I know of the struggle from personal experience- you don’t need to tell me how important it is to stick to the plan, i knew. And in spite of that, I still struggled.

But, over the years, I’ve learned about the importance of harmonizing your diet and your exercise. With that in mind, here’s some advice on the key things I’ve learned on workouts and eating, which should help you get the success you crave.

You Don’t Need A Gym To Exercise

Some people love gyms, but not everyone is so happy amongst the bodybuilders. So, it’s worth keeping in mind that you can get a lot done at home with some simple equipment like weights and resistance bands.

More importantly, freeing yourself from the gym means you don’t have to lose track of your exercise if you’re away from home. Even if you love the gym, you may find yourself in a hotel that’s not equipped with a gym, or you may be staying with friends or family.

In any case, simplifying your exercise routine can make it easier to fit it into your life. If you can work out with the minimum of fuss, you won’t have to stop working out for anything. Keeping your exercise going, even when life gets in the way will help you stay in that healthy, fat loss and exercise frame of mind. Don’t worry if you can’t do as much as you would at home, it’s more important to stay in the habit.

Don’t Punish Yourself For Indulgent Mistakes

Nothing stops progress in its tracks more quickly than giving in to temptation. Don’t let yourself feel guilty or worthless, just because you ate something you shouldn’t have. The important thing is to stay positive, because low self esteem is often a key reason for over eating.

In other words, making yourself feel bad for a mistake will only lead to a vicious cycle of guilt and over-eating. It becomes easy to think that you can’t lose weight, but it’s simply not true. If you give in to temptation, just dust yourself down, and try to carry on with your fat loss. An occasional treat’s only going to harm you, if you let it.

There are certain times when temptation will be all around you. Vacations and Holidays are the biggest challenges, of course. It’s important to try to keep things in perspective, during these times, but trying to avoid indulgences completely can make you resent your attempts to lose weight.

Whatever you do, don’t starve yourself to make up for any mistakes either. Again, you’ll find it harder to maintain your healthy fat loss plan, if you begin to resent it, simply because you’re missing out, after a party or family event.

1) Move More

Sedentary people burn about one-third less calories per day.  By simply taking every opportunity to move can make quite a dramatic difference to the amount of calories you burn in one day. Small movements will add up over time to lots of calories.  The trick is to keep moving throughout your day. Write the word ‘move’ on post-it notes and put them in places you’ll notice them when you’re sitting still. Then, take every opportunity to move – here’s some ideas for burning extra calories:

Tap your feet
Swing your legs
Stand up and stretch
Move your head from side to side
Change position
Wriggle and fidget
Pace up and down
Use the restroom upstairs
Park in the furthest corner of the parking lot
Stand up when you’re on the phone and step from side to side
Clench and release your muscles

2) Eat Little and Often

Evidence suggests that eating small meals every 2-4 hours will keep your metabolism burning faster than larger, less frequent meals. When you eat small amounts often your body is constantly working to digest and absorb food which requires energy.

3) Eat Fat

If you want feel good and keep the fat off you need to first put it in.  Fat not only tastes good our bodies need it to work efficiently.  By consuming several servings of ‘healthy’ fats every day you will actually increase your calorie burning potential.  Try incorporating fats like Flaxseed oil, hempseed oil, olive oil, avocados, salmon, albacore tuna, nuts and seeds into your diet daily.

4) Drink Cold Water

Evidence shows that your body might expend more calories trying to raise cold water to the temperature of your body then hot beverages. And overall being well hydrated will help your body’s metabolic processes burn quicker.

5) Exercise With Weights

Training with weights boosts your metabolism in a number of ways. By lifting weights you will build muscle tissue. And muscle tissue is metabolically active, so it requires calories even when at rest and so it helps to increase fat-burning enzymes in your body.

6) Spice up

Eating hot spices might speed up your metabolism.  Just half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day can help boost metabolism and keep blood sugar levels in check. Can’t stand the thought of cinnamon in your morning cup of coffee? Spice up with cayenne, crushed red pepper or wasabi.

7) Eat More Protein

Protein requires a more complex chemical breakdown by your body in order to be digested and used as fuel. For example, 100 calories of protein may take up to 30 calories to process.   Protein also takes longer to digest and helps to stabilize blood sugar for longer periods of time  and this can help you to not overeat later in the day.  Eat a portion of protein at every meal and as part of your snacks and you will increase the total number of calories you burn each day.

One of the many signs that you may need to lose weight is if you are obese.  Many individuals do not realize that there is a difference between being overweight and being obese. While different healthcare professionals have different definitions for obese, it is often said that those who are thirty or forty pounds overweight are obese.  If you are obese, you shouldn’t only be worried about your appearance, but your health as well.  Obesity has been linked to multiple health complications, including the early onset of death.

Another one of the many signs that you should lose weight is if you have been told that you need to do so.  Whether your physician recommended losing weight or if someone that you know on a personal level has, it is advised that you at least take their suggestions into consideration. Unfortunately, many individuals are embarrassed or become upset when they are told that they need to lose weight.  What you need to remember is that the individual mentioning your weight to you likely isn’t as concerned with your appearance as they are with your health.

Another sign that you may want to think about losing weight is if you are finding that your clothes no longer fit you.  Of course, it is normal for some individuals to gain weight or to have their weight fluctuate, but you may want to think about joining a weight loss program or developing your own weight loss plan if you find that your clothes no longer fit or are difficult to get into.  Unfortunately, many individuals do not just have a small weight gain. Small weight gain often leads to more, which could have a negative impact on your health.  It is also important to mention the cost of new clothes, which you may not be able to afford.

If you find many simple tasks or activities, like walking up a flight of stairs, difficult, you may want to think about losing weight.  Of course, becoming out of breath from simple activities may not necessarily just be a weight problem, but there is a good chance that it is. When you lose weight, even just a little bit of it, you will likely find it easier to do many of the activities that you love or even the tasks that you need to do, like take your kids to the park.

The above mentioned signs are just a few of the many signs that you may need to lose weight.  Should you wish to lose weight, you are advised to proceed with caution. There are a number of weight loss products on the market, like diet pills or exercise equipment, which do not work. To save yourself money and to protect your health, you may want to consider consulting with your physician before starting any weight loss program, even one that you develop yourself.