When it comes to getting your health in check, images of sweating it out on a treadmill morning after morning may come to mind.
While exercising is important for maintaining good health, you may be surprised to know that your weightloss mission actually starts in the comfort of your very own home.
Yep, just by making these super-simple lifestyle changes you could alter the way your waistline looks forever – commit them to memory, stat!
1. Drink more water
This may seem obvious, but drinking water has many more weightloss benefits aside from keeping you full.
Researchers have long argued that drinking water can assist in speeding up your metabolism, keep you focused (and therefore help you from not bailing on that pre-work walk with your colleague) and also protect your heart from harm.
2. Sleep more
Getting a good amount of ZZZs each night won’t just leave you feeling more energetic, but can actually help you whittle your middle without even trying.
Lack of sleep has been scientifically proven to impact the food choices you make, meaning that the more tired you are, the more likely you are to opt for a triple-cheese beef burger and thickshake rather than a wholemeal chicken wrap and green smoothie.
3. Use smaller plates
Did you know that just by switching out a big plate for a smaller one can help you cut your daily kilojoule count? Well, according to a study published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, it’s that easy.
Yep, researchers found that by reducing the size of a plate by half, the amount of food someone consumes is cut by 30 per cent. Not only that, but if someone is serving themselves, on smaller plates, they serve themselves less food and, ultimately eat less.
Woman’s Day top tip: opt for a blue plate when serving up a meal – apparently this colour is a natural appetite suppressant!
4. Have sex
Two words: sexercise, people!
Making love is renowned for helping people destress and releasing happy-filled endorphins, but, as Web MD points out, it is also good for getting your heart rate up and burning kilojoules.