6 Tips for Fat Loss
Let's face it, it is easy to pack on the pounds and it seems 10 times as hard to lose the weight. Ultimately, the key to fat loss is to eat less calories than your body burns in a day. But here are 6 Tips to Help Aid in your Fat Loss:
1. Drink More Water- helps curb hunger, improves cognitive function because water delivers oxygen to the brain, keeps your digestive system running smoothly, and helps prevent muscle cramping when you workout.
Tips on how to make sure you are getting in enough water:
Visit this website to determine how much water you SHOULD be drinking: http://www.slenderkitchen.com/article/how-to-calculate-how-much-water-you-should-drink-a-day
Add 0 Calorie Flavor Packets or Fruit & Mint Leaves to your water
Buy a water tracking cup like this one from Amazon:
2. Improve your Sleep Habits- Sleep is vital to lowering Cortisol levels and providing the energy you need to get in a good workout. Cortisol levels play a major role in fat loss so it is important to get sufficient, restful sleep. There are several things you can do to ensure good sleep like shutting off all media at least 30 minutes before bed, drinking hot Sleepy Time tea or Chamomile tea, diffusing lavender essential oil, or taking a supplement like Melatonin or C-21 by 1stPhorm. I use C-21 when I have periods of high stress and it helps with sleep and lowering cortisol.
3. Eat More Protein- This is usually the biggest challenge, especially for women, when it comes to your diet. You should aim for .8-1g of protein per lb of lean body weight. I always find ways to incorporate protein into my snacks. I will eat snacks like a Quest protein bars or greek yogurt with fruit as a snack.
4. Drink Less Alcohol- Alcohol will slow down fat loss because it is the first fuel to burn, while that is happening your body is not burning fat. Also, alcohol has twice the calories of protein and carbs and could cause you to go into a calorie surplus thus causing fat gain. Another thing to consider is that alcohol increases appetite and slows down testosterone which is important for fat loss.
5. Eat More- I know this doesn't make sense but many overweight people don't eat enough. Over time, your body adjusts to the lower calorie diet and your metabolism slows down as well as your hormones. Specifically, your leptin hormone levels which helps with fat loss, lower as well. Many overweight people don't eat enough during the day and then will binge in the evenings or on the weekends. It may take a while to repair your metabolism and you can do this by slowly adding back in 50-100 calories a week until you get to a healthy level for your body.
6. Lift Heavier or Increase Time under Tension- As you progress in your workouts, you should also increase the amount of weight you are lifting so you can have muscle growth. You can also increase the number or reps or sets you are during. Time under tension is the amount of time the muscle is working. It is helpful to also do some of your lifting slow and controlled so you increase the amount of time the muscle is under tension.
