Losing weight is not something most people would qualify as easy. It’s easier for some than others, but it requires sustained effort and discipline. It doesn’t mean that it has to feel like torture, however. There are some ways that you can sensibly lose weight, and even make it fun. If it sounds hard to believe, chances are you’re approaching losing weight from the wrong angle. Let’s take a look at how you can lose weight and have a blast in the process.
Practice a Sport
One thing you should be considering is adding a sport to your routine. The most important thing to remember here is that you pick something you love. Whether it’s badminton, basketball, or bowling, anything that will keep you moving will be good. Another thing you could do is learn a fighting sport. You don’t need to become an actual fighter, but just training will allow you to burn a lot of calories and learn a valuable skill in the process.
Another thing about sports is that most are a form of HIIT training. HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training and this type of exercise will boost your metabolic rate well after your session. In HIIT, people will often do short sprints followed by rest periods, but running is not something everyone enjoys. With sports, you could be having a blast with your friends and get a few days’ worth of exercise without feeling like you have worked out.
Also, you have the choice of picking sports that fit your personality. For instance, if you love team play and competition, then you could decide to go for a team sport. But there are tons of individual or one-on-one sports you could do if you’re more reserved or don’t have that big of a circle. Golf is a great example. Learning how to play tennis is another great option.
Learn How to Cook
You might be asking how learning how to cook will help you lose weight, but the reality is that you can have much more control over calories when you control what goes into your food. Restaurant food will usually be higher in fat and sugar to make it more palatable, but you could get the same results at home with a lot less. You can control which ingredients go in and in which proportions.
For instance, a lot of pizza restaurants will tend to put lots of cheese on their pizza. But, if you make it at home, you could add less depending on your taste. You could even substitute for low-fat cheese or cheese that is less fatty.
Learning how to cook will also give you the chance to be introduced to healthy cuisines from all over the world. Eating healthy is much easier when you’re a master cook and always eating new things.
Snack Smart
Snacking is one of the most common reasons why people tend to overeat, and the worst thing is that they often do it completely unconsciously. However, there are ways that you could not only reduce the number of calories you consume from snacks, but use them to help you lose weight.
You could find out more about meal replacement bars from a site like Shake That Weight, for instance. Shake That Weight has meal replacement bars that will be satisfying and perfect if you have a sweet tooth. They are full of protein too, so you’ll give your muscles everything they need. Snacking on these will leave you full for hours, and they taste like your average snack bar, so you won’t feel like snacking on anything else.
Learn How to Dance
Did you know that you could burn as many as 800 calories in an hour of dancing? That’s even more than spending an hour on the treadmill. The only difference is that you won’t feel as exhausted.
The more fast-paced the dance, the more calories you can lose. Slow ballroom dances are the least demanding while dances like hip hop are the most. You could also follow a fitness class that has a heavy dancing aspect to it.
Get Yourself a Motion Controlled Video Game Console
People don’t usually think of video games as a way to get active, but with consoles with motion control, you could burn a lot of calories and have fun too. The Nintendo Switch is a great choice. It has a wide selection of sports and fitness-oriented games, as well as a few dance-oriented games that will give you a good workout.
Walk More
Taking random walks is a great way to burn calories without putting too much stress on your body. The great thing with walks is that you can take long walks at a moderate pace or short walks at a more intense pace if you want to.
Another benefit of walking as an exercise is that the heavier you are, the more calories you’ll burn. Not to mention that running is much tougher on your joints when you’re heavier, so walking is just the perfect intensity.
If you’re not used to it, start with short walks of 15 minutes for your first week. Try to go for at least once per day, though one in the morning and one before going to bed will get you double the benefits and won’t be that much more of an effort.
Then, increase the number of minutes you walk per day by 5 every week. At a certain point, if you’re doing everything else right in your life, you’ll not only notice that you’re becoming more active and feel better, but you’ll have lost a lot of weight. You’ll also be able to take on even longer walks, or try sports that are a bit more demanding.
Go for a Swim
Swimming is another great activity if you’re trying to lose weight in a fun way. What makes swimming so great is that it burns so many calories in such a short period. You could burn as much as 440 calories per 30 minutes of swimming. And since you’ll be in the water, you won’t feel as hot and will be able to go for longer than you would with other types of exercise.
This is also a great exercise if you have joint issues or are on the heavier side. You are also free to go at your own pace and don’t have to worry as much about burning energy. Just making sure that you get enough time in the pool will be enough.
Learn How to Skate
Skating is one of the best ways you can stay active during the winter and burn some calories. If there’s no outdoor rink where you are, you can either go to an arena or go roller skating instead. This is another activity where you can burn a lot of calories in a short period and you can go at your own pace. You could also take it up a notch and learn how to be a speed or figure skater.
As you can see, losing weight doesn’t have to be a long, sweaty, and painful nightmare. Picking something you like will make discipline that much easier and will get you the same results.
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