Tip 1: Eat 5 or 6 smaller meals instead of 3 regular or large size meals
Smaller meals are easier to digest and your body can use/burn the calories easier than if they are consumed in larger quantities. Excess calories that the body can?t be used, whether they are from fat, protein, or carbohydrates, will most likely be converted into fat. Also, eating small frequent meals will increase your metabolism and cause a natural shrinking of the stomach.
Tip 2: Do not skip meals or eat too little
Skipping meals is one of the worst things to do if you want to achieve long-term fat loss. Initially skipping meals can result in weight loss, but it comes at a steep price. When you skip meals or cut calories too much, your body will not have the energy it needs and your metabolism will slow down to conserve energy. A slower metabolism means less calorie burning and less weight loss. Then you will have to eat even less to lose more weight and again your metabolism will slow down even more. This is why there are people who eat almost nothing (less than 500 calories per day) and still cannot lose weight.
To make matters worse, when your body slows down your metabolism to conserve energy, it enters what is often referred to as a starvation mode. This is essentially what happens when you skip meals or go long periods of time without eating. Under these circumstances, the body places more importance on keeping fat than keeping muscle. If you continue to lose weight you will be losing a significant amount of muscle and fat loss will become tougher. Then by losing muscle, your metabolism will slow down even further; every pound of muscle lost results in your body burning about 50 fewer calories per day.
If all this was not bad enough, when you finally do start eating more, you will have more intense cravings causing you to overeat. Also, your body will store a higher percentage of those calories as fat to prepare for future periods of caloric restriction. The end result is typically that the person weighs as much or more as when then started trying to lose weight and they will have more fat and less muscle than before.
Tip 3: Drink at least 8 ? 8oz glasses of water each day
Water is important for many things including preventing dehydration and carrying out everyday cellular functions, such as removing toxins from the body. Increased water intake may be required under certain circumstances, such as during exercise or if you spend a lot of time in the heat. Just remember, if you are thirsty, you are already partially dehydrated and you should drink more water.
Drinking enough water is also important for fat loss. When you lose fat, you do not actually lose fat cells, but the cells that you have shrink in size. When this happens toxins are released from the fat cells. With proper hydration, your body will efficiently remove these toxins; otherwise you can develop an accumulation of toxins in your system. Your body will not want to release more toxins (lose more fat) until the current toxins have been removed.
As general rule, the faster you can flush toxins from your body, the faster you can lose fat. There are of course other factors, but this is important, especially for continued fat loss over time. Just in case you need more incentive to drink water, when you consistently drink water throughout the day, your body will not hoard water and you will have less water retention.
Tip 4: Eat at least 25 grams of fiber per day
Many people do not get close to enough fiber in their diet, which is unfortunate, because fiber can greatly improve fat loss and long-term health. There are 2 types of fiber, soluble and insoluble and they both have beneficial properties. Insoluble fiber is commonly known for improving intestinal health and preventing constipation.
Soluble fiber is just as important and even has some benefits that directly help with fat loss. Perhaps the greatest benefit is the ability to slow the absorption of foods, resulting in an improved insulin response and less fat storage. In addition soluble fiber will help you feel full after meals and even helps lower your "bad cholesterol" (LDL) levels.
One word of caution however, if you do not eat much fiber and want to increase your intake, start slow. If you increase your fiber intake too quickly, you may experience stomach cramps or similar problems until your body gets used to the added bulk in your meals.
Tip 5: Eliminate hydrogenated / partially hydrogenated products
Hydrogenated products are one of the greatest sources of toxins found in food. They prevent normal cellular functioning, inhibit fat loss, suppress the immune system, and have been linked to many degenerative diseases. Read the ingredients list and look for the word hydrogenated. It frequently appears as partially hydrogenated soybean, vegetable, or cottonseed oil. Do yourself a favor by eating as little of these ingredients as possible.
Tip 6: Minimize consumption of refined carbohydrates
Refined carbs typically have most of their nutrients and fiber removed so you are left with a food full of "empty calories." Two of the biggest offenders are white bread and table sugar. When these refined carbs are consumed, your body only has two real choices about what to do with them. They can either be used as energy or they will be converted into fat.
To make matters worse, these foods also cause your body to release more insulin than their unrefined counterparts. Replacing refined foods with unrefined ones, such as switching from white bread to stone ground whole wheat or flourless bread, can jumpstart your fat loss and help you have a constant level of energy instead of crashing after a meal.
Tip 7: Eat healthy fats (especially Omega-3 oils)
As you are hopefully aware, not all fats are bad for you and eating too little fat can actually impede your fat loss. Some fats, particularly the Omega-3 oils, are necessary for normal cellular functioning and they can even increase your metabolism. These fats rarely become stored bodyfat, because the body uses them for important physiological processes. They are also valuable for preventing diseases, improving joint health, and maintaining youthful looking skin.
In terms of fat loss, if you replace unhealthy fats with healthy ones, you will be in a much better position to store less fat and lose additional fat. Also, if you don?t eat enough of these fats, you can develop a deficiency, just as with vitamins and minerals. Then your body will not function as efficiently and fat loss can suffer. The best sources of Omega-3 oils are cold-water fish (e.g. salmon) and flax seeds.
Tip 8: Don?t eat carbohydrate rich foods by themselves
There are some exceptions to this, such as vegetables or eating during workouts, but balanced meals are usually much better than just eating carbs. Many carbohydrates cause a rapid increase in insulin levels, which leads to greater fat storage. Adding healthy proteins and fats to the carbs will blunt this effect. In addition, balanced healthy meals will prevent fluctuations in your energy level (crashing).
Tip 9: Eat healthier as the day goes on
Eating unhealthy or high carbohydrate meals early in the day will not cause as much fat storage as it will in the evening. This occurs for 2 primary reasons. First, food eaten earlier is more likely to be used for energy, especially if you are active during the day. When you eat poorly later in the day, especially before bed, your body does not need as many calories for energy and more calories will be stored as fat.
The second reason is that your insulin sensitivity is highest early in the day and decreases as the day goes on. Higher insulin sensitivity levels mean that less insulin will be released after a meal. Again, less insulin released means that fewer calories will be stored as fat.
Tip 10: Always eat breakfast
You have probably heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, because it gives you the energy you need to get through the day, but it also important for your metabolism. When you sleep, your body enters a conservation mode and slows down your metabolism. In the morning your body will stay in conservation mode, until it receives the energy it needs (food/calories) to perform everyday physiological functions. When this happens, by eating breakfast, your metabolism will speed up and start burning more calories throughout the day.
I frequently hear people say things such as, "I tried eating breakfast, but when I did I became hungrier throughout the day and ended up eating more." Of course my response is good, that is what happens when your metabolism is functioning correctly. As long as you are not overeating during meals, the increase in your metabolism burn more calories than you consume in the extra food that you eat. This is how people can lose weight while eating more.
If you follow these 10 tips, you will be well on your way to achieving long-term fat loss.
Ross Harrison, CSCS, NSCA-CPT is a certified personal trainer, strength and conditioning specialist, and nutritional consultant who teaches people how to lose weight, get in shape, and improve their quality of life with exercise and nutrition. For more information or to sign up for his free health and fitness newsletter containing tons of useful information, visit precisionhealth-fitness.com. | |
