Losing weight is difficult. No doubt about that. However, it is often seen that people are guilty of overcomplicating the whole weight loss process. People often buy into the idea that training and nutrition has to be whole day commitment, which means they are liable to fail because no one has that much time just for a weight loss. Yes, training and diet are important factors in the weight loss program. However, they don’t have to be too complex and time intensive.
Losing weight isn’t as difficult as it is often made out to be. You don’t have to sacrifice other aspects of your daily life in order to be successful in shedding fat. In this article, we will list four incredible tips that will help you lose weight faster. Of course, you will have to work hard, there is no substitute for it. But, the first part is that these advices are convenient, practical and very easy to implement.
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Short and Intense
To lose weight, you don’t have to spend two hours in the gym. In fact, if you are doing so, you must change it immediately. Just hanging out there and doing a low intensity workout won’t take you any closer to your weight loss goals. If you are looking to shed fat and that also quickly, then short and high intensity workouts are the way to go. Such workouts burn tons of calories and boosts burn even after you have done the workout. See, I told you that a sustainable weight loss program can co-exist with your daily routine. You have to train for only 30 to 45 minutes for 4-5 days per week. You can easily find that much time in your daily schedule.
There are bunch of studies that say short and high intensity programs are the best way to lose weight. The study conducted by the University of New South Wales has shown that shorter, high-intensity cardio sessions lead to greater fat loss over time than longer, low-intensity sessions.
Another study conducted by The University of Western Ontario has also backed the same findings. The researchers divided 10 men and 10 women into two groups. Both groups were asked to train three times a week. One group did 4-6, 30-second treadmill sprints (with 4-6 minutes of rest in between each), and the other group doing 30-60 minutes of steady-state cardio (running on the treadmill at the “magical fat loss zone” of 65% VO2 max). After six weeks of training, it was found that those doing intervals lost more weight.
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Do High Intensity Cardio
As said in the preceding point, the high intensity cardio is the best way to shed fat. You have to work harder and faster over a short period of time to hit the fat stores in your body. The high intensity cardio increases the maximal amount of oxygen your body can use, which assists your body in burning more fat for the energy demands made by the strenuous physical activity.
Once you feel you have spent all your energy and can’t go on, take a rest and wait for the heartbeat to return to a comfortable level. However, comfortable here doesn’t mean normal. It should still be accelerated. Then, perform another circuit or set. You will have to do this for around 15-20 minutes and you will see the difference.
You should try to vary the type of cardio within workouts or from one session to another. For the cardio, you can use a rowing machine, treadmill, stationary bike or any other piece of equipment that allows you to get a challenging cardiovascular session. You can even opt to do rope jumping. It can be very challenging.
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Weight Lifting is Important
Often, people believe that weight training is just for building muscles. Yes, it does build muscles, but it plays a huge role in burning body fat as well. The presence of more muscles boosts the metabolic rate or the amount of calories, you burn when your body is at rest. Of course, the resistance training doesn’t magically transform fat into muscles. But, it does assists in turning stored fat into energy.
However, that doesn’t mean you have to do split body part type workouts. Such type of workouts are solely for those who are looking to build bigger muscles. Instead, train multiple body parts in a single workout. Better yet, club different weight lifting exercises together into circuits. Another thing you should keep in mind is that the multiple joint exercises will burn more fat. So, try to include big lifts such as squats, deadlifts and bench press in your workout.
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Watch What You Eat
What you should eat is as important as what you shouldn’t eat. In some cases, even more important. However, it doesn’t mean that you start cutting one or more nutrient groups out of your diet. Every nutrient group has important bodily functions. Therefore, abstaining from any can cause health problems. Also, you are working out daily in the gym, so you will need plenty of calories to keep you going and to add muscle mass, which means you need a balanced ratio of macronutrients: protein, dietary fats, and carbs.
However, you need to be careful about where you get these nutrients from. The protein from dairy products won’t be helpful neither will carbs from red meat. Also, stay away from gluten at all costs, if you want to lose weight quickly and successfully. It goes without saying that you should refrain from all processed foods as well. Cookies, crackers, and anything else that is prepackaged is strictly off the limits.
Also, you have to cut chemicals from your food. Of course, toxins are ever present in our food chain. But, you can minimize them by eating smart. You should eat only organic meats such as turkey and chicken. The wild caught fish is another great source of protein that you can include in your diet. When shopping for vegetables and fruits, go for organic ones.
