Reddit’s Best Weight Loss Tips
Reddit, as a community, offers great tricks and tips to help you on your weight loss journey.
We’ve collected the best weight loss tips off Reddit.
1. Patience
Patience in weight loss is something we all forget.
Redditor Barriedude55 says weight loss doesn’t happen overnight.
The best weight loss tip I can give is patience, the weight did not go on overnight and it certainly will not fall off overnight, it is a long brutal struggle but believe me, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
As a diabetic, Barriedude55 tipped the scales at over 450 pounds. The doctor’s scales couldn’t register past that weight, so the Redditor likely weighed more.
Over 3 months, Barriedude55 was able to drop over 200 pounds by slowly eating right, skipping the Wendy’s burgers (a self-professed favorite) and confident enough to start and stay exercising.
2. Eat breakfast having cereal or bread
Breakfast is overlooked as part of weight loss, but science supports how important it is.
What are the benefits of breakfast?
- less total fat and cholesterol
- less caloric intake
- better weight control
A 2003 study of BMIs (body mass index) and breakfast showed people who skipped breakfast had higher average BMIs than those who ate breakfast.
More importantly, a breakfast of cereal or quick breads supported lower BMIs versus skipping breakfast or having meats or eggs only.
In fact, breakfast can be the most important meal of the day — especially if it consists of cereal. Research shows that people who frequently have cereal for breakfast tend to have healthier weights and lower body mass indexes (BMIs) than those who don’t eat cereal, or who skip breakfast.
In addition, people who skip breakfast also end up wiht larger BMIs. Breakfast is synchronized to our circadian rhythms. Missing breakfast throws off our timing for the rest of the day.
3. Skip fad diets
The cabbage soup diet. The hypothyroidism diet. The alkaline diet.
All fad diets invented without sstrong scientific support or based on a flimsy study that’s only sort of related to the diet.
Kelly Ripa may love the alkaline diet and say it helps her keep her weight down, but there’s no scientific proof fad diets provide long-lasting weight loss.
4. Calorie deficit leads to weight loss
Eat less calories than you burn. For the average man and woman, taking in 500 calories less per day helps you lose one pound a week.
What does 500 calories look like? It’s the bagel with cream cheese. A Big Mac from McDonald’s. A grilled chicken sandwich with side salad from Chick-fil-A.
You don’t need to take away a whole meal. Work on reducing portions. A few less bites here and there, and you can achieve caloric deficit rather quickly.
5. Eliminate sugary drinks
Sugar adds on the weight. For example, Coke has 39 grams of sugar in one 12 ounce can. It would take you 50 minutes to burn off one can of Coke.
Substitute flavored water or even diet soda if you must. Be careful though, even diet drinks can lead to long-term weight gain.
6. Start with small wins
How often do we start with a huge goal, but fail to follow through? We miss a day of walking, or eat that one doughnut, and we feel like we failed for that day. Then, we give ourselves permission to eat more. “I just ate that donut. This day doesn’t count, I’ll have the burger too.”
Huge goals can be counter-productive.
Instead, seek small wins.
Small wins help you psychologically. It’s based on the progress principle. In one study, people who enjoyed small wins on meaningful work felt happier at the end of the day.
In weight loss, if you walked around the park today or said ‘no’ to that unhealthy burger today, be happy that you made a difference today.
7. Consistency
According to a 2007 study in Obesity, consistent weight loss early on lead to long-term weight loss. In other words, sticking to a diet beats jumping from diet to diet.
The researchers found that weight variability each week among the adults, measured at the first six and 12 weeks of the program, was positively associated with less subsequent weight loss at 12 and 24 months.
In other words, higher weight variability measured early in the program predicted which patients would continue to struggle with controlling their weight by the end of the program and one year later, according to the study findings.
CNN
How do you stay consistent?
Track your progress.
Keep a food diary. Write down whenever you exercise.
That will inspire you to keep going. When you look and see all the days you’ve put in, you’re less likely to skip a day.
8. Plan ahead
Spontaneously deciding what to eat or when to exercise will lead you to failure.
When we plan our exercise and diet schedules ahead of time, science shows that we succeed more often.
The reason is decision fatigue.
Willpower to eat health, exercise or avoid certain foods is not unlimited. Willpower has a limit. Decisions make us lose willpower. Science shows deciding ahead of time helps us save willpower.
President Barack Obama wears only gray or blue suits to reduce the number of decisions he makes.
You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I’m trying to pare down decisions.
Medium
When we’re tired, decision-fatigue makes us take the easiest action, whcih might not be the action we want.
For instance, if we want to work out but haven’t scheduled that ahead of time, we’ll tell ourselves, “I’m tired today. I’ll go tomorrow.” Then tomorrow comes, and the cycle repeats.
Fight off decision-fatigue by making your meals ahead of time, scheduling your gym workouts for the week and plan what you’ll eat at work. Front-load as many decisions as you can on a Sunday for that week.
9. Choose weight training over cardio
People think cardio helps you lose weight. That’s not what science says.
A study from the University of New South Wales in 2021 shows strength training on its own can help you lose 1.4 percent of your body fat.
While the strength training programs differed between the studies, the participants worked out for roughly 45-60 minutes each session for an average of 2.7 times per week. The programs lasted for about five months.
The team found that, on average, the participants lost 1.4 per cent of their total body fat after their training programs, which equated to roughly half a kilo in fat mass for most participants.
Science Daily
So, if you have limited time, choose strength training over cardio. You’ll get the same or better results.
These Reddit weight loss tips can help you slim down and achieve your weight loss goals.