Almost every woman I know is struggling to lose weight. The first thing my friends talk about when we go out is how overweight they are and how they have been trying different weight loss schemes with minimal success. It is sad.
Part of the reason that they aren’t losing weight is because the information out there is bogus. They are being sucked in by diet pills and low carb milkshakes and as such they aren’t dropping the fat like they should be.
In this post I am going to give you 11 REAL weight loss tips to help you fire up your progress today.
11 real weight loss tips
If you have heard some of these tips before it is okay. It just means that they are especially important. Each and every one of us should be able to adopt at least some of these points and implement them into our daily lives within the next week.
1. Diet comes first
Your diet is the most important thing of all. It doesn’t matter how much you exercise, if your diet is bad you will not get results. But, if your diet is good then you will get results even if you don’t have a lot of time for exercise.
It is simple maths. Take the example of the can of Coke which is around 250 calories. It takes around 30 minutes on a treadmill to burn that many calories. So, if you have one can of Coke per day and you spend an hour at the gym you are going to be using 50% of your time just burning off that Coke! Cut out the Coke and your exercise will go further. That is why your diet must be paramount in your weight loss plan.
2. Water is your friend
Okay so we have all heard this one before. Water is your friend when it comes to weight loss. As a general rule you should be drinking one tall glass of water per meal. Around six big glasses of water per day.
So why is water so important? Simple. It is an appetite suppressor. You are much less likely to want to snack on junk food when you have just downed a big glass of water. Not only that, drinking water speeds up your metabolic rate which means you will burn more fat during the day. Start drinking.
3. Use weights
A few weeks ago I talked about why every woman should use weights and that information is as important now as it was then. If you read that post all those weeks ago and still aren’t working out with weights then you are begging to fail. If you want to lose weight fast and keep it off then you need to start using heavy weights at least twice a week.
This is not just a weight loss tip, it is a health tip. Weights will keep your body and joints strong and fit well into your elderly years which means you will be less likely to get osteoporosis and other physiological problems that many women experience.
4. Cut out all white bread
White bread is a staple food in American when it really should be in the “cakes and candy” section. We eat white bread every day – sandwiches, toast, etc. – and we never stop to think about how bad it is for our waist line. Well I am here to tell you that it is bad – real bad.
White bread is packed full of sugar, salt and preservatives. It is one of the worst foods out there if you are trying to drop a few pounds. In fact, I am betting that there are a lot of girls out there who would lose a few kilos by just cutting bread from their diet. It really isn’t good for you, despite what all the bread companies are trying to tell you.
5. Double your vegetable intake
Vegetables are what we were meant to eat. Our body is perfectly designed to process and use them. Every time you eat a serve of vegetables you can imagine all your cells dancing around and feeling great. They pretty much are. But we aren’t eating enough vegetables… not by a long shot.
Vegetables also burn fat. They take a lot of energy to digest and this digestion process takes up a lot of energy. So it is a good idea to cut out all the fatty meat and carb loaded pasta you are eating and double your serving of vegetables. You will feel so much better for doing so.
6. Start skipping
Skipping is one of the best weight loss exercises on the planet. In fact, I lost more weight skipping than I have lost doing anything else. All you need is a simple rope and a little bit of practice. After your first session you will feel how good it is for you – your shoulders, back, abs, legs and butt all get a fantastic workout. But most of all… your heart rate goes through the roof and stays there long after the session has finished.
7. Drink green tea
Green tea should be a big part of every woman’s diet. As we know from last week’s post, green tea prevents cancer, but it also has some really good weight loss benefits. Science has shown us that a few cups of fresh green tea a day can sped up our metabolism and help us burn more calories. Little tips like these are hard to come by so make sure you implement them right away.
8. Do circuits
A circuit is a form of exercise where you mix different forms of cardio and weight lifting into a set routine. They are a fantastic way to burn fat as they get your heart rate up as well as working your entire body in a anaerobic manner. I also find that circuits are less boring than regular forms of exercise. An example circuit would be:
- Push ups
- Crunches
- Squats
- Military Presses
- 100 Star Jumps
- Burpees
You do each exercise for a set number of reps and then move on to the next one. The idea is that each time you do the circuit you add in more reps or you complete the circuit more times than you did last time. A few weeks of this and you will be toned and fit like never before.
9. Cut out refined sugar
It is about time that women around the world (especially in America) learned how bad refined sugar is. Basically, it is poison. It makes you fat, unhealthy and it is bad for your body. In fact, it is so bad that I would go so far as to say that it is the cause of a lot of your health problems. We are basically overdosing on sugar.
Anything that has refined sugar in it should be cut from your diet. Candy, sodas, flavored milks, snack bars, breakfast cereals, etc. You should pay particular attention to the “health foods” that you buy as they are a great place to hide sugar. You know all those Fat Free foods you buy? Well they sure aren’t sugar free!
10. Exercise after dinner
One of the fastest ways to lose weight is by exercising after dinner. Normally the evening is our quietest time and we just eat our meal and go to bed. But when you do so you are basically causing your whole dinner meal to get stored as fat as the body has no immediate use for the energy. Exercising, however, burns off some of this energy. Many women have reported that they made the fastest weight loss progress when they went for a light walk or did some basic exercise after dinner. Try it and see how you go.
11. Be patient
The most important tip of all. Patience. Weight loss takes time. For many women it can be several months before the results start to show. The problem is that so many women give up before they hit the “results period” and as such never get to see the benefits of all their hard work. Be patient with your self and with your weight loss program and you will enjoy the results soon enough.