OK, so there is no true quick and easy way to lose weight, but I can offer a few simple tips and ideas that might make a little bit of difference and help you on your road to shedding a few pounds.

1. Make a Switch to Green Tea

Green tea might initially taste like dishwater but it’s actually really good for you. Basically, green teas contain antioxidants that help with digestion (boring science stuff: it helps the liver to function more efficiently, speeding up your metabolism). Changing from normal to green tea can help you burn calories and, in effect, lose weight.

I’ve tried this and found I felt much less bloated within a really short time of changing. After a few days, green tea starts to taste good as well, and it’s now my preferred choice of hot drink. Even better, there are tonnes of different green teas available, so there’s bound to be one for even the fussiest palate!

2. Cut out the Crap

I swore over a decade ago I would never completely give up chocolate, cakes, and all the other sweet but crippling unhealthy foods, and I haven’t – not completely.

What I have done instead is cut out temporarily and cut down on a more permanent basis. Last month I got to the the point where I was going to the gym regularly but my weight loss had plateaued, and the only thing worse than going to the gym is going to the gym and not losing any weight.

My kryptonite…

Apparently, your weight is 20% exercise and 80%, which is the worse news I’ve ever heard in my life. But it doesn’t explain a lot.

So what I did was cut out all sweet, sugary, delicious foods for 2 weeks to break my unhealthy eating habits. 2 weeks isn’t an impossible length of time to go without for, so I wasn’t setting myself up to fail, but it was enough time to see a difference. After the 2 weeks, I allowed myself to have a few treats in the week, but only 2-3 small treats at most. Because I’d made progress in those first 2 weeks of going without, I felt – and still feel – motivated to keep my unhealthy foods to a minimum, and it has made a difference to my weight and body shape.

3. Exercise Before Breakfast

10 minutes of exercise before you eat anything kick starts your metabolism for the day, which means everything you eat burns quicker for the rest of the day.

As if I would EVER put a picture of me doing sit ups on to my site! The facial expression is about right – shame the stomach isn’t (yet, anyway!)!

My preference is skipping or a combination of squats, star jumps and sit ups, nothing that requires complex equipment or organisation.

The great thing about exercising early is that you start the day having already achieved something, and so feeling good about yourself!

4. Weights Burn LOADS of Calories

I recently learned that weights can be just as beneficial to weight loss as a cardio workout can be. Quite simply, when you push your body to lift/push weights, you’re forcing the muscles to develop and change shape. If you do enough weights (enough repetitions and a challenging but manageable weight) your muscles with continue to burn calories as they repair themselves the following day(s).

Start light and work your way up.

5. Little and Often

This is a really good way to ensuring your metabolism runs as efficiently as it can. Basically, eat what you would normally in a day, but divide it into smaller portions and eat more often throughout the day.

This helps lose weight because your body is continually working to digest food, meaning your body is constantly burning calories, and you’re not overloading your body with food so it isn’t stored as excess weight.

What Do You Think?

These are things that have worked for me, and I wanted to get these weight loss tips out there in case they’re useful to other people. I do go to the gym regularly, and I do monitor what I’m eating now, and nothing works just by itself, but the tips above might make you feel a little bit more motivated on your quest to lose weight.

If anyone has any great weight loss ideas and advice I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear from you!

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