As much as we are always moving forward and trying to find the latest celebrity strategy or scientifically proven technique to help us to lose weight, sometimes those old school tips we’ve been hearing about since the dawn of time are actually among the most effective. The reason is that many of them focus on building habits and being practical over the longer term. These aren’t just fads. They’ve stood the test of time and are just as beneficial today as they were when they were first recommended to you.
To be clear, these aren’t actually dieting methods. After all, in that area, we have come a long way. We’ve learned that the low-fat diets we used to swear by are actually not nearly as effective as we thought they were. Moreover, we have even found out that very low carb diets aren’t the miracles we once believed in. We’ve discovered the dangers of sugar not only in terms of diabetes risk but also in their addictiveness and production of food cravings, among other issues.
Instead, some of the top weight loss tips are the old school strategies that simply allowed us to work our best efforts into our lives. Consider these tips that you’ve likely heard before but that you really should start thinking of including in your strategy once more:
• Prep your meals – The more you can do all your meal prepping in advance, the more likely you are to actually eat a healthy, nutritious, flavorful homemade meal. When you prep your meal ahead of time, you’re making your nutrition choices at a moment when you’re guided more by reason than by cravings or convenience. This has considerable advantages to keeping your overall calorie count under control.
• Eat from a smaller plate – This trick really works and though it used to be popular, it has fallen out of style over the last while as larger plates have become fashionable for table settings. Bring back your smaller plate once again. It looks fuller with a smaller amount of food and this does effectively trick your brain into thinking you’ve consumed more than you have. Bonus points for those who eat from red plates and use larger size forks. Both of these tricks are also highly effective.
• Drink water when you’re hungry – When you think you’re absolutely starving, have a glass of water. Even if it means you’re sipping away at a large glass of water throughout the time that you’re heating up your food and then adding it to your plate, drink water. Water is a natural appetite suppressant, energy booster and can improve your digestive processes. By drinking lots of water, particularly around mealtime, you’re less likely to overeat and are more likely to digest the food you do eat with greater efficiency.
