As a gym instructor, over the last five years I have seen many people try to lose weight. Most pick up the latest celebrity diet plan or try to lose weight quickly for a special event such as a wedding and as a result of their need for a ‘quick fix’ gimmick, they fail.
Here are a few very basic and easy to follow rules which will help anybody to drop some unwanted poundage from their waistline.
* To start the ball rolling in the right direction you need to work out your current daily calories and chop it down. Not drastically, but sufficiently so you notice a difference in the amount of food that you eat. Dropping by 10% to 15% is fine, but nothing more than that at the beginning.
* Next up is protein. If you like to snack during the day try to load up on foods which are rich in protein. It impacts fat storage less than the other two macro nutrients so you’ll be able to eat and enjoy it without the negatives of carbs or fats.
* Losing weight takes willpower. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t help yourself out whenever you can with a little unfair trick or two. You are easily more vulnerable to a fatty snack when you are halfway through a monster shift at your job and do not have any convenient tasty healthy food at hand. Take three-to-four small snack tubs in your back pack with you to work each day. Pack them with a protein rich snack. The calories won’t be very high given the size of the actual tub, but the protein will fend off all hunger and have far less impact on your body’s fat storage systems than a chocolate bar. Plus you’ll actually feel better.
* When you lose weight you want to ensure it’s bad weight which is coming off, i.e. you want to be losing fat not muscle. Even if you’re a lady and have no intention to look like a bodybuilder, you do not want to be burning off muscle tissue. So when you drop your carbs down to lose weight like most dieters do, be sure to increase your protein intake. This will prevent your body from burning muscle and ensure you are only losing unwanted fat.
* Last but certainly not least is our most important rule. Take a day off each week. Whether you want to or not, it’s a good move. Why? Because something as simple as a day off allows you to do two very important things….
Temptation is our worst enemy when dieting, so it makes a lot of valid sense to take a day off each week. Label it a ‘reward’ or ‘treat’ if you wish, but basically this will help you to stick to your program for far longer. If you have ever known someone attempt a diet plan and fall spectacularly off the rails after about 3 weeks you’ll know this makes perfect sense.
But the main killer reason we recommend doing this is because it gives you a target. There is a difference, of course, between ‘off day’ and Christmas day. Don’t overdo it. But having that relaxation period on a Sunday is something which will get you through even the toughest week, particularly if you have found it hard to stick to diets in the past.
No matter whether you just want to drop a dress size or if you want to change your life completely, these simple facts are the basis of any successful long-term diet. Not only will you lose weight, but you will lose it quickly because the changes you are making are scientifically backed up without any need for gimmicks or miracle products. Better still, once gone the weight will actually stay off this time.
About the author: Russ Howe is a qualified and much followed Personal Trainer and Fitness Instructor. If you are lost with your diet, be sure to also watch our exclusive video step-by-step to how to lose weight next.
