Losing weight can be a very difficult thing to do, and during school years? Much more difficult! However, think of busy school years as a way to stay active and prevent yourself from snacking just to pass the time. With these tips and tricks, you can reach your goals and maybe even become more enthusiastic about learning.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Making Effective and Successful Plans
Step 1. Know your current weight to determine your target weight
Start by weighing your current weight so you can keep track of your diet progress. How many kilograms of weight do you want to lose? Remember, the average middle-high school age person loses a maximum of 1 kg per week. Once you know your target weight and how many pounds you need to lose, figure out how long it will take to lose as much weight as you want, and start thinking about specific goals.
Targets must be (1) specific; (2) not impossible (can be realized); and (3) loose (not too pushy). In other words, "lose weight" is not a good goal, because it is not specific. “Losing 15 kg in 10 days” is also not a good target, because it is impossible to achieve. Exercise for 3 hours every day is also not a good target, because it is too pushy. Set a goal such as “exercise 5 days a week, with a goal of losing 1 kg a week”, which is specific and achievable, but not so loose that you don't stray from the target
Step 2. Choose a diet method that works for you
In fact, this method of cutting calories isn't for everyone, and it's also difficult to do. Do it for a week, and maybe in the end you fail and eat a lot. Is a low-carb diet easier? How about just eliminating dessert from the diet? How about following a vegetarian diet?
Science is starting to suggest that eating right along with exercise is not enough for weight loss. Weight loss is also related to how your body performs. Two people who follow the same diet get different results. So don't force yourself to follow other people's views on how a diet should be – just focus on the methods that work for you
Step 3. Make a plan
After knowing how much weight to lose, the next step is to think about how to achieve that target. Are you going to focus on dieting? What kind of diet will you do? How about sports? Create a basic plan that details your exercise schedule and diet plan.
Example exercise schedule: "Monday: 30 minutes of cardio, 10 minutes of stretching/yoga, 20 minutes of strength training/muscle building; Tuesday: 20 minutes of light cardio and walking; Wednesday: rest; Thursday: light cardio and exercise. 20 minutes of walking, 20 minutes of strength training Friday: 20 minutes of stretching/yoga, 30 minutes of cardio. Remember, activities like swimming and dancing are also exercise
Step 4. Find a diet buddy
Everything becomes easier when done with friends. Friends not only keep you motivated, they also make you more responsible. When your friends eat salad and fruit and then go for a walk, you're less likely to devour half a circle of pizza and then take a nap. What's more, the two of you can get to know each other better by talking about the various dietary difficulties you've encountered.
Almost everyone must be dieting in some form at this time. Just ask your friends, who wants to accompany you on a diet, and surely many will raise their hands. What is clear, you are not the only person struggling to lose weight
Step 5. Find a way to track your diet progress
Great technology for tracking weight loss progress; use a mobile phone app or other device, such as "MyNetDiary", to keep the diet from getting stuck halfway. When you see the progress of the diet that has been achieved, you will become even more motivated to continue the diet.
Try to weigh yourself once or twice a week. However, don't obsess too much, because it can make you too stressed and give up
Part 2 of 3: Changing Your Diet
Step 1. Drink water
Water, water, water: should be your personal motto. It is important to always drink at least 6-7 glasses of water every day. Thus, the body system will be clean and the skin remains clear. In addition, water can also inhibit hunger by filling the stomach.
- Always keep the body hydrated (and not too hungry!) by drinking water and resting for 5-10 minutes between activities so that the body does not tire quickly and prevent vomiting that may occur if you push yourself too much.
- Do not drink sugary drinks that can only make insulin levels spike and are full of empty calories. These include juices and a wide variety of coffee drinks–not just sodas. Also, although diet soda is technically a better choice, you will lose more weight if you replace diet soda with water.
Step 2. Make your own lunch
The school focuses on providing cheap and appropriate food for large groups of people. The school does not prepare a special food menu to help with weight loss. To keep your diet from being affected, make and bring your own lunch from home, which should consist of:
- Lots of vegetables
- A little carbs and a slice or two of whole-grain bread
- Fruits, such as strawberries or grapes
- Sources of protein, such as chicken, eggs, fish, peanut butter, or tofu
Step 3. Reduce your intake of processed foods
In order for weight loss to be constant, thereby increasing motivation and feelings of accomplishment, junk food must be removed from the diet. All packaged foods should be removed from the diet. Eating raw and fresh foods is a great way to lose weight – the nutrients of processed foods have been removed and contain only sugar and salt, which the body doesn't need. In fact, most processed foods contain something that the body doesn't even technically recognize. Processed foods only contain foreign waste that is not good for the body.
To relieve cravings for chips or cookies, eat a handful of nuts or berries. Sometimes it's just the desire to chew that needs to be fulfilled, not hunger
Step 4. Eat breakfast
If you think that skipping meals will allow you to wear skinny jeans, think again. The body will activate the processes that occur when experiencing a period of starvation and begin to eat nutrients from fat stores. Then, when you go back to eating, you'll gain weight because your body stores and refuses to let go of what you just gained, so your fat stores add up, more than before. Breakfast in the morning keeps your metabolism going throughout the day, giving you the energy to go to school, work, and choose better food AND exercise.
Unbelievable? That's part of the reason the yo-yo diet doesn't work. When starved, the body learns to adapt. Then, when you go back to eating, your body keeps basically activating the processes that occur during hunger, fearing that the worst will happen again. By cutting back on too many calories, you will only hurt yourself in the future
Step 5. Master the art of portion control
To make sure you don't eat like you would at an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant (all you can eat for one fixed price), be sure to also control how much you eat. Here are some tips that can make it easier for you to eat less:
- Use smaller plates to make food portions appear larger. Science proves that blue plates can also reduce hunger.
- Eat and enjoy food slowly. For each bite, chew for 5 seconds, then swallow, wait 3 seconds, and sip a small amount of water. Confusing? No. Just remember 5-3-S (5sec-3sec-slurp).
- Try to eat protein with every meal. Chicken, steak, and beef should be about the size of a deck of playing cards. Eating more protein keeps you full longer, so you can resist the temptation to eat snacks that don't fit your diet.
Step 6. Eat your favorite food once in a while
For days when dieting is hard to do, eat something that can lift your mood. Dark chocolate, sweet fruit, some pretzels, or even a glass of red wine. Banning the consumption of all your favorite foods will only cause problems. Every now and then, you have to eat something to lift your spirits.
Many people believe rotating the calorie count can help. The idea is to eat a lot for a few days, then eat a little for a few days, to keep the body guessing. Others choose one day a week to eat whatever they want and the remaining six days follow a strict diet; This method makes people last longer on the diet. So, not everything is cheating. Some ideas are actually good
Step 7. Eat small portions, but more often
Five times instead of 3 times? It sounds so good. However, studies have shown that frequent meals stabilize metabolism and prevent large portions later. Yes, right. So eat breakfast, morning snack, lunch, midday snack and dinner. Everything in small portions, of course.
The idea is to eat more often, not more. If you want to do a diet idea to eat more often, make sure the portions are really smaller. Otherwise, you'll think you're on a diet, when you're not
Part 3 of 3: Changing Routines
Step 1. Set aside time in your daily schedule to exercise and eat right
Regardless of whether it's school, work, or social schedules that take up all of your time, time for exercise should still be made available. And if you reason you don't have time, you're likely not depriving yourself of unnecessary activities. The point is simply to make exercise a top priority above all else to do. Exercising for just 15 minutes can help.
Not only exercise time should be provided, but also mealtime. What does it mean? That means, set aside time to shop for groceries, make and bring your own lunch, and cook yourself at home. Restaurants are the main cause of diet failure. In addition, cooking yourself is also much cheaper
Step 2. Participate in active extracurricular activities
At school, it's hard to realize that school is the easiest time to be active. When you are an adult and enter the world of work, there will be no more flyers and posters regarding registration for various activities. So, take advantage of it while you can! Take up an activity, even if you're not an expert at it, which can be a great (mandatory) exercise that you can't avoid.
Well, not everyone can join sports groups at school. Another suitable alternative? Marching band. You may be laughing now, but it's not easy to hold a musical instrument and walk in the hot sun for hours at a time. And for lung capacity? Does not matter. So if you're more into music than sports, a marching band can be a great alternative
Step 3. Don't leave the gym
In high school and college, sports lessons are mostly not mandatory. Do not be tempted! When else can you take a break in the middle of your daily routine just to have fun with friends and throw some balls? Probably no other time, other than during gym class. Plus, you get extra grades from gym lessons, so that's a double advantage.
Has it been mentioned that exercise also relieves brain performance? You can't tackle a lot of subjects, which require a lot of brain work, at one time. So, think of gym class as a break. Between school, work, and extracurricular activities, you deserve some time off
Step 4. Sleep
Try to sleep at the same time every day, even on weekends, to keep your body energized and ready to make healthy decisions throughout the day. Sleep restores normal levels of hormones, thereby stabilizing hunger. In addition, sleep also keeps the skin shiny and healthy. As often as possible, try to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.
Oh, and when you sleep, your body burns calories, and you can't even eat. So, what's wrong with you sleeping?
Step 5. Limit TV viewing time
Why? Well, first of all, watching TV makes you just sit and do nothing. However, the worst part about watching TV is that it makes us want to keep eating even when we're not hungry. If you don't watch TV, the urge to eat may not even appear. Distracted eating is a major reason teens are overweight.
If you're hungry but your favorite TV show is on, grab a snack and control portions. Place as many snacks as you should eat in a bowl. Eat the portion, and do not add. After the TV show is over, get up and walk or engage in an active activity to take your mind off your hunger
Tips
- Don't expect immediate success. Every now and then, you're bound to fail and cheat.
- Don't go to extremes (anorexia, bulimia, diet pills, etc.).
- You don't have to look like the girls in the magazines, which are usually digital edits.
- Buy clothes after losing weight. Otherwise, you won't be happy to see these clothes.
- Remember, not all fats are bad! Thinking that all fat causes weight gain is a common mistake. Trans fats are OK, but too much isn't good either. Trans fats are healthy fats like those from olive oil.
- Tell your friends that you're on a diet, so they don't offer you food that doesn't fit your diet. Don't force them to go on a diet; this is your own choice--don't force others to follow you.
- Eat healthy snacks when hungry, but don't eat before bed.
- Be enthusiastic and believe in yourself. Otherwise, you are likely to be underestimating yourself, and all the hard work you've put in will go to waste!
- Try to drink lots of water, instead of sugary drinks (like sodas and juices) which are dense in calories.
- Don't give up and don't obey your friends' insistence to eat things that don't fit your diet!
