If you look up "10 tips to lose fat and be healthy" on Google it will give you some terrible answers. Trust me, I did it just to see what will pop up. Here are 3 things that did.
#1 Dump processed sugar
#2 Drink more vinegar
#3 Say goodbye to white flour
How are these ridiculous factors going to help anybody in any sort of way? They won't.
That's why I'm going to give you my top 10 REAL tips on how to lose fat and be healthy.
#1 Calorie Deficit
Yup! sick of hearing that from me?? Good! That means I've now drilled it into your head that a calorie deficit is the only way you are going to lose fat. The next 9 tips will help you understand how to adhere to a calorie deficit and maintain a healthy body once you have lost fat.
#2 Lift Weights
Do some sort of strength training 3-5 days a week. Building muscle will allow you to look leaner/muscular at a lower body fat percent. Important: you should only strive for progress when working out. I don't recommend working out for fat loss specifically. Lifting weight increases your resting metabolic rate (RMR) which is the number of calories you burn at rest. This helps you adhere to a deficit.
#3 Consume Higher Protein
When you are losing weight, you're eating less calories than normal. sometimes, often, you will start to feel hungry. Protein helps keep you full after a meal. Also, it increases your thermic effect of feeding (TEF), which is the number of calories you burn digesting food, by up to 30%. This, of course, helps you maintain a calorie deficit. Once you are happy to maintain your weight, protein does other jobs like help build/maintain muscle and support other bodily functions such as: nail and hair growth.
#4 Eat Green Leafy Veg
I'm afraid to say salad because of what people put in their salad these days; it's insane. Calories upon calories for no reason at all. So, eat one giant bowl of leafy greens every day to support a healthy body. They give you a wide variety of nutrients (vitamins/minerals) that you need. Like I said, during weight loss you are consuming fewer calories, which means fewer nutrients so, eating a great big bowl of leafy greens will help add in those nutrients you're losing without sacrificing more calories. Also, the more volume, the fuller you're going to feel.
#5 Stay Hydrated
Hydration is not just drinking 4L of water every day. In fact, excessive amounts of water can decrease the number of electrolytes in your body because you could be peeing so much. Electrolytes leave the body through sweat and urine. Your body needs electrolytes to stay hydrated. Drink a normal amount of water to stay hydrated, but don't go overboard to a point of consistently peeing. Water also helps transport nutrients around the body. You can add in other fluids that contain electrolytes such as: milks and sports drinks to stay hydrated.
#6 Walk
Walking is the most underrated form of exercise. Walking is the best for heart health and helping you maintain a healthy body. Also, when losing weight, rather than eating less food just go for longer walks when possible. To increase more walking, you can take the stairs rather than the elevator or, walk walking distances rather than driving.
#7 Whole Grain Carbs & Fats
Carbs are awesome! If you work out quite often they can help you perform at your best. Whole grains are full of fiber which help keep you satiated and maintain healthy bowel movements and heart. Fats are essential for nutrient absorption, production of sex steroid hormones, and cognitive function. Whether you are a high fat/low carb or high carb/low fat person it doesn't matter for health. It's whatever you prefer and you can adhere to.
#8 Sleep
In my opinion, sleep is the holy grail. We should be maintaining around 7-9 hours of sleep a night. This will allow us to have greater body composition goals as we lose weight, and help us with increased energy, performance, cognitive function, and satiety. Also, adequate sleep helps decreased stress, appetite, and relying on energy boosters such as: coffee and energy drinks.
#9 Stress Management
Managing your stress is extremely important! You can probably add years onto your life if you stress less each day. Stress increases our appetite which is something we need to try and avoid when losing fat; the less hungry we feel the better. Walking, working out, eating right, listening to your favorite music, meditating and doing stuff you enjoy often, are all things you can do to minimize stress.
#10 Eliminate Nothing
Yup! That means sugar, cakes, cookies, fried food, junk food, alcohol or just all the other stuff that people demonize consistently on social media. Yeah, of course, It's not supposed to be the greatest portion of your diet, but having a cupcake with your lunch on a Friday is not going to hurt you. Not even a piece of cake or a big jumbo burrito for dinner on a Saturday will affect anything neither. It's all about moderation and keeping things simple.
There you have it folks. My top 10 REAL tips on how to lose weight and maintain a heathy lifestyle. If this has helped you out in any sort of way, please, feel free to share it and don't forget to follow me on Instagram here for more truth bombs on how to be healthy.