1. Don’t eat less- Never skip meals
I find it truly appalling that many people are lead to believe that eating less will mean they will lose weight. Maintaining an optimal level of metabolism is extremely important to weight loss, and you must fuel your body well to ensure you stay at your optimal metabolic rate. Eating as little as 1100 calories a day will significantly decrease your metabolism, leave you feeling low energy and hence your will burn out a lot quicker
2. Eat foods high in protein
Having a diet that is high in protein helps one burn more calories while working out, and keeps you full for longer too. It is also known to boost your metabolism, helping you break down ATP quicker in your body. Foods high in protein include chicken, turkey, eggs, lentils, nuts, chickpeas etc. If you are a vegan or vegetarian incorporating tofu and soy based products are also a great way to increase your protein intake, if necessary you can also take protein shakes 2–3 times a week. It is important to note if you already follow a diet that is high in protein then there is no need to have protein shakes, extra protein in likely to be stored as fat in your body.
3. Eat food high in Fibre
Foods high in fibre will also help keep you full for longer and help you digest food better. Potatoes, nuts and seeds, wholegrain foods (bread, pasta, oats), fruits and vegetables in general are all high in fibre.
4. Stay Hydrated
Keeping hydrated is extremely important to weight loss. Not only is good for general health but staying hydrated is known to help reduce sugary craving, making it less likely that you will want to snack on chocolate etc. Your muscles also retain water after exercising, water retention is part of muscle recovery. Staying hydrated will help you feel less sore after working out. It is recommended to drink 6–8 glasses of water a day, or drink between 1.5 to 2 litre’s of water daily.
5. Allow yourself the food you like too
I believe that your diet should always be balanced. Weight loss is 70% nutrition and 30% exercise. I have always felt to keep your diet sustainable, you need to incorporate the foods you enjoy as well. Hence there is nothing wrong with having pizza 1 or twice a week. You have a sweet tooth? Having ice-cream once a week is completely fine. A cheat meal will not get rid of all the amazing progress you have made. By allowing food you love in a balanced way you are more likely to stick to your routine and continue your hard work.
6. HIIT Exercises & Strength Training
HIIT (High intensity interval training) has extremely effective for weight loss. They are quick, challenging and allow you to reach higher BPM levels than standard cardio workouts. HIIT exercises are beginner friendly and contribute to increased muscle mass. This helps you lose weight and get a very toned body. HIIT allows you to burn calories even after you have stopped working out, the high intensity of HIIT means it boosts your metabolism and allows you to burn around 50–60 calories even after you have stopped exercising.
Strength training has a very similar effect. Strength training will usually incorporate a little less cardio than HIIT but it is still extremely effective to gain muscle mass and tone your body.
7. Stay away from sugar
My biggest advice for people attempting weight loss is to stay away from sugar as much as possible. Foods high in sugar have no nutritional benefit, however fruits that have natural sugars are okay. Since fruits are high in nutritional value the benefits outweigh everything.
Foods such as chocolates, cakes, donuts etc should be consumed occasionally and not on a daily basis. Drinking tea and coffee without sugar will also help reduce sugar intake. Packaged fruit drinks are also a source of high sugar levels, it is always better to eat fruit on its own than drink fruit juices.
