10 Simple Strategies To Shape Up And Slim Down

1. Don't skip breakfast. Breakfast is like a wake-up call for your metabolism to start working. After sleeping and resting your body for the night, you need to replenish your body and get your metabolism to start working. Without food early in the morning, your metabolism will become sluggish and when you become too hungry in the late morning, you're bound to over-eat.

2. Get a good night's sleep. Even while sleeping, you burn calories. Read my article 20 Daily Activities You Can Do That Burn Calories to find more activities you can do to burn calories. Research has shown that those sleeping less than 5 hours a night are 70% more likely to be overweight. Sleep deprivation will slow down your metabolism and will make your brain think that you're hungry and therefore you'll start to over-eat.

3. Drink lots of water. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. If you're severely overweight, drink more than 8 glasses of water a day. When you're dehydrated, you think you're hungry. The next time you feel like eating, drink a glass of water and see if you still feel hungry.

4. Don't skip meals. Eat all your meals. You may think that by skipping meals, you'll lose weight. You're never more wrong. When the body senses that no food is coming in, it will think that famine is coming and so it'll go into starvation mode and will hang on to whatever fat that it has for future consumption. So eat all your meals.

5. Choose a healthy menu. When eating out, opt for food that is broiled, steamed, grilled, baked or barbecued. If the portion is too big, doggy-bag it.

6. Avoid sugar drinks. Opt for plain water. Carbonated drinks whether original or diet are full of sugar which will make your blood sugar rise drastically.

7. Cook at home. You'll not only lose weight, you'll also save money if you cook at home. If you cook your own meals, you can determine how much salt or sugar to use.

8. No more junk food. Throw out all the junk food in your house. If it's not there, you won't have any to eat. Read my article Curb Your Cravings For Junk Food And Lose Weight to get a smoothie recipe that'll fill you up so you won't crave for junk food.

9. Smaller portions. You should eat often; preferably every 4 hours so that your body will be tricked into thinking that food is plentiful and won't go into starvation mode. The trick here is to eat in small portions. Avoid portions that are larger than your fist. And no second helpings either. Use smaller plates so you'll think that you have enough to satisfy your hunger.

10. Eat slowly. It takes the brain 20 minutes to register that you're full so chew your food slowly and savour every bite. Drink a glass of water before you eat so your stomach feels full and you'll not over-eat. Make your meals last 20 to 30 minutes.

The above suggestions are easy to follow so you can start to shape up and slim down immediately.