Did you know that most people fail to stick to their New Year’s Resolutions? Well, it’s true. Many people fail to keep their resolutions because they try to do too much, too quickly. If you never work out, it is highly unlikely that you are going to start going to gym every day simply because you made a resolution to do so. Losing 5-10 pounds is more realistic than losing 50, yet many people aim for dramatic weight loss around the New Year. Instead of setting yourself up for failure with drastic resolutions, start simple. These 5 tips will help you start losing weight TODAY, with only a few tweaks to your daily routine.

1. Stop Eating Processed Food

This can seem like a daunting task, but it’s actually quite simple. Your health (and weight) will dramatically improve simply by cutting out processed foods. In order to do so, stop buying anything with more than 5 ingredients, or anything with ingredients that you can’t pronounce. Start cooking your meals at home- you don’t have to be a top chef to cook simple wholesome dishes. When you are eating out, try to choose restaurants that serve home cooked dishes filled with local and organic foods. If you can’t stop eating processed foods completely, try to cut down significantly.

2. Try to Choose Organic Food Whenever Possible

When buying meat, produce, and dairy, (and processed foods, if you must) it is incredibly important to choose local and organic over conventional. Non-organic foods contain a host of harmful ingredients ranging from chemical additives like sugars and dyes to fertilizers, pesticides, and GMOs. Buying local and organic foods can drastically decrease your exposure to chemical toxins. There is evidence that suggests that the chemicals in our food and products can make us gain weight. The easiest way to reduce your exposure is to stop counting calories and start counting chemicals. Remember, improvement does not require perfection. If you can switch even 50% of your food to local and organic ingredients, you will see dramatic improvements in your health.

3. Start Cooking with Coconut Oil & Taking a Probiotic

In order to lose weight, you have to have a healthy digestive system. Two supplements that can drastically improve the health of your digestive system are coconut oil and probiotic supplements. Coconut oil boosts your metabolism and offers hundreds of other health benefits, has a high smoke point, and tastes absolutely delicious. Switching from conventional cooking oils like trans-fat packed vegetable oil for healthy, wholesome, coconut oil will boost your metabolism, reduce your exposure to toxins, boosts your immune system, improve your digestion, and help you lose weight naturally. Probiotic supplements also work to drastically improve your digestive system, which results in healthy and natural weight loss. Here’s a bonus tip for healing your digestive system to lose weight: CUT OUT SUGAR AND GLUTEN!

4. Commit to Moving Your Body 1 Hour per Day

You do not need to spend hours in the gym to lose weight. In fact, spending too much time in the gym may have adverse effects on your weight loss journey. Too much exercise creates excess stress in the body which creates a difficult environment for weight loss. Spending 1 hour per day doing physical activity -lifting weights, running, hiking, doing yoga or palates, biking, swimming, basically anything you love that gets your heart pumping- will benefit natural weight loss and boost overall health.

5. Drink More Water

Drinking water helps contribute to healthy weight loss in a number of ways. First and foremost, water keeps you hydrated and healthy. It should be included in everyone’s healthy diet, regardless of whether or not you are trying to lose weight. Secondly, drinking water works to improve your digestive system and keep your bowel movements regular, which greatly contributes to weight loss. Drinking water can also prevent overeating. Often times, when people think they are hungry, they are truly just thirsty. Having a large glass of water throughout the day, and especially before meals, can help to prevent overeating during mealtime and snacking in between.