15 Popular Weight Loss Strategies
People have different reasons for wanting to lose weight. No matter what the reasons are, losing weight and maintaining weight loss takes time, hard work, and dedication.
The internet offers different kinds of weight loss strategies.
There’s no one-size-fits-all weight loss strategy, and different strategies work differently for everyone.
That’s why I’m sharing a roundup of popular weight loss strategies that you can consider and possibly try out if you’re looking to lose weight.
You can even use some of these together, as not all of them are full weight loss plans - some are parts that you can tweak to your body and lifestyle to help hit your weight loss goal.
15 Popular Weight Loss Strategies
Intermittent fasting
Intermittent fasting (IT) has become very popular over the last decade to help people cut calories. IT addresses eating habits and involves having a pattern of eating where you regularly have short-term fasting periods.
Several studies have shown that IT can lead to weight loss and has some health benefits.
There are multiple variations of it.
The most common one is the 16-8 one. You eat in an 8-hour window each day, and then you fast for 16 hours. You can choose which hours work for you for the 8-hour eating window, but the most common are 10 am - 6 pm, 11 am - 7 pm or 12 pm - 8 pm. You can see which one fits your lifestyle the best, and try it out.
Another type of intermittent fasting is the 2:5 one. You eat 5 days a week, and then fast for 2 days. During those fasting days, you eat around 500-600 calories per day, making it easier for your body to burn off extra calories and lose weight.
Controlling your portions
Portion control is very important when it comes to weight loss and weight management. When you put too much on your plate, oftentimes you’ll eat the whole thing just because it’s on the plate, even though you maybe got full in the middle.
You should especially pay attention to portions of unhealthy foods. It’s totally fine to eat something less healthy every now and then, but at least try to control the portions of those foods.
Setting attainable goals
Another important part of weight loss is setting attainable goals. This maybe isn’t a strategy itself but is an important part of every strategy.
Losing weight in a healthy way doesn’t happen overnight. Those super fast-result diets are never healthy for you, nor are they sustainable.
What usually happens is that you’ll torture yourself (by starving), lose weight fast, and then end up gaining it all back because you couldn’t keep up with those unrealistic diet.
So, your weight loss goal needs to be to lose weight in a healthy way, and that takes some time.
That’s why it’s important to set attainable and realistic goals and find weight loss programs that are realistic and ones you’re likely to stick with long term. That way you won’t be disappointed when you don’t reach those unrealistic goals.
Pay attention to a healthy diet and exercise
In order to lose weight, you can simply focus on having a healthy diet and exercising. It doesn’t have to be a specific diet, but your eating habits should include mindful eating and lean more towards whatever will help you make an effort to generally eat healthier, so you’ll start seeing results.
Eat lots of vegetables, fruits, protein, healthy fats, healthy carbs, and exercise. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated.
Trying the low-carb diet
Another popular way to lose weight is by following a low-carb diet. Many studies have shown that low-carb diets can help with weight loss.
Low-carb diets are diets where you mostly eat protein and fats, and restrict your carb intake to the very minimum. Basically, it’s a high-fat, high-protein, low-carb diet.
Those kinds of diets help reduce belly fat, because they help your body burn calories faster.
The idea behind them is that when you follow a really low-carb diet, your body will reach a state called ketosis. Ketosis means your body uses fat for energy, which helps you burn fat easily.
Low-carb diets don’t suit everyone, so if you don’t feel well when trying it out, it might be a good idea to try something else.
Also, make sure to eat healthy fats and not fats like fast food. Healthy fats are avocados, olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, etc. If you have questions about various dieting plans that might work better for you and your health, consult with a registered dietitian.
Eating mindfully
Eating mindfully means paying attention to the food you’re eating. Oftentimes when we eat with distractions, we tend to overeat, because we didn’t notice we were full in the middle of the plate.
In order to notice when you feel full, you need to limit distractions such as TV or phone. It also helps to eat slowly, as your brain will have more time to notice when you start getting full.
Getting rid of fast food
An easy way to lose weight is to get rid of fast food, especially if you tend to eat it a lot.
Even without doing anything else, if you make this change, you’ll probably start seeing some results.
Fast food is not only unhealthy, but often the main cause of weight gain, as it’s usually calorie-heavy, and has no nutrients. It’s bad for your blood pressure, blood sugar, and can even contribute to a heart disease if all you eat is fast food.
Managing your stress levels
It has been shown that being stressed for a long time can actually increase you appetite, so managing your stress levels can actually help you lose weight.
Some ways you can manage your stress is trying meditation, long walks, better organization, or talking to a professional.
Eating more fiber
Fiber helps keep you full, which will eventually lead to weight loss, as your body won’t need as much food as before.
So, eating more fiber is great for you. High-fiber foods are fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, and so on. Plant based diets are great for eating more fiber.
Calorie deficit
The only technical way to lose weight is to be in a calorie deficit. That means you’re burning more calories than you’re consuming.
Your body burns a certain amount of calories on its own, just by existing, and it also burns additional calories through exercise.
So, you can figure out how many calories your body burns on its own (it depends on your weight and there are many online calculators you can use), and then count the calories you eat each day to figure out if you’re in a deficit. Also include the amount you burn by exercise.
You don’t need to stress about every single calorie. You can just look at the calories for the foods you mostly eat to get an idea of how much of those foods is good to eat in a day, and then do what seems right.
Of course, some people prefer to actually fully count calories, so if that’s easier for you, try it out. But don’t let it take over your life.
Meal planning
Meal planning can help you lose weight because you can look at your meal plans as a whole and see if the food you eat in a day is actually healthy overall. For example, when you look at a day as a whole, you can make sure that if one meal isn’t as healthy or is more calorie-heavy, you eat a lighter dinner. Or if your lunch didn’t include enough fiber, you eat more for dinner.
Planning your meals ahead will help you make sure you’re eating healthy overall.
Meal prepping
Meal prepping is another great way to lose weight. Why? Well, when we’re hungry and don’t have time to cook, we’ll often order something not as healthy. But having healthy food in your fridge ready to eat will make it much easier to eat healthy, which means it will be easier to lose weight.
Eating whole foods
Eating whole foods is a great way to lose weight. Instead of eating processed foods, focus on food in its most natural state. That way, all of the nutrients are staying in the food, which is the healthiest way to eat.
Physical activity
Physical activity is not only important for your health, but it helps you lose weight by burning more calories. Along with a healthy diet, it’s the best way to lead a healthy lifestyle long-term.
Getting enough sleep
Research shows that not getting enough sleep slows down your metabolism, which means your body will store fat. That is obviously not great for weight loss.