It’s no secret that in today’s fast paced society the women are just as busy as the men, which can make achieving your weight loss goals an uphill battle. Because life is busier—longer commutes, longer work days and more obligations—eating healthy and making time for physical activity often takes a backseat. When this happens, losing weight is virtually impossible.

But the good news is that you can reach your weight loss goals regardless of how busy your life is each day. In fact, there are things you can do that will help you lose weight without spending half your day focusing on what your next meal will be and how many calories it will have.

[Make time to buy and make your own food, despite your schedule.]

Keep reading to find out how weight loss for women with busy lives can be achieved!

Know Your Servings

One of the most important things you can do to experience weight loss for women with busy schedules is to know your serving sizes. More often than not, especially when we eat out, the servings provided are far bigger than we need. This is double for those of us in need of shedding a few pounds. By knowing what your serving size should be, you can make adjustments on those occasions when you do eat out.

If each individual portion of meat, grains or produce cannot fit within the palm of your hand then the serving size is too big. Take a look at some of our nutrition information so you can see what a serving size for salmon or asparagus should be.

Knowing what a proper serving size is will make you less sluggish after a meal, so that you’re more productive.

Make Your Meals

I know you’re probably thinking, I have no time to eat, much less cook, but the truth is that cooking your own meals is one of the best things to do for weight loss for women who are busy. Once you know proper portion sizes, you can keep your calorie count low throughout the day by greatly reducing (or eliminating altogether) how much fast food or restaurant food you eat.

Making your own meals doesn’t necessarily mean spending all of your free time in the kitchen; it just means making the most of the time you do spend in the kitchen. One pot meals make great leftovers for lunch, or try a delicious pasta salad that you make in just 30 minutes and have all week long!

The point is that weight loss for women means controlling the calories, fat and sugar found in your meals and the best way to do that is to make your own meals.

You may not share her love of butter (or sugar, fat or booze) but we can all use a little of the efficiency exhibited in this super quick video! 

Pace Yourself

One of the most damaging things for women who want to experience weight loss is trying to do too much too soon. If you consistently have a busy schedule then you can’t afford many weight loss setbacks, so pacing yourself will allow you to slowly incorporate all aspects of a healthy life until you’re doing them all.

Take making your own meals for example; start making breakfast for a week then the following week make breakfast and lunch and by the end of the third week you’ll be creating your own healthy meals for every meal of the day!

Do the same for physical activity; don’t just try to workout for 60 minutes 5 days a week if you haven’t worked out regularly in the past few months. Set incremental goals like 30 minutes of cardio 3 days each week and 2 days of strength training. As you achieve each goal, improve upon it until you’re where you want to be to reach your weight loss goals.

Learn to Love Fiber

You probably think that fiber is something your grandpa needs more of, but the truth is that successful weight loss for women needs a diet that is high in fiber. Fiber no only keeps your digestive system on track, but it also makes your body work (i.e. burn calories) while being processed in the body.

The best thing of all about fiber is that it satisfies your hunger so you stay full longer after each meal, which can help cut down on high calorie and sugary snacks. If you’re looking for a low calorie way to add more fiber to your diet, look no further than the produce aisle. Apples, pears, kale, romaine lettuce, pineapple and plenty of other fruits and vegetables will give you fiber without a lot of calories.

Don’t Skip Meals

Just because you have a lot on your plate each day does not mean that it is more important than your health. Sure you my have to work, run errands and making time for friends, family and spouses, but you also need to make time to do things for yourself like eat healthy and exercise regularly.

No matter how busy your life gets, weight loss for women means never skipping meals. EVER. Decide whether you’re going to eat 5 meals each day or 3, and make sure you eat them regularly without skipping a meal. The British Journal of Nutrition found in a 2010 study that no difference existed between eating 3 meals each day and 5 for weight loss, so choose what option works best for you and stick with it.

Take at least 20 minutes to sit down and enjoy your meals. Find the time and you’ll find that weight loss for women with hectic lives isn’t so difficult.

Make Room for Indulgences

When your life is so busy all the time, it’s natural to want to comfort yourself with things that make you feel good like chocolate, pop, alcohol and other junk food. Unfortunately that good feeling is usually short-lived as you remember what these foods are doing to your weight loss efforts.

[Eat what you love without feeling guilty about it…sometimes!]

Weight loss for women with busy schedules means making room to have the things you love once in awhile. For example if you plan on enjoying Happy Hour with friends, have a light dinner of salmon and steamed vegetables or a grilled chicken salad. This will allow you to have a glass of wine or other cocktail without making you worry incessantly about calories.

Weight loss for women with busy schedules doesn’t have to be very strict or time-consuming. By making a plan and sticking to it you can lose weight and keep it off without missing out on your life!

Get help getting starting on your new weight loss plan by trying intermittent fasting. Learn more about weight loss for women through intermittent fasting by reading our Eat Stop Eat review or buy it here!