1. CUT THE SIMPLE CARBS.
It's unfortunate that the majority of people are "carbo junkies."
This especially applies to you if you’re overweight because your body then struggles with insulin sensitivity.
Your body absolutely needs carbohydrates, but you may need to learn to appropriately reverse the ratio of simple carbs to complex carbs.
Most importantly you’ll need to reduce the amount of sugar you take in. Having a good ratio of complex to simple carbs will let your body regulate blood sugar levels more efficiently, burn more fat as fuel, and ultimately lose more weight.
2. EAT SMALLER, MORE FREQUENT MEALS.
Eating about every 3-4 hours prevents your blood sugar levels from spiking dramatically throughout the day. This helps your hormones stay in check, while regulating hunger as well.
Ultimately, it helps elevate metabolism, it's easier on your
digestive system, and it can eventually provide you with more
energy throughout the day.
3. CONSUME MORE FUNCTIONAL FATS.
Essential fatty acids, such as omega-6 and omega-3 consumed in appropriate ratios of 2:1 or better yet at 1:1 will allow the body to regulate your hormones, calm down inflammation, and stabilize blood sugar levels.
This eventually leads to greater fat loss.
4. DOWN THAT WATER.
Water is often overlooked, but it's the number one nutrient for your body to survive. Staying hydrated aids with digestion, curbs your appetite, and flushes out metabolic waste. Make sure to get in at least 1 oz for every pound you weigh.
5. INCREASE FIBER INTAKE.
Fiber keeps your meal moving along your gastrointestinal tract, and like water, it aids in flushing metabolic waste. It also helps you maintain consistent energy levels, slows your rate of carbohydrate digestion, which steadies your blood sugar levels.
6. REDUCE OR ELIMINATE ALCOHOL.
At least while you’re training. Not only is alcohol estrogenic (negatively affects testosterone for men), it can lead to fat gain, and has a whopping nutrition-empty 7 calories per gram,
Alcohol takes precedence over fat metabolism when present in your body. Alcohol actually shuts down your fat burning mechanism for up to 48 hours, so avoid it as much as possible.
7. SPICY METABOLISM.
Including a variety of spices in your foods such as curry, cayenne pepper, cinnamon and certain herbs may help boost your metabolism. Spices also help with stabilizing blood sugar levels.
Cayenne pepper is possibly the healthiest herb available to man kind. Put it on as much as you can if you can stand the heat.
8. MAKE WEIGHT TRAINING YOUR FOCUS.
While aerobic activity may burn a great deal of calories, especially when maintained at a high intensity, you’ll also be burning muscle mass.
You'll achieve greater results by focusing on resistance training. This is because proper resistance training stresses all of your muscles fiber types and promotes a leaner body.
When you stress your muscles effectively, you either maintain and strengthen your current muscle mass or you even gain some.
For every pound of muscle you gain it equates to 50 extra calories you can burn per day while doing nothing. This melts the fat away quicker and provides you with more strength than you would ever get doing cardio alone.
So hit the weights at least three times per week followed by 15 to 25 minutes of cardio. Then have a protein shake.
9. SLOW DOWN YOUR EATING.
Be conscious of how fast you eat, slowing down the pace prevents compulsive overeating and helps your digestion.
It takes at least 20 minutes between the time you're full and when your brain actually realizes it.
If you’re too busy to eat slowly then skip the meal and opt for a meal replacement shake instead. You body will thank you because it makes your goals easier to achieve.
10. WATCH FOR FOOD ALLERGIES.
Many people are allergic to dairy and wheat products. Being sensitive to these two food categories have been shown to cause weight gain.
If you're consuming a diet high in refined foods, these sensitivities become more obvious. This causes digestive problems such as bloating, stomach pain, and water retention.
If you think this may be happening to you consider an allergy test. You shouldn’t be eating all those refined foods anyway.
11. GET YOUR ANTIOXIDANTS.
Getting your daily dose of antioxidants from a good multi-vitamin or a specific antioxidant supplement combination, or even a healthy combination of fruits and vegetables is important for combating toxins held in fat cells.
