Summer season is about to kick in, and your belly fat defies your efforts and struggles to make it slim and flat. Every time you start the new diet or workout regime on Monday, and try to stick with it until something disturbs the plans and you ditch them.
You don’t have the time. You’re too tired. You’re not in the mood. It’s boring. You’d love to eat all you like, and don’t restrain yourself.
Unfortunately, models in magazines and TV remind us every single day how human body can be beautiful, sexy, and impressive; when you watch them, you always think: “I’d love to have abs like that!,” or “Oh my God, how amazing would it be to have a figure like that! Damn you, Kim Kardashian!” Well, today we’re here to help you: Here is a list of 11 weight loss tips from professional nutritionists and trainers, who know what they are doing. Backed up tips that might change your body for the better, as well as your life. Here we go.
1. Drink more water, and know when to drink it.
Hydration of the body affects metabolism, the way your stomach digests food and how well food fuels your body. We’re actually more likely to retain “water weight” by not drinking enough of it rather than by having too much; by not drinking enough water, you’re giving your body signals to retain water, since you’re not hydrating the organism well, and it’s natural “defense” system is to retain water.
The needs of each person are different, but the general recommended daily amount is 64 ounces. It also takes up space in your stomach so you’ll feel fuller while taking in less calories. Again, drinking water (or any drinks) during your meal will make the process of digesting slower, and slow the metabolism down. Slowing the metabolism equals not losing fat. Ideally, good advice is to drink a big glass of cold water as soon as you wake up, and continue in that pace for 8 glasses throughout the day.
2. Cut The C.R.A.P.
Dawn Jackson gives us one very useful and direct advice. Cut the C.R.A.P. when you’re in a groceries shop buying food for your kitchen. Read the ingredients on the packages and avoid food containing:
- Chemicals you don’t use in your own kitchen. – Words like: azodicarbonamide, carrageenan, potassium bromate, soy isolate, brominated vegetable oil, and partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil.
- Refined sugar & flour. – Words like: refined flour, enriched wheat, high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, and anything ending in –ose.
- Artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors. – Words like: caramel coloring, saccharin, aspartame, acesulfamepotassium, dyes, diacetyl, and just plain “artificial flavoring.”
- Preservatives. – Words like: sodium nitrate/nitrite, BHA, TBHQ, BHT, heptyl paraben, and propyl gallate.
3. Don’t starve. Ever.
People tend to starve themselves when they’re stressed out by their looks. Girls, sounds familiar?
This is so wrong: when you starve yourself, your metabolism goes to the critical state, when every calorie is important. Metabolism slows down in order to preserve itself from starvation, and slows down radically. This means when you finally eat something, your metabolism will digest it at much slower rate, because it was exposed to starvation, and in the best hope of surviving, the food will be digested really slowly. Any food left unspent as energy, will go straight to the fat cells for storage. This is how the organism works, and that’s what you are making it do with starvation. Elizabeth, MS, RD is advocates this in her work, and hopes to reach all young moms and women.
What starvation does to your body:
Your energy goes low, your fat stays where it was, and your MUSCLE gets eaten by itself! When starving and needs energy, human body is designed to reach out to carbohydrates in the body, then it goes for the muscle tissue, and later on to the stubborn fat. Staying on this diet will get you looking like a walking skeleton with bags of fat attached. Who would want that?
4. Caffeine is your friend.
Consuming caffeine is good on weight loss, and destroying fat cells in your body. Studies shows that caffeine consumption impacts thermogenesis, fat oxidation, or both. Consuming coffee or green tea benefits the body by increasing caffeine levels, keeping us awake, active, and productive.
Caffeine boosts metabolism, both active and passive. Harley Pasternak, a celebrity trainer and nutrition expert who has worked with stars from Halle Berry and Lady Gaga to Robert Pattinson and Robert Downey Jr. advises people on the mission to get leaner and thinner. We have to believe him on this advice, just look at his clients.
5. Any workout is better than no workout.
When you’re on to lose some weight, you need to be persistent, and strive through the process. You workout, watch your diet, take care of your body, and work hard.
And those days in the week arrive:
Even waking up and getting out of bed is a tough thing to do. Tired, grumpy, and sore, you’re not into doing anything today, and you need to workout. Damn.
During these days, it is important to try. Any kind of workout is better than no workout. If you have a scheduled running day, or specific strength training, try to do at least one third of the workout. The important part here is that you’ll get to do at least a bit of the scheduled training, and chances are that you’ll finish it. If not, and you’re still drenched, drag yourself home and try to relax. At least you have tried, and didn’t broke the cycle. Every trainer knows and preaches this.
6. Strength before endurance.
If you’re determined to lose weight, and sculpt the perfect body of your dreams, you must be diverse.
This news might surprise you:
Building muscle is the most effective way to lose fat; the more muscle you have, the more fat will be spent for everyday’s activities, including workout.
Many people start dieting and running in their life to lose the weight. This plan is overall good, but on the efficiency side, building muscle is way better. Think of it like this: with weights/strength training, you are going from point A to point B by car. And with only cardio/aerobic training, you’re traveling by bike. You’ll get to the goal, but much slower and with more pain. Among many other personal trainers & nutritionists, James Duigan advocates this approach.
7. Avoid liquid calories.
Today’s modern diet of average person includes drinking artificially sweetened beverages, like fruit juices and sodas. This drinks contain insane amounts of added sugar, to make them taste the way people like it, and to preserve quality.
You might think we point out to popular carbonated drinks like Coke, Sprite and similar, but fruit juices are also sweetened. If you’re watching your weight, or trying to lose it, do your best to avoid liquid sugars and calories in them. Bethenny Frankel,The Real Low-Cal Housewife, prepares healthy and low-cal beverages and cocktails to improve your weight loss.
8. Eat fats.
But, be careful which ones. You should watch your bad (LDL) cholesterol and try to increase your good (HDL) cholesterol. Healthy fatty acids actually help you loose fat, and improve your overall health. Mehmet Oz, M.D. America’s “Doctor” recommends increasing healthy fats consumption no matter your physical condition.
There are loads of healthy, full of HDL cholesterol foods. Try to add these in your food consumption strategy:
- Beans
- Salmon
- Avocado
- Garlic
- Spinach
- Walnuts and Almonds
With them in your eating regime, you’re on the right path to achieve the perfect body you always wanted, and improve your health.
9. Try Fasted Feasting.
Dr. Sara Solomon offers an interesting, but radical approach. Fasted Feasting can be split into two versions: The six-seven meals per day, on every two and a half hours, or almost nothing throughout the day, only water, tea, and amino acids in form of supplements. And after a hard working day, for dinner Sara eats ALL the calories she needs for that day. This seems a bit radical and unbelievable, but Dr. Sara backs up her story with lots of successful stories of weight loss and she also looks amazing; who wouldn’t want to work with her?
10. Don’t trust the numbers on the scale.
When people try to lose weight, and start putting effort in doing so, the scale is often the judge; if you’re few pounds lighter, you’re happy. And there are some days, when you’re getting heavier, even though you didn’t cheated.
Don’t go nuts about it; lean muscle is twice the weight than fat. Tape measuring is your friend. Jillian Michaels, The Biggest Fitness Winner is a big advocate on this. When you gain muscle, you might even weight more than before, but don’t freak out, look at your body composition, and see how many fat did you lost in time. Body mass index (BMI) calculator will help at this a lot. And believe, adding two pounds of muscle will recompose your body and change your looks.
11. Be stubborn.
This is an universal tip. Everybody knows that big and great results don’t come over night, yet people tend to abandon their goals and create new ones when that pants become too narrow, or the belly fat comes under the shirt.You have to be stubborn.
You have to strive, and persist, so your results will speak in your name. Your new and slim body is hidden under that layers of fat – go out there and sculpt it!
