How to Lose Fat – 7 Easy Ways to Kick Unwanted Fat to the Curb
Have you always wondering how to lose fat effectively? Maybe you’re tired of struggling and want some guidance on the best way to start a weight loss routine? Either way, it’s never too late to get your tail in gear to blast away your fat and get into the best shape of your life!
Losing Fat Takes the Proper Amount of Planning
It’s true – losing fat requires careful consideration and planning. You can’t just jump from one thing to the next and expect it to help you shred the fat. It doesn’t work like that, so why even waste the time trying to find that next “miracle weight loss plan” that will eventually leave you worse off than you were initially?
Get the Real Fat Loss Tools Right Now
Are you fed up with spending your time “chasing your tail”? If so, now is the time to pay attention, as you are about to discover 7 of the easiest and most simplistic ways you can kick that unwanted fat right to the curb. No more b/s and no more misinformation – just real methods that bring real results!Let’s get started, shall we?
#1 – Ignore the Scale (and Stay Away from it)
For many, the scale is looked upon as the most reliable tool to effectively track weight loss. The problem is that it’s not as reliable as you think and can cause more frustration than anything.Think about it – if you weigh yourself one week and follow-up the next and see no difference on the scale, does that mean your workout was ineffective? Not at all, as your body may have lost actual fat and gained an equal amount of lean muscle mass. Whoever said that “numbers don’t lie” wasn’t paying much attention.Stop focusing on the scale and look closer at your overall body composition instead. Track your body fat percentage and measurements of your waist, chest, arm, hip and thigh. Also, make sure to take plenty of progress pictures, as you will lose more inches than you will pounds.
#2 – Increase Your Protein Intake
Protein is the number one building block for increasing size and strength. If you want to increase your lean muscle mass (or simply preserve the muscle you already have), upping your protein intake is not just necessary – it’s required.Adding more protein in your diet can have a dramatic effect on burning up more fat. The increased intake will help boost your metabolism and build more lean muscle mass, thus allowing your body to torch and blast away unwanted fat. The more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn at rest.
#3 – Utilize Strength Training
Believe it or not, a number of people think that the only way to burn fat is by hitting the treadmill or the elliptical day after day. They feel that strength training will lead to massive muscle gain, not extreme fat burn. Unfortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth!Strength training actually burns more calories than cardiovascular exercise. It also helps sculpt, shape and define your body while improving your strength. If you really want to step up your fat loss, incorporating strength training into your cardio routine is the best method to getting fast results!
#4 – Add HIIT to Your Workout Routine
HIIT (also known as High Intensity Interval Training) is one of my favorite methods of cardio for a number of reasons:
- It takes up a considerably less amount of your time
- It’s explosive and turns your body into a fat burning machine LONG after your workout is finished
- It brings faster results
- It preserves lean muscle mass
This form of cardiovascular training offers a variety of exercises that are explosive and fun. It’s a great way to change up the pace and burn more calories in half of the time that most steady-state cardio routines ever will.If you truly want to “blast your fat”, a combination of strength training and HIIT will get you where you want to be. Don’t be afraid of a little work and intensity to get to where you want to be!
#5 – Pass on “White” Carbohydrates
Refined carbohydrates are bad news. They are fast digesting carbs, which break down quickly and move into the bloodstream at a much faster pace than their slow digesting (or low glycemic) carb counterparts, causing insulin to spike. This rapid spike of insulin then causes fat stores to increase.As you may have already guessed, this leads to an increase in stored fat (or weight gain).Refined carbohydrates to avoid are things like white rice, white bread, candy, soda, pastries, packaged cereal, sweets, alcohol and more. Stick with unrefined and low glycemic carbs like sweet potatoes, whole grains, beans, oatmeal and brown rice (to name a few).
#6 – Shift Your Focus to Whole Foods
If there is anything that can kill your efforts on losing fat, it’s the consumption of processed foods. Many are filled with artificial ingredients and chemicals that can put a stall on weight loss and have you packing on the pounds instead.Instead, you need to focus on consuming whole foods, rather than a synthetic TV dinner that claims to be “healthy”.Not sure what you should eat? Here are a few examples of whole foods that work wonders for fat loss:
- Vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, broccoli, kale, carrots, squash, leafy greens, etc)
- Fruit (grapefruit, oranges, apples, cantaloupe, mixed berries, bananas, etc)
- Beans (black beans, lentils, pinto beans, etc)
- Lean Meat (turkey, chicken, eye of round steak, lean ground beef)
- Fish (tilapia, salmon, tuna)
- Whole grains (oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread, etc)
This is just a rough outline, but you get the picture. If you want results, eating whole foods is the only way to get them.
#7 – Find Other Ways to Get Active (Besides Exercise)
You shouldn’t rely on your workout alone to burn off excess calories. What you really need to do is get more involved and more active on a day-to-day basis in addition to your exercise routine.It’s as simple as getting out and walking 30 minutes a day, riding your bike to work (instead of driving), joining a local sports league, going for a jog or picking up an active hobby. You can get as creative as you want here, but the key is to remain as active as possible. Not only will this help you lose fat, but it will also help you maintain your weight loss long after the fat is gone.