Most women know that reducing calories and increasing physical activity leads to weight loss. Family, work and social obligations often interfere with the best intentions to diligently count calories and squeeze in an hour at the gym. Women need simple techniques that can help them lose weight without having to completely makeover their lives.
Be Realistic
Choose a diet with which you can live. Diets that ask you to eliminate total food groups or forbid you from ever enjoying your favorite food are unsustainable. Instead of approaching your diet as punishment, approach it in a way that you can follow for the rest of your life.
Add Resistance Training
Lift weights or do body weight exercises at least two times per week to build lean muscle mass which burns more calories than fat tissue. Moderate strength training will not lead to a bulky physique and overdeveloped muscles as some women fear. The Mayo Clinic points out that weight training also reduces your risk of developing osteoperosis, increases your stamina, and improves your overall well-being.
Make It Social
Associating with other people trying to lose weight can help women lose weight, notes Women's Health Magazine. Enlist a friend to help motivate you and keep you accountable to your goals. Avoid choosing your husband or boyfriend as men often lose weight faster, discouraging you.
Keep a Food Diary
Writing down what, when and why you eat can help you understand your dietary pitfalls. Identify times that you eat for emotional reasons and seek other comforts---take a walk, call a friend or indulge in a bath. A study in the Journal of Preventive Medicine from August 2008 reports that dieters who keep a food diary lose twice as much weight as those who do not.
Family Affair
Women are often in charge of meal planning for the whole family. If your family is reluctant to eat "diet" foods, change their minds by offering tasty, lighter options. Clear the pantry of your kid's fatty snacks and baked goods and replace them with fruits, baked chips, nuts, yogurt and low fat cheese to reduce temptation for yourself. Swap full-fat dairy for low-fat, serve chicken instead of beef, cook with olive oil over butter and go for whole grains instead of refined flour products. Check websites or magazines like Cooking Light or Clean Eating Magazine to find recipes for foods that your family can enjoy, but that fit into a lighter lifestyle.
Move More
Going to the gym is not the only way to fit exercise into your day. Walk your dog, clean the house, do your own gardening, play with your kids on the playground, take a walk while waiting for your kids to finish soccer practice or take a dance class. Be active all day long, rather than just an hour a day to help you burn more calories and lose pounds.
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