We live in a world of quick fixes – there are countless products on the market that promise instant, dramatic results. Here’s a question for you: If they truly worked, would there be so many varieties? Instead, after trying one gimmick that didn’t work, we feel the need to try the next fad… and then the next. So, I thought I would do a quick post about my top secrets for weight loss which usually blow people away.

1. Eat more (of the right foods)! Without fail, when you go on a “diet”, you cut your calories either by making super small portions or reducing the frequency of your meals. But, if you focus on eating healthy food, you’ll be surprised by how much food you get in a reasonable amount of calories. 1500 calories of healthy food is a lot more food than 1500 calories of junk! Plus, it’ll do much better things for your body in the way of vitamins and nutrients. So, don’t just cut your intake to an unreasonable amount, but focus on the quality of your food choices.
2. Eat frequently. Again, the common response when people try to lose weight is to go really long periods of time without eating, thinking they’re doing a good job by reducing their calories. All this does is slows your metabolism down. Your body is built to do whatever it needs to survive. If it thinks you won’t feed it, it’ll hold onto everything it can and store it as fat for energy. Regain its trust by eating frequently throughout the day (three balanced meals and two or three snacks) and it’ll trust you enough to use the food instead of storing it.
3. Eat within an hour of waking up. Overnight you’ve already gone a solid 7 – 8 hours without eating, so be sure to wake your metabolism up in the morning with good fuel. And no, cups of coffee do NOT count as breakfast.
4. Sleep! Your body needs time to recover, which happens when you sleep. Sleep also helps your hormone levels balance out – especially those which regulate hunger. Getting enough sleep will also give you the energy you need to be active. Do yourself a favor and get your beauty rest!
5. Be active. Nutrition is by far the most important aspect in weight loss, being active is an added bonus and will only help speed things up. Plus, it’s good for general health in terms of cardiovascular health, functional strength, and even bone density. Find what you love and sweat once a day!

There you have it – no real “secrets” unfortunately. Some pretty basic things to think about on a daily basis which are easy enough to do, but might go against what you think you need to do when trying to lose weight.