Weight loss can often be difficult, confusing and overwhelming. Food labels can be misleading causing people to embark on car crash diets which as the name suggests ends in disaster. Not only is incredibly unhealthy but not enjoyable in the slightest too. THE PROTEIN WORKS™ have spent some time collating some easy tips for you to stay fit and healthy through the winter months and forever ever after.
Dieting and losing weight shouldn’t be a hindrance on your daily life. YES, you should be able to go on nights out and YES you can have the odd takeaway, its about making little changes to your lifestyle that overall has a huge impact on your health. Think as these next couple of tips as stepping stones, each one taking you closer to your destination or goal.
Without sustainable lifestyle changes, as soon as the ‘diet’ ends we simply get back into the spiral and the weight starts coming back (I’ve been there myself). That’s why we call them lifestyle changes rather than a diet. Just small little easy tweaks to help you on your way. In this article, I have listed some top easy tips for losing weight and becoming a fitter, healthier you. So lets get down to business – Don’t forget these don’t have to be implemented all at once, the goal here is to ensure that you enjoy your journey.
1) Read Food Labels
Many foods advertise themselves as “now lower in fat” or “now lower in sugar”, although this doesn’t mean that they are good for you. If the product was very high in sugar and fat to start with they even with slightly reduced levels, it’s still not likely to be an benefit to you and your body. A product can not be classified as “low fat” unless it contains less than 3 % fat content, so read your food levels carefully. Remember that traffic light system we see on packets. Green is always a GO! There are lots of low fat and low sugar options available, but its important that they actually taste good. The chances are you’ve tried a low fat meal product and thought it wasn’t worth the less calories, but shop around and you’ll soon find your favourite. For example, our Protein Cookies only contain 3.0g of sugar and 18g of protein. The best thing is they taste amazing too.
2) Watch Your Sugar Intake
So we’ve talked about keeping an eye on your food labels, but what should you be looking out for? Sugar! Sugar is con-temporarily considered more responsible for adding weight than dietary fat, (bet you didn’t know that) so we need to reduce the amount of sugar we eat. Sugar is a little sneaky rascal that we often don’t realise is lurking in the corner of our favourite food packets. The little rascals think they can get away with it, but its time to show them the road! That doesn’t mean you cant have sugar, as after all we all have a sweet tooth, but rather than having a full barof chocolate just have a few chunks, or simply try a healthier snack alternative which should be enough to combat your cravings. You could even snack on nuts or peanut butter but ensure this is high quality, such as TPW Peanut Butter with no added sugar or salt as our the sweet monster in supermarket alternatives could be lurking in these too. Although if chocolate is more of you’re thing, lets be honest who doesn’t love chocolate, we recommend protein truffles! With only 0.9g of sugar and 12g of protein per truffle. Yum, Yum!
3) Don’t Skip Breakfast
Many people think that skipping breakfast is a good way of reducing their calorie intake for the day. In reality, not eating breakfast may actually have a negative effect on the body. Having a solid, nutritious breakfast kick starts your metabolism and starts the body burning calories. Also if you skip breakfast you are more likely to crave high fat and sugar foods by mid morning which is, of course, detrimental to losing weight. Aim for a high protein, low GI carbohydrate breakfast option to keep you full through the morning and counteract the hunger pangs and snacking throughout the day. Good choices are Protein Porridge, Protein Pancake or a shake such as Breakfast Fuel. Having a healthy start to the day will help you power through your day, and these suggestions are really worth waking up early for.
4) Drink Water
4) Drink WaterWater is incredibly important to everyone, we’re made of the stuff, literally! Maintain healthy levels of hydration through the day should be right on your checklist. Ditch that fizzy pop, as we’ve discussed we don’t need any of that unwanted sugar and pick up your water bottle. Some studies show that drinking water can increase the rate in which you lose weight as it is said to increase the amount of calories we can burn. We recommend you buying a large water bottle and say to yourself you must drink ‘x’ amount before the end of the day. Water can also make you feel full so saves you from snacking. Check out our best selling water bottle the Juggernaut – its a 2.2 litre hydrating masterpiece.
5) Light Exercise
Probably the easiest but most effective element to becoming a fitter and healthier you. Exercise has shown to not only increase burning of calories, but its also incredibly good at releasing the stress we all feel from time to time at work. We’re not saying run 5 miles and then go to the gym, that would be silly. We just simply mean change little bits in your daily life. For example, take the stairs rather than the lift. Walk to the shops instead of driving or take your dog once more around the block, your body and the dog will thankyou for it. It really is that simple, and if you’re feeling a little more adventurous then do wipe those cobwebs away from your running shoes and head out. The great thing about these tips is that they can be tailored to your specific needs, and like we said at the start, they don’t need to be implemented all at once, but collectively they will have a huge impact on losing weight, feeling better and becoming a fitter healthier you.
So there you have it! 5 Easy tips for you to get started on!
Fancy kick-Starting Your Fitness Journey?
We’d love to see you put these into action – share your journey with us on social media – Instagram: @theproteinwork
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