such as weightlifting, should be part of the workout program because muscle growth is important for raising the metabolic rate. Because running a calorie deficit for weight loss can result in muscle loss as well as fat loss, modest strength training workouts can assist maintain muscle mass and minimise metabolic rate deceleration during weight loss programmes. Again, in English and not exercise-speak, the more lean muscle you have, the better you will look (athletic, curvy, toned) and the more calories your body will burn for you 24/7 - even while you are resting or asleep. Lean muscle is your best friend when it comes to weight loss. There are so many amazing benefits to being toned - you can more about some of those benefits here. 

The problem that many people have as a beginner to fitness (we define beginner as someone that has not purposefully exercised on a consistent basis for a year or more) is that most existing workout programs that bring HIIT and Strength Training together are just too advanced - too hard - for people looking to get started. If you sign up for a program that is overwhelming you right out of the gate your chances at developing a routine and a habit out of it are extremely low, but perhaps worse, never feeling accomplished when it comes to exercise will make you hate it. Be honest - when was the last time you crushed a workout and felt empowered? Sadly most people never have had this experience. No wonder everyone hates to exercise. 

A shot from one of the 30 Day Beginner Bootcamp workouts with Coach Edith. 

If you want to try an achievable workout program that has helped over 250,000 people successfully establish their own daily fitness habit, try class #1 of our 30 Day Beginner Bootcamp Challenge for free here. This workout challenge combines HIIT with Strength Training, will help build lean muscle tone, and takes just 10-15 minutes. Try the first class for free, and then challenge yourself to complete the rest of the program over the next month. 

What You Should Know About Rapid Weight Loss

With their promise of lightning-fast results, fad or "crash" diets may be appealing, but they typically do more harm than good by lowering your metabolism and leading you to lose lean muscle mass (which makes it difficult to both maintain the weight dropped and to drop pounds down the road). Setting a reasonable goal weight is the first step.

How to Set a Realistic Weight Loss Goal

It's critical to speak with a physician about your goals before embarking on any weight-loss journey. This talk might help you define smart goals and a doable method.

"Prior to setting goals, I would want people to recognise that rapid weight reduction often doesn't lead to sustained weight loss," says Rekha Kumar, MD, an endocrinologist at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine. "If you lose weight quickly, you lose muscle mass, which slows your metabolism and makes you more likely to gain additional weight."

While it's natural to want to lose weight quickly, it's also necessary to be realistic. According to registered dietitian Avigdor Arad, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai's PhysioLab, advises giving yourself a timeline of between 12 and 16 weeks. "Remember the last time you were at your ideal weight," he advises. "If you haven’t been at your ideal weight after turning age of 18, then it's going to be exceedingly difficult. It will be even more challenging if you have never reached your ideal weight before."

Start with a 5% goal.

Begin by attempting to lose roughly 5% of your body weight in the 12- to 16-week term, according to Arad. This small weight-loss goal can make a huge difference in your health. Patients who dropped 5% of their body weight had a lower risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as well as enhanced metabolic performance in fat and muscle tissue, according to a study published in Cell Membrane in February 2016.

Small weight loss might also boost your confidence in your ability to change for the better. "Once you've shed the first 5%, concentrate on what's been working to amplify your efforts, and work your way up from there."

Getting Started With Weight Loss

Now that you've worked with an expert to set a smart objective, you're onto the brunt of the weight loss effort. Putting up the effort over a sustained period of time is typically very challenging. We asked some experts weigh in on the best ways to reduce your weight.

1. Adjust Your Attitude

Your mind is a strong weapon that can assist get you to where you want to go. Claire Andres, 30, needed to reset her attitude before she started losing weight. She's currently down 75 pounds in three years. She needed to get to a point where she could be more realistic about her objectives.

She recalls, "All I wanted was to be normal." "I focused on getting my body fat percentage into a reasonable range, so that was my goal." Claire was able to zero in on best-practices that worked for her after shifting her mentality from "I have so much to accomplish" to "I just want to be healthier." Through identifying what strength training methods worked for her body and learning the benefits of diet, she found initial success by completing our 30 Day Beginner Bootcamp (get class #1 here for free). 

"I knew the why going in: I wanted to be healthy and change my family's outlook towards health and exercise," she adds. "I knew I wouldn't be able to do it on my own, so I signed up for the 30 day Beginner Bootcamp to teach me how to workout in a way that would make me strong for life, not just slim today." After I completed the first 30 days of the Beginner Challenge, I had actually grown to like exercise - which was a total game changer for me - so I went on with the other programs they have. I’m hooked”. 

2. Asses Your Body

It's critical to assess your present health and lifestyle habits and determine how they may affect your weight loss potential. According to Arad, you can establish where things need to be adjusted in order to achieve success.

"Recognizing the why is the first step in what we're attempting to do," Arad explains. Genetics, bone density, age, medications, hormone levels, and previous health issues like diabetes can all be utilised as a road map for determining a healthy (and attainable) weight loss target, he says.

3. Always be a student when it comes to your health. 

When it comes to weight loss, there's no such thing as "the dog ate my homework." Do your homework and reach out to find out more about starting a new workout regimen or what constitutes a "healthy" meal. According to Arad, some people have no idea what cardio or strength training is, or they believe that vitamins and minerals will add calories to their meals. Most of us just don’t have the training or knowledge to try and figure this out on our own. If we knew what to eat (and when) we wouldn’t be facing an obesity epidemic. Given that over 80% of people are now overweight or obese - we are clearly in need of guidance and support. This is where following a Meal Plan, or a Fasting Plan in combination with the right type of workout for 10-15 minutes per day separates the winners and losers in weight loss. The vast majority can’t win this fight on their own, and the good news is you don’t have to. Get the right tools in place and thrive. 

We’ve proven that a Beginner level exercise routine that is actually achievable is a game-changer if you're looking to get started.

4. Try Not To Be Too Hard On Yourself

Find balance in your approach and don't be too hard on yourself if things don't go as planned. "I was hesitant to budge on any portion of the diet for a long time, and that was a drawback," says Jason Dawson, who has lost 40 pounds following our Fasting Plan and has since completed two half marathons. "Moderation will not cause you any problems. It's perfectly acceptable to treat yourself to ice cream or pizza once a week to keep yourself sane."

Everything That You Need To Know About Overeating

Overeating is one of the most common hurdles on the weight-loss journey. Even if you're well-versed in serving sizes and portion control, it can be difficult to keep your eating in check and stay to a calorie count that leads to weight reduction. What's the good news? It's most likely all in your head (hello, emotional eating), but there are actions you can take to break the cycle.

Why Portion Control Is Effective — and How to Do It Correctly

If you're trying to lose weight, at least one well-meaning person has probably warned you to "check your portions!" This isn't awful advise as long as you understand what it means.

Your diet-whisperer is most likely referring to portion management, a realistic eating strategy that focuses on food portion sizes (which differ from serving sizes — more on that later). No foods are absolutely forbidden, however everything can and should be consumed in moderation.

From the science-backed benefits to the tools and methods dietitians swear by, we've compiled everything you need to know about portion-control.

What Exactly Is Portion Control?

Portion control is a practical technique of eating that can aid weight loss or simply help you eat healthier. Rather of tracking calories or eliminating particular macronutrients entirely, this strategy focuses on figuring out what a healthy portion size of each food is and sticking to it.

So, where do we begin? When it comes to determining how much of each food group (vegetables, fruit, grains, dairy, protein, and oils) you should consume on a daily basis, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the central government authority. While the USDA does not provide explicit guidelines for portion sizes, it does provide broad suggestions that you can tailor to your needs.

According to the USDA and the US Department of Health and Human Services' 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a healthy and balanced diet for an adult who needs 2,000 calories per day can include the following amounts from each food group:

- 2 1/2 cups vegetables

- 2 cups fruit

- 6 ounces grains

- 3 cups dairy

- 5 1/2 ounces of protein

- 27 grammes of oils

What Makes Portion Control So Beneficial?

According to an April 2016 study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, portion control helps you get the nutrients you need without restricting or overindulging — the latter of which is easy to do these days, when serving sizes at most restaurants far exceed the recommended calories you should be getting in one sitting. Again, following a balanced Meal Plan will ensure that you are buying the right grocery lists, preparing the right amounts of food and thereby protecting your portion sizes. The Meal Plan is your portion control body guard. 

Consider the following scenario: When the waiter gives you a large platter of food at a restaurant, one of two things is likely to happen:

A. You'll consume more than you intended. According to an analysis of 72 studies published in September 2015 in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, people regularly eat more when given with larger servings.

B. You'll believe you ate less than you did. Adults underestimated the calorie content of fast food meals by more than 20%, according to a study published in BMJ in May 2013, and that number increased even more for larger meals and those marketed as "healthy."

Controlling your portions allows you to more precisely identify how much food you're consuming at each meal, which not only aids weight loss but also has a favourable impact on other aspects of your health.

The Bottom Line on Portions.

Most of us have no idea how many calories we are consuming, and odds are it’s considerably more than we realize. Portion control allows us to start to take control of our calorie budgets, which is key for weight loss. 

Tricks to Make Portion Control Easier

When you're first starting out, identifying the difference between a portion and a serving size may be the most difficult component of portion management.

In a nutshell, serving size refers to a measurement on a nutrition label, whereas portion size relates to the amount of food you consume in one sitting.

According to Emily O'Neil, RDN, LDN, a weight-loss coach at the Austin Diagnostic Clinic in Austin, Texas, the two are frequently different, and portion sizes for those wanting to lose weight can be substantially less than serving sizes.
Even if you realise the distinction, it can be difficult to reduce quantities when you're accustomed to seeing a lot more food on your plate.

Weight-Loss Hacks Backed By Science

While there is no magic bullet for reducing weight, research has revealed a number of minor changes that can make the process much easier. Did you know, for example, that being distracted while eating can cost you additional calories? Or that drinking two cups of water before a meal could help you lose weight without making any additional dietary changes?

12 Sneaky Weight-Loss Hacks You Probably Haven't Heard Before

If you're trying to lose weight, you've probably noticed that there's an almost infinite supply of weight-loss advice out there that goes far beyond the "eat less, move more" slogans. But how do you know which advise is safe — and will truly move the scale?

We combed through the data and compiled the most intriguing weight-loss methods you may not have heard before, all of which are backed by science. (Translation: No fad diets here.) Check out these 12 effective weight loss tactics.

1. Burn Calories Through Daily Activities

Nonexercise activity thermogenesis, or "NEAT," is a simple principle that can help you lose weight. It refers to the amount of energy used in everyday tasks such as walking, standing, and even fidgeting. According to a scientific review published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings in April 2015, this form of movement can help you burn hundreds of extra calories each day over your baseline. This does not imply that you can fidget instead of purposeful exercise. However, finding ways to increase movement during times when you're sitting at work, watching TV, or even doing house or lawn work. 

The best-selling 6lb weighted vest. Up the burn on any movement or activity. 

One of the best ways to increase your casual activity calorie burn while at the same time adding strength training to any movement is to snap on one of our 6lb weighted vests. Adding a vest to your exercise program will take it to the next level, and wearing one while you clean, golf, walk, bike, hike - essentially any movement (except swimming lol) will turn up the calorie burn and help you build fat burning lean muscle.  

Other things that can help - get a standing workstation, take the stairs instead of the escalator, or paint and redecorate your bedroom, which can burn up to 200 calories per hour. We were meant to move. 

2. Avoid Distractions During Dinner

Sarah Pflugradt, RDN, author of You Get One Body, says, "I think it's incredibly important for everyone to pay attention to their food."

“Americans are a fast-paced, distracted eating culture. Slowing down and thinking about each thing we eat is sometimes all it takes” Sarah says. 

Each time you sit down to eat, ask yourself ​why​ you are consuming that particular item, adds Pflugradt. "Is it beneficial to your bones and muscles, or does it simply make you feel good? All of these are good reasons to eat."

This notion is also supported by science. A review of 19 prior research indicated that 13 of them linked mindfulness-based eating practises to considerable weight loss, according to a study published in the January 2015 edition of Psychosomatic Medicine. The authors of the paper couldn't identify how  mindfulness operated as a weight-loss mechanism, and they suggest further study is needed to better understand this association. What was clear however, is that at mealtimes, it's important to pay attention to what's going into your mouth because mindfulness matters. 

3. Replace red meat with mushrooms.

Swapping mushrooms for red meat is one of the more creative, delicious, and successful ways to cut calories without actually eating less. According to the findings of a small December 2013 Appetite study including 73 obese persons, doing so could contribute to a reduction in calories, body weight, body fat, BMI, waist circumference, and other factors.

Participants in that study who followed a mushroom diet dropped an average of seven pounds over the course of a year. So fire up the grill and throw on a portobello mushroom "steak."

4. Eat Breakfast for Dinner

"One useful approach is to consider reorganising your everyday meals," Pflugradt suggests. "Instead of making dinner the heaviest meal, make morning the priority. Maintain your lunch routine and have a lighter dinner."

While there hasn't been much research on this specific strategy, a 93-person study published in the December 2013 issue of Obesity found that women with obesity who ate a 700-calorie breakfast and a 200-calorie dinner lost more weight and felt less hungry throughout the day than those who ate a 200-calorie breakfast and a 700-calorie dinner lost more weight and felt less hungry throughout the day.

The time of calorie intake appears to have a substantial effect on weight reduction, calorie consumption, and metabolism, according to a report published in Nutrition Bulletin in June 2018. "Evidence is mounting that the saying 'Breakfast like a king, dine like a pauper' holds some truth, with meal timing appearing to alter energy balance and bodyweight," the scientists stated.

And the evidence keeps piling up: People who eat a big breakfast may burn twice as many calories as those who eat a heavy dinner, according to a tiny 16-person study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism in February 2020. The researchers also discovered that a low-calorie breakfast boosted hunger, particularly for sweets, perhaps leading to junk-food cravings and weight gain. They came to the conclusion that having a larger breakfast and a smaller dinner is a good approach to lose weight and avoid metabolic disorders.

5. Take It Slow 

Overeating can occur when you rush to finish everything on your plate, especially if you overserved your quantities to begin with.

Slower eating speeds were linked to decreased calorie consumption, according to a review published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in July 2014. To put it another way, eating more slowly may help you lose weight.

6. Chewing Gum Can Help You Get Rid of Hunger

Do you crave something to eat in the afternoon? Between-meal snacking, when done correctly, can help you lose weight. However, if it isn't controlled, it might lead to excessive calorie consumption.

Fortunately, there's a fun method to satisfy your carb cravings: Gum chewing. Chewing gum after lunch (15 minutes per hour over a three-hour period) can promote fullness and aid prevent high-carbohydrate snacking in the afternoon, according to a November 2015 study published in Physiology & Behavior among women with and without obesity.

Try unwrapping a few sticks of gum instead of salty or sweet munchie snacks like pretzels or cookies.

7. Fill Your Pistachio Jar to the Brim

By snacking on in-shell pistachios, you can mislead yourself into thinking you're full. What's the secret? According to a study published in the journal Appetite in October 2011, seeing the leftover shells may serve as a visual reminder of portion size, thereby reducing your intake and calorie consumption. Despite the fact that this study is nearly a decade old, it remains the only published study to examine this phenomena, which has been dubbed the "pistachio principle" ever since. 

Pistachios are also one of the most low-calorie nuts: According to the USDA, they have only 160 calories per serving and the most nuts per serving (about 49 kernels). So get cracking and counting!

8. Pick Your Plates Carefully

You'll eat less food and lose weight if you use smaller plates at mealtime, right?
According to a study published in March 2017 in Current Obesity Reports, studies on this topic have been inconsistent, and the influence of plate size on portion size was minor in most of them.

However, the study discovered that having a larger plate can help you eat more vegetables. So, what are your options for dinnerware? Use a small dish or bowl if you're going to eat something rich and calorie-dense, like mac 'n cheese. If a veggie-heavy meal is on the menu, go all out with larger plates. 

9. Hit the snooze button if you want to.

How much and how well you sleep plays a role in weight loss, in addition to what happens while you're up. Over the years, plenty of research has backed up this theory. People with obesity who slept less than six hours per night (or who reported high variability in the number of hours they usually slept) lost less weight over 12 months than those who slept seven to nine hours per night, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity in June 2019.

Sure, the more sleep you get, the less time you spend awake (and potentially consuming calories). But, as Pflugradt points out, there's more to it. She claims that simply getting adequate sleep might help you reset your body. "People who get enough sleep make better dietary choices throughout the day."

10. Keep it Simple. 

Remember the acronym KISS: Keep It Simple Stupid. Why? According to a study published in PLOS One in April 2015, having too many alternatives to pick from may make us more likely to overeat. Researchers discovered that those who ate different brands of pizza on a regular basis were more likely to perceive pizza as less satisfying (and eat more in one sitting) than those who only ate one brand. According to scientists, there doesn't appear to be a straightforward reason for this, but perceived volume and prior experience with the food may influence your portion-size decisions. So, if you're managing your weight, resist the urge to pile on the colours, textures, and scents on every plate and in every dish. Pflugradt suggests saving it for nutritious, low-calorie foods like a huge salad with a variety of fruits and vegetables.

11. Thirty minutes before meals, drink two cups of water

While it's not a miracle cure, drinking a 16-ounce glass of plain water 30 minutes before most or all of your meals could help you lose three pounds in the next three months.

Researchers found that people who drank water before meals lost more weight than those who didn't, according to a short study published in the journal Obesity in August 2015. Over the course of a 12-week period, those who preloaded with water before all three daily meals lost an average of nine pounds.

According to the researchers, one possible reason for this is that the volume of water helps you feel fuller. It doesn't get any easier than that to lose weight.
Add lemon slices and fresh mint to plain water to make it more appealing.

12. Vegetables should make up half of your plate.

In a powerful hack directly from our Meal Plan, Filling half of your plate with fruits and vegetables, as recommended by the USDA's research-based guidelines, is one of the most innovative and effective methods to lose weight.

Of course, you don't want your vegetables to be greasy or covered in heavy cream. Pflugradt says, "I like to urge them to focus on whole-food choices." "The fewer times something is processed, the better."

Pflugradt advises her clients to consume half a plate of vegetables, a quarter-plate of protein, and a quarter-plate of grains per day, as well as fruit.

Getting Past A Weight-Loss Plateau. 

You've been exercising and eating well, but the scale refuses to budge. The same number appears on the screen for weeks, if not months, and you become discouraged. You've reached a stalemate in your weight loss.
A weight reduction plateau is very natural, but it can be extremely discouraging. You should be able to start the scale moving again with a few changes to your food and exercise routines.

What Exactly Is a Plateau?

According to the Mayo Clinic, plateaus are an unavoidable part of every weight-loss journey because your body adapts as your weight changes. Consider the following scenario: Because you burn a lot of calories just going about your daily activities when you're overweight, the initial weight comes off quickly at first. However, as you lose weight, it takes less energy to move your body, you burn less calories, and your weight loss plateaus until you change up your strategy.

Keep in mind that your capacity to lose weight is influenced by a variety of things. Before you decide that you're stuck in a rut, consider the following: Have you made any big lifestyle changes? Do you have any new medications that could be affecting your weight? Is it possible that you've been slack in sticking to every component of your weight-loss plan?

If the answer is no to all of those, bear this in mind: Because the scale cannot distinguish between water, fat, and muscle, it isn't necessarily the best indicator of your success. The body's fluid regulation is an ongoing process that is continually changing, so a one-pound gain or loss on any given day doesn't reflect any substantial changes in body composition.

Joe Dowdell, a New York City-based personal trainer and strength coach, recommends using a tape measure to track your chest, waist, and arm circumferences. If you have access to skinfold callipers or another method, you can also track your body fat percentage, but this should be done with the assistance of an expert. He explains, "We never use a scale alone to measure and track a client's progress."

How Do You Break Through a Plateau?

First and foremost, don't give up. When you reach a weight-loss plateau, it's tempting to give up, but recall all the progress you've made so far and that you're still on the road to improved health. Rather than falling back into old habits, use these suggestions to get your numbers moving in the correct direction.

1. Maintain a food diary

Make a list of everything you eat. Every bite, even the french fries you stole from a friend's plate and the four bites of your kid's macaroni and cheese you "tasted." You might be astonished at what you're eating and how much you're consuming. According to the Mayo Clinic, this type of "loosening of the rules" is a major cause of plateaus. You are likely eating more calories than you realize. 

2. Get a Better Night's Sleep

Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, RDN, LDN, a distinguished professor of nutrition at Penn State University, states, "Recent research shows that good sleep is vital for sustaining a healthy body weight."

In addition to focusing on nutrition and physical activity as critical components of a weight-loss programme, research reveals that getting the required seven to nine hours of sleep each night can aid weight reduction and even prevent weight gain.

3. Reduce your calorie intake

Your calorie requirements decrease when your body mass decreases. To continue losing weight, you may need to modify your daily calorie goal.

Just be careful not to go overboard. According to the Mayo Clinic, you should consume at least 1,200 calories each day; anything less will leave you hungry, which can lead to overeating.

4. Keep Your Exercise Routine ‘Fresh’ 

If you've been performing the same workouts for a while, it's time to mix things up to burn more calories.

Try a workout routine that delivers a fresh new workout each day, focusing on different exercises and movements. Streaming a fresh routine each day will keep you motivated and engaged - which is why there are no repeats in our 30 day Beginner Bootcamp series, and why every workout on our fitness streaming platform BodyRockPlus.com is 100% unique. 

If you've been mostly doing cardio, such as walking or jogging, try adding a weighted vest. According to the Mayo Clinic, increasing lean muscle mass can help you burn more calories.

5. Keep an eye out for added sugar and starches.  

Carefully read food labels: Sauces, beverages, and packaged meals could all have more calories than you expected. As noted above, processed foods are typically loaded with excessive amounts of sugar. Stick to the ‘whole’ or ‘clean’ foods in your Meal Plan. 

6. Manage Your Stress

According to The American Institute of Stress, when you're stressed, your body creates too much cortisol, which can lead to excessive fat storage. You could reach for packaged and processed comfort foods when you're stressed (hello, emotional eating). Getting up and going for a walk, getting a massage, reading a book, meditating, or spending time with a friend are all good ways to relieve stress.

I hope that you enjoyed this article and found it helpful. We’d love to see you give the first workout in our 30 day Challenge a go - you can get that free workout here. 

Best,

Freddy