What is the biggest challenge that we face as a modern day civilization? Poverty? Terrorism? War?

While some may bring up these issues, on a personal level — albeit definitely a first world problem nonetheless — the biggest challenge would definitely be weight loss. Among the many new years resolutions we make year after year, weight loss never fails to top the list. Some do it for aesthetic reasons, some for health, but not many actually succeed in reaching their target weight. So, here are our suggestion on ways to effectively lose weight.

1. Maintain a balanced diet.

By balanced, we mean consuming all five essential nutrients evenly. Even carbohydrates and fat, which usually gets a bad rep, are important parts of our diet. However, there are still some caveats. In the case of carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates like brown rice, barley, or even starchy carbs like potato and sweet potato are better than simple carbohydrates. As for fat, unsaturated fat is always preferable to saturated fat. Fats and carbohydrates constantly send signals to our body to lose weight. If you limit your fat and carbohydrate intake, your body prepares for a state of emergency and prevents converting stored fat into energy. A consistent and stable fat loss, as well as weight loss, requires a balanced intake of all nutrients.

2. Consume less sugar.

Our taste buds have become accustomed to the excessive amounts of sugar in modern cuisine. It’s an inexpensive way to satiate people’s taste buds, and is often used in generous amounts within the food industry to increase profitability. Sugar can be found mostly in soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit juices, and energy drinks, which why it’s a good idea to stay away from these beverages. Surprisingly, sugar can be also found in a lot of coffee drinks from shops like Starbucks, so next time you go for your daily dose of caffeine, try sticking with an Americano, café latte, or cappuccino with no sweeteners to limit your caloric intake.

3. Drink lots of water.

Drinking water has many upsides. Our body is roughly 70% water and when dehydrated, our metabolism can be compromised as it limits the transportation of nutrients throughout our body. This leads to your body attempting to reduced energy consumption and may impede weight loss. For every pound of your weight, you need about an ounce of water intake per day. So for someone that weighs 160 lbs, you need to drink about 80 ounces of water. A surprising fact about our body is that it sometimes mistakes thirst for hunger. So if you feel hungry, try drinking water first and then eating after about half an hour if you’re still hungry.

4. Exercise regularly.

At the start of every new year, you’ll be able to find your local gym packed with people. These new year’s resolutions tend to fizzle as the days pass, but it’s crucial to consider hitting the gym as part of your daily or weekly routine and not just another new year’s resolution that never amounts to anything.

5. Cardio after strength training.

The order of exercises also affects our metabolism, as our body does not burn off fat the moment we start using our muscles. It first uses glycogen as a source of energy and only start to burn fat afterwards. This is why a cardio sessions at the beginning of your workout routine does not lead directly to fat loss. If you start with strength training to use up glycogen, you can burn more fat afterwards with the appropriate cardio workout. That’s why the order of your workout routine plays a major role in achieving your weight loss goals.

6. More output than input.

Our weight fluctuates according to the ratio between input (calories consumed) and output (calories burned). Thus, in order to lose weight, we need to reduce the amount of calories consumed and increase the amount of calories we burn. This works out well in theory, but trying to artificially increase the level of our activities can have a detrimental effect on our health. If you really want lose weight, the key is portion control where you decrease your intake.

People don’t fail to reach their weight-loss goals because they don’t know how. The most important factor in weight loss is will and determination. Summer is almost nearing its end, but that doesn’t mean that you should give up on your weight loss goals, as you still have time and the nice weather to keep you active. Don’t wait for the new year’s ball to drop next year, as half the battle is getting started, now.