Everyone has seen those weight loss commercials — some food plan or gadget promises to erase inches off your waistline in a few short weeks.
Every year, millions of dollars are spent on weight loss plans. You may lose some weight with a food subscription or gizmo. However, inevitably, you will gain all the weight back and more.
This is the dirty little secret of the weight loss industry. Most of what is being sold to the public does not address why you became overweight. Therefore, many people find themselves in an endless cycle.
Boost Metabolism
Boosting your metabolism is fundamentally the most effective way to lose weight. Based on a number of factors, people’s metabolism will slow as they age.
Most fad diets, food subscriptions, and gadgets don’t address this problem. So, if you actually do lose weight, the benefits are short-lived.
Regardless, there are ways to boost your metabolism.
1. Build Muscle
Not only does muscle give you a slimmer, fitter look at the same weight, muscle burns more calories resting than fat. A pound of muscle will use roughly 6 calories per day to maintain itself, while a pound of fat will only burn 2 calories a day.
2. Boost Your Workouts
While high-intensity aerobic workouts will not build muscle, they can boost your metabolism for hours afterward. It’s important to push yourself.
3. Drink Lots of Water
You need to have a sufficient amount of water to process calories. Staying hydrated will help you burn more calories during the day. Shoot for eight glasses or more.
4. Smart Snack Eating
2 or 3 large meals during the day can cause your metabolism to slow down. A better option is eating 5 to 6 smaller meals to burn more calories during the day.
5. Spice Things Up
Spicy foods have naturally occurring chemicals that can boost your metabolism. The benefit doesn’t last long, but things will add up if you make it a regular practice.
You need a monthly nutrients intake plan, as well as their cost per month.
6. Eat More Protein
Your body burns more calories digesting protein than carbs. While protein-only diets are unhealthy, replacing some carbs with protein can be beneficial.
7. Stay Away From Crash
Diets with extremely low calories will cause you to lose weight, but it is at the expense of nutrition. Moreover, they often backfire, slowing your metabolism and causing you to gain all the weight back and more.
Exercise
Exercise doesn’t have to be a boring jog for several miles every day. And in fact, boring exercise programs are the ones that fail more often than not.
So toss the old rule-book in the trash, because exercise doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, you should focus on having fun.
It may sound counter-intuitive, but it actually does exist, and its a lot more obtainable than you might imagine.
So take a look at these fun alternatives to your morning run.
1. Rock Climbing
Rock climbing used to be only for people who live near the mountains, but that’s not the case anymore. There are tons of gyms out there which have installed a climbing facility, and even more, dedicated climbing businesses out there.
As a bonus, these places are equipped with loads of safety gear. As a result, much of the risk has been mitigated.
Climbing is a fantastic exercise at that. It really works your upper body while not neglecting your legs. It strengthens your endurance and helps you build strong gripping muscles.
It great for both cardio and strength training, and it varies in difficulty, so there’s plenty of room for beginners.
2. Bike Riding
A little wind, the warm sun, and smooth ride taking a bike for a spin are often more accessible than you think. Most cities have bike trails nowadays, which means you don’t have to go off the beaten trail.
Its great for developing your legs and cardiovascular health, but it doesn’t stop there. Throw in some interval training, and you can turn it into a great program too.
3. Dancing
It’s not just the lights that make the performers on So You Think You Can Dance sweat. Dancing can be as vigorous or be relaxing as you like. It all depends on how much effort you put into it.
I don’t even have to go into how this one is fun, because that’s the main reason for dancing in the first place. And the best parts about dancing are, anyone can do it, and you don’t need anything special to get started.
Just throw on a tune, cut a rug, and you’ll be in shape in no time.
4. Martial Arts
Any form of martial art is going to have some level of exercise involved, and it’s a whole lot more interesting to learn about self-defense than to count calories. You might think this would only be for people in good physical condition, but that s not true.
Martial arts range from high intensity like boxing or Krav Maga, all the way down to the peaceful, almost serene Tai Chi. You just need to find one that fits you.
5. Ultimate Frisbee
It almost sounds like a joke, but the workout you get sure isn’t. Ultimate Frisbee, is just that Frisbee took to the extreme, or at least to the point where it is not just standing there tossing it back and forth.
It can be a little tricky finding a good group, but there are usually ones floating around on craigslist or Facebook. Even if there’s not, start talking with people you know, you’d be surprised just how many of them would say yes to a game like this.
6. Monitor Your Motion
When lifting weights, one unique way to give your muscles a great pump is to move at a more slow and controlled motion.
For example, when you are doing barbell curls, first you curl the weight up. Afterward, as you are lowering the weight back down, move at a SUPER slow rate.
Count to five or six while doing so. When you finish the rep, repeat the same procedure for the remainder of your set.
This tactic will work your biceps to the extreme but after your workout, you will be thanking yourself.
7. Add Drop sets and Rest Pauses To Your Weight Loss Plans
These two will really spice up your workouts! Drop sets are a technique where you put on a certain weight and perform a number of reps until you reach muscle failure, or until you are unable to do another rep.
Afterward, reduce the weight by ten to twenty pounds and continue to repeat the procedure until you have no more weight to work with.
Due to its exhausting nature, drop sets should only be done on the last set of the exercise that you are performing.
Lose Weight Today
So with the goal of fighting obesity in mind, take these smalls steps that will lead you to success.
Start with small changes in your diet and a small step toward losing weight, and by continuing to take small steps you will end up at your destination before long.
If you are ready to start your fight against obesity, contact us and we would love to help you with proven weight loss plans.
