Weight Loss is Simple

The human body is a remarkably adaptable machine. Even if years and years of neglect have allowed pound after pound of fat to fill out your frame, you can rid yourself of that lard at a much faster rate than you brought it on board. In that sense, time is your side!

Take these nine easy-to-implement tips to heart, and progress will come in a hurry!

1

 STAY OFF THE SCALE

That you can gain muscle and lose fat is one of the reasons I stress to people not to follow the scale. Body composition and how you look in the mirror matters more than what the scale says.

You could train hard and eat right and build five pounds of muscle and lose five pounds of fat, and what will the scale say? That you still weigh the same.

Frustrating, even though you've made good progress. Use the scale as a guide, but how you look in the mirror, how you feel, and how your clothes fit are much better indicators of your progress.

2

 REDUCE YOUR CALORIES GRADUALLY

If you're looking to lose fat, don't make huge calorie cuts. This will kick your body into starvation mode, reducing your metabolism and making it more difficult to burn off the fat.

To prevent this metabolic slowdown and allow your body to burn fat at an optimal rate, make smaller calorie reductions every week or two.

3

 VARY YOUR CALORIC INTAKE

This is another way to outsmart your body and continue to lose body fat without lowering your metabolism.

By varying your caloric intake every few days instead of eating the exact same amount of calories every day, keep the starvation mechanism in check and continue to burn fat.

Says Jim Stoppani, Ph.D:

"Although in today's society food tends to be accessible and abundant, our bodies are designed to store as much energy as possible to prepare for times of scarcity. One way the body does this is by adjusting its metabolic rate based on calorie intake.

If you stick with the same calories every single day while dieting, your body will adjust by lowering metabolic rate to prevent you from burning off too much body fat. It's all abouthormones.

When leptin levels are high, your metabolic rate stays high; when leptin levels drop, so does your metabolic rate.

When calories are low and steady, leptin levels fall and so does metabolic rate. Eating higher calories on some days and lower calories on others helps to keep leptin levels up."

4

 TRAIN WITH WEIGHTS

Resistance training helps with fat loss in a number of ways. Weight training itself burns calories. Studies also show that, unlike aerobic exercise, weight training increases the calories you burn at rest for up to 39 hours after your workout.

Plus, the more muscle your body has, the more calories you burn each day.

Even if your goal is solely to lose body fat, you need to train with weights. This will help prevent any of the weight you lose from being muscle.

Were that to happen, your metabolism would slow, stalling your fat-loss efforts and turning you into a skinny-fat person.

Yes, even someone with anorexia can have a high body fat percentage.

5

 DO HIGH-INTENSITY INTERVALS (HIIT)

This means alternating a brief period of high-intensity exercise with brief rest periods.

The result: better results in less time.

One of my favorite interval methods is jumping rope. You may need to practice a bit on this one. After a brief warmup, I'll jump rope as fast as I can for 10-20 seconds, followed by a half a minute at a slower cadence.

Always warm up before intervals, by the way. If you're not in the best shape, start withcardio of low or moderate intensity. You might also want to check with your doctor.

6

 EAT MORE FAT

Consuming enough of the good fats will help you lose fat, build muscle, and recover faster from your workouts. Healthy fats also have myriad health benefits, including being good for your heart.

So which fats are "good" fats? The polyunsaturated ones (especially omega-3s), such as those from fish and nuts, and the monounsaturated kind, such as those from peanut butter, olive oil, egg yolks, and fish oil.

7

 CUT CARBS

The attention focused on low-carb diets has divided many people into "pro" and "anti" low-carb camps. Whichever side you're on, the bottom line is that reducing your carb intake—especially sugar and starches—when trying to lose fat will help.

Those carbs you do consume should come from sources such as oatmeal and vegetables.

The timing of your carb intake also affects fat-burning. "I recommend tapering down carbohydrates by 3 p.m.," says Team Bodybuilding.com member Ashley Johns, also known by the BodySpace handle Hottie-I-Am. "Consume most of your carbs in the morning and around your workouts."

8

 INCREASE YOUR PROTEIN

Increasing protein intake will increase your metabolism and help to maintain your muscle mass, all of which helps with fat-burning. In fact, your body burns more calories when you eat protein than when you digest either fats or carbs.

This may explain why the fat-burning effects of eating more protein were confirmed in a study published in the American Journal of Physiology. One group was fed a high-protein diet (just over 1 gram per pound of body weight per day) while the second group consumed an amount closer to the lower recommendation of the RDA (recommended dietary allowance). The group eating the higher-protein diet burned the most fat.Yes, you read that right, Grasshopper: Many dieters actually gained muscle mass without working out, simply by eating a high-protein diet.

9

 EAT 6 SMALLER MEALS PER DAY, NOT 2-3 FEASTS

This will ensure that you supply your body with the nutrients necessary to build muscle and burn fat.

Bonus: Your resting metabolic rate increases. It will also prevent your body from kicking into "starvation" mode, which can happen when too much time elapses between meals.

If this happens, your body will start burning muscle for energy and increasing your body-fat stores, as well as slowing down your metabolism. This is the exact opposite of what you want to happen.

Don't be the kind of person who complains about your situation but never does anything to improve it. Don't become "happy" with the status quo of being miserable. Now use this knowledge to take action!

Boosting Metabolism

"This time I am going to stick to my diet," you tell yourself. You make every effort to follow a healthful eating plan, but in a moment of weakness, hunger strikes and you find yourself indulging in a feeding frenzy.

Is there any way to break this vicious cycle and lose weight for good? It might be time to consider not only looking at what you eat, but also when you eat.

Skip Meals Now, Overeat Later

If you are trying to lose weight, you probably know the importance of keeping an eye on the number of calories you're consuming. But you may not know that how many calories you eat at each sitting can make a difference in your weight-loss efforts, too.

There is evidence that people who skip breakfast and eat fewer, larger meals during the day tend to weigh more than people who eat a healthy breakfast and four or five smaller meals. This may be because they end up feeling hungrier, which makes it easy to give into temptation. "When you skip meals you will [eventually] overeat," says Pete McCall, MS, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise.

Related: Boost Metabolism With These Tips

When you go for hours without eating, your blood sugar levels dip, which can leave you feeling hungry and shaky. A drop in blood sugar can also trigger people to lose their willpower and reach for a calorie-laden treat.


Smaller Meals, More Often

If you eat smaller, more frequent meals throughout the day, your appetite may be better controlled, helping you adhere to your weight-loss plan. By consistently fueling your body with calories — even limited calories — you avoid the feeling of starvation that derails so many diets.

"The idea is that if you have three meals and a couple of snacks throughout the day, you are regulating your blood sugar and maintaining your body chemistry," notes McCall.

When you are consuming fewer calories every day as part of a weight-loss plan, it's even more important to eat consistently throughout the day to reassure your body that you are not starving. According to Kimberly Lummus, MS, RD, when you eat too few calories, your body goes into starvation mode and actually holds onto calories, which can sabotage weight loss.

Managing Your Calorie Intake

Switching from two or three large meals to five or six "mini-meals" may help keep both your blood sugar and metabolism steady. McCall recommends restructuring the day's intake into smaller meals plus more substantial snacks. For someone who plans to eat about 2,000 calories per day, for example, he suggests eating three meals of 500 to 600 calories each and two 100- to 200-calorie snacks.

If eating larger meals is working for you and you're meeting your weight-loss goals, there is no reason to switch to smaller meals. Spreading your calories out may simply help you better control your appetite and perhaps increase your diet success, especially if you reach a weight-loss plateau.

Remember that the bottom line for weight loss remains the same: "Monitor your caloric consumption," advises McCall. "Do not over-consume."

Burn Fats

If the thought of working up a sweat on the treadmill at the gym to burn calories doesn't appeal to you, you'll be happy to know that you can burn plenty of calories just by doing everyday activities.

"Research shows that people who are physically active during the day can burn an extra 300 calories per day," says Pete McCall, MS, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise. "Over 12 days, that can add up to an extra pound of weight loss," he says.

Burning Calories: The "NEAT" Way

McCall says that these extra 300 calories per day can come from what is called non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT, which accounts for the energy that you expend when you are not sleeping, eating, or doing structured physical activities like jogging or sports.

"NEAT" activities include things like walking or riding a bike for transportation, typing on the computer, working in the yard, and cleaning the house. Even fidgeting is considered a "NEAT" activity that can turn up your calorie-burning engine.

These activities help you burn calories by increasing your metabolic rate. This is why agricultural and manual workers tend to have higher metabolic rates than people who live more leisurely lifestyles. In fact, the calories burned through NEAT can differ by as much as 2,000 calories per day between two people who are similar in size.

Burning Calories: Totaling the Burn

"NEAT" calories can really add up — and fast.

According to Kimberly Lummus, MS, RD, Texas Dietetic Association media representative and public relations coordinator for the Austin Dietetic Association in Austin, Texas, in 30 minutes a person who weighs 150 pounds can burn the following number of calories:

Raking leaves = 147 calories
Gardening or weeding = 153 calories
Moving (packing and unpacking) = 191 calories
Vacuuming = 119 calories
Cleaning the house = 102 calories
Playing with the kids (moderate activity level) = 136 calories
Mowing the lawn = 205 calories
Strolling = 103 calories
Sitting and watching TV = 40 calories
Biking to work (on a flat surface) = 220 calories
Burning Calories: A Little More Every Day

If you are trying to increase the number of calories you burn, make an effort to do more "spontaneous physical activities" throughout your day. The best way to do this is to reduce the time you spend sitting, while adding calorie-burning activities to your daily routine.

McCall says that the following can increase your level of calorie-burning throughout the day:

Walk down the hall to see a colleague rather than making a phone call or sending an e-mail.
Take the stairs instead of an elevator or escalator.
Clean your house instead of using a cleaning service.
Take your dog out for more frequent walks.
Ride your bike or walk to work rather than driving.
You can also consider wearing a pedometer to track the number of steps you take throughout the day. Once you have an idea of how many steps you take on average, set increasingly higher goals for yourself and find ways to take a few extra steps each day. Before you know it, you'll find yourself running up stairs, volunteering to sweep the porch, and finding reasons to walk to the store. The more you move, the more you'll want to move!

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