Weight loss nutrition tips

Are you tired of wading through long, complicated articles about weight loss and fat burning? Me too! Instead, here are TEN simple-to-use weight loss tips that’ll help you reach your target weight in double-quick time.

 

Eat fewer starchy carbs

Carbs are an essential food group that provide your body with energy for exercise and other demanding physical activities but while most mainstream diets are based around starchy carbs, too many carbs can interfere with fat loss – especially if you lead a predominately sedentary life. The less physical activity you do, the fewer carbs you need so start swapping bread, rice, potatoes and pasta for vegetables and you’ll soon be enjoying the benefit of easier, faster fat loss.

 

Starchy carbs also increase your insulin production. Insulin is a hormone that helps ferry nutrients out of your blood and into your muscle and liver cells but it also interferes with fat burning. Reducing your starchy carb intake and eliminating sugar from your diet can help control your insulin levels which will only enhance fat loss.

 

Eat more protein

Protein has a high thermal effect which simply means eating foods like eggs, chicken, fish and meat will increase the thermic activity in your body which, in turn, elevates your metabolic rate. The thermal effect of protein is rated at around 20 to 30 percent which means that for every 100 grams of protein you eat, 20 to 30 percent of the total energy provided is used in the break down and digestion of the food being eaten. Combining protein with vegetables is the perfect recipe for faster weight loss.

 

Cut out sugar

Sugar is fat free but that doesn’t mean it won’t harm your fat burning efforts. Sugar contains no nutrients, is very energy dense, encourages overeating, messes with your insulin levels and is mildly to moderately addictive – one candy bar is never enough. Cutting sugar from your diet is arguably the most effective way to maximize fat burning.

 

Move your body

Unless you like being hungry, you’ll need to combine a sensible reduction in food intake with an increase in physical activity. Exercise uses energy and if you are eating less than you need to sustain your weight, this energy shortfall will be met by your fat stores. Ideally, you should be physically active most days of the week but this doesn’t necessarily mean you should exercise every day. Exercise is important but it needs to be intense enough to be beneficial so that means you are probably limited to four or five workouts a week. However, you can walk every day, cycle for transport or pleasure, play with your kids or otherwise get up and off your butt and move around more; more physical activity means greater fat loss.

Avoid fad diets

Fad diets can seem like a great idea because they promise easy or very fast fat loss. However, the truth is, very few fad diets ever deliver on these promises. Fad diets are generally too restrictive, too strict, unpleasant, unbalanced and unhealthy and you’ll probably quit them within a few days or weeks. Even if you are able to put up with eating, for example, nothing but lettuce and grilled chicken three times a day, such an energy-restrictive diet can significantly slow your metabolic rate and actually result in fat gain and not fat loss. Fad diets are doomed to failure from the outset so just forget ‘em!

 

Exercise on an empty stomach

Exercising on an empty stomach means you are more likely to preferentially burn fat. Low intensity exercise like walking and cycling are best as intense exercise like sprinting or lifting weights can be hard with low levels of blood glucose. Just 20 or 30 minutes of fasted cardio can be enough to burn a significant amount of fat.

 

Drink black coffee before working out

Following on from the previous point, exercising on an empty stomach is a great way to burn more fat but can be hard as your energy levels may be low – especially early in the morning. However, a cup of strong black coffee will deliver an energy boost in the form of caffeine that will give you all the energy you need to get through your workout. Caffeine is also a lipotropic agent which simply means it helps you to mobilise fat making it easier to burn for energy. All in all, coffee before exercise makes perfect sense as it will help you exercise harder and longer while burning fat more efficiently.

 

Drink water before eating

Drink 500ml of water 30 minutes before meals to partially fill your stomach so you feel satisfied sooner and will eat less. Water expands your stomach which sends a message to your brain to say it’s full. Water itself is calorie-free, is an effective detoxifier and helps keep your fat furnaces burning so drinking more water is always a good idea. Aim for around two to three litres spread throughout the day. However, if you know that you have low digestion acid then don’t drink water as this can slow your digesting down by diluting your already low amounts of digestion acid.  

 

Eat more fibre

Fibre is the indigestible part of vegetables, fruits and grains and is not just very good for your digestive system, it is also a highly beneficial fat-fighting food. Fibre is calorie-free, stays in your stomach for a long time which makes you feel fuller for longer, helps stabilize your blood glucose leading to stable energy levels and fibrous foods are bulky and take longer to eat than non-fibrous foods. Increase your fibre intake by eating lots of vegetables with their skins on, some fruit, and moderate amounts of whole grains. In addition to being a good weight loss food, fibre is also important for maintaining the health of your gastrointestinal tract. Healthy and a good fat fighter – what’s not to like?

Eat healthy fats

Fat is very energy dense and a gram of fat contains over twice the calories of a gram of protein or carbs BUT fat is also essential for your health and should not be eliminated completely. Cut down on saturated and trans fats to reduce your energy intake but still make sure you eat reasonable amounts of mono and polyunsaturated fats such as olive oil, coconut oil, fish oil, avocados and avocado oil, flax seeds, nuts and seeds. Fats take longer to break down in your stomach and help control blood-sugar levels, leaving you more satisfied and reducing your cravings. Just remember; fats are dense in calories, so although coconut oil has great benefits, it can add up on a diet when you are counting calories.

 

When it comes to weight loss, exercise and diet should be combined for best results however, implementing some or all of these tips will ensure that whatever diet and exercise plan you follow, you’ll get the best possible results.

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