Let’s face it—there is so much information on the web about weight loss which tells you how to quickly shed 10 kilos in 10 days or diets promoting meals plans designed around liquids. A new fad diet pop up on the web every other day and it excites online readers and viewers. Why? The truth is that these diets do make you lose great amount of fats for a short period of time and then you are unable to maintain it. Believe it or not! It’s not something that you can do for life-long. Once your body starts going on its regular food intake and less physical activity mode. Here you go! You end up gaining more weight.

The purpose of this article is to give you 10 tips that will help you to lose weight and maintain it for life.

The key to long-term weight loss success is having realistic goals and accepting that your weight graph can only go down slowly. People who like to take shortcuts and starve themselves with fad diets eventually have to do it the healthy way as well. Here are some simple and easy tips for long-term weight loss success:

1. Table of Contents

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   Limit your calories

The most important thing you need to do is that you have to limit your calorie intake. In order to lose weight you need to have a calorie deficit and that happens when you take less calories than usual. Your calorie intake should not go lower than 1200 (for females) and 1800 (for men) according to the American College of Sports Medicine. Install a calorie counter app like MyFitnessPal or any other app which suites you and make a list for your week days and weekend according to your calorie intake.

2. Walk daily is MUST!

Walking is one physical activity which not only is a stress buster it also is a great full-body workout! 30 minutes to 60 minutes’ walk daily can do wonders for you in terms of weight loss. The best thing about walk is you can do it indoors or outdoors and at any time of the day. Isn’t that simple? No matter you have long working hours or you have a baby. Just make some time whenever you can and walk for one hour inside your home, at the roof or outside in the park in fresh air. You can also track your distance, how much calories you burned and the time you walked through any fitness app in your phone. It really motivates me to do better each day!

3. Cook yourself some healthy snacks

Be consistent and don’t just order pizza when your friends come around. Cook yourself some really nice healthy snacks. Always have a mug of green tea in your hand instead of a soda or a cold drink. Your healthy snacks can be some really nice grilled sandwiches, popcorns, peanuts, fruit salad, bowl of pulses with lemon, chicken kebabs, fish, prawns etc. (one at a time) haha.

4. Always have a protein rich breakfast

Protein helps you feel full and energized throughout the day. Have scrambled eggs with veggies in breakfast instead of cereal in morning and it will help you cut on hunger cravings throughout the day.

5. Eat whole grains

Eating whole foods is the healthiest option you can go for. Whole grains are so much better than refined grains. Fruits, vegetables, beans, fresh berries, yogurt etc. all non-processed items are really good for health. Try to eat as much as whole foods. If you are a busy person and you find it easy to get processed items in home then getting whole foods for yourself then its better you do grocery online. There are some e-grocery options through which you can get your healthy fresh fruits, milk and vegetables monthly without many efforts.

6. Don’t drink calories!

All these juices, athlete energy drinks, sodas, milkshakes are advertised to be healthy but they have a lot of sugar content in them. They are not good for people who want to lose weight. It’s best to have milk, fruits and vegetables at home instead of drinking these processed and canned items.

7. Avoid distractions

While you are eating don’t watch TV or a random show on laptop. It really makes you eat so much more than you want to eat. You won’t disagree to this point that the show goes on and your food ends… this really makes you go to kitchen and get some more and eat till your movie or show is not ending. It’s best to have dinner with your family at dinner table. Keep your phone, TV and laptop away while you are eating.

8. Remain hydrated

Don’t drink sodas and fizzy drinks when you go out.  Coffee and green tea is fine but to balance it out, remains hydrated.It’s important that you drink 2 to 3 liters of water daily as water keeps your stomach full and benefits your whole body functions greatly.

9. Have green tea

Green tea keeps your metabolism fast. It’s a very beneficial beverage for weight loss. Make a habit of taking one cup of green tea in the morning and one cup 2-3 hours before going to the bed. Green tea has detoxifying agents. It not only keeps our metabolism strong and helps us maintain our weight but it also refreshes us.

10. Have meaningful goals

It’s important to understand why you want to lose weight and of course why you want to maintain it. For every individual, their objectives can be different. Write your objectives in a notebook or a weight loss journal. Set some meaningful goals. Keep a digital weighing machine. Check your weight every 14^th day. If you will limit your calories and walk daily you will definitely be happily maintaining your weight with no bigger changes in your daily lifestyle.

Author Bio:

Noor Najam is 22-year old student who loves to explore food delights and ever growing new tastes of different regions. She likes to stay fit and make healthier food choices. She thinks she should have studied a culinary related bachelor’s degree instead of her current bachelors in Social Sciences. Read her latest post Fresh Chicken vs. Frozen Chicken–Which is healthier? at Pateeri.com