The Best Weight Loss Tips

Eat Less & Eat More Often

Research has shown that the Body Builders have pretty much got it right all of these years.  Reducing the total number of calories you consume, so that you are in calorie deficit, forces the body to utilise stored energy.  Our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories our body needs to simply exist and this figure can be calculated very easily.  If you add the calorific value of a normal day’s activities and exercise, say 300 calories, you now have the total number of calories your body requires.  If you consume 100 calories per day less than that figure, you will lose weight.
When you eat more often, i.e. having healthy snacks between each main meal, your body needs to digest that food; that takes energy and causes your metabolism to work at a higher rate for longer.  The net result is the expenditure of more calories.

Stand up More Often

Because many of us have sedentary jobs, we now spend the majority of our lives either sitting at a desk, in a car or lying in bed.  Recent studies suggest that the more often you stand up during the day the more calories you are likely to expend.  Standing up all day does not expend any more energy than sitting, it is the act of standing that increases the activity level and consequently the amount of energy used.  Think of it as doing squats.

Build Lean Muscle Mass

Muscle, unlike fat, is an active component of our physical structure and requires a constant energy source in order to simply exist.  It is that energy expenditure, with energy needs of our vital organs, that determines our BMR.  When we build muscle, or exercise the muscles to make them use up more energy, our BMR increases accordingly.  It is no surprise then that people who lift weights as part of their fitness regime will be much leaner than those people who don’t; provided they keep their calorific input below their total BMR.

Sprints Burn Fat

Any form of running will use up large amounts of energy and is much more effective in the weight loss equation than walking.  If you want to really ramp up the ‘fat-burning’ benefits of running, build sprints into your workout.  A mix of aerobic running, i.e. running at approx. 60-70% of your Maximum Heart Rate (MaxHR), and sprinting at MaxHR will utilise both the aerobic and anaerobic energy cycles and force the body to metabolise free fatty acids in the blood stream and stored fat for energy.

Ditch the Junk Food

You have heard it all before but it is a fact; Junk Food will make you fat and kill you!  But, what is Junk Food?  The simple answer is: anything that has been processed, comes out of a packet, can or bottle or, comes from a Takeaway Store is junk food.  Why?  Because all of it contains excessive amounts of sugar, sodium, preservatives, colours and fillers that have been proven to have a detrimental effect on our health.  I personally include alcohol, soft drinks, biscuits and confectionary in this broad grouping.

Intermittent Fasting

This is a strategy that many Natural Body Building competitors, both male and female, use to “shred” for competition and ensure their body fat levels are as low as possible.  For the rest of us, this strategy can be a boon in our weight loss journey.  Once a week, or even once a month, set aside one day as a fasting day.  It will be tough but the results will surprise you.

Copyright © 2014 by Drew Dale

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