1. Don't cut too many calories
Avoid drastically cutting your calories. Quick and drastic weight loss can
cause issues with your body's metabolism and muscle mass. When you lose
a lot of weight quickly, you really need to strictly monitor where the weight
is coming from. Is it water weight, body fat or muscle mass? The majority of
the time, it unfortunately comes from lean muscle mass and this is exactly
what causes serious issues with your metabolism. Muscle is your body's
most potent and active tissue for burning calories and body fat. It’s basically
your body's "furnace" and you always want to keep it burning hot. When
someone loses a lot of weight, which usually comes from crash dieting or
some other unhealthy way of dropping the weight, the body's lean muscle
mass is cannibalized and the person loses some of the most powerful tissue
for keeping a lean body.
The worst thing is when the person finally decides to get off their diet and
they go back to their unhealthy eating habits. The calories go back up, but
since their BMR (basal metabolic rate) is lowered and they have lost muscle
mass, they end up packing on the body fat very quickly! Have you ever
heard of the term "yo-yo" dieting? This is one of the main reasons why so
many people have issues and hard times with their weight loss plans.
2. Increase your water intake
Drinking water is one of the most important aspects to losing weight. Our
bodies are over 70% water and it needs a large amount of this liquid to
maintain its daily functions. Water helps to flush our systems and remove
harmful toxins. When you don't drink enough water, your body actually
holds onto the water is has which in turn, leaves you bloated. In order to
release the water, you need to consume enough of it throughout the day.
Water is also a great no-calorie source to fill up your stomach which helps
keep you feeling fuller. Try drinking ice cold water to actually burn more
calories. Your body needs to heat up the ice cold water and it uses energy
(calories) to do so. This is what's called the "thermogenic effect". You can
burn an additional 100 calories a day by drinking one gallon of ice cold
water. Over the course of month, this equates to almost 1 pound of weight
and 12 pounds of weight loss per year!
3. Don't forget your protein
Make sure to include a lean protein source at every meal. Shoot for 1 gram
of protein per pound of body weight. By eating enough protein, you will
keep your nitrogen levels high which supports muscular repair and growth.
Protein has a thermogenic effect of 30% which makes it the highest
thermogenic food compared to all other nutrients. This means that for every
100 calories of protein you eat, 30 calories are burned by your body to digest
the food leaving you with a net 70 calories. Here are a few quick and healthy
protein packed snacks:
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