The 30 Best Weight Loss Tips

There are many different ways to lose weight. What most people don't realize is that many of them do not have to do with what is on your plate or your diet.

Read on to find out the various things you can do to help yourself lose the weight you want quicker.

De-stress

Cortisol - the hormone your body produces when you're stressed - increases your appetite and lowers your metabolism, a one-two punch to make you gain weight. Try meditating to lower your levels of cortisol and center yourself.

Get enough sleep

Getting your eight hours a night is an important weight loss tip because sleep deprivation lowers the amount of leptin your body makes, which prompts you to eat more than you really need.

Use smaller plates

You judge how much food you've eat by the size of your plate, and most people believe that they have eaten as much and feel as satisfied with less food if it's served on a smaller plate.

Brush your teeth often

Most foods taste pretty disgusting if eaten right after toothpaste, so brushing your teeth will prevent you from snacking and ensure you always smell minty-fresh.

Drink more water

You've probably heard this weight loss tip before, but it's still one of the best. Your body has to digest water just like anything else, which burns energy, but water has zero calories. Water also suppresses your appetite when you drink it right before a meal.

Drink coffee

Caffeine boosts your metabolism, increases fat burning and improves your mood and energy levels, as you've probably already noticed in the mornings. Without sugar and with only low-fat milk it's incredibly good for you.

Avoid alcohol

When you drink alcohol your body burns that instead of fat for fuel, slowing your weight loss. Alcohol has seven calories per gram, so even 'skinny' drinks like gin and tonic contain too many calories.

Don't drink fruit juice

This weight loss tip surprises a lot of people – fruit juice is full of vitamins, right? But it's also stuffed with sugar and is bad for your teeth as well as your waist. Plus it lacks the fiber you get from actually eating fruit.

Eat slowly

When you take your time to enjoy your food, you give your body enough time to signal to your brain that you're full. You're less likely to overeat and more likely to exercise proper portion control.

Eat protein for breakfast

Protein makes you feel full, and when you eat it at breakfast it can reduce the amount you eat throughout the day. Eating breakfast also wakes up your metabolism in the morning and gets you burning fat.

Make healthy food swaps

Simple substitutions like drinking low-fat milk instead of whole or having cinnamon on your oatmeal instead of sugar are hardly noticeable but add up to a lot of calories over the course of weeks or months.

Choose brown over white

Wholemeal bread, rice and pasta contain more fiber than the white kind, and so fewer carbohydrates. They make a more satisfying meal while not pushing your blood sugar up as much.

Cook with olive oil

Olive oil is 77% monounsaturated fats – those are the good kind that lower your cholesterol and are easy to burn for energy. Using olive oil instead of your regular cooking oil will cut calories from every meal.

Banish the snacks

The kind of food you keep in the cupboard is the kind of food you're going to eat, so make sure you have lots of fresh fruit around and leave the Hershey bars in the grocery store.

Eat spicy food

The capsaicin in peppers makes you feel hot – ever start to sweat after eating spicy Mexican food? - and when your body temperature goes up so does your metabolism.

Eat more fiber

Fiber is an ingredient which moves through the digestive tract very slowly and can't be used by the body, meaning it makes you feel full without adding any extra calories to your food.

Learn to cook

If you don't already know how to cook, it's an essential life skill and weight loss tip. Processed food contains huge amounts of fat, sugar and salt so buy fresh ingredients and make dinner yourself.

Put away leftovers

If you pack away the extra food for lunch the next day or to be used as a side later in the week then you're less likely to go back for a second helpings.

Weight train

Adding weights to your workout builds muscle, and the more muscle you have the more calories you burn all the time - and the faster you'll be able to slim down.

Try resistance training

Similar to working out with weights, resistance exercises build muscle and raise your base metabolic rate for higher fat burning, and they don't require any equipment.

Jump rope

It might feel a little bit middle school, but jumping rope is one of the best exercises for burning through calories, everyone knows how to do it, and you can exercise anywhere.

Exercise in short bursts

Interval training – where you work hard for 30 seconds then take it easy for 30 seconds – burns more calories than steady state cardio and uses stored body fat during the rest period.

Do plyometric exercises

These explosive exercises involve sudden muscle movements and bursts of speed which tax your body and burn calories. There are many jumping versions of bodyweight workouts that you can do at home.

Go outdoors

It doesn't have to be intense hiking – even if you wander around a local park, pay a visit to a museum or go to a concert, being on your feet and moving burns a lot more calories than sitting in front of the TV.

Take a class

Interesting classes that are good exercise include dancing, martial arts, trampoline, aerial yoga and rollerblading. The sociable aspect makes them more fun and you can all motivate each other.

Get active

Incorporate more activity into your daily life by taking the stairs, using a standing desk, doing the gardening you've been putting off or wearing a pedometer and trying to walk more.

Work out before breakfast

People who exercise on an empty stomach burn more fat than people who eat first. Your body doesn't have any fuel for your workout so it has to burn off your fat reserves instead.

Take photos

Taking before and after photos and recording how much you lose every week lets you see how good your progress is and gives you motivation to keep going until you reach your goal.

Go shopping

And once you do hit your goals, make sure to reward yourself! If you're nearly there then buying a cute top that's just a little too tight will push you to lose those last few pounds.

Focus on lifestyle, not diet

By far the most important weight loss tip! If you go on a crash diet, sooner or later you will gain back the weight. Concentrate on making sustainable long term changes that will keep you healthy and slim for the rest of your life.