Millions of people everywhere try to lose weight, but never seem to achieve their goals. They end up making excuses or can’t find the time or get frustrated and give up. So they just retreat back into their old bad habits. Perhaps they’re just not serious about making the effort to lose weight. So if you really are serious, and truly want to achieve that rock hard body you’ve always wanted, you have to be willing to work for it. You have to care about yourself enough to want to look good. Show yourself who’s boss and take charge of your weight goals today.
It’s a deceptively simple formula: you simply have to take in fewer calories than you burn. Easy, right? Well, it’s a lot more challenging than it sounds You can’t just take a pill, or try the latest diet fad for a few weeks and expect instant, permanent results. True lasting weight loss takes patience and a life-long lifestyle change. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the lifestyle changes are not painful, and if incorporated long-term, ultimately will make you healthier, happier, and if you manage to break old bad habits, thinner.
Eat regularly
One of the biggest myths about losing weight is that to lose pounds you must starve yourself. Starving yourself slows your metabolism down, causing your body to panic and start storing fat like crazy. So the best way to reduce your calorie intake without panicking your body is to eat 4 to 5 small but nutritional meals during the day. This will help you burn metabolism, as well as keep up the proper sugar levels during the day and make your brain release the hormones which will burn fat. But you need to eat these meals at the right times. Your biggest meal of the day should be breakfast, with a small dinner early in the evening—ideally before 8:00: you won’t have extra calories hanging out in your system when your body is sleeping, plus you’ll be hungry by the time you wake up for breakfast.
Don’t drink and diet
Drinking alcohol spikes your insulin levels, which causes your brain to release hormones that store your energy into fat as it tries to lower your sugar levels . Not to mention that many alcoholic drinks, like beer, contain lots of sugar. If you have family or friends who don’t want to drink alone, nurse a single light beer the whole night. Switch to nonalcoholic beverages early on in the evening (sugar-laden sodas are just as bad—so switch to diet soda, juice or drink lots of water).
Eat a well-rounded diet that you can maintain
This is the most important and healthiest way to lose weight. Don’t get hooked on fad diets; some of them may be harmful and difficult to maintain long-term, which is why they never seem to work. Your diet should focus on healthy and nutritional meals eaten at the right times which will turn your body into a fat burning machine. In fact, don’t think of it as a diet—think of it as a permanent lifestyle eating habit which consists of real, whole, unprocessed foods eaten at the appropriate times—this causes your brain to release fat burning hormones helping you burn fat naturally. Simply start cutting out the salty, sugary, greasy, fatty junk foods as empty, between-meal snacks will make a huge difference. But you need to deny yourself any more than you need to starve yourself. Go ahead and indulge in the occasional cookie or candy bar—just don’t binge on the whole bag of Oreos. But you’ll be amazed at how quickly you will develop a taste for fresh vegetables and lose your interest in over-processed factory foods.
Exercise: Whether it’s joining a gym, or simply going outside and taking a walk once or twice a day, you can’t lose fat unless you burn calories. Remember our simple formula: you have to burn more calories than you take in. An exercise routine doesn’t have to be extreme, painful or expensive. But if you have any health issues, be sure to consult your doctor before beginning any exercise regimen. Any exercise program, like your eating habits, does have to be something that you can stick with permanently.