Weight loss can be a challenging process, and it may not always occur at a steady pace. It can be difficult to determine whether you’re losing weight at an optimal rate or if your progress has slowed or plateaued.
If you feel that your weight loss journey is not progressing as quickly as you’d like, there are a few health-supporting strategies you can try to give yourself a boost.
These small yet effective changes can help you reduce your caloric intake, increase calorie burning, and keep you on track with your weight loss goals.
1. Adjust Portion Sizes
Adjusting your portion sizes to support weight loss is an excellent way of reducing calories without having to count them. You can use different strategies to measure portion sizes, such as using your hands or smaller plates. By reducing portions, you can serve yourself the correct portion sizes for weight loss.
And don’t forget about your drinks. Don’t worry about reducing no-calorie drinks like water and black coffee, but pour out or save half of your creamy lattes, sports drinks, and other high-calorie beverages, for another time.
2. Increase Your Intake Of High Volume Foods
Boost the volume on your plate with filling foods. Boosting volume with veggies will add very few calories to your meal but can help to provide greater meal satisfaction, fullness from the fiber, and enjoyment. When you feel full and happy, you’re likely to eat less in the hours after your meal.
Keep fresh lettuce in the fridge and use it to increase the size of your sandwich, salad, or tacos. When making a casserole, soup, or grain bowl, add chopped veggies to fill it out and add nutrients and filling fiber.
3. Skip Juice In Smoothies
A healthy low-calorie fruit or vegetable smoothie can be an excellent addition to a meal or mid-day snack. Smoothies can help you increase your consumption of nutrient-dense foods that contribute to a healthy weight and an energizing diet. However, juices that lack fiber might be best skipped during a weight loss goal.
Fruit juices add calories and sugar to your blended drinks. Unfortunately, many store-bought juices do not provide many benefits and often have added sugar. Whole fruit, however, offers flavor, texture, and essential nutrients. And the fiber in whole fruit helps you feel full and eat less.
4. Get Active
The most effective weight loss programs include exercise. Cardio, flexibility, and strength training are all important. Choosing a form of activity that you enjoy and will be consistent with is vital for sustainable weight loss.
As well, increasing your overall activity, even if it isn’t planned exercise will help you balance your calorie expenditure to support your weight loss goals. Choosing active hobbies in place of sedentary ones or taking breaks to move around during the day can add up to substantial energy burn.
5. Take The Stairs
Stair climbing over taking the elevator can increase your calorie burn throughout the day. It’s also an efficient way to work your lower body muscles and get your heart rate up.
Climb a few flights of stairs here and there throughout your normal daily activities. Skip the elevator at work, avoid the escalator at the mall, and make the extra effort when you’re at home. Even short movement breaks like this during the day contribute to health and weight balance.
6. Add Soups To Your Meals
Before you eat lunch or dinner, enjoy a cup of warm, clear broth. Chicken stock, vegetable broth, and even beef stock are popular options. These comforting soups fill you up, so you feel more satisfied and full.
And the warm broth also slows down the eating process. If you learn to eat more slowly, you’re more likely to feel and acknowledge signs of fullness so that you stop eating when you need to.
You can also build soups into your daily meals, as research supports this strategy is effective for helping reduce calories and supporting weight loss.