Several weight loss programs promise a quick fix to shedding off some extra pounds. They also provide a plethora of fat diets that will help you lose weight without any stress whatsoever. But while these fad diets may give you a quick result, they also don’t last.
So the question is, how can you shed some pounds and keep them off? How can you not lose weight only to gain double what you thought was gone already? If these questions are on your mind, you should read this article carefully. Aside from staying out of the minefields of muffins and pancakes, there is more to effective weight loss that you must know.
So this article will demystify some sustainable lifestyle changes that yield better results in your quest to shed pounds. Keep reading to learn more.
An Easy Intermittent Fasting Schedule
Intermittent fasting is all the rage right now. So naturally, there are different opinions, ideas, and practices regarding intermittent fasting. But it is important to note that not all intermittent fasting schedules suit your lifestyle.
It is a weight loss lifestyle change that involves switching between eating and fasting for a particular period. As such, it is only wise to choose a schedule that best fits your personality and lifestyle. Research has shown that selecting a suitable intermittent fasting schedule has many health benefits besides the fat-burning effects.
Look at it this way, when you spend your entire waking hours ok, three times meals, and extra hours of in-between mouthfuls, you only stock up on more calories. However, you can let these calories burn off with a suitable fasting schedule.
It allows the calories to burn off and then begin burning off fats, which helps to fight against obesity and its related illnesses. It also helps to sharpen your memory for enhanced productivity.
So what are the various types of intermittent fasting schedules that you can adopt to fit your lifestyle?
- 16:8 Fasting Schedule: This is a fasting schedule in which you fast for 16 hours each day and eat during an eight-hour window. It is one of the most popularly adopted schedules and has some incentives like lowering blood pressure. Most people do it by having an early dinner and a late breakfast.
- 12:12 Fasting Schedule: As the name implies, this fasting window shares the eating and fasting windows equally. You eat half of the day and fast for the other half. Most people who find this suitable often prefer to eat during the day and fast at night.
- 14:10 Fasting Schedule: The 14 hr fast is just like the 16:8 fasting words but with a longer eating window. This fasting schedule also has several backings in fighting overweight and obesity.
- Alternate Fasting Schedule: This fasting schedule may be for you if you thrive in an all-or-nothing environment. As the name implies, you get alternate days of fasting. So you can fast for a whole day and eat the next day.
Always Eat At Home
Several studies support the role of simple, homemade, clean food in weight loss. Eating home-cooked meals is a potent and cheap way to serve yourself healthy foods that support a robust and healthy metabolism. Cultivating a lifestyle of always eating at home lets you stay out of the buzz of the processed, preservative-added, and additive-packed stuff that messes up your weight loss struggles.
Cooking and eating your meals at home and cooking helps you know what you’re putting on your plate and in your body. You can still enjoy great dishes while choosing healthier foods that meet your calorie and nutritional demands, there are no surprises, and you can make all the choices.
Furthermore, when you eat out, you don’t know what the food you eat contains; you don’t have any control over what was used to prepare the food or the ratio of the carbs, fats, and additives used. But eating at home gives you complete control over how much of each ingredient you want. So it is up to you to decide how you want the ratio of ingredients for your food to look based on your needs.
Also, eating at home gives you control over other not-too-obvious ingredients, such as oil, that you might not be able to see. Although there is nothing wrong with oil, including some excellent, healthy fats, it is well known that eateries don’t use it cautiously. However, if necessary, you can do it in your kitchen and know the right amount to add.
Keep Your Stress Level in Check
Have you been in a situation where you are not overeating and exercising as required, but still, the weight loss journey is not yielding any results? Another factor called stress can hamper your journey to losing some extra pounds.
High-stress levels can increase insulin levels, increasing fat storage instead of burning. Also, it is shown that stress can slow down metabolic processes.
Another major effect of stress is that the adrenal glands stimulate the brain to continuously release cortisol to produce more glucose in the liver to keep your energy level high.
As a result, despite the diets, exercises, and fastings, you still show no sign of weight loss. Stress significantly impacts the weight and metabolism of our body; you can gain weight due to stress.
More so, the overproduction of cortisol can meddle with the hormones essential for regulating metabolism. The lower level of these hormones causes loss of muscles, strength reduction, and weight gain.
Many things can cause these stress hormones to surface. It may be meeting deadlines, never-ending chores at home, caring for the kids, or looking to put food on the table. Although you cannot wholly live a life devoid of stress, you can take steps to control or alleviate the events causing the stress.
When stressed, you can meditate, listen to music, take deep breaths, and relax a little before you continue. But, most importantly, ensure a good sleep, as medical experts recommend each day for maximum performance and productivity.
Final Words
Having and maintaining that perfect body shape involves more than just hitting the gym and staying away from calorie foods and green tea. Instead, it consists of a commitment to a healthy and sustainable lifestyle that supports your quest to shed some extra pounds.
You can adopt many lifestyles to make your weight loss results stand the test of time. By cooking your own food, getting the proper intermittent fasting schedule, and keeping tabs on stress, you can be sure to sustain your weight loss results.
