Maybe you have been exercising regularly for a couple months, but are still seeing no changes. The next step is to take a look at your nutrition. What kinds of foods are you putting into your body? Are you eating too much or too little food? Are you eating enough meals during the day?
Here are some tips that will help you make the changes that will help jump start your metabolism and help you to lose fat.
Drink plenty of water!
When I say plenty of water I don't mean 8- 8oz glasses of water, I mean 80-100 oz. of water everyday especially if you are doing lots of cardio. Being dehydrated can and will mess with your metabolism. Water is such a simple thing and yet most of us have the most trouble getting enough down everyday, so DRINK UP.
Start tracking your meals and calories.
The very best thing you can do is track your calories. Start out by writing down what you normally eat for a week or so to see just exactly you have been putting in your body. Then, you should figure what calorie range you need to be eating in. Some people are not eating enough food, which makes their metabolism slow down and makes it harder to lose fat. Track your calories, staying in your range, using one of the following free meal trackers: Sparkspeople.com and Fitday.com.
Don't cheat yourself, you must enter everything. Even that little nibble of your kids sandwich. In the long run you will be happy you did. Most people find that when they have to be accountable for every little bite, they are more likely not to have it!
Here is how to determine your caloric needs and tell you how many calories per day you need to be eating to aid in fat loss:
* For fat loss= multiply your body weight by 12-13 = your calories
* Maintenance (TDEE)= multiply your body weight by 15-16 = your calories
* Weight gain= multiply your body weight by 18-20 = your calories
This is a basic way of finding a calorie range. It does not take into account the amount of calories you are burning with your workouts. The Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle e book by Tom Venuto book goes into more detail and you can get an exact formula.
Pay attention to food labels.
When you are in the grocery store, you should do most of your shopping on the outside of the store, where the foods with little to no preservatives are. Of course you will need to go into the isles to grab your canned foods and spices. Read the labels and if there are ingredients that you can't even pronounce, its likely its not a food you want to be putting into your body. Organic and all natural foods are very good choices.
Eat foods closest to their natural state: Right out of the ground, off a tree or right from the animal!
For instance oatmeal is close to its natural state, but wheat thins are NOT! Choose 100% whole wheat when buying bread or tortillas. Whole grain does not always mean healthy, so it is very important to read those labels. Another very good rule of thumb is if you cannot pronounce it, don't eat it! It is most often chemicals that are very hard for your body to digest. Sugar is very processed, so is Splenda. Your best choice for sweetener is stevia. I The creamers that are premixed and flavored are full of chemicals also, so beware. Half & half does have more fat but worth the extra fat for its non-chemical state. This may be hard to get the hang of at first, but after while you will become a pro on knowing which foods are best to be putting into your body.
Eat 5-7 times a day.
This may be very hard at first, especially if you are only used to eating 2-3 meals. But your body will adjust pretty quick and you will start to have more energy. Smaller meals every 2-3 hours is the best way to eat. This way your body is getting just enough to use for energy and wont be storing the extra calories as body fat. Make sure that most of your meals contain a protein, such as meat or cheese, healthy carbs, such as fibrous vegetables and healthy fats, such as olive oil or peanuts.
Use these tips daily and you will be well on your way to losing that body fat and fitting into those favorite pair of jeans you have been saving!
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