1. Drink lots more water
Water is used in every physiological process your body undergoes,
including vitamin absorption, digestion, and waste removal. In
order to make sure these important processes are not disrupted,
you want to drink enough clean water.
Drinking water will also help you feel fuller throughout the day, so
you’re less likely to be hungry and less likely to snack.
One trick to help you eat less during your meals is to drink a tall
glass of clean, cold water before you eat. This will help you feel
less hungry, so you’ll eat less during your meal.
Try to drink at least a gallon of water each day. Keep a bottle of
water at your work desk, in your car, and one handy at home. The
importance of water for good health cannot be overstated. You can
live weeks without food, but only days without water.
If you work in an office, you probably drink a lot of coffee. Try
substituting water for coffee, or at least matching your coffee
consumption with glasses of water. You will feel the benefits of
increased hydration.
If you aren’t keen on the taste of water, try adding flavour to it.
Even a slice of lemon can enhance the taste of a glass of water.
2. Eat five to six smaller meals each day
This will keep your metabolism running smoothly and efficiently.
Eating a smaller meal every 3 to 4 hours will help speed up your
metabolism so that it burns through food quicker.
Eating one or two larger meals each day will cause your
metabolism to slow down. If it’s not presented with food more
often, it doesn’t burn through it as fast.
Skipping meals altogether will cause your body to hold onto stored
fat as a defence mechanism. Your body isn’t sure when it’s going
to get its next meal, so it conserves stored fat to use in case of
future calorie needs.
Each meal should consist of high protein (builds muscle),
moderate carbohydrates (fuel for the body), and low fat (used for
energy and organ protection).
Foods like chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, and milk are good sources
of protein. For quality carbohydrates, eat complex sources like
whole grains, cereals, breads, vegetables, and beans. Fats should
be kept to a minimum and they should come from sources like fish
oil, olive oil, flax seed, and whole fish.
It isn’t always practical to arrange 6 meals every day, however. If
you work in an office try taking in sandwiches and eating half at
lunchtime, and the rest mid-afternoon. You are consuming the
same calories, but changing one big meal into two smaller meals
will have a positive effect on your metabolism.
3. Do three to four cardiovascular workouts each week
This is how you’ll burn the majority of your daily calories. Cardio
increases your metabolic rate, so that you’ll burn more calories
throughout the day, even while resting.
30 minutes of cardio, three to four times a week, is enough to raise
your metabolism and help burn calories. Any more than that could
lead to overtraining.
Choose cardio machines that get more of your body moving. The
more you move your body, the more calories you burn. The
Stairmaster, biking, and running on the treadmill are all good
examples of intense cardio that will move more of your body.
If you hate the gym, try jogging outside. A combination of the
changing scenery, and that fact that you are filling your lungs with
fresh air make jogging a more enjoyable experience compared
with the air conditioned gym. Try jogging once a week for 30
minutes, then build up to 3 times. Your legs will be sore the first
few times you do it, but this is an excellent means of burning fat.
4. Weight train three to four times a week
Weight training will not burn a sufficient amount of fat while you’re
doing it. Weight training will help you burn more calories and fat in
the future.
When you add more lean muscle tissue to your body, you have to
expend more energy (burn more calories) just to maintain that lean
muscle tissue. So when you’re at rest, even sleeping, you’ll burn
off more calories with this additional lean muscle. The more
calories you burn, the more body fat you will lose.
That’s why weight training is an important part of the weight loss
equation. The more lean muscle tissue you have on your body, the
more calories you will burn off as a result.
Weight training is the only natural way to improve your physique –
the cardio work you do will only result in a slimmed down version
of what you already are. As a person gets older, their muscle mass
decreases and is replaced with fat. Weight training is an excellent
way of counteracting this part of the aging process.
5. Begin to slowly reduce your calorie intake
In order to lose body fat, you need to expend more calories than
you consume. Or simply put, burn off more calories than you eat.
Begin by reducing your daily calorie intake by 150 to 300 calories.
Start cutting out extras like butter, cream, mayo, sugar, and any
high-calorie dressings or condiments.
Instead, use spices or low-calories sauces to add flavour to your
food.
Alcohol is also a major source of calories. If you drink regularly, try
cutting down on the amount, or switching to a low calorie mixer or
light beer. Calories consumed in the form of alcohol are ‘empty’
calories, in that they provide no benefit.
As you reduce your daily calories, begin to observe in the mirror
what effect it’s having on your body composition. This will help you
decide whether or not you should reduce your calories again or if
you’re making progress where you are.
If you don’t see results after a couple weeks of reducing your daily
calories, reduce them again by 150 to 300 calories.
This slow, methodical drop in calories will allow you to find the
number you need to keep losing fat, without sacrificing lean
muscle tissue. If you eat too few calories, your metabolism will
slow down and you’ll also stop adding lean muscle tissue.
Over time, you’ll find the number of daily calories you need to keep
losing body fat, without losing lean muscle tissue.
There you have five simple, proven ways you can lose more fat in
less time. The more of these tips you use, the quicker you’ll begin
to see positive changes in the mirror.
