Healthy Shortcuts | In some cases, when diet and exercise fail to work, weight-loss surgery can help individuals slim down and become healthier, while also reversing or improving type 2 diabetes and other health conditions related to excess weight.
Regardless of the weight-loss method you choose, there are other relatively small lifestyle changes you can make to propel and accelerate weight loss at an even faster rate.
Want to lose weight faster on top of exercise and nutrition? Take a look at these six healthy shortcuts to faster weight loss.
1. Stop eating and snacking after 9 p.m.
If you generally work during normal daytime hours and go to bed in the evening, make a serious attempt to stop eating after 9 p.m. Since nighttime is when your body naturally starts to relax and slow down, any foods you eat can add to your waistline, especially if you’re snacking on desserts and snacks high in sugar and sodium. Plus, your activity level will be lower, and you probably won’t be exercising before bedtime. If you feel hungry after already having consumed dinner for the evening, take up a new hobby to distract yourself and keep yourself busy. If you absolutely cannot handle going to bed on an empty stomach, eat a small amount of highly-nutritious food, such as a handful of nuts or a banana.
2. Consume less alcohol
While the occasional glass of red wine can have a positive effect on heart health, stop consuming alcohol on a regular basis. Cutting out all alcohol can help you lose more weight within a short period of time, since alcohol is high in calories, and high in yeast content. Plus, if you’re exercising regularly, you’ll notice that less alcohol often equates to more energy and more productive workouts. If you truly enjoy drinking alcohol, limit yourself to just one or two drinks once or twice per month, or cut back even further if you can manage.
3. Get more sleep
Aim for about eight hours of sleep per night to allow your body to fully recover from exercise and to promote your body’s production of melatonin — a sleep hormone that can help lower your risk for illness and cancer. Plus, getting the amount of sleep you need will help regulate all your other hormones, including your hunger hormones, which are partly responsible for controlling your appetite.
4. Drink more water
In many cases, dehydration is disguised as hunger, so if you’re feeling hungry even though you’ve recently eaten, drink water to see if it curbs your hunger pangs. Water also helps flush toxins and waste from your body, which contributes to weight loss. Drink between six and eight glasses of water per day, or more as needed — especially if you’re exercising regularly.
5. Stop overdoing it at the gym
Exercising once or twice per day, every day, can result in your experiencing setbacks on your weight-loss journey — even more so if you’re working hard. Your body needs time to recover and relax from intense workout routines to prevent overtraining and injury. To see faster weight-loss results, exercise less often for shorter periods of time by amping up your training routine to include more high-intensity interval training exercises. These types of max intensity workouts will result in the burning of more calories within a shorter period of time. Plus, high-intensity exercise will cause you to burn calories for up to 24 hours after your workout.
6. Consume more fiber and protein
For many years, nutritionists have said that in order to lose one pound of fat, you must burn 3,500 calories. However, new research has found that the amount of calories you must burn to lose one pound of fat differs from individual to individual. Michelle Davenport, PhD, RD suggests consuming more fiber and protein at every meal for the best weight-loss results. Fiber and protein can help you feel more full for longer periods of time, and can promote healthy, regular bowel movements — further contributing to weight loss. Plus, fiber and protein will fuel your energy levels and help you feel motivated to stay active.
