20 ways to lower your body weight
Weight loss is hard. Unfortunately, there is no single answer for undoing years of beer nights, fast food and salad dressings. Here are 20 options you can use in your next diet to bring your body fat percentage down. Your training in the gym and on the running track plays a big role, and it needs to be done regularly and in fairly large amounts. But here we step away from the gym and head into the kitchen to give you a practical list of ways to change your eating habits and build a healthy, strong body.
Practical steps to lower your body weight
1. Change your lifestyle
If you start a diet for weight loss, you may set yourself impossible goals. A diet has an end day, and that is when most people go back to their old habits. If you want to lose fat and keep it off for good, you need to make changes you can live with indefinitely. Don’t restrict calories too strictly, and find a training program that challenges you just enough, leaves room for progression and offers enough variety that you can keep using it for years to come.
2. Drink more water
Water is the hub where most cell activity takes place, including the transport and burning of fat. Drinking a large amount of calorie-free water creates a feeling of fullness and reduces appetite. Drink at least 0.6 l of water per 10 kg of body weight. Always carry a 0.5 l water bottle with you and refill it as many times a day as needed.
3. Eat fewer calories than you burn
First, work out how many calories you burn per day, not counting workouts. You can calculate this with the formula BODY WEIGHT*28.66=daily calories. Next, determine how many calories you burn in your workouts. Half an hour of medium-intensity aerobics burns 350 calories, and half an hour of lifting weights in the gym burns 200 calories. Add your daily calories and the calories burned in workouts together, and keep your daily calorie intake below that total.
4. Cut back on carbohydrates
If you eat too many energy-dense foods such as potatoes, rice, pasta and bread (and especially several of them in the same meal), you give your body more than it needs, and the surplus is stored in the body as fat. IFBB pro Mike Matarazzo says energy-dense foods shouldn’t be cut out completely. Instead, reduce your daily intake to 3-5 servings, and have no more than one cupful of pasta, rice or potatoes at a time.
5. Eat a full, balanced breakfast
“Your body has been starved all night and needs nutrients to recover,” says Matarazzo. “If you grab something in a hurry instead of a proper breakfast, it has a negative impact on your workouts and on everything else during the day.” Eat plenty of protein (30-40 grams), cyclical carbohydrates and a root vegetable or a piece of fruit to give your day a proper start.
6. Limit your sugar intake
Eating simple carbohydrates such as sugar replenishes muscle and liver glucose stores after lifting weights in the gym, but if you consume sugar at other times, it turns into fat in the body. Satisfy your sweet tooth now and then, but try to reach for fruit instead. Replace sugary foods and drinks such as soft drinks and juice with coffee and diet soda.
7. High-carbohydrate and low-carbohydrate days
Nutrition expert and former bodybuilder Chris Aceto recommends eating about 2 grams of carbohydrates per 1 kg of body weight for about 3-5 days (these are your low-carbohydrate days), and then doubling your carbohydrate intake for the following 1-2 days. Repeat this pattern. If you weigh 100 kg, eat 200 g on a low-carbohydrate day and 400 g on a high-carbohydrate day.
8. Drink black coffee before your workout
“Caffeine makes your body rely more on fat than on other fuel during a workout,” says Aceto. “But caffeine’s effect is reduced if you eat carbohydrate-rich food alongside your coffee.” Drink 1-2 cups of coffee within 2 hours of your workout. Coffee affects healthy fats and proteins when you drink it alongside a meal or snack. Don’t use cream and sugar (which add unnecessary calories and fat), and avoid drinking coffee at any time other than around your workout, because that weakens its effect on fat burning during training.
9. Avoid big calorie drops
“Every competitor who slashes calories sharply in the hope of looking better on show day finds that it isn’t the best way to diet,” says IFBB fitness competitor Laurie Vaniman. “Your body ends up looking flatter and emptier as a result.” The same holds true for non-competitors. Aim for modest calorie reductions. “Smaller bodybuilders shouldn’t cut more than 200-300 calories a day, and bigger ones no more than 500,” says Aceto.
10. Eat 5-6 times a day
People on a diet often cut the number of daily meals in an attempt to lower their calories — a big mistake! “You’re better off eating six times a day rather than three, with the same calorie total. A higher number of meals burns more calories (as thermogenesis increases, body temperature rises),” says Aceto. Calculate how many calories you want to use per day (tip 3) and divide them evenly across 6 meals.
11. Take CLA
CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) has become popular among bodybuilders as a fat burner. Several human studies have shown a moderate effect on fat burning. Try 3 grams a day.
12. Get help from a nutrition counselor
To make sure your menu is healthy, energy-balanced, in line with your goals, personalized and sustainable, review it regularly with a nutrition counselor.
13. Use creatine
Creatine is a powerful muscle builder that also helps burn fat. The muscle mass you add while using creatine raises your resting metabolic rate, stoking your fat-burning furnace. This is critical during weight loss. When your body gets few calories, it can reduce muscle mass and lower your metabolic rate. Start with a 5-day loading phase of 15-20 grams a day, divided evenly across 3-4 servings. After the 5 days, take 3-5 grams a day with a meal, after your workout.
14. Eat more vegetables
Vegetables contain the maximum amount of nutrients with a minimal number of calories, leaving you feeling full on fewer calories. Eat vegetables 5 times a day, whether as a snack, on a sandwich or alongside chicken. With your next burger, order vegetables instead of fries.
15. Don’t rely too much on fat burners
Fat burners can help reduce fat, but they don’t make up for bad eating habits. If you use the products mentioned in tips 11-13 without training and proper food, you’re more likely to gain fat than lose it. Fat burners are not miracle pills! Use them together with proper training and a meal plan.
16. Eat 25-35 grams of dietary fiber a day
“Fiber lowers insulin levels — which also affects how muscular you become,” says Aceto. Fiber absorbs water and takes up more space in your stomach, keeping hunger at bay. Bran porridge, oatmeal and beans are excellent sources of dietary fiber. Check the fiber content on food labels.
17. Eliminate junk food
“Junk food is food that offers almost nothing besides calories — like fries, chips and candy,” says Matarazzo. “Cheat foods, such as pizza and hamburgers, offer some nutritional benefit, and eating them rarely may even benefit your diet.” Know the difference!
18. Eat a proper amount of protein
Many bodybuilders overdo protein when they’re on a diet. But protein also contains calories, which can be stored as fat if you eat too much. Eat 2-3 grams of protein per 1 kg of body weight a day. That’s 200-300 grams of protein for a 100 kg person. This provides enough amino acids to maintain muscle mass while keeping your total calories under control.
19. Eat more healthy fats
“People on a diet eat very, very little healthy fat,” says Matarazzo. “You need to cut calories if you want to lose weight, but you shouldn’t leave healthy fats out of your meal plan completely.” Fats take longer to break down and help control blood sugar levels, leaving you feeling better. Ideally, go for avocados, oily fish, olives, nuts and seeds, and oils such as olive and flaxseed oil.
20. Eat cheat foods only for the taste
If you love a certain food, you shouldn’t forbid it to yourself. Steer clear of bad foods — the ones you don’t love or don’t like as much. And if you do eat cheat foods, eat them only for the taste. Don’t eat a whole pizza; take just a couple of slices, save the flavor and enjoy it. Share the rest with others!
Source: WHO – overweight.
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