How to Maximize Weight Loss

By JohanM, eHow Member Rating

Lose those extra pounds in a jiffy!

Rate: (31 Ratings)

Losing weight is easier for some than it is for others, that's just the way it is. That's not a reason, however, to give up hope if the scale is not always tilting the way you want it to. Below are some advice on how to maximize weight loss.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Step 1

Get pumped!

The most important thing you will ever need when trying to lose weight is motivation. Set up goals, realistic goals. Don't tell yourself you want to lose 20 lbs in one month, because that's darn near impossible. Keep your goal of losing 20 pounds, but spread it out over 6 to 8 weeks instead. Losing 2.5 pounds per week is more doable than 5 pounds per week. You might be able to lose 5 pounds in each of the first two weeks, but after that it is going to get tough and you don't want to jeopardize your motivation by not meeting your goals.
Step 2

Go with the salad

Your diet is the second most important thing when losing weight. Eating right will not only make you lose weight, but it can also make you feel more energized, which will make it a lot easier to get up and go to the gym.
Step 3

Your dinner plate should not look like this, even if it is sushi

With all the weight loss shows and magazine columns these days it has almost become common knowledge that eating several smaller meals is better for weight control than three big ones. But just in case you missed it, or don't know why this is better, I'll go over it here briefly.
When you eat five or six smaller meals a day you keep your metabolism going throughout the day and that means calories are being used up!
Step 4

Snack away, but keep it healthy

One thing that people often get wrong when going on a weight loss diet is that they cut out too much calories from their diet. An excess of calories will mess up your weight loss plans, but a shortage of calories is not good either. You need to find a perfect balance.
When you lower your calorie intake you also slow down your metabolism, which leads the body to start conserving fat for fuel. If you keep this up long enough your body will eventually begin to break down muscle tissue for fuel due to lack of other resources, and then you're really doing a lot more damage than good.
Step 5

These things are called fruits, they taste good AND they're healthy

Muscles need calories just to maintain, and if you want to gain more muscle mass you need even more calories. It is fat that you need to cut out of your diet. Eat more lean cuts of meat, or switch to chicken (not fried chicken!) or fish, this will cut out unnecessary fats in your diet. Sugar is also your enemy now, so stop eating candy and other sweets during the day and drink water instead of soda. Fruit and nuts are great snacks to munch on between breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Step 6

Nuts will help you eat smaller meals

If you feel you're still eating too much food, but need it just to be able to function normally, eat some peanuts or cashews 30 minutes before your meal. Nuts sends a trigger to your brain telling your stomach that it is not hungry anymore and therefore it will feel like you don't have enough room in your belly for a big portion of food.
Step 7

Another key player in maximizing weight loss is exercise. That does not have to mean going to the gym. Some people don't like going to the gym for various legit reasons, but that doesn't mean they still can't exercise.
A few suggestions on alternative exercise regimes are taking up a martial arts class, a dance class (but make sure it's high energy dancing, such as samba, salsa, African dance or hip hop), swimming, playing tennis or running up and down bleachers or stairs.
The key is to move around a lot, work up a sweat and make your heart race a little faster than usual. Also, whatever you decide to do, you have to commit to it and not put up a half-hearted effort.
Step 8

Lower weights, more reps

If you like going to the gym you should adapt your workout to maximize weight loss, which means not adding too much muscle mass, unless that's weight you welcome. This means doing more cardio workouts than lifting heavy weights. In fact, when you lift free weights, use lighter weights so you can do around 12 to 15 reps for three sets. This builds muscle endurance more than muscle mass. Cut down on resting between exercises to keep the burn going, it will also get you out of the gym faster.
Step 9

Sweat it out

After a workout you can also slip into a sauna for a while to sweat out some weight. However, you will only lose water weight by doing this, but if it helps reaching your weekly goal and keeping your motivation up, go for it.

Comments

starrwd said

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on 6/24/2009 I like the tip about eating nuts before a meal to help keep you from being so hungry.

rspears01 said

on 2/22/2009 Fantastic Article!! 5* all the way!!!

EL37 said

on 4/13/2008 To add on to the part about nuts, do not eat out of the bag, take out what you think is logically not too unhealthy in portion from the container and put the container away, the toughest part is giving up seconds but it takes a while to realize that you are full even though you are full.