Weight loss cannot be achieved by instant means or magic potions. To lose a few pounds, you need to change your diet and exercise to burn calories. Lately, many diet programs are trending, such as the keto program, paleo, and Whole30. Whatever your choice, the success of the diet program is determined by simple effective tips, namely implementing a healthy diet by avoiding nutrient-dense foods, eating nutritious foods, increasing your intake of vegetables, fruits, and fat-free protein sources. In addition to dieting, take the time to do moderate-intensity physical exercise, such as doing cardio, HIIT (high intensity interval training), or lifting weights regularly. Include these activities in your weekly exercise schedule. By following a diet and exercising regularly, you can lose weight while maintaining your health, improving your appearance, and boosting your confidence!
Step
Part 1 of 5: Eating Nutritious Low Calorie Foods
Step 1. Eat half a plate of starch-free vegetables with every meal
Run a diet by eating more vegetables. In addition to being low in calories, vegetables contain many essential nutrients to maintain health. Many experts recommend consuming at least 4 servings of vegetables every day, but to lose weight, you need to increase your vegetable intake. You'll feel full without overeating if you eat the right portions of starch-free vegetables.
Starch-free vegetables, such as cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, zucchini, lettuce, and asparagus can be processed into a variety of delicious meals that are not boring
Step 2. Consume 1 serving of fat-free protein with each meal
Fat-free proteins, such as chicken, eggs, white fish (salmon and tuna), beef, and legumes play an important role when losing weight because they are beneficial for building fat-free muscle and accelerating the body's metabolism.
- As a guide, 1 serving of meat is about the size of an adult's palm.
- If you don't like eating meat or are vegetarian, buy vegetable-based meat substitutes for a healthier alternative! Look for these ingredients in the frozen food area of the supermarket.
Step 3. Replace refined carbohydrates with whole grains and high-fiber foods
Several studies have shown that a low-carb diet program can lose weight faster. Instead of eliminating carbohydrates from the diet, reduce your intake of refined carbohydrates and sugar. Eat whole grains and high-fiber foods. Limit the intake of carbohydrate sources to a maximum of 1 serving or about plate at each meal.
- Get enough healthy carbohydrates by eating fruits, legumes (such as chickpeas, lentils, and black beans), whole grains (such as oats, brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat bread and pasta), and tubers.
- Limit the portion of food according to the type of carbohydrates. Find out the nutritional content of each food ingredient and calculate it carefully before eating.
Step 4. Choose low-calorie snacks and dressings
Calories and carbohydrates increase immediately as soon as you add dressing to your favorite food. For example, 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise contains 90 calories! Replace your favorite dressings and snacks with low-calorie foods.
Use herbs as seasonings for cooking because they have fewer calories and make food more delicious
Step 5. Eat nutritious snacks in between meals
A healthy diet that is beneficial for weight loss is to eat snacks several times a day so you don't have to hold back hunger and eat too much. For that, make sure you eat low-calorie snacks that are high in nutrients that are filling.
- As a nutritious snack that fills you up, you can eat fruits (such as bananas or apples), 30 grams of nuts, a small bag of carrots and celery with hummus or beef jerky.
- You can buy 100-calorie nutritious snacks at supermarkets. Prepare several bags in the cupboard and take 1-2 bags with you when you are on the move to fill your stomach if you feel hungry.
Part 2 of 5: Reducing Calorie Intake from Drinks
Step 1. Don't drink soda, fruit juices, alcoholic beverages, and other high-calorie drinks
A quick way to reduce daily calorie intake is to reduce fluid consumption because many people forget or don't know the number of calories that come from their favorite drink. In order to lose weight quickly, do not consume these drinks during daily activities.
Step 2. Drink 8-13 glasses of water every day
Drinking water is very effective for weight loss because water does not contain calories, but makes you feel full and can delay hunger. So, make it a habit to drink 8-13 glasses of water every day.
Contrary to popular opinion, body fluid retention and water fat are caused by lack of fluid intake, not from drinking too much
Step 3. Prepare a low-calorie, flavored drink
If you don't like drinking water, choose another drink that is low in calories, sugar, and carbohydrates, such as coffee or tea that is almost entirely water. In addition, consume sugar-free drinks, such as water with lemon juice, energy drinks, or flavored sodas.
Part 3 of 5: Doing a Routine While Eating To Lose Weight
Step 1. Keep a journal to record food intake
Before losing weight, you can consult a nutritionist. However, finding a dietitian is not easy and consultation fees are usually expensive. Instead, look for consulting services through websites or download free cell phone apps. Enter into the app all the food data you eat and their measurements to find out the daily calorie intake and nutritional content of each food. Use this information to monitor your diet and determine appropriate weight loss goals.
- When recording the food you eat, find out what time you eat the most, the foods that are highest in calories, and the nutritional breakdown of those foods. This information plays an important role in developing an effective diet program.
- Download free apps from the Apple App Store or Google Play, such as MyFitnessPlan, My Food Diary, and MyPlate.
Step 2. Perform intermittent fasting regularly
Instead of eating 3 large meals throughout the day, eat all of them in 8-10 hours, for example, from 11 a.m. to 7 a.m. or 9 p.m., then fast until the next day. You should only drink water or calorie-free drinks while fasting.
- Several studies show that intermittent fasting increases the effectiveness of the diet program by speeding up metabolism and increasing body fat burning during regular exercise.
- Start intermittent fasting 1 or 2 days a week. After a few weeks, gradually add 1-2 days until you are able to fast a full week.
Step 3. Eat a larger breakfast and lunch than dinner
If the portions are the same, the food consumed before and after 8:00 p.m. contains the same calories, but physical activity is usually reduced in the evening or at bedtime. Instead of eating a small breakfast and a large dinner, eat a large breakfast and lunch and a small dinner. Thus, you can burn calories that come from breakfast and lunch while living your daily life.
If this step is difficult to implement, eat small meals 4-5 times a day, instead of eating 3 large meals a day. This step keeps you full by eating enough food, not to pamper yourself as often happens when the stomach feels hungry
Step 4. Enjoy your favorite food every now and then so you don't get bored
Running a diet by avoiding a variety of menus at once is not easy, especially if you can't enjoy your favorite foods. Overcome this by consuming a favorite menu, such as ice cream or fruit juice 1-2 times a week to reduce appetite and the desire to pamper yourself.
Choose processed foods (eg ice cream, biscuits, chips, or packaged drinks) that are nutritious! Usually, these products are placed on food shelves in supermarkets. Also, order online to have it delivered to your home
Part 4 of 5: Practice Aerobics
Step 1. Take the time to practice aerobics for about 30 minutes a day
In addition to changing your diet, you need to train your cardiovascular. Cardio exercise is useful for launching metabolism and increasing fat burning by accelerating the rhythm of the heart rate. If you've never done cardio, start your cardiovascular workout by walking, jogging, running, swimming, biking, or using a rowing machine.
When exercising, do moderate-intensity aerobic exercise according to your fitness level, but strenuous enough that you're breathing heavily, sweating, and your heart rate is faster than normal
How to calculate Target Heart Rate Zone (THRZ): First, calculate the Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) with the formula: age – 220. Then, multiply the result by 0, 6 and 0, 9 to determine the lower and upper limits of THRZ. A number between 60% and 90% MHR is your THRZ.
Step 2. Perform high-intensity interval training (HIIT) during regular exercise
HIIT is an effective method of maximizing body fat burning every training session. When practicing HIIT, try to get your heart beating as fast as possible for as short a time as possible, rest for a while, then train again to get your heart rate to beat as fast as possible.
Fill in 1-2 cardio training sessions with HIIT workouts. An effective way to lose weight is to combine HIIT with static-intensity cardio, such as jogging for 30 minutes
Perform standard HIIT exercises according to these instructions:
• Sprint 1 minute then jog 2 minutes. Repeat 4 more times.
• Mountain climber 45 times, push up 20 times, plank posture 1 minute, crunch 20 times. Rest 1 minute then repeat 4 more times.
• Star jump 50 times, burpee 15 times, lunge with right foot forward 15 times and left foot 15 times. Rest 1 minute then repeat 4 more times.
Step 3. Perform physical movement during daily activities
In addition to sticking to a physical exercise program on a schedule, you need to move around as much as possible while sticking to your daily routine. This step is useful for burning calories throughout the day.
- Use the stairs as often as possible, instead of taking the elevator.
- When shopping at the supermarket or going to work, find a parking space away from the entrance and then walk a few minutes.
- If you want to have a one-on-one conversation with a coworker, take him or her for a walk while having a discussion.
- Bring lunch to the office and then eat lunch in the dining room so you can take a short walk.
- When watching TV, take advantage of commercial breaks to exercise, such as doing crunches, star jumping, or lunges.
Step 4. Increase the intensity of the exercise gradually
If you're already on a diet and exercising regularly, but you're not losing weight or are experiencing a plateau, you need to increase the intensity of your workout or exercise longer. When the body adapts to the activities performed, the burning of calories is reduced due to efficiency. Overcome this by extending the duration of the cardio workout or increasing the speed of movement for the same duration.
For example, if you've been running for 20 minutes every day, extend the duration of your workout by 5-10 minutes a day or increase your running speed without extending the duration of your workout
Part 5 of 5: Build Fat Free Muscle
Step 1. Perform muscle strengthening exercises using weights during regular exercise
This exercise can help you lose weight and keep it off in the long run. Whatever exercise you're doing (e.g. biceps/tricep curls, chest presses, push-ups, or deadlifts), do 3 sets of each, 12 per set. To find the right weight, use light weights at the start of your workout and then increase the weight a little at a time until you need to exert yourself to lift it.
Muscle-strengthening exercises or lifting weights don't burn a lot of calories, but they are beneficial for building fat-free muscle mass and increasing the body's ability to burn calories
Step 2. Perform muscle strengthening exercises using your body weight as a weight
You can strengthen muscles without dumbbells or dumbbells because you only need to use your body weight to perform various movements. That way, you can practice anywhere, at the office, at home, at the park, or anywhere else in your spare time!
- Do push ups, planks, squats, lunges, mountain climbers, and burpees to practice lifting weights using your body weight.
- Do each move 15 times or hold on for 1 minute to complete 1 set then do 2 more sets.
Step 3. Work all major muscle groups to lose weight by strengthening muscles evenly
When doing muscle strengthening exercises, make sure you work the 6 major muscle groups: chest, biceps, triceps, back, legs, and shoulders. Take the time to work each muscle group twice a week for at least 20 minutes per training session. Don't train the same muscle group 2 days in a row.
