Their are somany practicable life harks that can help you loose body fat quick, sit down and read through
(Part One: Food
Re-evaluate your diet
This is not me saying ‘eat less.’ This is me saying to think about the types of food which you are putting into your body.
I grew up eating a lot of sugary breakfasts (or skipping breakfast), processed lunches and quick dinners (which were sometimes healthy and sometimes a take-away) and it wasn’t until I was in my 20s when I really started looking at the ingredients in the foods I was eating.
Your body needs good wholefoods. Like fresh vegetables and fruits. It needs grains full of fibre and fats which are primarily unsaturated. Your body digests these foods differently than cookies and crisps and they have a satisfying effect on your mood and will help in balancing out your system which will help you start to lose weight.
2. Learn the basics of macronutrients
Carbohydrates, proteins and fats, aka macronutrients.
They show up in almost every article on diets. Low-carb this, Low-fat that, Keto is so great (high-fat), yadda yadda.
The problem I personally found with diets is that all the articles on the diet would be of pretty women and muscular men sharing their success stories, with some vague references to some scientific study somewhere that proves this works. This is great for those people, but my main issue was the fact that everything seemed to work.
What I mean by that is people lost weight on low-carb diets and low-fat diets, so what gives? Which one is better?
So I looked into the macronutrients, I tried to understand what’s good and what’s bad, and the secret is… all three are good for you!
I don’t think there’s too many people which would argue the benefits of protein, so I’m not going to spend too much time on it, basically, personally I have found increasing my protein intake to between 1-1.2 grams per kg body weight has been good for helping me build muscle when I started lifting.
Next is carbs. Yes, carbs are good for you, but complex carbs are really where it’s at. These are your whole grains, your oats, your brown rices, vegetables and more! These foods are typically high in fibre and digest more slowly. This is the reason that my bowl of oatmeal in the morning keeps me full much longer than the croissant I picked up at the coffee shop (though that flaky pastry was delightful….)
Finally fats. Fats are great, that’s why I feel like keto got so popular. The problem is, a bag of skittles is not the type of fat you’re looking for (also this is mainly carbs, so I’m looking at you person who tried to justify eating that skittles pack because you started the keto diet…)
The fats that are great though may not be the ones that may satisfy your sweet tooth though. They’re going to be the ones that are low in saturated fat. This saturated fat is what causes health problems and can make gaining weight easier. Instead try to read the food labels to see which foods are low in saturated fat and snack on these instead (and snack wisely, fats still have about 9 cal/gram, whereas carbs and proteins have 4 cal/gram (p.s. alcohol has 7 cal/gram!)). These types of foods usually are nuts, seeds, fatty fishes, and olive oils.
The final step on this is finding your balance between carbs, protein and fats, and that’s where this is unique to you!
I have seen proportions on the internet range vastly according to which diet your on, but it really depends on your goals. I have found that for me, a 50% carb, 25–30% protein, and 20–25% fat ratio for by caloric intake of the day has helped me get to where I need to be.
3. Don’t forget about Micronutrients
Now, I will be honest and say that this is an area I’m still doing my research in, however, I know it’s quite an important topic worth mentioning because micronutrients include vitamins and minerals your body needs to function, however, the proportion of these nutrients is on a smaller scale compared to the macronutrients I discussed above.
Rather than try to get too technical about the benefits of them, I might just keep it simple and highlight that they include vitamins (such as A, B12, C, D etc), minerals (magnesium, calcium, potassium, phosphate), trace elements (zinc, manganese, copper, etc.) and amino acids.
I would love to get more insight on this area and to be honest if anyone wants to comment below, I’d love to gain some more knowledge!
4. Think about why you are eating
Are you eating because you’re bored? Are you eating because you want to satisfy that sweet tooth or craving you just got? Or are you eating because your stomach is rumbling and its definitely been a while since you’ve had your last meal?
I seriously can’t stress this enough. If you feel hungry, listen to your body!!!
It feels hungry for a reason. Do not skip meals because you’re trying to lose weight. Do not try to justify a 200 calorie dinner because you think you overate ate breakfast time. You need food. Food is good for you. Food helps you stay alive.
I did this. I made this mistake, and I suffered. I ended up going through binge cycles because I ate too little and then got overly hungry and basically ate everything in front of me.
What helped me was thinking about why I was eating. I eat because its breakfast, lunch or dinnertime and I eat because I actually feel hungry. That doesn’t mean I eat massive portions for each meal. I listen to my hunger cues and adjust my portions accordingly.
If I’m in the kitchen and I turn around to the cupboard for a snack, I pause and think am I just grabbing this because I’m here, or am I really hungry. It helps to be conscious about why you’re reaching for that snack.
5. Pay attention to how much your eating
Simply put, weight-loss is done by achieving a caloric deficit.
This means that you need to eat less than the amount of energy you burn.
This does not mean starve yourself because your calorie tracker app says you only need to eat 1200 calories a day. You know who needs to eat 1200 calories a day? Children. You (I hope) are not a child. You need more food.
By paying attention to how much your eating, I mean eat enough to satisfy your hunger, but as I mentioned before, don’t aimlessly snack. Also, try not to over-indulge. If you go to a restaurant and the portion sizes are massive, don’t feel like you need to finish the entire plate.
At home, you can use smaller plates to control your portion sizes, or just eat slowly to allow your body time to absorb the food you’ve just ate.
It takes about 20 minutes for your body to feel the effects of food. If you’ve downed an entire pizza in 10 minutes you’ll feel fine for a few minutes and then most likely suffer the consequences in a few minutes.
If you want to track your calories, there’s plenty of apps to help you, however, I’ve found that a lot of them recommend to have a caloric deficit that’s just not sustainable.
It’s healthier to eat a bit more (I’ve found a sweet spot around 2000 calories a day) and take an extra bit of time to lose weight rather than trying to starve yourself. If you’ve tried a higher level of calories and you’re still not seeing progress, reduce it by 100 calories at a time and try that level for a week or two. Do not just drop from your current level of food intake down to a dangerously low level.
This habit will be sustainable in the long run and will stop you from turning around once you’ve reached your goal and gaining back all, if not more than all the weight you’ve lost.
Part Two: Exercise
I have personally found that a mix of all the following exercises have helped me get to where I am now!
Cardio
The quickest way to burn fat is to do cardio, however, this has it’s consequences too. You won’t be able to get toned (or that six-pack) if you’re just running miles (or km) day after day.
I’ve discovered two types of cardio since I’ve begun working out:
LISS: Low-intensity steady state cardio. This is the cardio that occurs when you’re walking or running on the treadmill, or maintaining a steady pace for a significant period of time. Personally, I find this type of cardio difficult, my mind wanders too easily, and I tend to stare at the timer on the treadmill to see how much longer I have left to endure.
Plenty of people I know love it though! It burns a bit less calories than the next type of cardio I’ll talk about, but it is a fantastic starting point, or just a great exercise in general if this is what you like to do!
HIIT: High-intensity interval training. This involves short periods of highly active movements followed by short rest intervals. (i.e. 40 seconds of mountain climbers followed by 20 seconds recovery). These are kick-ass workouts that are recommended about 3 to 4 times a week and can only last between 15 to 30 minutes.
Additionally, I have found tons of cardio workouts on Youtube that I love! Videos like cardio kickboxing, zumba, hip-hop dance, etc. And it’s great because you’re in the privacy of your own home and no one will look at you weird when you have no rhythm! (Be careful not to kick the wall though if you’re in a small apartment.. my foot still hurts from last week.)
2. Weights
I was terrified to go to the gym when I started losing weight. I had never been in a gym, nor had I ever really felt the urge to go.
The shallow part of my mind though worried about one thing though. Loose skin.
I was on a mission to lose 40kg and I knew that with that type of weight loss that saggy skin would appear whether I wanted it to or not. How much loose skin I had was dependent on how I lost the weight.
I entered into a gym about 20kg down in my journey, and I haven’t looked back since.
There’s soooo many variations on workout plans and routines, but when it comes to strength and weight training, its again really personal, and depends on what you’re trying to achieve.
I have tried multiple workout plans, and have found a few that work for me. I was on a 4 day weight training plan a few months ago, but I’ve recently switched to a 3 day routine with 2 days of cardio because I wanted to work on my endurance a bit more.
From my experience, having a combination of cardio and strength training helps you get the toned look, and also help you burn the extra fat.
Also, to any women reading this worrying about getting too bulky, you will not wake up one morning and have bulging muscles. That takes years. Strength training can just be a healthy add on to your routine and if you’re starting to get to a point where you don’t like the way you look, you can always cut down!
3. Rest
Take rest days.
It can be so hard to sit still for a whole day when you think you need to go burn off the pizza you had for lunch. If it’s your rest day though, don’t run to the gym, don’t do a cardio workout, let your body rest.
You’ve probably been working it so hard every other day that there’s a reason that this day is needed.
Relaxation is good and it helps you perform better the next day, because you won’t still be sore from all your previous workouts.
If you’re like me and really just can’t sit still (I’m just a hyper person), then go for a light walk to do some non-strenuous stretches.
4. Yoga/Stretching
Stretching is good. It helps loosen all the muscles which have tightened up during all your workouts.
Yoga is also an excellent way to loosen those muscles. I had no idea where to start when it came to yoga, but luckily Youtube came to my aid again and a quick search gave me hundreds of videos.
Eventually I figured out what works best for me, and honestly, its a short morning routine that lasts anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes, and I do it every morning (bonus points for anyone who can do it at sunrise! I used to wake up to do it, but then the sun started coming up at 4:30, and I wasn’t about that life…)
5. NEAT
Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) sounds technical and complex, but all it refers to is the calories which you burn by doing your day to day activities.
Things like walking, fidgeting, cleaning, and even sleeping all contribute to NEAT, and they actually have a bigger impact on the amount of calories you burn than the one hour in the gym will have.
So how do you increase the amount of calories you burn through NEAT?
Walk to the grocery store or work (if it’s not too far) instead of driving or taking public transport, take the stairs rather than the escalator or lift, finally get around to cleaning your kitchen, bedroom or bathroom (or all three!), dance in your kitchen when your making lunch and no one is watching (or even if someone is there!).
These little changes have such a big impact on your day, and also keep you from sitting too long throughout the day!
Part Three: Bonus
1. Guilt
If you think you’ve overeaten for the day, try not to feel guilty about it. I know it’s easier said than done, but the stress of worrying about eating that extra piece of cake will cause you more troubles than if you take a deep breath and say
‘okay, I had the cake, and I might have also had that second piece, it was delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but that doesn’t mean I’ve lost progress on my weight loss goal, it just means that I got to have a tasty piece of cake and I’ll get back to my routine tomorrow.’ (I know that was a really long thing to say, but man, I really did enjoy that cake and you know what, I got back to my normal routine the next day).
Guilt leads to stress and obsession. This is not healthy. This leads to over-analysing every calorie you eat and every calorie you burn. This is (a) not sustainable, (b) will just lead to more stress, and (c) can actually cause negative side effects to your health.
Rather than feeling guilty, I recommend trying to accept the fact that it happened and to move forward from there. It’s over, it’s in the past, you can’t change what’s happened but you have the ability to work on what’s yet to come.
2. ‘Cheat’ meals and days
Cheat meals drive me insane. They glorify food and make it seem like your ‘cheat’ meal food is somehow superior to the normal food which you eat on a daily basis.
Cheat days also make no sense to me. A cheat day can easily turn into a cheat year and before you know it you’re back where you started.
In my personal opinion, a balance is needed on a daily basis. Let yourself have a cookie everyday if you want, but don’t think of it as ‘cheating’ think of it as part of your daily intake for the day and workout the other calories around it to build a better lifestyle that can include both cookies and apples whenever you feel like it.
Also, if you plan to have a ‘cheat day’ just make sure that you don’t either (a) feel guilty about it the next day and overwork yourself to try to burn it off, or (b) let it become a daily thing, it again just about finding that balance between what’s healthy and what tastes good to you.
3. Patience
You did not get to be the weight you are now in one month, so don’t expect to be at your goal weight in one month. This is a lifestyle change not a fad-diet or a cleanse. This will work because you are dedicated enough to change your habits for the better to work on being the best version of you.