Anyone who claims that losing weight is like taking candy from a baby is either delusional or trying to sell you some fad diet products because everyone knows how challenging it is to shed massive amounts of weight.
There are, however, things that will help you smoothen out the process. Making subtle changes to your diet is a great way to kick-start your weight loss journey because it’s realistic and sustainable.
Here are 10 tiny diet changes to help you shed unwanted weight;
1. Take the Stairs Instead of the Elevator
This is actually a no-brainer, because opting for the stairs instead of the elevator means your body is moving and any kind of movement, no matter how small, burns calories.
When climbing up the stairs, you burn between 5 to 19 calories per minute, depending on how fast you’re going. To maximise the amount of calories you burn, you can try to climb faster, climb two stairs at a time or, if you’re up for it, you could even run up the stairs.
By the end of the day, you’ll find that the amount of calories burnt per stair case really adds up and you’d have burnt enough to cover anywhere between 10 to 20% of your daily target.
2. Eat Dark Chocolate Instead of Milk Chocolate
Consuming dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate may actually not be so bad, because dark chocolate is equally, if not, tastier than milk chocolate.
Milk chocolate contains 38 calories per mini 7g bar, whereas its dark counterpart contains 42 calories for the same serving. Now, you might be thinking that because of the slightly higher caloric content of dark chocolate, you might be better off eating milk chocolate, but that’s not the case and here’s why;
Although you get slightly more calories from dark chocolate, you also get a number of benefits such as a reduction in energy absorption from other foods, dark chocolate reduces sweet cravings and it also promotes satiety.
To put it simply, milk chocolate only provides empty calories, while dark chocolate on the other hand allows you to curb your sweet tooth while promoting weight loss.
3. Switch Mayo for Light Mayo
It’s quite easy to cut out certain foods when you’re trying to lose weight, but you’ll also find that other foods can’t be swapped because you can’t do without them. Mayonnaise is the perfect example of such foods.
One tablespoon of Mayo is filled with about 94 calories. To put that into perspective, one tablespoon of mayo has a higher caloric content than two slices of white bread. That’s enough to make any seasoned dieter wince.
Luckily, you don’t have to abandon mayonnaise altogether, what you can do instead is switch regular mayo for light mayonnaise. It tastes exactly the same, but only packed with fewer calories.
4. Drink Infused Water Instead of Fruit
Many fall for this trap, they hear fruit juice and they automatically think it’s good for weight loss and the reasoning behind it is that fruits are healthy; therefore fruit juices should also be healthy. However, fruit juices may contain fruits but they’re also filled with artificial sweeteners and other ingredients that promote weight gain.
Infused water is a healthier alternative to fruit juice because of its minimal caloric content. Additionally, infused water is more hydrating, it fills you with energy and it boosts your metabolism so you’re able to burn more calories when you’re exercising or simply going about your daily routine.
5. Don’t Shop When you’re Hungry
I’m pretty sure that you’ve done this countless times and it may feel like the right thing to do, but it actually does more harm than good, and I’ll tell you why.
You most probably like to shop hungry because you want to get everything out of the way before you finally reward yourself with a meal, or you’re under the impression that shopping and running errands on an empty stomach helps you burn more calories.
All the above may be true, except you fail to realise that once you’re done shopping, you’ll practically be starving, as a result, you’ll be more likely to go for fast foods or other high-caloric meals to curb your hunger.
That said; make sure you’ve had enough to eat before you go on a shopping spree. This will reduce your chances of over eating on your next meal.
6. Snack on Vegetables
If you’re aiming to achieve massive weight loss, you’ll have to give up sweet and savoury treats and instead get used to snacking on vegetables. This will allow you to eat sufficiently without going over your daily caloric limit.
In addition to keeping your caloric count low, vegetables also turn your digestive system into a fat-burning machine. This is how it’s achieved;
Satiety : Vegetables, especially leafy greens like spinach and Broccoli have higher satiety indexes than most foods. What this means is that they leave you feeling “full” or satisfied for an extended period of time. Also, they hinder your body’s ability to absorb calories from other foods.
High in fibre: Veggies are mostly made of water and fibre; consequently, you’ll need to eat a smaller portion to feel full.
There are various ways to snack on veggies; you don’t have to stick to traditional recipes. You should try to spice up your veggie snacks with other healthy ingredients like nuts or low-fat cheese.
7. Dish Smaller Portions of Food
Have you ever eaten a rather large meal despite not being necessarily hungry? It’s a common thing that happens to many people. It all boils down to psychology; your brain automatically prepares itself to push you to eat all the food you place in front of you.
For instance, if you usually eat 100g of rice and you happen to dish 150g, your brain will be convinced that you actually need the additional amount of rice, and you end up overeating.
For massive weight loss, try portion control. This entails serving yourself slightly less than what you usually eat. This works because you trick your mind into thinking that you don’t need more food.
A good way to exercise portion control is to buy smaller cutlery and to go for a relatively smaller plate. Chewing slower and taking your time while you eat also helps a great deal.
8. Drink Coffee or Tea Before Heavier Meals
Have you noticed that you often feel less hungry after having a hot beverage? That’s because hot beverages are natural appetite suppressants. Combine that with caffeine’s metabolism-boosting properties and you may as well have created the perfect weight loss recipe.
Drinking hot coffee or tea before heavier meals will suppress your appetite so you’ll eat less and keep your daily caloric intake low.
Coffee is also a natural diuretic and laxative that said, drinking coffee before heavier meals will ensure your body doesn’t absorb much of the food’s calories. Also, it will help you shed water weight and reduce bloating.
9. Have Oatmeal for Breakfast
The truth is, if you want to eat less throughout the day without feeling like you’re starving yourself, you need to opt for a balanced and filling breakfast. Oatmeal is a good choice for a number of reasons.
Oatmeal fills you up and keeps you full for a longer period of time, it contains fewer calories than most breakfast options and it has a rather high satiety index. In addition to that, oatmeal is known for being a great energy-boosting meal. Kelly Williams Brown describes it well;
“It’s hard to convince people of this, but oatmeal truly is miraculous. It gives you an amazing amount of energy, like cocaine.”
Despite its numerous benefits, many people find the taste of oatmeal to be rather bland. For this reason, there are various recipes online that you can use to add a little flavour to your oatmeal.
10. Steam or Boil Instead of Frying
Steaming or boiling foods instead of frying them is so efficient that even celebrities swear by this method of preparing food. In fact, Beyonce reportedly only consumes steamed veggies and fish when getting in shape for concerts or movie roles.
Don’t get me wrong, fried foods like deep-fried chicken and stir fried veggies are really tasty and the thought of cutting them out is heart-breaking. Unfortunately they are packed with fat and they increase blood cholesterol which in turn slows down your metabolism.
Steaming food comes with lots of benefits. For instance, it softens the food so you’re able to digest it much easier, and the food retains its natural flavour so it tastes better.
You have to realise that massive weight loss doesn’t happen overnight. You have to keep making small changes to your lifestyle and in the long run, these changes will add up and soon enough you’ll start seeing significant results.