The best ways to slim down are in fact right underneath your nose, and it’s basically common sense. There are no secrets, just straightforward science that actually works.
It’s Mostly About Diet
If you are wondering what the best ways to slim down are, or even how to get that winter flab off, here are 12 handy tips that are all backed by years of research and science.
Tip No. 1
Try to get a full eight hours sleep every night, as it has been shown that too little sleep predisposes you to weight gain.
Tip No. 2
Increase your water intake to 1,5 liters a day. This is one of the top best ways to slim down.
Tip No. 3
Get moving and exercise regularly. Make it something you enjoy to keep yourself motivated and to keep it sustainable.
Tip No. 4
Don’t be scared of animal protein. Sufficient protein promotes weight loss and is healthy as long as it is without too much saturated fat.
Eating protein fills you up and is one of the best ways to slim you down.
Tip No. 5
Use a smaller plate to dish your meals on and make sure at least half of your plate is covered in vegetables.
Tip No. 6
Limit fruit to 2 portions a day and eat it with protein.
Tip No. 7
Try to separate your protein and carbs where possible.
Tip No. 8
Go easy on coffee and tea and limit your alcohol intake to once a week.
Tip No. 9
Increase your fiber intake to five portions a day.
Tip No. 10
Cut out all soft drinks. There are unbelievable amounts of sugar and empty calories in these.
Tip No. 11
Cut out refined food like sugar and white flour.
Tip No. 12
And last but not least, remove all processed food and junk food from your diet.
Exercise Tips
Here are some more great tricks that work when you are working out and trying to lose weight.
Trick No. 1
When you are running, it does help to take short walk breaks. This will help you to run further and ultimately burn more kilojoules. It will also help you to build up your mileage and endurance. Try to stop only two or three times during a thirty-minute run.
Trick No. 2
When doing circuit training, many of the circuits call for short rests of thirty to sixty seconds.
If you are struggling after a tough set of exercises, add on an extra thirty seconds and it will give you muscles enough of a breather to complete the next set with perfect form without compromising your kilojoule burn.
Trick No. 3
Don’t skip the last few reps of the exercise, as this is where the magic happens. You have to stress your muscles if you want them to change and that occurs in those last few reps. It should feel tough to finish but not so difficult that you need to compromise your form. If you have to, switch to a lower weight so you don’t injure yourself.
Trick No. 4
Don’t exercise in the morning if you are tired. A study found that when dieters were sleep deprived they lost less body fat and more lean muscle mass than when they tallied more sleep. If you exercise when you are too tired, you won’t concentrate enough on proper form and will raise your risk of injury.
Trick No. 5
Although your leg muscles do get a workout doing cardio, you still need to do squats and lunges. In this way, you will make sure that you hit all those muscles and correct any imbalances that lead to injury.
Doing weight-bearing exercise is a sure thing when it comes to best ways to slim down.
Lastly, make sure that you keep yourself hydrated. Drink at least 200ml of water before your workout and another 200ml after you are finished.
It’s not easy I know, but remember little changes at a time eventually become habits. Try changing one thing at a time until it becomes a habit then move onto the next.
