Summer is just a few months away and if you want to look your absolute best at the beach, now is a good time to start working out and losing the excess pounds. But if you’re like a lot of women (and men) out there, you may be already hitting the gym for a while now but still not seeing much progress. Losing 10 lbs seem like a very difficult endeavor, right?
It doesn’t have to be. Here are some tips to help you out.
1. Strength training
Most people seem to think that bodybuilding is simply for people who want to grow muscle. But this is entirely incorrect. Strength training can actually burn calories during and after a workout.
2. HIIT
Just 10-15 minutes of high intensity interval training (HIIT) will burn calories and improve your heart health. If you are enrolled in a gym like CrossFit, you can get programs that incorporate HIIT workouts.
3. Sleep
Do not overlook sleep when you’re trying to lose weight. That’s because not getting enough sleep can significantly slow down your progress. Getting less than 6 hours of sleep every night can lead to obesity. This is because lack of sleep increases cortisol levels, a hormone that controls your fight or flight response and lead to increased hunger and appetite.
4. Hydration
Proper hydration is needed when you’re doing cardio or hitting the weights. Your body needs water for many things including muscle recovery and proper digesting.
5. Diet
If you’re working out to lose weight, then there’s no need to starve yourself just so you can get as little calories as possible. After all, you need calories to fuel your workouts. What you can do instead is to practice clean eating – avoid fatty meals as well as sugary snacks and drinks. Also, find out what your daily calorie requirement is and stick to this number.
We recommend you also consume more complex carbs instead of simple carbs. So go for brown rice instead of white rice; fruits and nuts instead of chocolate; herb teas instead of sugar.
6. Stress Levels
Stress triggers cortisol and adrenaline, and people who are constantly stressed will have more of these hormones in their bloodstream leading to increased appetite. You can manage stress using breathing and relaxation techniques, yoga, meditation, starting a hobby or spending time outdoors.
7. Progress Monitoring
Your weight isn’t the only way to measure your progress but it definitely helps you become accountable. Weigh yourself every morning before consuming anything. Moreover, you should also monitor your BMI.
8. Supplementation
Adding in supplements to your weight loss routine will help you achieve your goal faster. Ask your personal trainer or coach what supplements would be best for your body.
9. Mindset
It’s important to look at your fitness journey from a positive perspective. You can’t start by thinking of how impossible it is for you to lose weight because you’re right either way. How you see things and what you believe in are crucial to the success of your weight loss journey.
You need to remember that when it comes to weight loss, there are no quick fixes. You need to eat nutritious balanced meals and make exercising part of your lifestyle, not just something you do to achieve that beach body you’ve always wanted.