Drink Water
Besides keeping you hydrated, recent studies show that drinking water on the regular can aid with weight loss. Filling up on water before a meal helps encourage portion control, and simply eating foods that contain a lot of water (like fruits and veggies) will fill you up faster, causing you to eat less. A small study found that drinking cool water can speed up metabolism and discourage cravings for sugary drinks like soda and juice — now that's a reason to stay hydrated!
Make Life About Fun
Since stress is shown to cause weight gain by triggering the body to eat more — especially foods high in sugar and fat — make sure you give yourself time to relax and unwind. And it's an added bonus that so many fun activities (like dancing, hiking, and shopping) are already natural calorie-burners!
Go Ahead — Skip Your Workout
While this isn't completely true, you can shorten the amount of time you spend working out by maximizing your efforts. Short, intense cardio workouts are just as effective as longer ones, which lets you reap the calorie-burning rewards. Added bonus is that intense exercise increases metabolic rate for up to 14 hours post-workout.
Go Ahead and Sleep
Life gets hectic, but make sure you're getting enough sleep. Besides strengthening your immune system, proper rest also ensures healthy eating habits. On a daily basis, sleepy people eat more, and since the body functions poorly when sleep-deprived, it ends up storing more fat — inadequate sleep can lead to an extra three pounds a year! Besides, think about all the workouts you would skip if you're too tired to get to the gym.
Enjoy Food
One of the worst things you can do when you're trying to lose weight is to not give your body enough food (people who eat breakfast regularly lose more weight after all!). Instead of depriving yourself, eat these fat-burning foods and make sure to give yourself small indulgences or a cheat day — especially since occasional high-calorie foods won't wreck a healthy diet. In fact, they can do quite the opposite: having a healthy relationship with food may help you from going overboard later.
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