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Universal weight loss algorithm: 10 Golden Rules to Shed Extra Pounds
Step 1: Embrace this Quote
You don’t need to have extraordinary effort to achieve extraordinary results. Consistent daily efforts produce extraordinary results.
This quote embodies the philosophy of Lee Jordan, an American personal trainer who specializes in assisting individuals struggling with excess weight.
According to Jordan, the key mistake people make when attempting to lose weight is their mindset. They often think, “I need to shed a significant amount of weight, so I must subject myself to strict restrictions.” However, this approach usually leads to disappointment and frustration.
Step 2: Explore Unconventional Foods
While restaurant meals can be calorie-heavy, dining out offers the opportunity to try foods that may not typically be on your radar at home. For instance, consider beets, a vegetable you might not favor.
Experiencing healthy ingredients prepared in innovative ways can shift your perspective on them. This may even inspire you to recreate healthier versions of restaurant dishes in your own kitchen.
Step 3: Choose a Trainer that Matches Your Fitness Level
Rather than aspiring to be like bodybuilders, opt for a trainer who has experience working with individuals at your fitness level. This ensures that the goals set are both achievable and challenging, without being overwhelming. Seek guidance from the fitness center’s manager to find a trainer who can effectively assist you in shedding those extra pounds.
Step 4: Establish a Minimum Calorie Threshold
For those aiming for significant weight loss, the journey can be demanding. Abruptly slashing calories can negatively impact your metabolism. Rapid and extreme dieting can lead to counterproductive outcomes.
A common mistake is pushing oneself to the brink of extreme hunger. Instead, consider reducing your calorie intake by 500 to 1000 calories from your regular consumption, keep track of your daily caloric intake, and calculate the average. By comparing weekdays and weekends, you may be surprised by the differences.
Moldy sauces, cheese, or bread crust with a greenish tinge – these are not the only items requiring immediate disposal during a “spring cleaning” of your refrigerator. There are also foods loaded with empty calories, trans fats, and excessive sugar. Eliminating them can profoundly benefit your health.
Step 5: Energizing Workouts, Not Exhausting Ones
Lee Jordan assures us that starting with just a few minutes of exercise each day is sufficient. Gradually increase the duration by 30 seconds in each session. Remember that exercises you genuinely enjoy are the ones that yield the most benefits. Even something as straightforward as walking can be highly effective. The impact on joints is minimal, and you can gradually pick up the pace as you feel ready.
Incorporate two to three walks per week, gradually increasing both duration and intensity. Begin with realistic goals in the early stages.
Related: Weight Loss Workout: Shedding Pounds the Smart Way
Step 6: Gradual Weight Loss Helps Prevent Loose Skin
In a healthy weight loss journey, it’s advisable to aim for losing 250 grams to one kilogram per week. Weigh yourself consistently on the same day and at the same time each week.
Losing more than one kilogram per week should prompt you to reevaluate your calorie intake. Contrary to intuition, rapid weight loss may result in muscle loss alongside fat loss, potentially leading to sagging skin in areas like the abdomen, chest, and arms.
Conversely, if you’re losing less than 250 grams per week, double-check your calculations. You might have forgotten to factor in those candies on your secretary’s desk.
Step 7: Snack Wisely Before Bedtime
Consuming food every three to four hours is crucial. If you’ve had dinner at 6 PM and it’s now 10 PM, don’t hesitate to enjoy a light snack, such as yogurt. This prevents late-night hunger pangs and ensures a peaceful night’s sleep. You’ll be less likely to wake up craving a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon in the middle of the night.
Step 8: Add, Don’t Just Cut
Rather than solely cutting back on sugary treats, focus on increasing your intake of vegetables during dinner. This will help keep you feeling satisfied for a longer period. If you’re accustomed to drinking fruit juice or soda, gradually replace those with more water. Over time, you may find it challenging to consume the same quantity of sugary beverages.
Step 9: Embrace Intensity in Training
A 15-minute workout involving fundamental movements that engage major muscle groups, performed three times a week (on days when you’re not walking), can yield impressive results. Gradually, you can increase the intensity by incorporating deeper squats, lunges, and heavier weights.
Step 10: Start with Small Changes
Initiate your journey by eliminating the easiest-to-give-up items from your diet. For instance, those carbonated beverages you sip during lunch out of habit, not genuine enjoyment.
Success achieved through gradual changes will provide you with the motivation for even greater accomplishments.
Related: Weight Loss Diet: The Essential Guide
Meanwhile…
For some, dieting seems synonymous with hunger and a monotonous menu. However, there are plenty of delicious options that actually aid weight loss. Among them are foods that go beyond expectations and are known as fat burners. Let’s make a list of foods that can significantly contribute to the calorie-burning process.
Yogurt
Losing fat while enjoying tasty food – what could be more enticing? Natural yogurt (without stabilizers, thickeners, or dry milk) is rich in beneficial fats and proteins. Product with fat content of 1-4% can be consumed as a snack or added to light dishes. Yogurt contains lactobacilli and essential nutrients (calcium, protein, probiotics) that are incredibly beneficial for gut health and immunity.
Dr. Michael Zemel, a philosophy doctor and nutrition professor at New York University, led a team of researchers in an intriguing experiment. People with obesity were offered to consume three servings of fat-free yogurt (170g each) per day as part of a low-calorie diet for 12 weeks. This amount provided around 1100 milligrams of calcium daily. The results showed that they lost 22% more weight and 61% more fat compared to those who simply reduced their calorie intake without consuming additional calcium.
Moreover, they lost 81% more abdominal fat than those without yogurt in their menu. While many foods in diets contribute to the reduction of muscle mass rather than fat, yogurt works differently due to its protein content. However, the key is that foods for a healthy diet (including fat-burning ones) must be natural, meaning you should avoid various flavorings, colorants, and sweeteners.
Choose yogurt with live bacteria, high protein content, and no added sugar. Feel free to add your own toppings like honey, berries, nuts, and seeds. Interestingly, studies have shown that yogurt and cottage cheese with unsweetened toppings do not trigger insulin spikes, thereby not promoting fat storage.
Green Tea: Your Fat-Busting Ally
Green tea contains catechins, compounds that prevent fat accumulation in the body. A single serving is just 5 calories. Moreover, it’s proven that green tea:
- Lowers blood sugar levels
- Suppresses appetite
- Detoxifies the body
- Eliminates excess fluids
- Keeps skin healthy due to antioxidants
As stated by Dr. David Nieman, a medical doctor from North Carolina, green tea increases metabolism, causing calories to be burned more actively. This is due to the combination of caffeine and catechins – antioxidants that abound in your teapot. Catechins are also present in certain fruits and berries (apples, pears, apricots, peaches, plums, cherries, strawberries, currants, raspberries), dark chocolate, and red wine, but in smaller quantities.
Chicken and Fish
One of the most satiating fat-burning foods that won’t leave you hungry is meat. Lean meats include skinless chicken breast, white turkey meat, or lean cuts of beef.
Thanks to their protein content, they help normalize metabolism. The fact is, not everyone realizes that strict diets, improperly balanced diets, and exhausting physical exercises signal distress to the body. In response, it starts storing nutrients because cells aren’t receiving them on time. Metabolism slows down, and chemical processes in the body become disrupted.
Chicken breast contains only 142 calories and 3g of fat, but it provides 26g of protein – over half the recommended daily amount. That’s why it’s a staple in practically all diets that emphasize protein intake. Protein is essential for muscle building and provides us with strength. Furthermore, protein makes us feel full with fewer calories.
In a single serving, there’s less than half a gram of saturated fat and B-group vitamins that provide an energy boost. Dietitians suggest not frying chicken but grilling it instead. Frying would add more calories and fat compared to grilling, where less oil is used, and excess fat drips away rather than being absorbed by the meat.
According to the National Institute of Heart, Lung, and Blood in the USA, the caloric needs for weight loss in adults typically range from 1200 to 1600 calories per day, depending on gender and activity level. Introducing chicken as a source of easily digestible protein can indeed help with proper and healthy weight loss.
For those who don’t enjoy chicken, there are alternative fat-burning foods to help reduce belly and side fat. Fatty fish aids in “dissolving” stubborn fat deposits.
A study published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases showed that fish consumption contributes to weight loss. Researchers found that people who ate only fish (rather than meat) for eight weeks lost more weight than those who ate their regular diet. They note that similar results can be achieved by consuming fish three times a week.
One of the significant advantages of fish is its omega-3 fatty acids, which the body doesn’t produce naturally. These acids reduce anxiety and stress, which often lead to overeating and weight gain.
The protein in fish helps to feel full longer compared to other protein sources, making it an excellent tool for muscle building and maintaining energy balance in the body. However, it’s fair to note that meat generally has more protein.
Some fish varieties can be high in fat, so caution is needed when choosing a type. Among the fatty fish are halibut, carp, sturgeon, mackerel, and catfish, among others.
Nutrition experts don’t advocate for solely fish or chicken diets. Firstly, they support dietary variety, and secondly, they see benefits in consuming both products in moderation.
When considering which substances in foods possess fat-burning properties, remember about dietary protein. It helps the body shed overall and abdominal fat, aiding in smart energy expenditure during weight loss and maintenance periods. It’s a reliable ally in maintaining willpower to avoid overindulgence and high-calorie snacks.
Cinnamon
Some fat-burning products come in the form of spices and can serve as sugar substitutes. Cinnamon is often included in diets as it helps reduce blood sugar levels and suppresses appetite. The essential oil found in cinnamon bark, which is about 90% cinnamaldehyde, is responsible for its distinctive taste.
Researchers from the University of Michigan stated that cinnamon oil also activates thermogenesis, a metabolic process in the body where calories are burned to produce heat. This process can help accelerate weight loss. Dr. Jun Wu and his team of researchers from the Institute for Life Sciences conducted experiments to examine the effects of cinnamaldehyde on volunteers. They noticed that the presence of cinnamaldehyde in the body, and thus cinnamon, promoted thermogenesis and subsequent fat burning.
A quarter of a teaspoon of cinnamon per day is sufficient. It can be added to tea, porridge, desserts, and other dishes.
Coffee
And here, coffee lovers might applaud because the fat-burning properties of their favorite beverage outweigh its potential drawbacks. However, it’s important not to consume coffee on an empty stomach to avoid heartburn and irritation of the stomach lining. Drinking within the range of 2-3 cups a day keeps its adverse effects to a minimum.
Specifically, natural black coffee makes it to the list of the best fat-burning products for both men and women looking to lose weight, as revealed by researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Over a span of 24 weeks, specialists observed 126 overweight adults with insulin resistance. They drank four cups of regular coffee daily to investigate whether coffee consumption could lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. While the study found no impact on insulin sensitivity, a surprising result emerged: the aromatic morning habit contributed to moderate fat loss. Researchers concluded that caffeine accelerated metabolism. However, they do advise limiting consumption to three cups a day instead of four.
The most effective results are achieved when combined with physical exercise (an essential part of any diet). Drinking a cup of coffee 30 minutes before exercise can increase fat burning. Dietitians caution that coffee with syrups, creams, and other additives doesn’t function as a fat-burning product. But you’ve probably already suspected that.
In addition, you can find a multitude of supplements at pharmacies, as a complementary strategy to augment a patient’s endeavor to shed excess weight. Some specialized weight loss programs, particularly those concentrating on hormonal factors, go a step further by augmenting their injections with carefully formulated compounds designed to amplify the fat oxidation process.
Learn more about how fat burners aim to boost metabolism and aid in weight loss: Shedding Pounds with Sibutramine Dragon Pharma.
Before incorporating fat-burning supplements into your weight management program, it’s advisable to consult a healthcare professional. As with any supplement or medication, you should be aware of potential side effects and contraindications before use.