10 Tricks to Help You Lose Weight Fast (Without Sacrifying Your Favorite Habits!)
Losing weight is a struggle that most of us would simply rather not be bothered with. It takes a lot of time, a lot of effort, and just as many resources to get you that trim, chiselled body you envision. However, this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. There are many different methods of training and diet tricks out there that can aid in your weight loss journey immensely.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems that people face when trying to lose weight is that they are unaware of the plethora of resources readily available to them. Such resources are not “magic pills”, but are instead methods that can make not only the entire weight loss process easier mentally and physically, but also to allow you to see faster progress due to taking the unnecessary guess work out of the equation.
Dieting can be a monotonously boring experience, to say the least. This is due mainly to the slow progress that way too many people experience. The following 10 weight loss tricks listed below will indefinitely help you to acquire adeptness at losing weight and staying fit, all while providing you with a broader knowledge of the many different options you have available to you.
1. Do circuit training
Circuit training is usually the go-to method for people trying to lose weight. This is due to there being minimal rest periods between each interval, which will keep your heart rate elevated throughout the duration of your workout. Not only will your heart rate be elevated, which will allow you to burn more calories, but you’ll also be able to burn more calories in a fraction of the time you’d be able to with traditional treadmill workouts.
This makes circuit training very enticing for not only the individual who is highly motivated to lose weight, but also for the individual who’s ready to burn it off as soon as possible. With circuit training, you can expect to workout in half the time you normally would with the same, if not more calories burned.
2. Eat less salt
Eating high amounts of salt usually leads to gaining a lot of water weight. Water weight tends to reside trapped in the subcutaneous layer of our skin. This can blur out your abs and give you the illusion that you have more fat on your body than you really have.
Cutting down on your daily salt intake should allow you to see some pretty impressive improvements as water weight can usually be lost relatively quickly. Try seasoning your foods with only a dash of salt or perhaps try using unsalted seasonings on your meals to heighten water weight loss.
3. Drink more water
I’m sure that all of you have heard of the apophthegm, “Water is essential to life.” Well, the same can be said for weight loss too. Water is essential to losing weight as it hydrates your cells and tissues, which are under much greater amounts of stress during dieting. This is mainly due to the body being in a caloric deficit, along with the great physical demands being placed on working joints and muscles.
Also, drinking more water while simultaneously consuming less salt creates an environment in your body that encourages water weight to be dispelled. You can also aid in the reduction of water weight by squeezing some fresh lemons in your water. Lemons are a natural diuretic. So, you can expect to see a significant amount of weight loss by adding in these simple techniques.
4. Cut out empty calories
‘Less’ is the key to your success. You don’t have to quit your favourite little pleasures but try to select them mindfully and less frequently.
Soda, candy, and other types of sugary treats are nothing more than empty calories, to say the least. Foods like this may grant you a moment of relief psychologically, but you can expect to pay the price moments after. Consuming large amounts of simple sugars like soda, chips, and cookies, will greatly spike your blood sugar (glucose). This, in turn increases the amount of insulin that your pancreas churns out. The more glucose in your bloodstream, the more insulin you’ll need to control it.
The problem comes after your insulin controls your heightened blood sugar levels, aka a sugar spike. What follows after is called a sugar crash. This not only makes you feel more lethargic, which promotes poor workout performance, but it will also increase your appetite. So, needless to say, this is a vicious cycle that should be avoided or at least limited.
5. Sweat it out
Ever thought about wearing a sauna suit before? They look like giant garbage bags that you wear when you exercise (if you’re bold enough) or to use while you sit in the sauna and “sweat out the weight.” Boxers and MMA fighters openly use such techniques to help them make their weight class. They’re able to drop significant amounts of weight in a relatively short amount of time all by sweating it out.
Of course, make sure that you drink enough water so you don’t dehydrate! Don’t worry though, drinking water is not going to put the water weight back on you. As long as you follow tip #2 and #3 you should be fine.
6. Journal
Keeping a journal is an excellent way to help you to stay cognizant of your daily diet habits. Most people who don’t journal the foods they eat throughout the day usually tend to “think” they eat better than they actually do.
Writing down all of your meals and snacks is a great way for you to know exactly what you’re eating on a daily basis. This can also very beneficial for those who suffer from low blood sugar or high cholesterol. Calculating cholesterol content, saturated fat, and sugar can all easily be done by journaling your diet habits daily.
7. Try Tabata training
Tabata training, aka the 4-minute workout, is a very intense training protocol that will have you dripping in sweat in no time. Tabata training is a methodology that uses as 20 seconds “on” and a 10 second “off” training scheme. This high-intensity training method is actively used for those looking to get in and out of the gym as soon as possible
The more effective exercises for Tabata training involve full body movements like burpees, mountain climbers, and other very demanding exercises. With only a 10 second rest between intervals, you can expect your heart rate to be very elevated throughout your entire workout. Also, feel free to increase the duration of your workout for as long as you wish.
8. Step on the stairmaster
There is no question that the stairmaster is one of the best pieces of cardio equipment available. You can expect a sharp rise in your heart rate within your first several steps. This has to do with each step being analogous to performing a mini lunge. This, in conjunction with the steep incline that stairmasters are known for only increases its weight loss capabilities.
The real beauty with this machine is that it doesn’t require any super intense effort on your part. You need only to maintain a steady pace to experience the calorie burning benefits of this highly effective machine. So, if you’re lucky enough to have one at your gym, then you should definitely try it out as opposed to using a treadmill or a stationary bike, as you can expect significantly faster results.
9. Drink coffee or tea
Coffee and tea are both stimulants which can aid in speeding up your metabolism. When your metabolism is sped up, you are then able to burn calories at a faster rate. Most pre-workout and energy drinks contain caffeine in them, but there’s always the uncertainty of knowing exactly what you’re putting in your body due to the near countless amount of unidentified ingredients they usually contain.
So, try drinking a cup of coffee or tea in the morning to kick start your metabolism as soon as you wake up. This will help to give you an advantage that will carry through with you throughout the rest of your day. Starting the day off with a quick metabolism boost is a sure way to put your body in the optimal position for losing weight.
10. Eat fruits and veggies to curb your appetite
Fruits and vegetables are great for trying to lose weight not only due to them being very low in calories, but also for their effect on satiety. These foods help to keep you fuller for longer due to the fiber that all fruits and vegetables naturally contain within them. Staying full is a crucial part of any successful weight loss program.
This is where most of the struggle comes in to play, besides one’s innate desire to eat unhealthy foods. This is especially the case if you’re involved in strenuous exercise, as such physical demands tend to greatly increase your metabolism, which is great of course. However, a fast metabolism means that you’re going to burn calories faster, which means that you’ll be much hungrier than usual throughout the day. Thus, the need for foods like fruits and vegetables to help curb your appetite so you can continue to lose weight and see progress.