15 Best Tips for Weight Loss

by John Staughton (BASc, BFA) last updated -

Finding weight loss tips that actually work is extremely important if you want to successfully slim down, as there are countless strategies and pieces of advice out there. Some tricks and tips are useful, while others may hurt your chances of shedding those pounds. The most important thing is to approach your weight loss from multiple angles, by adjusting your diet, altering your physical activity, and making healthy changes to your lifestyle.

Evidence-based Weight Loss Tips

There are many helpful weight loss tips that are backed by significant evidence, such as drinking green tea, increasing your aerobic exercise, taking the stairs, getting more sleep, cutting soda and alcohol intake, planning your meals and lowering stress levels.

Drink Green Tea

Numerous research studies have shown that drinking green tea can provide a serious metabolic boost, while also detoxifying the body and improving antioxidant levels. There are also very few calories in green tea, yet it can provide some level of satiety, making it a great beverage to start off each day with. [1]

Woman measuring her waist with a measuring tape and holding an apple.

Sustained weight loss can occur only with a healthy lifestyle. Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Take Stairs

Taking the stairs, rather than an elevator or an escalator, may seem like a small change but it can be a regular reminder of your health goals and may serve as a small cardiovascular boost throughout the day. Similarly, walking rather than driving to nearby locations is also an excellent way to increase weight loss.

Sleep Well

One of the best weight loss tips is to get better sleep at more regular times of day. By improving the regularity of your Circadian rhythms, you give your body enough time to recover and repair, as well as build muscle tissue, passively burn fat, and lower stress on the body, all of which can help with weight loss. [2]

Fight Stress

If you suffer from chronic stress, it can wreak havoc on the body and may actually increase fat deposition, as the body will interpret your stress as a part of the “fight or flight” response, which leads the body to hoard resources for future use. Stress is also very bad for staying strong on a new diet or exercise regimen. [3]

Do Aerobics

Staying active is a key component to weight loss, so a list of weight loss tips wouldn’t be complete without encouraging more aerobic exercises. From jogging and biking to swimming or jumping rope, you want to be doing exercises that raise your heart rate and burn calories. [4]

Lift Weights

Lifting weights is also an important part of a weight loss diet, as this can help to transform all of the protein you are consuming into valuable muscle mass. Although muscle weighs more than fat, the appearance of lean muscle is what many people do seek when trying to lose weight. [5]

Plan Healthy Meals

It is hard to stay on a schedule without regular planning, so make a shopping list that includes multiple days of meals at once, ensuring that you have what you need to eat healthy without adding extra food that will compromise your diet or go to waste. [6]

Pantry Purge

Before trying to lose weight or go on a diet, remove temptations from your house, namely sweets and carb-heavy snacks that will drive you to ruin your appetite or calorie goals. [7]

Avoid Soda & Alcohol

Try to avoid drinking your calories, particularly in the form of sugary sodas and alcohol. This alone can cut down hundreds of calories from your daily intake, making your weight loss efforts even easier. [8]

Dieting Tips

Some of the best dieting tips to follow when trying to lose weight include adding more fiber to your diet, eating smaller meals more often, applying portion control, cutting back on carbs, cooking with coconut oil, boosting spicy food intake, consuming more fruits and vegetables and chewing gum.

Smaller Meals

By making smaller meals, but eating more often, you can stimulate the metabolism and train your body to expect smaller meal sizes. [9]

More Fiber

By adding more fiber to your meals, you are more likely to feel full sooner, which will decrease your risk of overeating, while also lowering your cholesterol levels and improving digestive processes. [10]

Less Carbs

Simple carbohydrates will quickly break down into simple sugars, increasing your likelihood of depositing them as fat. Protein is a much better source of energy if you are trying to lose weight. [11]

Coconut Oil

Choose your cooking oil wisely; coconut oil is packed with monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, unlike many of the less healthy fats found in common cooking oils.

Spicy Food

Many different types of spicy foods feature powerful chemicals, such as capsaicin, that can stimulate the metabolism and aid passive fat burning. [12]

Fruits & Vegetables

Rich in nutrients, antioxidants and dietary fiber, while being low in calories, eating more fruits and vegetables is crucial to remember among weight loss tips. [13]

Chewing Gum

Psychologically, chewing gum can convince the body that it is eating, and will stimulate the production of saliva but the calorie intake is very low, so it won’t compromise your diet. [14]

Diet Chart for Weight Loss

Many people struggle to stay on schedule with their diet or calorie restrictions, so it can be helpful to have a basis for all of your meals. Slight fluctuation is understandable and unavoidable, but holding yourself accountable to a well-structured diet chart will increase your chances of getting good results.

There is no set rule for calorie intake if you want to lose weight; it depends on your age, gender, height, weight and activity level, among other factors, but the chart below can be your guide to give you a general idea for the types of food and calorie targets you decide for yourself.

Breakfast – 300 calories

Mid-Morning Snack – 200 calories

Lunch – 400 calories

Afternoon Snack -200 calories

Dinner – 500 calories

  • Chicken breast with mushrooms and grilled vegetables
  • Whole wheat pasta and chili-glazed pork
  • Corn tortilla quesadillas with onions, shredded chicken and salsa

Evening Snack – 200 calories

  • Popcorn
  • 1 ounce of cheese and wheat crackers
  • 1 medium-sized baked potato

Tips while Following the Weight Chart

While a diet chart is a great basis for losing weight, there are a few important tips to use to maximize its effect, such as recording your calories, not banning your favorite foods, only having meals at home and staying positive.

Positive Thinking: Getting discouraged if you slip up on your diet will not help you in the long run. You must stay positive and remember that everyone makes mistakes; use your “cheat” day as motivation to work even harder the following week on your diet chart. [15]

Banning Foods: Restricting your favorite foods is cruel and unusual punishment; simply adjust the amount of your favorite foods and factor in their caloric value into your diet chart.

Recording Calories: Estimating how many calories you are consuming is rarely effective, particularly with such strict limits on calories per meal. Keep a diet journal, which will not only keep you accountable to your goals but will also give you a better idea of how much food you truly eat in a day. [16]

Eating at Home: Eating out makes it nearly impossible to track all your calorie consumption, but if you shift your eating habits to preparing your own meals at home, you can accurately count how many calories you are consuming. [17]

Best Diet Tricks

Some of the more unusual weight loss tips out there include lowering the temperature of your house, shrinking your wardrobe, using smaller plates, buying more frozen vegetables and even chewing slower!

Room Temperature: Keeping your house slightly colder than usual can speed up the metabolism and actually increase the rate of fat burning. [18]

Frozen Vegetables: Although fresh vegetables are preferable, many people aren’t diligent about going to the grocery store. Keeping some frozen vegetables in the freezer will keep you from cheating on your diet.

Smaller Plates: Psychologically speaking, using smaller plates can trick your brain (and stomach) into thinking it has consumed a full meal, while you actually may be shaving off 20-25% of the calories. [19]

Chewing Speed: Studies have shown that chewing slower will increase the efficiency of your digestion and also fill you up more rapidly, which can reduce overeating. [20]

Wardrobe Change: Eliminating your “fat” clothes or trying on a dress intended for your “goal weight” will both be motivating factors to keep you moving forward and sticking to your diet plan.

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About the Author

John Staughton is a traveling writer, editor, publisher and photographer with English and Integrative Biology degrees from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana (USA). He co-founded the literary journal, Sheriff Nottingham, and now serves as the Content Director for Stain’d Arts, a non-profit based in Denver, Colorado. On a perpetual journey towards the idea of home, he uses words to educate, inspire, uplift and evolve.

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