How to lose weight?

Now to what this post is suppose to be all about...

I'm sure everyone (or maybe most) will know that I am actually trying really hard to have a healthy lifestyle ever since 2015 started. Or was it even earlier than that? I can't really remember. Anyways, it was also part of my everyday work to advice on eating habits and nutrition. A few of my friends and family, except for those from the same course as me, always turn to me for advice to lose weight. So today's post is gonna be all about that. 

Most of the tips I'm going to share are experienced first hand by... moi. 

1. Be Conscious About Your Eating Habits

Yes, let's start to cut down on food portions and eat healthy! But how would you know if you need a cut down when you're not even aware of your own eating habits? As a start, you have to know more about yourself. The more you know, the better. 

For example, how often to you indulge in unhealthy snacks like chocolate and ice cream? How often do you go for your favourite fastfood or dessert? Or when you eat with your family or friends, do you help yourself with the dishes slowly bit by bit and have no idea how much is the total amount of rice or vegetables or meat you have consumed in the end? 

By being more conscious, you'll be able to gauge if you need cut down in certain areas. One way to help with meal time problems would be to always have the right portion you want on your plate first and if you are about to get a second helping, at least KNOW that you're consuming more than the amount you want yourself to have for the meal!

2. Make Feasible Goals, Take Things Slow
Take desperate measures if you need

'I love chocolates, I eat chocolates everyday. 

But chocolates are really fattening right? 

Oh my gosh, I'm only going to eat them once a year then!'

When you want to cut down on certain types of food, do NOT go to the extreme right away. For weight lost or management, CONSISTENCY IS KEY because you will not be able to see results overnight. It is hard to stay consistent and you'll be affected by many things: cravings, mood etc. Therefore, it is important to takes things slow and make changes one step at a time so you can adapt to it easier. Do not be too hard on yourself and deprive yourself all the way right away. 

So, what to do? 
Cutting down slowly is the best solution! Instead of everyday, reduce to maybe alternate days before 3 times a week etc. Of course, different people have different tolerance so its really up to the individual to decide how fast to cut down. 

If you're the type like me who is really forgetful, just write/type out a dietplan and stick as close to it as possible! 

3. Eat Frequent Meals, NO Crash Dieting

'Crash diet - a way of losing body weight quickly by eating very little'

- Cambridge Dictionary Online

That's for anyone who is clueless about what crash dieting is. Many people actually think that skipping meals is the way to go to lose weight because you're consuming lesser calories overall. 

Well, people, that is NOT true!

The trick to weight lost/management is actually frequent meals. Yay to eating more times a day but the selection of food to take and the amount have to be seriously controlled. Spread out your meal portions throughout the day. For example, do not have a very light breakfast then go all out for dinner. 

By having more meals...

a. You will have energy to carry out your daily tasks

b. Hunger will be curbed 

c. Reduces fat storage 

d. Keeps metabolism going

How often does frequent meals refer to? For me, I would recommend every 2-3 hours. You can have breakfast around 8-9am, mid-morning at around 11am, lunch at around 1pm, afternoon tea at around 3-4pm and dinner at around 6-7pm. 

4. Avoid Eating Too Fast During Meal Times 

Ever heard of the 20 minute rule? If not, it's good to know now!

When someone begins to take a meal, the stomach only sends a signal to your brain telling you that you're full 20 minutes later! That is when you feel like you should stop. The term to use is 'satiety'. So if you eat really fast, you would've stuffed more food than you need into your stomach within the 20 minutes and that may lead to weight gain. 

So, what to do?
NO distractions! Don't rush to continue your game that you left halfway. Don't watch TV while eating. Meal time is meal time. Just have a chat with your family or friends and the key is to really chew and enjoy your food!

5. Say NO To Supper 

Metabolism slows down when you go to sleep which means that food are digested way slower then. That's why its probably not a good idea to have the habit of sleeping too late because the tendency to get hungry is high and of course we would not want to be sitting there holding in the hunger all the way. 

If there is really no choice, you die die have to get something in your stomach, what to do?
Try to go for something light and easy to digest like bananas. NO instant noodles or fastfood delivery (I am so guilty right now hahahaha) because all those processed food are harder to burn! 

6. Watch Out For Empty Calorie Food
Cut Down On CARBS

NO to chocolates, gassy drinks, sweetened drinks, tidbits! 

What all these have in common is that they are high in calories that you really do NOT need. Just to clarify, sweetened drinks includes MILO. Of course, cut down slowly as stated in point 2. 

So I've been talking about no to this and no to that, what food to say yes to? 

As stated in point 3, frequent meals are the trick to weight loss but what to slot in between the meals? Simple. The easiest would be FRUITS. Not only they are healthy and help to balance out your meals, fruits are also sweet/sour so it satisfies cravings at times. 



Yes, fruits do contain sugar in them as well but what they have are natural. As long as you're taking them in the right amounts, you will NOT gain weight. 

7. Have a Cheat Day

Weight loss is NOT hell. 

Once in awhile, it would be wise to have a cheat day to satisfy your cravings. Without this, I would have went crazy a long time ago. I need to have my once a week doze of chocolate/bubble tea. I used to have a problem which is that I would always put many cheat days together which is obviously not wise. 

So in the end I decided to just push all the junk food and stuff to the weekends because I'm less tired and stressed out due to work on those days. I was at work most of the time so I did not stock any of those food there and I like to keep myself busy so I wouldn't think about food. People who are working or are studying can probably do the same! As for the no longer working me, I guess I've to find other things to distract myself with. 

But, of course, do not go all out on your cheat day! 

8. Experiment With Food 

Wholefood definitely tastes less yummy as compared to processed food at times. To make meal times more enjoyable, experiment with food. 

Try placing fruits into water to give you the now-kinda-popular fruits-infused water! I've been wanting to try this myself because I do need a way to encourage myself to drink more water. I usually just forget about it the same way I forget about food lololol. 

I heard that adding lemon into your water helps to detox the body and I'm going to try it out real soon. I've also been seeing people adding orange with blueberries, watermelon with peppermint and the list goes on and on. I've already gotten super pretty mason jars so it's all going to more appealing to me. 

Lololol, sometimes I'm also quite amazed at how far I would go to motivate myself. 

9. Avoid Supplements 

Supplements that would help you lose weight? I would say I would avoid all that. I'm personally not really selective when it comes to food except for a small case of vegetables. Eating food from natural sources in the right amounts will give you all the nutrients you need and not too much calories for the day. 

Supplements do NOT get 100% absorbed by the body. In fact, the amount of nutrients absorbed are actually less than what you can get from natural food sources. Also, supplements normally do not come cheap. 

So why go an extra mile when you actually don't need to? 

10. Physical Activity
There is no escape. 

Physical activity (PA) is essential no matter what when you talk about weight management. 

Similar to your diet, PA needs small changes step by step. If you do not have any workout routine, it's probably wise to start small as well. Brisk walking or climbing the stairs would be a good start to really build up some stamina. It's not easy to find something you can do long term but it is important to keep looking for the right one that you like. Like I said, CONSISTENCY IS KEY. 

Youtube is actually a really good place to look for new kinds of PA. For me, I prefer dancing over normal cardio (such as jumping jacks etc). Besides that, I also found other kinds of PA such as Figurerobics and Pilate. 

Good channels you can check out are...