How to lose weight after the New Year holidays is an eternal topic, which is especially relevant today, on the first working day of the new year. In winter, physical activity is already difficult, and in such severe frosts as now in Moscow, you don’t want to get up from the couch and crawl out from under a warm blanket. Fortunately, there are ways to lose a couple of extra pounds for the lazy ones. We spied them on the Telegram channel of the doctor of medical sciences, endocrinologist Zukhra Pavlova.
1. Drink warm, unsweetened drinks
This not only warms you up in the cold season, but also helps control your appetite and “moisturize” your body. Or rather, restore the amount of fluid in your body. However, we all need to break the vicious connection between “drinking tea” and “eating something with tea.” Here it is better to follow the example of the Chinese, who constantly drink not even tea, but just hot water. This is very useful.
2. Eat hot soup
This is an effective way to lose weight, as it stimulates the production of the saturation hormone cholecystokinin and not only it. At least one more hormone – glucagon-like peptide, which is now widely used in the world as a treatment for obesity (the famous weight loss injections are from there), – also significantly reduces the activity of the hunger center. The best soup for those losing weight is low-fat, rich in vegetables.
3. Eat protein-rich breakfast
Protein is the most important component of healthy eating and weight loss. It helps you feel full faster and stay full longer, which reduces the desire to snack between meals. This can be Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, eggs, chicken breast, fish (lightly salted salmon), etc.
4. Choose vegetables rich in fiber
Fiber is another useful element for weight loss. It improves digestion, cleanses the intestines, reduces cholesterol and blood sugar levels, and increases the volume of food without adding calories. Seasonal vegetables are ideal: in winter, this is sauerkraut, other types of cabbage, pumpkin. As for root vegetables (potatoes, beets, carrots), remember that they contain a lot of sugar, so you should not eat them in the evening.
5. Sleep at least 7 hours a day
If you get less, you disrupt the hormones that control your appetite, mood, and energy. You become hungrier, irritable, and lazy.
6. Eat slowly and mindfully
If you eat too quickly, you don’t have time to feel the signals of satiety from your body and overeat. If you are distracted by the TV, phone or computer during your meal, you do not enjoy it and want more. Therefore, eat slowly, chew well and enjoy every bite. When food is thoroughly chewed, satiety hormones have time to be produced and the body will be able to absorb more nutrients from thoroughly ground food.
7. Eat from small plates
If you eat from large plates, you tend to put more food than you need and eat it all so you don’t waste it. If you eat from small plates, you automatically reduce your portions and feel full with less food.
Bonus: If you want something sweet, eat a small piece of dark chocolate that contains at least 70 percent cocoa.
“These lazy ways do not require any sacrifices or grueling workouts, but only small changes in your lifestyle and diet. Try them, and you will be surprised how easy and enjoyable it is to lose weight,” says Dr. Pavlova.