Whether you are trying to lose five or 20 pounds of weight, the same principles apply.

The key is a change in lifestyle and developing new, healthy habits so that weight loss is sustained for the long term. Follow the SEEDS strategy for long-term weight loss.

Sleep

Getting sufficient sleep is important for your weight-loss program. When you don’t get enough sleep, the body produces a hormone called ghrelin. This increases your appetite and makes you hungry easily. When you get enough sleep, another hormone, leptin, is produced instead. Leptin makes the body satiated. That means you do not crave food.

Eating Right

Developing a healthy eating habit is fundamental to long-term weight loss. Practice portion control so that you limit the total calorie intake by about 10-20%, but not too much. Extremely low-calorie intake in a crash diet with the objective to lose weight fast is dangerous and has a long-term impact on heart health.

Eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Limit saturated fat, processed food, and alcohol. Eat a high-protein breakfast and increase the intake of good fats.

Exercise

If you are trying to lose weight just purely by dieting without exercise, you will not be able to achieve a toned body. You can start off by just walking briskly and gradually moving to weights and circuit training. Walking is the simplest form of exercise, and 30 minutes of brisk walking five days a week will be sufficient to increase the metabolic rate and burn more calories.

Drinking Water

Drinking sufficient water is an important component of good health, more so for weight loss. How much water should you drink? Use the guideline of 30ml for every kilogram of body weight. Just two liters of water can burn 96 calories. Not drinking enough water will leave you with water retention and feeling tired, as metabolic waste cannot be flushed out of the body.

Supplements

Studies have shown that the quality of fresh foods has dropped by as much as 60% due to soil erosion and farming methods. Therefore, to rely solely on fresh food for your nutrient requirement, you will have to eat the whole day.

Supplements Important For Weight Loss

1. Omega-3

Omega-3 is an essential fatty acid that will help with weight loss. Supplements with Omega-3 can be obtained from fish such as salmon and tuna, or from plants such as flaxseed, walnut oil, and olive oil. If you are looking at sources such as fish oil, do ensure that you get it from the right source due to the risk of heavy metal contamination.

2. Antioxidants

Antioxidants are necessary to help combat the free radicals and inflammation created by high body fat. They help the body to function more efficiently by processing and removing waste materials. Super-antioxidants are readily available from extracts of green tea, grape seeds, pomegranate, red wine, and pine bark.

3. Vitamins And Minerals

Taking vitamins and minerals enhances the weight-loss program. Vitamin C helps the body to convert glucose to energy, so less of this is stored as fat. Vitamin B complex keeps the body’s metabolism running and promotes a healthy thyroid gland.

Zinc is important in appetite control. Chromium helps with carbohydrate metabolism by increasing insulin sensitivity of the cells and the uptake of glucose. Iodine is necessary for a healthy thyroid function, which is important for the body’s metabolism.

4. Alkaline 

When the cellular environment of the body is acidic, the body holds onto fat in order to protect the organs. Create an alkaline cellular environment in the body to release fats. Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetable achieves that.

In addition, supplements with chlorophyll or spirulina further enhance the alkaline body environment. Both are Mother Nature’s best food because they contain a complete range of nutrients required by the body.

Before following the SEEDS strategy, make sure that you do a complete detox and cleansing of the digestive system, liver, and kidneys. Detoxing clears the body of toxins to allow for better absorption of nutrients. Moreover, this enhances the weight-loss program significantly.

SEEDS is easy to follow and implement in order to achieve a new lifestyle of healthy eating and exercise. Should you need more help, you can contact me for advice.

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