We all know the struggle of losing weight. It can be a daunting task to try and lose even a couple pounds. People can tell you hundreds and hundreds of ways to lose weight. Now, they may all be true, but only some of them are going to guarantee that you actually lose weight. This article includes 7 DIY tips that everyone can apply to their daily lives. While doing random tips aren’t going to help you drop a significant amount of weight we all need to start somewhere:

1. START SMALL

Don’t try to lose 20 pounds in the first few days of starting a healthy lifestyle. That just isn’t realistic. Set smaller goals for yourself. Have that one big goal (let’s say 20 pounds), but set smaller goals that you need achieve to get to your main goal. When you set small goals, things will seem much easier for you. Once you start seeing that you can achieve your smaller goals, you’ll get a mental boost that will keep you motivated to achieve your bigger goals. You won’t need anybody else to try and motivate you to do your best. Having smaller goals will allow you to see each step you need to take to reach your big goal. It makes you realize that going from point A to point B has a lot of steps in between, it’s not just a big leap and you’re at your goal.

2. DON’T SKIP MEALS

I know this may sound weird at first because it makes sense that if you don’t eat as much, you will be able to lose weight. For the people that think this, they are significantly setting themselves back. Don’t skip any meals. Even if you are in a rush going somewhere, you need to make sure you eat something. One missed meal can set you back quite a bit when you are trying to lose weight. You are more likely to keep fat on your body when you skip a meal. Again, it sounds weird but that’s how it really is. The only way you may be able to get away with skipping a meal and getting not holding onto the fat is if you are on a ketogenic diet. This type of diet is going to turn your body into one that burns fat first, instead of sugar. Your body will look to burn fat at all times of the day, so skipping a meal MAY not hurt you as much. When you don’t skip a meal, you are ensuring that your body stays awake. Breakfast, for example, wakes your metabolism up and gets everything else going. The sooner you can get your system going, the easier it will be to lose weight and keep it off. Skipping meals also leads to more cravings throughout the day. You are more likely to snack a lot more as well. These are factors that are going to cause you to gain weight no matter what kind of diet you’re on.

3. VISUALIZE

Many people don’t understand the power of visualization. You have to be strong mentally to keep visualizing the same thing over and over again. You need to see the future you. See the pounds you want to lose just falling off your body. When you can see how you are going to look after dieting and working out after a few weeks, you are going to achieve that, as long as you take all the necessary steps to get that body. Even during days where you don’t feel like doing anything, you need to see yourself in a different way. Use that as motivation. The key to visualization is doing it every day. You can’t just do it once and expect that image to stay in your head. Visualizing what you’re going to look like on a daily basis will make everything easier and you’ll be more proud of yourself when you actually achieve that body.

4. POPSICLES… YUM!

Yes, popsicles. They aren’t made just for children. Popsicles are great for anybody that wants a quick snack that is low in calories and can help curb any cravings you may be having. You can make your own fruit popsicles if you don’t feel like having just a regular popsicle. They are fairly easy to make. Just cut up any fruit of your choosing, add it to an ice tray, fill in the empty space with water, place popsicle sticks in the tray, put the tray in the freezer, wait a couple hour and you have your own fruit popsicles. Depending on your diet, popsicles may go against it because a lot of them are filled with sugar. Just keep an eye out for what kind of popsicle you are eating and you’ll be okay.

5. EXERCISE

We hear this often. You need to exercise if you want to lose weight. There are ways to lose weight with dieting, but exercise is going to help you drop weight much faster. You don’t have to workout for hours to lose weight. Being active for 30 minutes can get the job. Yes, working out longer is going to help you lose more weight, but you’ll be good with just 30 minutes if you are just starting out. Even if you can’t squeeze in 30 minutes, doing something every day is much better than doing nothing on some days. Try to break a sweat, increase your heart rate, force your lungs to work a little harder. The more you can make your body work, the more weight you can expect to be dropping.