Losing weight is not easy for most people, especially after a certain age. Your metabolism may slow down and your ability to cut back on portions may wane. But there is still good news: you can absolutely lose weight, at any age: more details are mentioned in this article on HealthCanal.
Your metabolism may slow down and your ability to cut back on portions may wane. But there is still good news: you can absolutely lose weight, at any age.
What seems to help most people is to try something new. After all, our bodies adapt to diets and exercises over time, so our ability to lose more weight or even maintain a current weight slips once we adapt.
This is why you need to know all about these seven surprising ways to lose weight.
1. Take a Whiff of Each and Every Meal
Strange as it may sound, smelling a meal before taking a bite can actually help you lose weight.
Study participants who smelled their food before eating it ate less of that meal, consistently. And obviously, consuming less food leads to weight loss.
As a bonus, it can help you build healthier eating habits in general if you tend to eat large portions.
2. Try Cannabis
It may seem counterintuitive, but studies show that cannabis use actually helps in weight loss.
This is because compounds found in cannabis not only stimulate your metabolism, they actually help your body utilize calories in a more efficient manner.
Though your state may not have legalized recreational marijuana yet, odds are they have a legalized medical marijuana program. All you need is a qualifying medical reason and a medical marijuana card to start purchasing cannabis legally.
Veriheal is one way to do that. They can walk you through the process of legally obtaining an MMC in your state.
3. Start a Food Journal
When you gain weight, you may wonder how you got there. You may realize that you probably haven’t been eating great, but are not 100% sure what you ate that made the numbers on your scale go up.
This is a very common issue with weight gain. But it can easily be averted if you start a food journal.
Keep track of what you eat when, every single day. At the end of the day or the end of the week, flip through and read your entries. This will help you understand your food patterns, giving you some necessary self-awareness and self-control.
4. Speak Up When You Exercise
We constantly learn new things about the effect of exercise on weight loss.
Overall, exercising may not help you lose any weight at all, but it can help you keep it off. And having an exercise routine is great for many other health benefits, so there’s no need to stop exercising if you’re only in it for weight loss!
And, research shows that speaking positive affirmations aloud as you exercise can actually increase your body’s ability to burn more fat and calories when you exercise.
This is because positive affirmations can:
- Decrease your stress levels in the moment, making your body more receptive to physical activity.
- Decrease the level of cortisol in your body, the “stress hormone” responsible for spiking your blood sugar levels.
- Help you stay focused for longer, more effective routines.
Don’t know any positive affirmations? Try simple ones related to health, like “I love exercising regularly” and “I am becoming fitter and stronger every minute.”
5. Watch Yourself Eat in a Mirror
This is another weird, surprising weight loss secret! If you eat your meal in front of a mirror, you’re less likely to overindulge.
One reason is that, hey, watching yourself eat may not be the most attractive sight. Therefore, you’re probably less likely to grab a second course if you have to continuously watch yourself masticate.
And one study claims that you’re less likely to eat desserts and other unhealthy fare if you eat in front of a mirror. It raises your self-awareness and can help you make smarter food choices.
And who wouldn’t benefit from that?
6. Consider What and How You Eat Before Bed
Going to bed starving is always a bad idea. You may lose sleep as your body alerts your brain it needs sustenance.
However, as you may already know, going to bed after eating a massive meal is also a no-no. If you do so, your body works overtime digesting the meal instead of resting.
Wait an hour or two before going to bed after eating dinner or a large snack every night. This will allow your body to get the rest it needs, which is necessary to lose weight.
When you do, your body will be more efficient at burning calories throughout the day. You will also be less likely to reach for fatty, calorie-dense foods when you sleep better. It’s a surprising win-win for weight loss.
7. DON’T Go All in on Fad Diets and Trends
You are constantly bombarded by the celebrities touting “miracle cures” that helped them shed extra pounds with very little effort on their part.
Naturally, you may feel inclined to give a trending diet or supplement a go, despite knowing that celebrities are paid handsomely for such endorsements and very likely never actually tried the product or method they endorse.
But if you have a, “yeah, but what’s the worst that can happen?” attitude and try the product/method, it may surprise you to learn you may do irreparable damage to your body that thwarts weight loss now and in the future.
Detox diets and juice cleanses are especially harmful. And limiting the consumption of an unhealthy food you adore will only make it more appealing.
The solution? Eat what you want, in moderation and at the right times, and avoid weight loss trends that seem too good to be true (they are).
These are surprising ways to set you up for a lifetime of sustained weight control and excellent health.
Conclusion
By trying one or all of these seven surprising ways to lose weight, you will keep your weight loss journey on track. All you have to do is experiment and see what works best for you.
It’s all about finding new and productive ways to boost our body’s metabolism while keeping our brains happy. And these ideas certainly achieve those ideals!
