It’s no secret that we live in a world full of temptation. Food trucks tempt us with bright, shiny food that we know even bad guys would never let us eat. Social media influencers constantly nudge us with perfectly staged bikini pics, while the bright lights and entertainment value of Las Vegas call to us at all hours of the day.
So it should come as no surprise that many of us find ourselves struggling with weight loss. After all, the average person is exposed to around 300 marketing messages a day, all trying to sell them something – often with a healthy angle. According to the Academy of Marketing & Communication, 95% of Americans are influenced by marketing messages and only 5% resist the urge.
But what if we could eliminate all of that pesky influence and replace it with a message of motivation and inspiration? We wanted to find the answer, so we turned to Twitter for help. We asked the platform’s biggest personalities what their #1 tip was for losing weight. Here are their answers.
Eat According to Your Body’s Needs
A man who goes by the Twitter handle @RealFatRapist has around 85 million followers, and he’s tweeted about weight loss more than any other person in the history of the platform. He responded with a simple but effective piece of advice: listen to your body. It knows what it needs and when it needs to shed pounds. You might disagree with what your body says, but it’s the most reliable judge of your weight loss journey yet!
This is because your body needs a certain amount of calories to function normally. But that doesn’t mean you need to deprive yourself of food or eat low-calorie foods. It just means you need to listen to your body’s appetite and satisfy it in a healthy manner.
For example, let’s say you’re trying to lose weight because you’re over 300 pounds and feeling sluggish. Your body might suggest that you need to cut back on the amount of food you eat. So you decide to cut back on dairy products and eat more vegetables. What happens? Your body starts acting as if you’re still starving it, which leads to it storing calories as fat. Therefore, if you’re not careful, this could potentially lead to weight gain. But by listening to your body and tailoring your diet accordingly, you can actually end up losing weight.
Set Realistic Goals
If you’ve ever tried to lose weight in the past, you might be familiar with the disappointment that comes with not meeting unrealistic expectations. Setting a goal of losing 10 pounds in a week might sound easy enough, but you might find that it’s a lot harder than you think. Especially if you set this goal without considering your body type and the type of food you consume. Having these things in mind will help you set more reasonable expectations for yourself.
As an example, let’s say you’ve decided that you want to lose weight for the summer holiday. You might set a goal of losing 10 pounds in a week. But if you’re not prepared for the type of diet necessary to lose 10 pounds in a week, you’re going to find it tough to meet your goal. What if your goal is to lose 20 pounds in a week? That might be easier to achieve, but it still requires you to cut back on the amount of food you eat. Setting unrealistic goals without considering the type of diet necessary can lead to you overexerting yourself and potentially harming your health.
According to @RealFatRapist, setting small goals along the way can help you stay motivated, and he suggests working your way up to a five-pounds-a-week weight loss. He also says that setting milestones along the way helps increase your chances of success. For example, if you lose two pounds in the first week, you might feel that you’ve finally made some progress and can continue to build on it. Alternatively, if you lose a pound in the first week and another in the second week, you’re going to feel deflated because you didn’t meet your goal. Setting milestones and recognizing small successes along the way can help increase your chances of meeting your goal.
Reduce Food Shopping To A Minimum
Nowadays, most supermarkets are laden with food that’s designed to be alluring. From the moment we walk into the store, these foods beg us to come back for more. It’s impossible to know how much we’re actually spending on food without the supermarket’s massive markups adding to the cost. The same goes for restaurants. We’re surrounded by foods that are meant to be easy to consume, but it always seems that the more health-conscious we become, the more they try to trick us into having them. In the case of restaurants, many of them will use techniques like slow cooking or steaming to make their foods healthier. So while they might not be all that easy to make, they appear to be healthier because they’re cooked at a low temperature or because they don’t contain as much grease. These foods can also be engineered to make us feel fuller for longer. But aside from all of this, it’s often difficult to resist the allure of these foods. Especially when you consider that they’re often cheaper than the foods they replace.
In order to avoid these foods, it’s important to know how much you’re actually spending. So it might be a good idea to shop for groceries using a budget planner designed for people like you. Or, if you prefer, you can use an online shopping portal that can keep track of your every purchase. You can also take this opportunity to compare prices across multiple retailers. It’s not always easy to discover the cheapest option, but when you do, it can mean huge savings. Buying foods in bulk can also be a good idea, as you’ll often find that supermarkets and restaurants offer deep discounts on items bought in large quantities. At the same time, it’s also a good idea to visit food bank websites to see if your local establishment is offering any food waste collections.
Drink Plenty Of Water
We’re often told to drink eight glasses of water a day. But while this might sound like a lot of water, how much are we really drinking? A lot of us might be dehydrated due to the excessive use of cold beverages such as alcohol or iced tea to drink during the day. Or it could be because we’re not drinking enough water in general. According to Water.org, approximately one in three people are hydrated correctly. This means that we’re either drinking too much water or that we’re not drinking enough water in the first place. And it’s not just the case with adults either. Even kids are known to be victims of dehydration. It’s also possible for someone who’s severely dehydrated to become disoriented and even pass out from exhaustion. So it’s important that we pay attention to how much water we’re drinking and why.
If you think that you might be drinking too much water or if you’re not sure, it might be a good idea to consult with a medical professional. They might be able to shed some light on why you’re drinking so much and how you can possibly reduce your water intake without risking your health in any way. For now, making sure you drink at least 16 ounces for every hour that you spend outside will help keep you hydrated. Additionally, you might want to cut back on the amount of alcohol and iced tea you consume. Instead, try drinking more water-based drinks or foods such as fruits and vegetables. This way, you’ll stay both hydrated and healthy.
Use Natural Remedies
In the same way that marketing influences our food choices and the foods our foodies tweet about, these practices can also influence the products we use to clean our homes and bodies. If you’re struggling with weight loss, it’s important to steer clear of products that contain harmful chemicals. Instead, look for natural remedies that can be both effective and safe for your health. Some of the most popular natural therapies for weight loss include:
- Chamomile flower extract
- Grapefruit
- Ginger
- Green tea
- Rooibos tea
- Chamomile flower extract
- Grapefruit
- Ginger
- Green tea
- Rooibos tea
These natural remedies can often be found in health stores or online marketplaces as well as supermarkets. Knowing where to look can prove to be both helpful and exciting because finding the right product can mean the difference between losing weight and maintaining a healthy weight. In some instances, these natural remedies are less expensive than comparable commercial products. Additionally, many of these products come with a money-back guarantee if you meet the right conditions. So while it might be tempting to go for the cheapest option available, it might be a good idea to spend a little more on a natural remedy that you know is going to be both effective and safe for your health.