If you’ve been struggling to lose weight for longer than you’d like to admit, you’re not alone. At the same time, you’ve probably been misinformed, and it’s not your fault. It can be frustrating. You’re doing everything you think you should be doing, but you just can’t get rid of those extra pounds. Here are some tips to help you in your weight loss efforts.

1. Exercise – As much as many people would like to avoid it, exercise is one of the biggest boosters of weight loss. Not only does it burn calories when you do it, it also boosts your metabolism and improves your overall health. Don’t worry, you don’t have to run a marathon to reap the benefits of exercise. Just get moving, and you’ll soon notice the difference.
2. Portion control – Give some thought to how much food you put on your plate. It’s all too common for us to mindlessly pile as much as we can fit on our plate. However, we only need enough to fill our stomachs, which is usually much less.
3. Mind power – Keeping your mind sharp, refreshed and relaxed will help you cope with things that would otherwise derail any weight loss plan. Things like meditation and yoga are a great way to do this.
4. Look at the labels – When you buy food, look at the nutrition labels. These will help you choose foods with less saturated fat, calories and refined sugar; and more protein, fibre and healthier fats. By doing this, you’ll have healthier food at home when you get hungry.
5. Grazing – The idea of eating three big meals a day is outdated when it comes to losing weight. The problem is that it gives you too much time between meals to feel hungry, and the hungrier you are, the greater the chance that you will consume more calories when you finally eat. If you want to lose weight, eat several smaller meals during the day. Not only will you feel fuller for longer, you’ll also have a steady intake of fuel throughout the day.
6. Eat, eat, eat – This is similar to the idea of grazing, but it’s even more basic. It simply means that you should eat when you’re hungry. Of course, you still need to think about what you eat, but otherwise eat when you’re hungry.
7. Drink water – Be careful here! For a long time it was believed that you had to drink at least eight glasses of water if you wanted to lose weight. However, there is now a lot of evidence that this is not true. You should still drink plenty of water, just don’t think it will make you lose weight. Not only is water good for your health, it also has no calories, and that’s good for weight loss.