Summer is just around the corner and in Southern California, beach weather is already here. Well if you haven’t been watching your weight all year and feel the need to get in shape fast, here are some quick weight loss tips that you can use to help you get in shape in time for the beach.
Quick Weight Loss tip # 1: Cut The Calories
One of the best things you can do to lose weight fast, no matter what diet you are on, is to cut your calorie intake. The easiest way to cut calories is to cut excess dietary fat such as:
- no butter, oils or salad dressings (low-fat or fat-free dressings are ok)
- always remove the skin from chicken
- use egg whites instead of whole eggs and ditch whole-milk dairy products
Be sure to keep some healthy fats in your diet though such as salmon, mixed nuts, peanut butter and avocados.
Quick Weight Loss tip # 2: Control Your Carbohydrates
Hormones and calories control fat burning. If you can control your fat storing hormones then you can expect to see the body fat melt away. Carbs boost up your insulin and insulin inhibits fat breakdown and increases fat storage.
If you eat fewer carbohydrates then insulin levels tend to fall leading to fat loss. Of course you can’t remove carbs from your diet completely, so try eating slow digesting carb’s instead of fast digesting carbs. And remember never eat carbs by themselves and never eat carbs before bed.
- Eat these slow digesting carbohydrates: whole grain breads, oatmeal, sweet potatoes and legumes (beans) because they don’t cause a rise in insulin.
- Don’t eat these fast digesting carbohydrates: white bread, most cold cereals, any sweets, rice cakes, white rice and white potatoes.
Quick Weight Loss tip # 3: Eat More Protein to Burn Fat
Protein is a no-brainer! Protein not only adds to your muscles but it also increases your metabolism. Your body burns more calories processing protein than it burns to process carbs or fat. This is known as the thermic effect of food. That is the main reason why diets that are mostly high protein result in more fat loss than low protein diets, even if they are the same amount of calories. So when it comes to protein and loosing weight try this:
- Eat at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight every day.
- Protein should come from lean meats such as, chicken, steak, turkey breast and tuna.
- Eat egg whites but remove the yolks, thats where the fat.
- Add protein powder, either whey protein or casein and add some low-fat cottage cheese to your diet
Quick Weight Loss tip # 4: Eat More Meals to Lose More Weight
The amount of times you eat each day affects your overall metabolism. Every time you eat your bodies metabolism slightly increases, especially for meals that contain protein. So if you eat 6 meals a day, your body will go through 6 metabolic surges rather then just 3 or 4 on a regular meal schedule. So for a quick weight loss tip is to increase your meals per day like this:
- Eat 6 to 8 small meals per day, each spaced out 2 - 3 hours apart from each other.
- Don’t go longer then 3 hours without eating something. If you do then you run the risk of your body going into starvation mode and start storing fat instead of burning it
- Eat more meals but don’t eat more calories. Be sure to take your total calorie intake a day and break that up into all your multiple meals.
Now remember these are just a few quick weight loss tips to help you slim down in time for summer. Of course regular exercise, even if its just 3 days a week for 20 min each day, along with the above weight loss tips will be enough to make you shed those pounds within a few weeks.
