10 weight loss tips to lose 5kg
The Healthy Mummy are experts at helping mums lose weight and have helped mums lose over three million kilos! AMAZING!
We’ve been helping busy mums shift body weight and boost energy for over a decade and we are CONFIDENT that we can help you too. Whether you have five kilos or 50 kilos to lose, we will give you the tools to smash your goals.
Here are 10 weight loss tips to lose 5kg…
Abby has lost over 25 kilos in 6 months
Read more about Abby’s weight loss here
Sustainable Weight Loss
At The Healthy Mummy, we believe in sustainable weight loss. No matter how much you have to lose, making healthy lifestyle changes where you are not hungry all the time and feel deprived is much more likely to lead to a successful outcome.
Short-term diets and crash dieting, which leads to rapid weight loss, don’t work.
If anything, they can lead to weight gain. You may have initial success, but you are much more likely to pile the weight back on and thus begins a cycle of yoyo dieting which just isn’t healthy.
The 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge isn’t just about consuming fewer calories and cutting out food groups. It’s a weight loss plan involving healthy eating and exercise and sets a realistic goal of losing weight around 4-6 kilos a month which is achievable and sustainable.
Plus we’ve put together 10 tips and tricks which when used with The 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge will help crank up your weight loss to get you fast results.
10 top tips on how to lose 5kg
1. Say Goodbye to the white stuff – SUGAR!
Reducing your added sugar intake by cutting out sugary foods is one of the FASTEST ways to blast belly fat, reduce your calorie intake, boost energy levels, improve your skin and drop excess weight.
The tricky thing is, sugar is just about everywhere these days and many of us can be addicted to the stuff. It’s hidden in savoury sauces, so-called healthy foods, and plenty of foods described as ‘low fat‘. Always check labels so you know how much sugar may be hidden in foods.
For many of us, the thought of going cold turkey and giving up all sweet treats can be too much for many of us to handle. The GOOD NEWS IS there are plenty of treats, recipes and meals out there just as delicious as your fave sugar-laden creations that are BETTER for you. For example, check out our Raw Bounty Slice.
2. Up the protein…and FIBRE!
Ensure that you are eating enough lean protein in your meals and snacks. High protein foods will help you to feel fuller for longer and gets your metabolism firing. It’ll keep hunger pangs at bay and prevent unnecessary snacking as well as enable us to build lean muscle.
While you are at it, eat more fibre! Fibre is great for digestion, easing bloating and also helps keep you feeling fuller for longer. Think nuts, LSA, boiled eggs, poached chicken, lentils, natural peanut butter, and tofu.
3. Cut out processed foods
Practise healthy eating habits by cutting out processed and fast food ladened with extra calories. Cut back on refined carbs like white bread, rice and pasta and have wholegrain bread and wholemeal versions instead which are high in fibre and vitamins.
Be inspired by Sascha’s story (PIC BELOW) here, who has been following our plans and has lost 30kg
4. Get organised and MEAL PLAN!
If you are looking for a more structured plan to follow then try our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge. Whether you are breastfeeding, vegetarian and or looking for a gluten-free meal plan – our Challenge can work for you.
Each week the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge Meal Plan updates. The Challenge informs you what is a great, HEALTHY idea for breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner AND DESSERT! It’s an easy way to develop healthy habits!
The Meal Plan clearly highlights the calories per serve, how LONG it takes to prepare and cook as well as other helpful nutritional information.
Nonetheless, our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge has made it super easy to SWAP specific meals for another one of your Challenge favourites.
5. Get support
Try chatting to a friend or another mum who has lost weight. Pick their brain and see if they have any insight for you about anything you are missing or not doing.
You can even hop onto the Healthy Mummy Facebook group and be inspired by the mums, advice and stories on the page.
6. SQUAT, SQUAT, SQUAT!
Never underestimate the power of squats…and lower body glute – focused exercises.
Besides looking great in bikinis and skirts, it’s important to have a strong and healthy butt and thighs as they are the foundations to help us with all our movements every day. When the butt and thighs are strengthened, the glutes are able to balance and stabilise the hips, allowing the hip flexors to move with ease, reducing the risk of back pain and reducing the chance of injury.
Not only that, but a strong butt and thighs means a stronger pelvis and better-supported knees and ankles. PLUS, glute exercises are a great way to burn MAJOR calories.
Read how to sneak 100 squats into your daily routine for SPECTACULAR results.
Along with push-ups that work the upper body, and planks that work your core, making these basic but effective moves into your exercise routine is a great way to burn fat and get an all-around full-body workout.
7. Get sweaty
Want results? Get sweaty. Your body needs physical activity to burn calories if you’re wanting to lose weight faster and get to a healthy weight. While a nice stroll or jog in the park is enough to get some people sweaty and see amazing weight loss results, others may need to step up their cardio exercises and mix up their workout. You want to find an exercise that you enjoy, be it running on a treadmill, biking or swimming.
One of the best exercises for weight loss to burn calories fast is HIIT or High-Intensity Interval Training.
Fat-burning HIIT workouts are extremely popular, and scientific studies have shown that just 10-15 minutes of interval training per day can blast belly fat and skyrocket your metabolism. Combine some HITT with your healthy eating plan and you’ll be dropping the kilos before you know it.
For full body workouts – see these Easy At-Home HIIT Workout To Shred 510 Calories
8. Drink water
Sometimes when we think we’re feeling hunger pangs, it’s actually just your body alerting you that you need water.
Drinking water regularly helps boost your metabolism, suppresses appetite and it also cleanses your body of waste and reduces the appearance of cellulite.
When you regularly sip on your water bottle, it stops you from retaining water, which can help you feel less bloated.
15 simple ways to up your WATER intake
9. Keep an eye on your portions
Government guidelines recommend that you eat a number of portions of foods from different food groups each and every day to get a range of vitamins and nutrients to support your health.
Our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge has done all the hard work for you on portion control with our meal plans designed by nutritionists. See below for the guidelines you should be aiming for.
- Fruits and vegetables
Guidelines recommend that you eat at least 5 or more portions of fruits and vegetables every day, but the optimum is at least 2 portions of fruit and 4 portions of vegetables. A portion of fruits and veggies is generally considered to be a large handful of raw fruit or vegetable.
- Whole grains/carbohydrates
Each meal should include a portion of carbohydrates, ideally whole grain carbohydrates to keep you fuller for longer and to improve digestive health. 4 portions of wholegrain carbohydrates are recommended per day – but if you eat a potato, this should be taken as a carbohydrate portion rather than a vegetable portion.
A standard portion of potato should be the size of a computer mouse (225g), a portion of spaghetti pasta should be less than 1.5cm in diameter, a portion of shaped pasta should be a small heaped handful (40g dry) and a portion (150g) of cooked rice should be, when packed together, around the size of a small tin of tuna.
- Protein/dairy
Protein and dairy are a key part of any diet – they improve general health and they can boost weight loss. Portions of protein (1-2 a day) should always be around the size of your palm. Protein in the form of meat, like chicken, beef, game or pork should be trimmed of all visible fat.
A portion of tofu should be the size of your palm, and a portion of beans should be a small heaping handful. Dairy portions should be kept fairly small, as they tend to contain more fat – a portion of milk should be a small glass of 250ml, a portion of yoghurt should be a small 50g-100g pot and a portion of cheese should be matchbox-sized (28g).
Cheese should be eaten less frequently than milk and yoghurt as it contains more fat.
- Fat
It might surprise you, but guidelines recommend that you eat three portions of heart-healthy fats each day – maximum serving should be 1 tbsp. of heart-healthy fat, such as extra-virgin olive oil or avocado. These fats improve the health of your skin, hair and nails, and they also boost the health of your internal systems and your eyes.
10. Workout with weights
Working out with weights like dumbbells and resistance training helps you to build lean muscle mass which burns calories even while you are resting.
Training with weights targets different muscle groups and assists in shaping, toning and creating a leaner body. Weight training in conjunction with cardio workouts will help you to reach your fitness and weight loss goals faster. GOOD NEWS – our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge has full weights workouts!
These calorie-burning weight-based exercises are made up of individual or unilateral movements which help with creating even muscle toning and shaping your body on both sides.
These types of exercises improve your postural alignment and stronger muscles help you stand up straight to assist in preventing back pain.
The benefits of weight training are:
- Tones your body
- Build muscle and lean muscle mass which in turn burns body fat
- You only need to perform short workouts to achieve results
- Builds strength to improve bone density
- Increases your heart rate for cardiovascular health
- Strength training releases endorphins to increase your mood and happiness
- Improves sleep and in turn, gives you more energy during the day
Read more on The 7 Benefits of Working Out with Weights
Get back to basics
And here are some really useful links and resources to help you focus and get back to basics for fast results
- Work out your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) so you know how many calories your own individual body needs. As you lose weight your calories need to decrease so it is important to re-calculate and adjust accordingly. Use our BMR calculator.
- Along with your BMR, know your BMI (Body Mass Index). This is one measure used to estimate your total amount of body fat. It is a useful tool as it gives you a starting point as well as goals for the future. Your BMR and BMI are closely related – the higher the BMI, the higher the BMR tends to be. Check our interactive BMI and BMR calculators.
- Snacking is essential for energy levels and for boosting your metabolism – see our healthy snack recipes.
- Are the scales not giving you the results you want – see what could be happening here
- While we don’t generally advocate strict calorie counting as it can be stressful and exhausting to monitor everything you eat, it’s important to understand the role calories play in weight loss. Find out How Many Calories You Need every Day to Lose Weight.