All fitness experts we have consulted over time agree on one thing: To lose weight in a safe manner and to sustain that weight loss over time it’s essential to make gradual lifestyle changes than follow crash diets or go on a juice cleanse when you feel you have had too much to eat. Here are 10 great tips that will ensure you emerge healthier and fitter by the end of the year.

Drink water
Fitness experts can’t seem to stress on this enough. Besides curbing hunger pangs, drinking water first thing in the morning cleanses your system by flushing out toxins. When you are hydrated, you are also less likely to reach for soda and other sugary juices. 

Get some form of cardio daily
Walk, run, skip or just do some light exercises but make sure you fit in at least half an hour of exercise in your schedule. If you are too busy to workout for 30 minutes in the morning, break it into three 10-minute segments. 

Turn to YouTube for short exercises
You will find many short exercise videos on YouTube that can really help you get in shape and one channel that we really recommend is Lucy’s Squad. The fitness trainer has seven minute long workouts for everything from dropping a dress size to sculpting your legs.

Slap on a tracker
There’s nothing like wearing a tracker that will make you conscious of how much you move during the day. Invest in a simple pedometer or a fitness band and aim for at least 12,000 steps a day. You can also set up your fitness band to send you hourly reminders to move. 
Control portion size 
If you have a healthy appetite and find yourself eating four to five meals a day, the first thing to do would be to reduce your portion size. Get a smaller plate, take smaller helpings, and focus on chewing your food properly. 

Ditch the sugar
A really easy way to drop the kilos and lose inches from your waistline is giving up sugar. Start by taking unsweetened tea and then work your way up and try to cut out all forms of sugar. You will start noticing the difference in how you feel and appear in less than a month. 

Avoid artificial sweeteners
Many people replace sugar with artificial sweeteners in the belief that this will reduce their calorie intake and cause weight loss. Several studies, however, have failed to show any positive effect of consuming artificial sweeteners on weight loss. Instead artificial sweeteners can increase appetite and cravings for sweet food.

Carry healthy snacks
Always keep some light snacks in zip locks in your bag. This way you are less likely to binge on junk food when you are hungry during the day. Carry some almonds, raisins, and walnuts as well as some sugar free crackers with you when you go out.

Have your last meal by 8:00 pm
Your body doesn’t need much energy at night and thus most of what you eat ends up being stored (as fat). If you can, have soup for dinner but if you aren’t a soup kind of person, then at least cut back on the carbohydrates. Keep your dinner light and try not to eat after 8:00 pm. 

Get enough sleep
Sleep deprivation may make you fat. There has been a lot of research that demonstrates getting less than the desired amount i.e. about seven hour of sleep per night can slow down your metabolism. Plus, when you’re awake for longer, you’re naturally more likely to snack. 
 

 
• Fitness
 
• Weight
 
• Health