With the beginning of a new year brings the beginning of many new resolutions. One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to lose weight. Many people start off on the right track but quickly lose momentum as the weeks wear on. By the end of January, many people have completely dropped their lofty goals of losing weight.
There are many eco-friendly ways that can help you to lose weight which in turn, will help you to have less of a negative impact on the world around you. First of all, start of each morning with a healthy breakfast. Try organic oatmeal or granola to help fill you up and keep you full until lunch. Set small weight loss goals and once you’ve met them, add another step. This is the same method that many people use to make their lifestyle greener — each tiny babystep at a time will make the change gradual and less drastic. Remember that these are lifestyle changes not short term fixes.
Stop drinking pop and carbonated beverages. They are full of empty calories and uselessly waste plastic bottles. Instead of pop, drink tap water. Bottled water only adds to the wasted plastic piles and most tap water in the western world is completely safe to drink. If you don’t like the taste, get a filter and use that instead!
Eat smaller portions at meal times and safe the leftovers for the next day. This will reduce calories as well as waste. At the same time, you’ll cut back drastically on your grocery and eating out bills. Try eating vegetarian once a week — it’s better for the planet and your waistline.
Don’t run out and buy a ton of weight loss products that will only end up sitting around your house unused. Many weight loss pills are completely bogus while others are totally unsafe. Ensure that you talk to your doctor or naturoath before taking any pill. As for exercise equipment, research what you’re interested in thoroughly before making a purchase that you may come to regret later. Try buying a second hand treadmill instead of a brand new one. Buying used products is much more sustainable than constantly buying new and can really help to save you a lot of money as well. There are many sites where you can buy used items such as Kijiji or Craigs List. Exercise equipment is especially abundant because people tend to use it as clothes racks as much as they do for exercising!
Good luck with your weight loss aspirations and remember that it can be very much a two steps forward, one step back routine. The point is that you are making progress towards your ideal weight.
