Cool Ways To Boost Your Weight Loss (That You Might Not Have Thought Of!)

When it comes to weight loss, there’s no substitute for a healthy diet and exercise. There’s no magic pill, you need to put in the hard work to create a calorie deficit through eating less and moving more. However, there are definitely ways you can help to boost your losses and get results that little bit quicker. And best of all, these things are nice ways to treat yourself for doing so well too. Here are just a few things to consider while you’re in the process of losing weight.

Get a Massage

The benefits of massage therapy on the body have been scientifically proven again and again. It triggers the release of endorphins making you feel fantastic, it eases stiff muscles which can help with pain and posture, and it improves circulation. Massage on areas of cellulite can help to remove the superficial fat from the skin, giving you a more smooth, toned and even appearance. Abdominal massage can help with stomach and digestive issues, reducing bloating and allowing your gut to work more effectively. Massage can also boost lymphatic draining, drawing excess water and toxins away from the tissues. Diet and exercise are still needed to burn the fat, but massage can help break up fatty deposits making them easier to eliminate, and also make you feel great too. If you’ve been upping your exercise routine chances are you’re a little stiff and sore. This is the perfect way to treat yourself without food or drink which will impact your losses.

Sit in a Sauna/Steam Room

Another relaxing and pampering way you can boost your weight loss is by going to sit in a sauna. Again it’s relaxing so promotes feelings of happiness and wellbeing, and the steam can help remove trapped oils and grime from pores helping with acne and leaving your skin clear and smooth. Because a sauna will raise your heart rate (due to the heat) and boost circulation, it’s another way you can help improve your losses. If you’ve done an hour working hard at the gym, treat yourself to some time in the sauna at the end. Use the sauna two to three times a week, for around fifteen minutes each time.

 

Drink Green Tea

If you previously drank a lot of fattening but delicious tea and coffee drinks full of cream and sugar, a humble cup of green tea can be difficult to get used to at first. But stick with it, the health benefits really are incredible. Full of antioxidants it neutralizes ‘free radicals’ which are unstable cells leading to everything from aging to cancer. It contains a chemical called theanine which is a natural calming agent, perfect for winding down at the end of the evening. And best still, studies have shown that green tea can promote weight loss. As well as helping you up your water intake (essential to flush and clean your body when it’s burning fat) and it actually helps to boost fat oxidation rates too. Green tea pills are an option if you can’t get your head around drinking it. If you can, aim for two to three cups each day.

Sleep Better

If you’re serious about losing weight, sorting out your sleep is something you’ll need to get onto as soon as possible. Tiredness can massively impact your hunger and fullness hormones, making your brain feel like it wants to eat- and then taking longer to recognize fullness. Plus your brain’s reward center revs up meaning that it’s actively looking for something that feels good. Unfortunately, high-energy, sugary, fatty and refined carbohydrate foods fit the bill pretty nicely. The combination of these things together is seriously bad news for weight loss. When you’re already eating less than what you normally would cut calories; the last thing you need is to feel even hungrier. You’ll make your life that bit harder and be more likely to give into temptation and spoil your efforts so far. From a practical point of view too, sleeping for longer means less time to be thinking about food. Aim for up to nine hours each evening for better losses and better health overall too.

Treat yourself with care when you’re on your weight loss journey. Taking the time out to do these things; can help to create healthy habits and show yourself that you really do matter. This is particularly useful when you come to maintain your weight; since low self-esteem can quickly result in you returning back to your old ways.