1. You need to eat.
Most people think just dieting alone will help them loose weight. Yes, there is truth to that. But, remember that one guy from season 1 of "Survivor?" He lost like 50lbs during the show because he was eating a whole lot less in that island. However, when the show ended and he went back home, the fat also came back. The reason is metabolism.
During winter, bears hibernate. They don't eat, and their bodies are able to adjust and lowers their metabolism to the point where they can survive. Our bodies do the exact same thing. If you stop eating or lower your calorie intake significantly - your body will react and lower the metabolism, thinking if it doesn't you will starve to death. This is why you need to eat. But there are tricks to how you need to eat.
- First, you need to eat 5 times a day. Breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner, snack.
- Second, you need to eat small portions. THIS IS KEY. Whenever you eat more than your body can handle per sitting, all those extra calories go to fat.
- Third, you need to eat smart. Chicken breast and fish, instead of pizza and hamburgers.
I am a HUGE offender of this rule. I honestly don't follow any of it. And that is the reason I can't seem to trim the last 10lbs i want to get rid of. I eat maybe twice a day - and during lunch i eat a very large portion (which sums to the majority of my calorie intake in a day). I also love carbs (rice, noodles, bread, etc.) - so my diet stinks.
Don't get me wrong though - you can still loose weight with my bad habits, but the results won't be alarming. To top it off, you have a high risk of gaining all the weight back because of a slow metabolism. However, there is a cheat which i will list below.
2. You need to gain more muscle
Muscle burns more calories than fat. That's a given. The more muscles your body has, the more fat/calories you will burn in a day. Your body will also thank you by increasing the metabolism to a degree.
Doing cardio (running, bicycling, walking) is a great workout and helps your heart stay healthy. I am all for cardio. But what it doesn't do that well, is help you increase your muscle volume. And here comes the big shocker! The downfall of cardio only diet is that your body will stay healthy only as long as you keep doing cardio everyday. Whenever you stop, or take a few days off.. guess what? Your body will not have the required metabolism and will gain all that weight back.
So, along with a healthy cardio, you need to lift weights. If you don't have any weights, use your body! Situps, push ups, etc.
3. Genetics
Just like some kids are born into rich parents and have their whole futures laid out for them. Some people are just born with an instilled gene that keeps their metabolism high even without exercise.
Maybe one day in the future, we can create pills that changes our genes..
Anyways, i should probably start listening to my own advice. Eat smaller, more often, and get muscle!
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