Unfortunately, reducing weight isn't as simple as waving a magic wand and watching your love handles vanish! Wouldn't that be interesting?
While this isn't the case in real life, there are some things you can do to assist you in maintaining a healthy weight.
The not-so-secret technique to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more, right? There are other things you can do in your daily routine that may not seem like much but will have a significant impact on your weight loss.
Here are three evidence-based weight loss tips you can try.
Drink Water on a Regular Basis
There are rumors that drinking water might help you lose weight, and they are true!
Drinking water can help you burn off a few extra calories by speeding up your metabolism (metabolism is a chemical process in which the body turns what we eat and drink into the energy we need to survive.) by 24-30% over 1-1.5 hours.
Water improves digestion and helps numerous body organs, including the liver. If you don't drink enough water, your digestion will be slowed, your fat metabolism will be slowed, and you'll feel bloated and weary.
The rate at which our liver burns fat is accelerated when we drink enough water. When you don't drink enough water, your liver has to work overtime to keep up.
As a result it will be more difficult to burn fat more effectively, hence more fat is stored.
Grab a glass or bottle of water instead of soda, alcoholic beverages, or other high-calorie liquids. Switching to a zero-calorie drink like water can help you lose weight by hundreds of calories every day.
Cut back on Added Sugar
It's no secret that eating too much sugar is bad for your health. Sugar consumption has been linked to an increased risk of obesity, as well as illnesses including type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Most individuals, unfortunately, consume far too much sugar in the form of soda, candy, and other foods. Foods and beverages high in added sugar tend to be rich in calories yet low in filling nutrients like protein and fibre.
As a result, a sugary-food-rich diet has been related to weight increase.
When you cut back or eliminate sugar, your body's fat storage slows down, and you lose weight. However, this takes time, with the effect usually appearing after a few weeks.
Eat Slowly
Hormones play a huge role in regulating your appetite and calorie intake. Following a meal, your gut suppresses the hunger hormone (ghrelin) while simultaneously releasing fullness hormones.
These hormones tell your brain that you've eaten. Which in turn suppresses your appetite and makes you feel full.
Slowing down provides your brain the time it needs to receive these messages, which takes roughly 20 minutes.
Overeating is common when you eat too rapidly since your brain doesn't have enough time to process fullness signals. Furthermore, due to an increase in satiety hormones, eating slowly has been shown to reduce the amount of food consumed throughout a meal.
And there you have it! These three tips can help with your weight loss plan but there are not a replacement for eating healthy and exercise.
The foregoing is an Opinion Article submitted to Pulse Live Kenya for publication as part of the Pulse Contributors initiative.
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Imou Eparis is a poet and writer. Who recently had her poems published in an anthology of poems titled When We Speak . The book was published in a group she co-founded called Rafinki.
She volunteered with KU radio for a 6 month period , writing and editing articles as well as managing their website. She also manages Rafinki's website as well. She has had her work published in the Kalahari review, WSA magazine, Rafinki and her personal blog. She was also the Kenyatta University poet of the year (2019).