Howdy! I'm here to give you a few tips on how to lose fat that I've learned since being on my journey. Let's do this!
1. Drink your water!!
A personal trainer once told me that the cells in your body are like little sponges. If you don't drink enough water, these cells absorb fat. Water is important, it makes up 60% of your body and 75% of the brain. To keep your organs functioning properly, be sure to stay hydrated!
2. Make your plate a rainbow!!
Do you realize that junk food (burgers, fries, candy), fried foods and other things that are bad for you are usually dull colors? For example, fried chicken is all brown and burger/hot dog buns are brown and meat high in fat are usually brown when you cook them. Foods bright in color, like tomatoes, peppers, and apples are colorful and also healthy. The more colorful your plate is, the healthier it is (and I'm talking about it's natural color so don't try to go and put food coloring on junk).
3. Cut out fast food!!
Say you went to McDonalds for lunch and got a simple McChicken, medium fry and a medium Dr. Pepper. That's already a total of 930 calories for that one meal. In my situation, I have to eat about 1,300 calories a day to lose weight. If I were to eat that meal, I'd only have 370 calories left for dinner. I'd be starving later! Just cut out fast food to avoid that because you can't out exercise a bad diet!
4. Cut out sodas- even the diet ones!
Simply put, soda has no nutritional value. It's just a bunch of sugar and caffeine that gives you a rush and leaves you with a headache when you crash. Stay away from diet sodas also because most of them contain aspartame, which is linked to causing cancer and can cause you to have symptoms that mimic life threatening diseases.
5. Fuel your body!
Properly fueling your body keeps your metabolism up (which is needed to burn fat) and gives you the energy you need to work out and do your everyday things.
6. Treat yourself!
When people "diet", they tend to cut out all of their favorite things and then end up over indulging when they decide to just have "a little". You can have a little ice cream, just don't eat the whole gallon. You can even have a brownie, just don't eat the whole pan. Moderation is the key!
7. Don't give up!
Trust me, you didn't gain weight overnight so don't expect to lose 10 pounds in 2 days or something. Isn't the saying "slow and steady wins the race"? If you stay consistent and focus on slow long term weight loss, you'll be successful!
8. Eat 5 small meals a day.
I had to learn this one the hard way. I found myself only eating when I was hungry and I would usually overeat. By eating multiple small meals, it combats hunger and keeps your metabolism up and running. No starvation mode for you!
9. Eat slower.
When you're full, your body sends a chemical message to the brain letting you know. If you eat too fast, you're not giving your body time to receive this message and you usually don't know you're full until you physically feel it. By that time, it's too late and you're feeling stuffed and ready to explode. Give your body time to process your eating and you'll do just fine.
10. Stop looking for quick fixes!!
I can't stress this enough! If people put more time and energy into working out and eating right than they did trying to find an easier way, obesity would NOT be an epidemic! It irritates me to no end when I see people using those body wraps, pills and other supplements that guarantees results without diet and exercise. For one, those wraps mostly cause you to sweat, so if you lose weight, it's water weight. Once you take that wrap off, gravity will began to work and the fat that you squished together is going to go right back to where it was before the wrap. Pills have horrible side effects (uh hello! FDA hasn't approved them for a reason). Because people are lazy, the health/fitness section of business is one of the most profitable businesses in the world. Get it together people!
11. Focus on inches, not the scale.
The scale moves in different directions throughout the day. I once watched a video of a woman who weighed herself and then drank 2 cups of water and gained like 2 pounds after drinking it. Focus on inches, they're a lot more stable that the number on the scale and when you lose inches, people notice quicker!
12. Learn your portion sizes!
13. If your food comes with a label, read it!
Be sure to read your labels, even for foods that are supposed to be healthy for you. Many foods contain a lot of salt and preservatives in order to stay fresh, so know what you're putting into your body.
14. Cut down on alcohol.
If you plan on having a beer belly forever, then continue drinking. If you want to lose belly fat, I'd advise you to cut it out of your diet. It's just filled with empty calories and it slows down your ability to burn fat!
15. Track your food!
If you nibble it, scribble it. If you bite it, write it. We tend to eat more than what we think due to guessing our portion sizes. When you become aware of how much you're putting into your body, you'll have more control and success in losing weight!
16. Cook more.
If you prepare your meals, you know everything that is going in it. You can control all of the bad stuff which helps you in the long run!
17. Challenge yourself!
Your muscles have a memory of its own. Be sure to switch up your routines and continue challenging yourself to get the most out of your workouts.
18. Don't skip breakfast!
Because you're supposed to sleep 7-8 hours a night, if you go too long without eating after you wake up, your body goes into starvation mode. This causes your body to store the food you consume instead of burning it. Get a head start in your day by making sure you get your breakfast!
19. Find a buddy!
Working out is so much more fun when you have someone to workout with. Time goes by a lot faster when you're in company of someone with the same goals. Support is very important in successful weight loss so grab a friend, significant other or family member and get to work!
20. Sleep!
When you sleep, your body is repairing itself from the normal wear and tear of your day. Be sure to get 7-8 hours to be refreshed and ready to take on the world when you wake up!
I hope these tips help! I'm sure I'll pick up more along the way and I'll be sure to share them with you. Leave a comment down below if you have a tip that isn't listed! Until again, Superheroes!
xoxo,
♥V♥
