Firstly, cut out fizzy drinks, alcohol and other flavoured beverages. Understanding what these drinks do to you changes your perception of them. These drinks are full of empty calories with no nutritional value, which means that you’ve wasted calories on them when you could have lost weight just by switching to water. The 100 calories you get from drinking coke won’t be as satisfying or filling as a 100 calorie-bowl of rice, which means you will just eat more and gain weight. There is also additional salt in drinks like this which means you become thirstier and crave more. This starts an endless cycle of weight gain and belly bloating, when water could increase your metabolism and flush out weight-inducing harmful toxins.
Next replace the refined carbohydrates in your diet wholesome wholegrains. That doesn’t just mean cakes and doughnuts but also white bread, rice and pasta. These foods cause your blood sugar levels to spike, bloat your stomach and are digested way too fast, which means you get hungry faster and end up eating more. Instead, choose complex carbohydrates, vegetables, fruits and oatmeal.
Aerobic exercise from walking, running and skipping works all of your muscle groups, as opposed to strength training which tends to focus on particular muscle groups. Both exercises are fine, but cardio also requires less recovery time. You can even lose weight by having sex, as a 30 minute session burns 144 calories! Finally, get 30 minutes more sleep than you’ve been getting, and consider an earlier bedtime to achieve this. Tiredness can cause you to skip gym sessions and reach for the cupcakes for a quick sugar fix, so get enough rest and follow the rest of these tips to see if you can lose weight by this time next week.