I would like to give a simple advice to everyone. Even though I have never been fat in my life I did manage to change my body weight several times. And it was always based on simple change of my calorie intake. Since I started working like a personal trainer many people approached me with the same question “how do I lose weight ? “ People coming with all kind of problems or excuses, many of them desperate, saying I did try everything and all that.
I can’t really say that the whole weight loss is just calories in vs. calories out, because I’ve worked with many people and I could see so many different results. There are many things which can affect weight loss. Glands, stomach problems, stress, problems with sleeping etc. however if you don’t have any serious problems weight loss should not be a big problem for you. Here I post 5 tips how to lose weight.
MOVE YOUR ASS !!
If you have an opportunity to buy a bicycle, get one and cycle to work ( university or wherever you need to go), go for a walk every day, do 20 min. of cardio in the gym. Basically the more you move the better for you. Just a little bike ride in the morning and after work may be 250kcal burned. Walk, Walk, Walk. Do not be lazy and go for a walk every day. If you go to gym and you do cardio make sure there is a certain intensity because I see many people checking the insta profiles while using recline bikes and the intensity of their cardio training is just useless.
WEIGHT TRAINING
Far too many people believe that the only way to lose weight is to wear themselves down mentally and physically with hours and hours on the treadmill. Cardio is definitely not the only component in successfully losing weight.
Getting and staying lean takes a dynamic approach. A combination of regular cardio and strength training is the method that is most likely to bring about sustainable results.
When you utilize only cardio for weight loss, you are burning calories while you are actually doing it, but you aren’t necessarily creating a situation where your body is going to burn more calories around the clock. Strength training, on the other hand, builds lean muscle that burns calories at a higher rate even while you are resting. You might technically burn fewer calories during a 60 minute strength training routine than you do running for an hour, but the lean muscle that you build when training for strength is going to get you a higher net expenditure, because of the elevated burn that lasts up to 24-48 hours after you finish.
Most types of cardiovascular training typically do not build significant amounts of muscle. Long duration cardio workouts can even end up breaking down muscle tissue, which would further slow your baseline metabolic rate (meaning that you will need to eat even fewer calories throughout the day, just to maintain your current weight).
If you drop weight using solely cardio routines, you are going to find yourself having to eat like a bird just to maintain that weight. It will be a struggle and you are setting yourself up for anguish in the form of yo-yo dieting and feeling like you are starving all of the time. If you use weight training you are going to have to worry much less about having to go hungry, because your body will actually literally need those calories (that you are hopefully consuming from clean, healthy, smart food choices).
Aside from the fact that weight lifting helps you lose fat, it also has a very long list of health benefits, including increased bone density, improved coordination, stronger ligaments and tendons, better balance, improved mood and lessened likelihood of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, depression and anxiety. Studies have shown that it is appropriate for almost literally every fitness level and age (though you still want to check with your doctor to make sure that it’s safe for you specifically).
Don’t think that cardio workouts are not as important to your health; they also release feel-good hormones, encourage healthy circulation, are crucial for heart health, can help increase bone density, fight back against diabetes, high blood pressure, and more. Moderation is key, and so is variety, which is why the combo of strength training and cardio is best.
NO ALCOHOL
Many people has a tendency to have a glass of wine or two after work. Go for a pint, have gin or whiskey on a Friday eve. However I truly believe that you can avoid all this and still live your life happy. If you want to lose weight you need to be dedicated and give up on this. I am not saying that you can not have any drink anymore, but keep in mind that each small glass of wine is about 130 kcal or a shot of whiskey 85kcal . So if you would have a small glass of wine every evening after work it would come to approximately 910kcal more into your income in the end of your week. So I would just say be careful and aware of the fact that alcohol is calories as well !
USE THE APP TO TRACK HOW MUCH YOU ACTUALLY EAT !
It happens very often that you don’t realize how much do you snack here and there. We all know that situation when your colleague brought some biscuits and there are just on the table and every single time you pass by you feel like “ oh my god I have to have one, it looks so amazing”. Biscuit here and there, caramel coffee latte on the launch break and you have 600kcal extra you don’t even know how. Use an mobile app and put in literally everything what you are eating in the certain day. It takes you 5 minutes in total and it helps you to realize where are you failing and how much calories you are actually eating. So download either Myfitnesspal or MyNetDiary and start tracking everything.
This applications will even help you to find out how much calories you should be eating to lose weight. 😊
GYM CLASSES
If you are one of those who gets bored in the gym very easily then I would have a tip how to avoid that for you. Join the classes! I am not sure what is the quality of classes in the gyms in general but I can guarantee you that the classes in JD Gyms are really good and you can definitely use them to help you on your journey. If you participate in any classes at least 4/5 times a week and you will eat well – stay in the little calorie deficit ( eat less calories than you burn ) the results will be rewarding. I remember my colleague was tracking how much calories you can burn in the spin class and it was showing approx. 400kcal which is quite good.