Swimsuit season is fast approaching, and with it the common desire to lose a little weight. For many, the approach of summer means it’s the ideal time to start cutting down on the junk food, upping your exercise game and working out which fit you’re going to showcase on the beach first.
There’s no quick fix for losing weight, no matter what all those fad diets might tell you. It’s not possible to lose 10kg in a week in a healthy way and keep the weight off. However, there are a number of tried and tested ways to get healthier, lean up and feel energised during the hotter months.
If you’ve ever experienced any form of disordered eating in the past or have any medical conditions, please consult your doctor before embarking on a weight loss-focused diet. Additionally, it’s well worth checking your weight and BMI before you embark on your journey, to ensure that you’re at a weight where it’s safe to think about losing a few pounds.
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
When you’re trying to lose weight, you won’t get anywhere if you don’t get the baseline right. And the baseline of the human body is that we’re 70% water, so if you’re not hydrating your body properly you’re already starting out on the back foot.
You should be aiming to drink approximately eight glasses of water a day, more if you’re in a warm or humid climate and if you’re exercising a lot, as your body will lose more fluid to sweat. As well as being an essential substance for sustaining human life, drinking plenty of water will improve your energy levels, improve your skin, aid digestion and can even help your heart and circulatory system to function better. It’s time to drink up. If you struggle to swallow enough of the clear stuff, try getting a water bottle that you love to encourage you to remember. Innermost’s bottle is perfect for this.
Up your workout game
While it’s cardio that has the reputation as being the best kind of exercise to encourage weight loss, it’s the combination of both cardio and strength training that will see that waist circumference reduce the fastest. When you strengthen and work on building up the muscles in your body, your body will naturally burn far more calories consistently than it otherwise would - even when you’re on your way to the kitchen for a late night healthy snack or lying on the sofa watching Netflix.
You don’t need to worry that strength training will make you bulky, either - this is a myth that simply isn’t true. If you need some inspiration before getting started, check out our guide to what we wish we had known before we started to lift weights.
Consider adding a protein shake to your diet to give you some post-workout protein-fuelled energy that will keep you fuller for longer. The Lean Protein is formulated to encourage healthy fat-loss, reduce cravings and support muscle growth and repair, making it a smarter way to lean-up.
Bring out the carrots
To begin losing weight in a healthy way, diet is the most important thing to be aware of. If you’re not being considered and nutritionally optimal in the kitchen it doesn’t matter how many sit ups you do or how long you can hold a plank for, your abs won’t be able to grate cheese if you don’t eat your salad.
Some easy initial things to try include swapping white carbs for wholegrain, reducing the amount of meat you eat and cutting down on your sugar intake. Calorie-counting can be a useful tool if you’re looking to ascertain how much energy you’re putting into your body and how much you need to cut down if there’s a certain amount of weight you want to lose, but be wary of becoming too focused or obsessed with the numbers. It’s not worth becoming overly focused on counting every single calorie you put into your mouth at the expense of your mental health.
The Tone Capsules are also a great option here for an extra boost when it comes to shaping up. Nootropic capsules, they contain research-backed ingredients that gently raise your metabolism, reduce cravings and promote sustainable fat-loss, so they're a good addition to your diet when you're looking to lose weight.
Back off the booze
While many people love a tipple now and then, alcohol truly is the definition of empty calories. While getting merry is fun every now and then, if you’re drinking most nights, especially if you’re drinking beverages which are high in calories and sugar such as beer and cocktails, it could be seriously holding you back from hitting your weight loss goals.
Try swapping out higher calorie drinks for healthier alternatives such as spirits with soda, or red wine, which has health benefit of including polyphenols, which help to reduce inflammation in the body. If you really can’t bear to say goodbye to beer, a light beer such as a Corona Light for 99 calories or a Budweiser Select for 55 calories are better choices than the usual stuff you get down the pub.
