Dropping pounds is not just about appearance. If you’re obese or overweight, you risk getting cancer and cardiovascular diseases. On a lighter note, however, being more lightweight does have health advantages, such as less pressure on your feet and knees; plus, you feel freer to move around.
If you are looking for a solution to your excess weight problem, one thing you should remember is that while fad diets and extreme remedies are effective in the short term, what you should really focus on is building habits that promise long-lasting effects.
MD Diet Weight Loss and Nutrition, LLC discusses the following ways to help you with your weight loss and overall fitness goals.
Intermittent Fasting
Among the current diet trends today, intermittent fasting probably has the most praises and scientific backing. This practice is about reducing the number of times you eat within a certain time frame. This improves your body’s metabolic rate, allowing your body to go into a mode that burns fat more and faster.
You could approach this in different ways, such as 24-hour fasts or fasting for 16 hours then breaking it within an 8-hour gap. Regardless of how you do it, intermittent fasting is an effective way to lose weight. To get even better results, eat healthy food and avoid refined or processed food.
Count Calories
Be aware of your calorie intake and compare it against the average calories you burn in a day, whether or not you work out regularly. Count it so you know how much you have eaten or how much more can help you eat. Keeping an online or handwritten journal will help you monitor your intake.
Watching the calories you consume enables you to be mindful and have a routine diet. Write or type the number of calories that your favorite food and the food you eat usually contain and determine which ones to keep, to eat less of or remove completely.
Avoid Refined Carbs and Sugar
One of the culprits of obesity and weight gain is carbs and sugar — specifically refined and processed ones. Ever heard of the phrase “a minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips”? Refined and processed carbs and sugar have a high calorie count but no real nutritional value. They are much harder to burn as well.
This is why you should either reduce consumption by a large amount or remove them from your diet with cheat days if you please.
Protein-Filled Breakfast
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And if you are a believer, make it count. Start the day by consuming lots of protein. Doing so makes you feel full for hours.
Plus, it helps build muscle, which is important if you are trying to burn fat and replace the weight with muscle. Some food to consider including in your breakfast are nuts, eggs, sardines, oats and chia seeds to name a few.
These are a handful of ways to reduce weight effectively. Try these to determine which one works best for you and your fitness goals.
