11 'Best ' Ways to Lose Weight, According to Science

The following is a useful and informative article from Jen Miller who contacted me about an article she had written on the 'best' ways to lose weight, according to science with tips and advice along with easy to make tasty weight loss recipes. The full article can be found here.

The following are the 11 tips and advice from the blog kindly written and provided by Jen. Thank you Jen.

              11 'Best ' Ways to Lose Weight, According to Science    

1. Skip Meals, Sometimes

The usual eating pattern includes 3 meals per day. And various snacks thrown in between. According to the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, that’s actually unnatural. In the olden days, humans were hunters and gatherers. And people had long hours of fasting at night.

When there was more food, we started eating more regular meals. And there were more metabolic diseases.

So instead, your eating schedule should include “intermittent fasting". But how should you fast?

Choose 2 days per week where you eat 500 calories or less each day. Or you can choose some days to skip lunch.

Maybe you’re up to the challenge, but it’s advised to ease into it. Start by cutting out 200 calories before reaching the 500 goal. Then you can lose weight while being protected by many diseases.

But make sure you eat healthily and sufficiently for the other days! Otherwise, you definitely won’t be able to enjoy all the benefits. And it will be countereffective.

2. Make a Schedule for Eating

It’s not always what you eat. When you eat makes a huge difference too.

People usually say to skip dinner, or don’t eat after 6 p.m. And a new study from Spain supports that advice.

Participants included overweight women. The investigators looked at when they ate lunch. The two groups had similar calorie intake and physical activity.

But those who ate after 3 p.m. loss 25% less weight than those who had earlier lunches. Wow, that’s a lot!

In a similar study, mice were either on a strict eating schedule or able to eat whenever they wanted. Those with a schedule were protected against obesity. Even though the groups ate about the same amount.

Main takeaway? Create a schedule where you eat earlier meals and stick to it. No more late night snacks!

3. Exercise before Breakfast

Operating on an empty stomach is really beneficial to weight loss!

Before you eat breakfast, your body is in a fasted state. According to Northumbria University, you burn more fat when you exercise in that state. They ran an experiment where 12 healthy men ran on a treadmill. One group did so before breakfast, the other group after eating in the morning.

The first group burned approximately 20% more fat!

Both groups had extra physical activity. But even with that, they still didn’t end up eating more or having an increased appetite. That’s right! Exercising in the morning means you burn more fat. And are less likely to gain it back.

Regular workout is essential to losing weight and keeping the weight off.

It’s easier to get into the habit of exercising when you add it to your morning routine. You have fewer excuses to cancel these morning sessions. Even if you wake up too late, you still have time to do it before the day ends.

But after you exercise, make sure you eat breakfast!

4. Don't Miss out on Breakfast

What’s the old adage about eating healthy? Eat like a prince for breakfast and a pauper for dinner, right?

There’s some truth in this! Eating breakfast can actually lead you to make healthier food choices later in the day. And it makes sense. You won’t be as hungry. So there’s no need to sneak in some snacks. Or stuff yourself during lunch.

Science backs up this claim too. The International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research published a study looking at children and their food diaries.

The children were either overweight/obese or had a “normal” body mass index. The overweight and obese children frequently skipped breakfast. When given the choice, they ate less cereal and grains.

They received less energy from breakfast. They also consumed less essential nutrients, such as vitamin D, vitamin B3 and iron.

Maybe you’re thinking, “but eating breakfast means more calories!” Yes, that’s true. But even though breakfast eaters have a higher calorie intake, they’re still less likely to have weight problems.

In addition, breakfast helps with your memory and cognitive abilities. Make sure you make time to eat breakfast!

5. Drink Water before Meals

No matter what you’re doing, it’s important to stay hydrated. You clean out your system, get better skin and . . . it helps you lose weight.

According to experts from Germany, drinking 500 ml of water can increase your metabolic rate by 30%. You experience this increase within 10 minutes of drinking. Your metabolic rate reaches the maximum after 30 to 40 minutes.

Drinking water, especially warm water, causes a thermogenic response. This is particular helpful for weight loss programs.

Another study showed that drinking 17 oz of water before meals helps you eat less calories. The participants were able to lose 44% more weight than the others.

Before each meal, make sure to chug some water! But remember to stick to natural, clear water. Stay away from sugary drinks.

6. Add Healthy Doses of Caffeine 

Caffeine is a staple in so many people’s diets. It still gets a bad rep. For good reason, since it is still a drug and can lead to addiction.

However, coffee offers numerous health benefits. It contains antioxidants and has been shown to help with Alzheimer’s, heart diseases and more.

Caffeine can boost metabolism, improve diet-induced thermogenesis and burn more fat. Taking caffeine before working out can increase release of stored fatsby 20%.

Put all this together and what do you get? Improved physical performance.

Various studies have been done on the effects of caffeine on endurance training. In one especially interesting one, coffee reduced the perception of effort. This resulted in them working harder without even realizing! Experts recommend endurance training with low intensity.

So, feel free to add a cup of joe to your diet. If you can drink it black. When you add all the sugars and creams, any benefit you get is gone. Otherwise, you can also switch it out for green tea.

7. Change Hands while Eating to Cut Snacks

The easiest way to eat less calories is to get rid of snacks. But we all know that’s difficult. It’s not your fault or that you have low willpower though.

Snacking while doing something else can lead to mindless eating. You keep on munching even when you’re full or if it doesn’t taste good. It’s because your brain associates the food with a certain environment. As long as you’re there, you’ll want to keep eating.

In one experiment, movie-watchers were given either fresh or stale popcorn. You’d think that no one would eat the disgusting and cold week-old popcorn. And it’s true. Moviegoers who don’t usually eat popcorn ate much less.

But those who typically ate popcorn at the movies, ate just as much as they usually did. The truth is, they’ve formed a habit. And it’s almost instinct to keep reaching for the popcorn while watching movies.

To disrupt this mindless eating, all you have to do is use your non-dominant hand while eating. In a subsequent experiment, this worked even for those with strong popcorn eating habits.

In addition, you can change your mindset. Instead of taking away junk food, think of adding in healthy snacks. You’ll be surprised at how much less fattening food you eat!

8. Don't Cut out all the Fats

Sure there are all-carb diets and raw fruit diets and all that. They might work. But really, you need a well-balanced diet. And that includes fats.

Yeah, the goal is to lose fat. But we really can’t live without it. Healthy dietary fats are essential sources of energy.

They are also needed since many vitamins are fat-soluble. Vitamins A, D, E and K need fat to be absorbed. These vitamins aren’t lost in food when you cook it. They are stored in your body and you don’t need to consume them every day. But they are important for your immune system and can prevent cancers and other diseases.

One study looked at the effects of monounsaturated fat (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fat (PUFA). Two groups of obese women either had a high MUFA or PUFA diet. Both groups had the same caloric intake during the study.

The winner for promoting weight loss was MUFA.

However, both mono and polyunsaturated are healthy fats. They help lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels. One type of polyunsaturated fat is omega-3 fatty acid. Surely you’ve heard of its benefits for heart health.

Some foods high in unsaturated fat:

• Olive oil

• Coconut oil

• Salmon (omega-3 fatty acid)

• Almonds: also includes vitamin E

• Peanut butter: make sure it’s natural without any additives and trans fat

• Avocado

• Flax

• Banana

The evil fats that you should most definitely stay away from:

• Trans fat

• Saturated fat

9. Sleep Well and Rise Early

Let’s be real. Who doesn’t like sleep?

And now, who gets enough sleep? And who is willing to get up early?

Even if you want to, it’s highly likely you can’t (or won’t). In our busy lives, there’s barely enough time to rest. But poor sleep is actually a huge factor for obesity.

Researchers looked at data from various publications such as MEDLINE and PsycINFO. And results are shocking. Short sleep length increases risk of obesity in adults by 55%. And 89% in children.

According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, sleep fragmentation (waking up in the middle of the night or continuously hitting the snooze button) has many negative health effects.

There are higher rates of daytime sleepiness and exhaustion. The participants in the study also had decreased fat oxidation. Which means it’s harder for their bodies to use fat as energy. And leads to increased risk of obesity too.

Plus, when you’re well rested, you have more energy to exercise.

When you wake up early enough, you have more time to work out too! And you’ll be happier and just healthier in general, so why not?

10. Add some Pepper

Spicy food is a staple in many non-European cultures. If you ever visit Thailand or eat Mexican food, you’ll know. It’s an acquired taste. But cayenne and chili peppers can actually help with weight loss.

The hot stuff contains Capsaicin. It’s what gives you the burn when you eat peppers. Its analgesic properties are at the top of the list for benefits.

This compound also helps boost your metabolism. Along with green tea and sweet peppers, capsaicin reduces energy intake. Some say that the rate of increase is small enough to overlook.

But something that can’t be denied is that capsaicin stops you from overeating. Adding some red chili peppers to dinner increases satiety and feelings of fullness. It also prevents desire to eat after dinner.

Some also claim that the spicy stuff increases fat oxidation.

Try adding spiciness to your meals! You can sprinkle chili powder in rice or spice up broth. For some efficient snacking, you can even switch out chips for peppers!

11. Enjoy your Food

Chew slowly and savor the taste. Because eating slowly helps you feel full faster.

Eating is actually a long and complicated process. When your tummy starts to expand from the food, receptors in your stomach signal your brain. The hormone CCK, among others, is released in response to the consumed food. Leptin also signals your brain about energy stores. Together, the hormones create feelings of satiety.

And all this takes time. Around twenty minutes, in fact. So you can guess why chewing slowly can stop you from overeating. It gives your brain time to register that it’s full.

Many studies back up this claim. Studies show that slower rates of eating leads to significant decreases in calorie intake. It also leads to higher water consumption. Which is good for weight loss too, as aforementioned.

And the science behind it? Eating slowly does more than letting your brain catch up to your stomach. The action can actually boost hormones and responses to make you feel full.

There’s no doubt that this is probably the best way to lose weight. Just enjoy your food!