Best Way To Lose Weight As A Stay At Home Mom

Many stay-at-home moms are unsure of deciding what the best weight-loss method is for them. It’s not easy, to be honest. There are an abundance of weight loss ads, products, diets, methods, foods, etc. There are also a variety of natural methods that are safe to use in your weight loss journey.

We are here to list out all possible weight loss methods. Please note that not every method listed may be suitable for your personal life style. So don’t feel obligated to try them all.

Without further ado, let’s get started on the best way to lose weight!

Diet Adjustment

Eating Whole Foods

Whole foods are those that are minimally processed or are close to their natural state. They lack flavorings and sugars, which are the common additives present in processed foods. Whole foods provide your body with essential nutrients that help your body to function correctly.

A side effect associated with eating whole foods is weight loss. Whole foods are naturally filling. When you eat foods that make you feel full, you end up eating less food in your next meal. Whole foods include whole grains, fruits (berries and bananas), vegetables, and legumes.

Eat Proteins

A diet rich in proteins will help you to build muscles and lose weight because you avoid overeating. You don’t overeat since you will feel more full, just like when you eat whole foods. So, ensure you include foods high in protein such as black beans, beef, eggs, oats, sun-dried tomatoes, chicken breasts, peas, turkey, almonds, milk, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and cottage cheese.

Avoid Processed Foods

Eating processed foods leads to weight gain because they are low in nutrients but high in sugar, salt, calories, and fat. When you eat processed foods, your hunger hormones rise, so you are forced to eat more.

Most people eat processed foods because they are cheap, but cheap is expensive, so you might spend more getting rid of the health issues caused by eating processed foods. You want to lose weight, so avoid processed foods such as granola bars, margarine, flavored nuts, ketchup, and frozen dinner.

Eat Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are not only healthy, but they are also weight-loss friendly. They are high in fiber, water, and nutrients. Because their energy density is low, you can eat as much as you can without taking a lot of calories.

Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables, and you will see a change. Some of the best fruits for weight loss are apples, berries, oranges, melons, and avocados.

Avoid Refined Carbs

Refined carbohydrates are also known as processed carbs, and they are of two types: sugars and refined grains. Table sugar is an excellent example of refined sugar, and white flour is an excellent example of refined grains. Refined carbs are easily digested, so they cause overheating, which leads to weight gain.

Eat Spicy Food

Spices such as jalapenos and chili peppers contain a compound known as capsaicin. This compound may help in burning fat and increasing metabolism but at low rates. Capsaicin might also help in reducing appetite. So, instead of using sugar to sweeten plain yogurt, try using pumpkin spice.

Eat Slowly

Eating slowly helps in reducing the number of calories you can take in one sitting. When you eat slowly, your brain will take more than normal time to realize that your stomach is full. If you have certain foods that you eat, slowly try to include them more in your meal plans. Also, eating at a table with others and chewing food thoroughly will help you to eat slowly.

Use a Small Plate

If you’re like most people, who like filling their plates, using a small plate will help you reduce the portions that you take. Controlling food portions is recommended if you want to lose weight.

Keep Only Healthy Food and Drinks

When you have only healthy foods and beverages in your house, you will avoid gaining weight caused by eating unhealthy foods. For example, if you’re craving for soda, but the only drink you have in stock is plain yogurt, you have no choice other than to take the yogurt or water. See, you have suppressed the craving for soda, an unhealthy drink, with a healthy option. So, stocking only healthy beverages and food is one of the best ways to lose weight.

Portion Control

If you want to control your portions, one thing you should stop doing is eating from the box. When you eat from the bag, you eat more since your mind is set to clearing what’s inside the box. You can control your portions by serving popcorn, cereals, and nuts in small containers.

Avoid Skipping Meals

When you are starving, you cannot make good choices about what you eat. When you skip meals, you may be tempted to snack on sugary foods, and this will lead to weight gain. Skip meals if you’re doing intermittent fasting, but make sure you eat healthy food.

Incorporate Healthier Beverages

Water

Drinking water helps in weight loss because it is a natural appetite suppressant. Water takes space in the stomach, so you feel full, and your brain is signaled to stop eating.

Try taking water before eating if you want to eat less. Water also helps in burning calories, burning fat, and cleansing body waste. There is no specific amount of water you should take because we have different needs depending on age, health status, body size, humidity, temperature, activity level, and sun exposure.

If you have a hard time drinking water, here are tips to help you:

• When it is very sunny and warm, drink more water
• When exercising drink more water
• Have a glass of water near the bed

Make sure you also go check out “How to Eat Healthy On a Budget” for our full guide to eating healthy as part of your weight loss plan.

Black Coffee

Black coffee has almost no calories, so it will help you lose weight if you drink without sugar and milk. Coffee can also help in reducing appetite by reducing the levels of hunger hormones.

Green Tea

Green tea helps in weight loss because its caffeine stimulates fat burning. It also contains catechins (antioxidants) that help in boosting metabolism and burning fat. When shopping for green tea, remember that not all of them are good for weight loss.

We recommend you go for Matcha green tea because it is rich in antioxidants and nutrients. When brewing green tea doesn’t pour boiling water to your tea because boiling water is bad for the catechins, the best way is to boil water, let it rest for around 10 minutes then pour to your tea.

Black Tea

Black tea is the most popular tea consumed. It contains substances called polyphenols that might help in blocking the absorption of fats. But if you take it with milk, it might not help with weight loss.

Get Enough Sleep

Lack of sleep is associated with weight gain, so to lose weight, you need to get enough sleep. Poor sleep can cause an increase in appetite and calorie intake. Enough sleep helps in fighting cravings and preventing insulin resistance.

Here are simple tips and tricks to help you sleep more:

• Have a schedule and stick to it.
• Make sure that you shut down your TV, cellphone, and computer at least one hour before retiring to bed.
• Ensure the lights are off.
• Avoid foods and drinks that will make it hard for you to sleep, such as caffeine, heavy meals, and alcohol.

Avoid High-Calorie Drinks

High-calorie drinks such as energy drinks, flavored water, cocktails, soda, alcohol, and chocolate milk are good for weight gain but not weight loss. Avoid these drinks and replace them with other healthy beverages like green tea and water. You will also avoid the risk of being obese when you avoid high-calorie drinks.

Exercise

In addition to dieting exercising is one of the best ways to lose weight. When you exercise, you burn calories, and this is the key to losing weight. Below are various exercises you can do to lose weight.

Walking / Running / Jogging

Walking is a good exercise for stay at home moms because you can do it anywhere and you don’t need any equipment. Start walking at least three to four times a week for 30 minutes. When you become more fit, you can increase your frequency and duration.

Running is one of the popular ways of exercising. When running, more muscles work together, so you burn more calories. There are different running styles, but the most popular ones are long runs, interval runs, progressive runs, base runs, hill repeats and recovery runs.

To get started with running, ensure you have good running shoes and comfortable clothing. Wear a sports bra when running to minimize pain. If you’re a beginner, warm up first before running and aim to run for 30 minutes at least three times per week.

Jogging is a cardio exercise that is very effective for weight loss because you burn more calories when jogging. If you’re a beginner, incorporate walking when jogging. For example, walk for three minutes then jog for 30 seconds. Doing this will help you to be strong enough for 20 minutes of jogging.

Cycling

You can do cycling indoors if you have a stationary bike or outdoors on a bicycle. When cycling, you don’t need to go hard if you can’t, you can take slow and long rides. If you take a long ride, you burn more fat. When cycling, remember to stay hydrated, especially when riding hard in the summer heat.

Swimming

If you want to have fun and lose weight try swimming. The way you swim affects the number of calories you burn. You will lose more weight doing butterfly compared to backstroke. To get the best results with swimming, have a morning swim, swim harder, swim weekly at least four to five times, and use water dumbells.

Interval Training

Interval training is commonly known as High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), and it is a workout that helps in increasing metabolism. HIIT workouts are intensive, so you don’t need to do them for hours. You can set aside a few minutes, say 10, for at least two to three times per week. HIIT plus other exercises will help you in your weight loss journey.

Additional Practices

Practice Yoga

Although practicing yoga is not a guaranteed way of losing weight, active forms of yoga can help you lose weight. You can try these poses at home: sun salutations, plank pose, and boat pose. When doing yoga for weight loss, you need to set goals that you can stick to. This means your awareness will deepen, so you easily get attracted to healthy foods and healthy ways of living.

Manage Your Stress Levels 

When you are stressed, you will most likely crave junk food even when you’re not hungry. So if you manage your stress levels, you won’t gain weight because of eating junk food. Instead, you will be able to watch your weight by eating healthy foods only. You can manage your stress levels by exercising regularly, relaxing, eating well, having a positive attitude, and sharing your problems.

Brushing Teeth After Meals

When you floss or brush your teeth after eating, you improve your dental hygiene, and you won’t be easily tempted to snacking in between meals. When you eat immediately after brushing, food will taste bad, so your desire for snacks or food is low.

Keep a Food Diary

Keeping a food diary may seem old fashioned, but its a useful tool for tracking your food intake. If you want to use a food diary in your weight loss journey successfully, make sure you update it with the correct information. Also, ensure that you’re detailed in your recording and always review what you have been writing. When reviewing, you will see what is stopping you from losing weight so you will change to better alternatives.

Count Calories

Counting calories will help you know how much you’re consuming. When you consume fewer calories than you can burn, you lose weight. Counting calories sounds simple, but if you make the common mistakes people are making, it will affect your progress. To avoid making mistakes, we recommend these apps: FatSecret, My Fitness Pal, SparkPeople, Lose it, and Cron-o-meter.

If you don’t know how to count your calories, start by calculating how many calories you need per day. You can use an online calculator to get the number. Once you put your details in the calculator, you will know how many calories you need to maintain weight, lose weight, and lose weight fast.

Once you know how many calories you need to lose weight, count the number of calories in your foods and drinks. You can see the number of calories by checking the labels on the foods you buy.

For calorie counting to work, you need to have a good record of food portions. You can measure your food portions using scales, measuring cups, and comparing your portions with everyday items. The comparison method is less accurate, so you shouldn’t rely on it.

If you want to succeed with calories counting, you need to be prepared. This entails having a reliable app and a meal plan ready. You should also be keen to read labels. Food labels contain information that is useful for counting calories. Although counting calories isn’t for everyone, it is an effective weight-loss method.

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