10 Best Tips That Will Help You Get Started
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Losing 30 pounds in a month is a bit of an ambitious goal. But that doesn't mean it's completely unrealistic or that it requires complete self-deprivation.
It's an achievable goal, especially if you're committed to doing whatever it takes to reach your desired weight.
Losing 30 pounds in a month, while possible, is usually not a good idea. If you want to lose weight safely and sustainably over the long term, then it's best to take the slow approach:
First of all, know that this kind of weight loss is not sustainable. It's definitely not healthy to drop so many pounds in such a short amount of time, but if you need to get that done, there are ways to make it happen safely.
The following are some of the best ways;
1. Workout in the morning
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One of the best ways to healthily lose weight fast is to make sure that you start the day with exercise. Exercise helps to kick-start your metabolism and helps you burn more calories throughout the day.
A morning workout also helps to reduce cravings because it reduces levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, which can cause weight gain.
Studies have shown that people who exercise in the morning are relatively slimmer and healthier than people who work out later in the afternoon or evening.
If you want to burn fat fast, try some form of vigorous exercise in the morning before breakfast. This will keep your metabolism elevated and keep you energized all day long.
2. Don't skip meals
If you think skipping meals will make you lose weight, you may want to reconsider. It's not just a myth that skipping meals can make you gain weight; it happens because of the way our bodies process food.
By skipping meals, we tend to get so hungry that we end up binging on all kinds of food, which can lead to weight gain, indigestion and a host of other problems.
So instead of trying to starve yourself into shedding pounds, try increasing your metabolism in a healthy way.
Eating fiber-rich foods is one of the most effective ways to increase your metabolism since fiber takes more energy for your body to digest than fats or carbohydrates.
Eating fiber-rich vegetables like broccoli and spinach can help increase the amount of calories your body burns in digestion by up to 30%.
Fiber also prevents fat from being absorbed into the bloodstream, which means it doesn't contribute as much to excess weight.
Nuts, beans and seeds are also good sources of fiber. It's important to remember that it's not enough just to eat high-fiber foods, they need to be paired with other nutrient-dich foods like fruits and vegetables for maximum benefit.
3. Reduce Carbs Consumption
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You may be surprised to learn that one of the most important things you can do is reduce your carbohydrate intake.
This is because carbohydrates are converted into glucose within your body, which is then used for energy or stored as fat if not used immediately.
The problem arises when your body has too much glucose in your system from all the carbs you've consumed, if it doesn't use all the energy from food, it stores it as fat instead.
So, in order to lose weight, you need to cut back on carbs so that your body doesn't have as much excess energy floating around unutilized.
While I'm not suggesting that you give up all carbohydrates forever (or even just completely cut them out of your diet), I do recommend that you take a look at what types of carbs you're currently eating and how much they're affecting your weight loss goals.
For example simple carbohydrates, also known as "bad" carbohydrates because they're essentially sugar, are found in foods like candy and soda. They're also found in less obvious places such as white bread and white rice.
Simple carbohydrates have a high glycemic index, meaning they cause your blood sugar levels to rise rapidly after consumption, which can lead to undesirable changes in insulin levels and contribute to fat storage.
Complex carbohydrates are usually much lower on the glycemic index scale. They include foods like brown rice, whole grain breads and pasta, potatoes and legumes (peas, beans).
These carbohydrates take longer to digest than simple ones do, so they don't cause the same sharp spike in blood sugar levels that simple carbohydrates do.
The best way to get started eating fewer carbs is by making some swaps in your daily meals. For example:
- Instead of oatmeal for breakfast, try eggs with spinach and avocado.
- Replace pasta with zucchini noodles for lunch or dinner.
- Sip an herbal tea instead of drinking soda.
4. Eat Healthy Small Meals Frequently
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The key to sustainable healthy eating is to eat frequently in smaller portions. This will help you stay full throughout the day and avoid binging on unhealthy foods later on.
Try to have a balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner, with plenty of healthy snacks in between. Eating frequently in smaller portions is a healthy way to eat because it helps you control your calorie intake.
When you eat smaller meals more often, your body has a steady supply of energy and doesn’t feel the need to store calories as fat. Try to eat every three hours or so to keep your metabolism going and your hunger in check.
Speaking of metabolism, click here to learn about a metabolism trigger that helps you naturally melt away fat every day.
5.Reduce Sugar Intake
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One of the most effective means of drastic weight loss is reducing your sugar intake as much as possible. It's a sugar-laden world out there.
You see sugar everywhere you go. And it's hard to avoid because it's in nearly everything you eat.
If you want to lose 30 pounds in a month, one of the best things you can do is cut out added sugar as much as possible.
Sugar has calories that aren't doing anything to help your cause, and it can make eating healthy feel like more of a chore than it should feel.
Once you get used to eating less sugar, you'll find yourself craving it less, and you'll also start to notice more of the natural sweetness of fruit and other foods that don't need any sweetener at all.
6. Use smaller plates
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One of the easiest ways to lose weight is to use a smaller plate at meals. That's because smaller plates equal smaller portions, making you feel like you've eaten more than you actually have.
And when you're feeling full, it's much easier to resist the urge to go back for seconds. For example, if you're typically eating from a 12-inch plate, switch to a 10-inch plate, which can save as many as 50 calories per meal!
This trick works because the plate you use has a huge impact on your perception of how much food you’re actually eating.
Studies have shown that we all tend to eat roughly the same amount of food, regardless of the size of our plates.
However, using a smaller plate tricks your brain into thinking you’re eating more than you actually are, because it fills up your plate.
Plus, this trick is even more effective if you eat off of a white plate.
7. Limit Alcohol consumption
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If you want to lose thirty pounds in a month, the first thing you need to do is limit your alcohol intake. Alcohol causes your body to retain water, which will make you feel bloated and weight gain.
In addition, drinking too much alcohol can increase the levels of estrogen in your system, which can cause more fat deposits around your belly and hips.
Therefore, if you are trying to lose weight quickly, it is best to eliminate alcohol completely from your diet.
I would suggest taking a moment to think about how much alcohol you're consuming during the week and how you can eliminate it if possible.
If you can't eliminate it, then at least try cutting back on the amount of alcohol you're consuming at one sitting.
Alcohol has no nutritional value and therefore, is not going to aid in your ability to lose weight.
8. Do More Weight/ Strength Training Instead of Cardio
A lot of people think that cardio is the best way to burn fat, but studies have shown that strength training can help you burn more calories for longer after your workout.
Your body burns calories during and after a strength training workout, so you're burning fat even when you're not doing any other physical activity.
You'll also build muscle, which has been shown to speed up your metabolism. I'd suggest trying to lift weights at least three times a week.
You don't have to do all the weight lifting on one day, you might want to split it into three different workouts. If you're new to weight lifting and are unfamiliar with the proper form for different exercises.
I'd recommend hiring a personal trainer for a few sessions. They can show you how to do each exercise correctly, and they can design a program specifically tailored to your needs and goals.
9. Drink More Water
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You’ve probably heard this one before, and there’s a reason why it’s such a popular suggestion. Drinking more water can help to suppress your appetite, so you eat less overall.
In addition, drinking plenty of water aids in digestion and helps your body to flush out toxins.
10. Be consistent
It is very important to be consistent with exercise and eating healthy foods so that you can see results.
If you only work out once a week, for example, you will not see as much of a change in your body as someone who workouts every day.
Eating healthy is also important. If you eat unhealthy foods one day, but then eat healthy the next day, your body will not see as much of a change as someone who consistently eats healthy foods.
One of the best ways to make sure you stick with a fitness routine is to be consistent. This means that you should try to exercise at the same time every day and eat healthy foods on a regular basis.
Consistency is key when it comes to forming new habits, so try to be as diligent as possible in both your exercise and diet habits.
Click here to learn about a metabolism trigger that helps you naturally melt away fat every day.
11. No sugary drinks
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Soda, juice, and every other kind of sweetened drink are often found to be the biggest culprits when it comes to packing on the pounds. If you want to lose weight, these items need to be cut from your diet completely.
If you need an excuse to do so, consider this: many people who are trying to lose weight will avoid soda because it's often loaded with sugar. One 12-ounce can of soda drinks normally contains 8 teaspoons of sugar.
The body is not designed for that much sugar in just one beverage. When consumed in excess, it becomes toxic or at least hard on our bodies (e.g., increased risk of diabetes).
I'm sure a lot of people would love to drink soda if they didn't have to worry about gaining weight. Luckily, cutting out soda is not that hard—just switch over to unsweetened tea (or water) and leave the soda behind.
Some people find that they cannot cut out all beverages made with sugar, they feel like their life depends on something sweet at the end of the day, or they feel that something is missing without a glass of lemonade or iced tea with lunch.
You can look for healthier alternatives.
12. Refined carbs
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Ifyou want to lose 30 pounds in a month, avoiding refined carbohydrates. They're the enemy!When most people think of carbs, they think of foods like bread, pasta, and rice—all of them refined carbs.
Refined carbs are broken down quickly in the body and cause your blood sugar levels to spike. Your insulin levels rise to compensate for this, which means you're always hungry and never feel full. Even if you do eat a lot, your body can't burn it all off because it's still spiking your blood sugar.
In order to fight refined carbs, start by eliminating all processed foods from your diet. Anything with a label has been refined at some point or another, so when you see one in the store, put it back on the shelf.
This includes breads, pastas, cereals and crackers—anything that comes in a package or box has had its natural nutrients stripped away and replaced with chemicals.
If you don't believe me, check out the ingredients list on your food products: if there's a long list of ingredients (especially ones you can't pronounce), leave it on the shelf!
Switch to healthier carbs instead. For example you can replace white bread withwholewheat bread, white rice with brown rice, flour with wholewheat flour and so on. Just look for healthier alternatives.
13. Try to consume less salt
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Eating less salt is a great way to lose 30 pounds in a month. Salt is one of the most common preservatives and additives used in food. It's a preservative because it keeps foods from spoiling and also adds flavor to the food.
Salty foods can be found in many different places, including canned soups, packaged meals, processed snacks and even some bottled water. If you're trying to lose weight and eat less salt, try reading food labels carefully for sodium content.
If you see more than 100 milligrams of sodium per serving, choose an alternative that does not contain this ingredient.
If you eat lots of salty foods already, try making your own snack by combining dry cereal with fresh fruit or vegetables.
You can also add cut-up vegetables such as carrots or celery sticks to your favorite soup or stew recipe instead of using canned soup stock or broth that contains salt or other seasonings along with the vegetables.
14. Say bye to Junk food/snacks
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If you're trying to lose weight and get healthy, the first thing you should do is clear out your kitchen of junk food. You don't want to be tempted by cookies, chips, candy, and other stuff that's bad for you.
Remove it from your home completely, throw out anything that isn't healthy, then donate anything that still has a strong appeal to you.
Next, don't let unhealthy foods back into your life. Try to fill your kitchen with fresh fruits and vegetables instead of processed foods like frozen meals and canned goods.
If you have a sweet tooth, try substituting fruit for ice cream or cake when you feel the urge to indulge. Make sure to replace all empty calories with water or unsweetened tea.
Finally, keep your kitchen stocked with whole grains such as whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, whole-wheat tortillas and breads, and whole-grain cereals. These kinds of foods will fill you up without adding inches to your waistline.
15. Healthy fats
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Scientifically speaking, fat is a very important part of our diet. It not only helps us absorb other nutrients, but it's also responsible for carrying hormones and vitamins so that we can use them.
On top of that, fat tastes great! When we cut out fat, or even worse, when we replace it with carbohydrates (such as sugar), we're setting ourselves up for health problems and a lower quality of life.
The trick to losing weight while still getting the benefits of fat is to choose healthy fats—namely the ones found in nuts and oily fish. These fats can be used by our bodies as a source of energy, so instead of being stored as excess fat on our bodies, they are burned off as fuel.
Eating these kinds of fats will also make us feel fuller for longer periods of time, which will help us reduce our food intake in general. With this kind of diet, it's possible to lose weight without feeling restricted or deprived.
16. Count Calories
If you've been trying to lose weight and failing, a calorie counting app might be just the thing you need to finally start seeing results. Many of us have tried the "I'll just eat a little less" or "I'll just exercise more" approaches and fallen short.
These strategies are ineffective because we naturally tend to underestimate how many calories we're eating and overestimate how much exercise we're doing. When you add in the fact that we often don't have an exact idea of what our calorie intake is, it makes sense that we're not losing weight.
A good calorie counting app helps with all three problems: it allows you to enter your meals and snacks with as much detail as you want, tracks your exercise automatically based on your daily movements (which are tracked anyway by most high-end fitness trackers), and tells you your current calorie intake and total burned each day.
It gives you immediate feedback on whether the food you're eating is within the range that will help you lose weight, which is something your body can no longer tell for itself.
Go ahead and try it for a few days, see if you like it enough to keep using it for longer.
17. Eat fewer calories
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If you want to lose weight, it's important to keep your energy (calorie) intake below your energy expenditure. That way, your body has no choice but to turn to its own fat stores for fuel. This is the essence of what it means to eat a calorie-restricted diet.
But there's a limit to how many calories our bodies need for everyday functioning—and that limit varies from person to person. If you consume fewer calories than your body needs, you'll lose weight; if you consume more calories than you need, you'll gain weight.
But if you restrict yourself too drastically, and eat too few calories to meet your body's needs, you'll actually end up gaining weight in the long run.
A good rule of thumb is to aim for about 500 calories less than the number of calories needed for your body to maintain its current weight (called your maintenance level) in order to lose about one pound per week.
To determine the number of calories you need each day, use an online calculator that takes into account your age, gender and activity level . Then subtract 500 from that number.
18. Fruits and vegetables
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The benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables are well-documented: Studies have shown that a diet rich in produce can help you live longer, lower your risk of disease, and maintain a healthy weight.
But the idea of upping the amount of fruits and veggies you eat often seems daunting. How do you fit in all those extra servings? The trick is to start small.
Here are some ideas for adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet with every meal.
- Replace unhealthy snacks with healthier ones.
- Add veggies to your morning eggs.
- Put fruit in your cereal.
- Eat a salad before lunch or dinner.
- Use fruit as garnish on meats and salads.
- Use frozen vegetables instead of canned vegetables when making meals like soups or stir frys.
- Switch out pasta for spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles.
19. Avoid eating out
One of the easiest ways to lose 30 pounds in a month is to avoid eating out at restaurants. When you eat at a fast-food or sit-down restaurant, a server will typically give you way more food than you'd normally eat in one sitting.
With the amount of food served in restaurants, it can be difficult to keep track of how many calories you're actually consuming. One study found that restaurant meals can contain up to four times as many calories as similar foods prepared at home.
Eating out also tends to increase your sodium intake, which is problematic if you are trying to lose weight. Excess sodium may cause extra water retention, leading to bloating and water weight gain.
On top of this, many restaurant meals contain simple carbs, such as white bread and pasta, which digest rapidly and spike blood sugar levels. This can lead to increased hunger and cravings for unhealthy foods a few hours later.
For these reasons, it's best to avoid eating out while losing weight and instead cook most of your meals at home using healthy ingredients.
20. Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting is a very popular form of dieting that has been gaining ground in recent years. The basic idea is to fast for certain periods of time and then eat normally.
Proponents say it leads to weight loss, increased energy levels, better moods and a longer life. There are several variations of intermittent fasting, but the most common (and the one we'll discuss here) is based on eating during an 8-hour window and not eating for 16 hours.
The idea behind intermittent fasting is that it allows your body to use its stored fat as an energy source. Fasting after you've eaten causes your insulin levels to drop and your body to switch from burning glucose to burning stored fat instead.
The obvious benefit of this is that you lose weight faster than if you were simply watching what you eat. Some people will also say fasting leads to better digestion, but this isn't always true; it depends on your individual digestive system.
Note: Dont do this without seeking medical advice first if you have any medical conditions.
Recommended: Watch this video that reveals the 10 second morning trigger that boosts metabolism and how people use it to burn stubborn fat.
Conclusion:
These are 20 best ways to help you get started on your journey to lose 30 pounds. It may not happen in a month, but remember be consistent and you will definitely see results.
Disclaimer:
This post is intended as a general guide only. It is not a substitute for professional medical attention, and you should seek the help of a qualified medical caregiver for any serious medical problems. It also contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through them, I get a commission at no extra cost to you.