It’s a reality faced by many of us at some point in our lives – the desire (or necessity) to lose weight. The trouble is, of course, it’s easier said than done. For some, it proves a very difficult thing to achieve; a good number of people not only find it difficult to get started but also to keep up a successful regime so they keep the weight off. Other struggle to find something that works for them at all; they may be confused and irritated that what works for one person (probably someone they know) simply doesn’t work for them. Yet, the fact is that everyone – and everyone’s body – is different. By definition, what works for one dieter, one faster, one improved eater or one patient undergoing treatment won’t work for another.
What’s unlikely to work for most seeking to lose weight, though, is a quick fix. Getting your weight down to a healthy, happy level will doubtless be a long haul. And probably a tough challenge. A good approach, surely, is the natural approach. That is, try to reduce your weight in a way that doesn’t call on fashionable diets or synthetic pill-based products. For instance, combined together, these seven natural ways of tackling weight gain might well prove a good roadmap…
Stay motivated
Whatever it takes; you need to remain motivated. Research suggests that, yes, unsurprisingly there’s a lot of motivation in the first four weeks of a weight-loss regime, but if you manage to shed 5% or more weight it can carry on for around another four months1. Find a way to stick with what’s working and stay positive and optimistic – and keep at it!
Dear diary?
That said, finding what works is, naturally, at the crux of a weight-loss programme. Perhaps keeping a food diary may help; especially in order to keep motivated for several weeks on end. Indeed, a study has found that it may double the weight loss you achieve2. This is all about psychology, of course; actually writing down what you’ve eaten each day makes even more real what you’ve done and whether you’ve done what you should be doing.
Go vegan?
When you consider that, with a full vegan diet, it’s possible to reduce body fat levels and drive-up your intake of macronutrients (when compared to a diet comprising meat and dairy foods), you may consider vegan-eating an appealing option. Given it’s made up of a lot of delicious fresh food too helps! Research also suggests that a totally plant-based diet may result in losing more weight3.
Stay hydrated
It’s well established scientific fact that drinking water is incredibly good for you – much of our body mass is made up of the stuff, after all. And consider this – one study has come to the conclusion that drinking as little as eight ounces of water before meals considerably aids in shedding pounds of fat4. Food for thought when it comes to managing your weight then!
Get exercising
Like it or not; improving your diet and eating less low-nutrition, unhealthy snack food isn’t going to cut the mustard on its own. There’s more you can and probably will need to do. One is exercise; indeed, recent research suggests that combined dieting and exercise can produce up to 11% in reduced weight – and it’s only fair to point out that the study discovered that exercising without any dietary alterations at all came bottom of the various kinds of weight loss regimes it tested5.
Sleep hygiene
While it’s important to stick to your programme and remain motivated, it’s also important to make sure you rest properly and establish and follow healthy sleep practises. Experts actually believe that bad sleep habits contribute to weight gain, in that they boost hunger hormones and, thus, the desire to eat more6.
Try natural supplements
Finally, a great way to enhance an improved, more nutritious diet is to supplement it naturally. To that end, you may want to take a look at the weight loss supplements available at The Finchley Clinic. All of them are made up of naturally-occurring ingredients and, thus, they’re all rich in highly beneficial vitamins and minerals. The following are just three examples:
MicroCell Lipotone Intensive– may help the body’s natural managing of fats and carbohydrates in conjunction with exercise and dieting; a powder comprising conjugated lipoic acid, l-carnitine and garcinia cambogia.
Slimirex – an all-natural weight loss formula containing iodine and many organic ingredients such as kelp, black walnut, uva ursi and three essential oils; fennel seed, lavender blossom and bergamot.
GL Support ’90s – contains the nutrients chromium, garcinia cambogia and 5-HTP, specifically put together in one product to naturally support a low glycaemic load (GL) diet.
References:
1. Webber K. H. et al. ‘Motivation and Its Relationship to Adherence to Self-monitoring and Weight Loss in a 16-week Internet Behavioral Weight Loss Intervention’. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. May-Jun 2010. 42 (3) pp. 161–67.
2. Hollis J. F. et al. ‘Weight Loss During the Intensive Intervention Phase of the Weight-Loss Maintenance Trial’. American Journal of Preventative Medicine. Aug 2008. 35 (2). pp. 118–26.
3. Turner-McGrievy G. M. et al. ‘Comparative effectiveness of plant-based diets for weight loss: A randomized controlled trial of five different diets’. Nutrition. 31 (2). pp. 350-58.
4. ‘Drink water to curb weight gain? Clinical trial confirms effectiveness of simple appetite control method’. ScienceDaily.com. American Chemical Society. Aug 2010.
5. Foster-Schubert K. E. et al. ‘Effect of Diet and Exercise, Alone or Combined, on Weight and Body Composition in Overweight-to-Obese Postmenopausal Women’. Obesity. 20 (8). Aug 2012.
6. Chaput J. and Tremblay A. ‘Adequate sleep to improve the treatment of obesity’. CMAJ. 184 (18). Sep 2012.