Lose Belly Fat – How To Lose Belly Fat with Venus Slim at Home?
Chapter 1. Introduction
Everyone is looking for a ‘silver bullet’ these days. They’re looking for that ‘one simple trick’ that can change their lives and make everything better – that will make them feel more energetic, more attractive, and more successful.
Because let’s face it: life can be something of a slog for most of us. We wake up in the morning feeling tired and not wanting to haul ourselves out of bed. Then we drag ourselves to work through busy, stressful commutes and then we force our way through a long hard day.
When we get home, we usually feel too tired and depressed after our working week to do anything worthwhile, and so we just crash out in front of the couch.
Many people struggle with feelings of low self-esteem, depression, and loneliness on top of this. We’re constantly connected but many of us feel that we struggle to make real worthwhile connections.
Is there really one simple trick that can turn that all around? That can give you a new lease of life and help you feel like a million bucks?
Well, I’m here to tell you that there is. And it’s perfectly obvious when you think about it. The simplest way to turn your life around and to feel the best you’ve ever felt is to get rid of that belly fat. If you’re currently living with a mushroom top, ‘Dad bod’ or just a spare tire around your waist, then it is dragging you down more than you could possibly know.
How Belly Fat Makes Everything Worse
Of course we all know that belly fat can ruin your confidence. Having a gut is simply not attractive whether you’re a male or female and it’s something that is going to make you feel a whole lot worse about yourself
Having a gut doesn’t just get rid of any chance you might have stood of having a six pack, it also ensures that you look like a stuffed potato whatever clothes you wear.
It’s immensely hard to put on a great shirt or dress and to leave the house feeling like a million bucks when you have a massive gut hanging out.
More than that though, a gut signals generally poor health. This suggests that you are less active and what normally goes along with that is a general lack of tone and definition that can be seen everywhere from your arms to your face.
Women: do you remember when you used to feel light, petit and strong? Like a toned and honed Amazonian ready for business and enjoying all the stares coming your way?
Guys: do you remember what it felt to have a dominating presence in the room? To look slightly like an athlete in your clothes and to have the look of a predator? To be an alpha male and to look fantastic in nearly every outfit you wore?
Having a gut changes your posture too. It forces you into a more forward position that slumps your shoulders forward and closes off your chest. This is a submissive stance that sends a loud signal to others that you aren’t confident and that you don’t need to be taken seriously! Women meanwhile can expect to look frumpy and tired.
Having a gut transforms you from the bottom up and brings you screaming into middle age. It suggests that you’ve stopped trying and affects your very body language – which of course has a deep psychological impact.
Then there are the direct results of getting into better shape. Of course your sex life will improve and I’m not just talking about for single people. Obviously picking up women/men becomes much easier when you look healthy and sexy but you’ll also find your relationship improves.
How would you feel about your partner if they become more toned and sexy? Or if they gained lots of weight quickly conversely?
And then there’s the way that a belly can impact on your libido – or lack thereof. If you’re not having sex, then losing the gut might be the answer. And guess what?
Getting into lean shape can improve your salary too. Studies show that employers are more likely to employ or promote people who are in better physical shape! On average men and women who are more toned earn hire salaries!
And that’s before we have even touched on the direct psychological consequences of carrying a belly around. Because as soon as you grow that gut, you’re going to start producing significantly more stress hormones such as cortisol which will increase depression and rob you of energy.
Of course, that gut drastically increases your likelihood of developing a number of different conditions as well. This also creates something of a vicious circle – the increase in cortisol and in stress increases your likelihood of gaining more weight and encourages stress eating. Not only that, but it also makes you significantly less energetic and makes it harder for you to engage in healthy activities such as exercise. In other words, having a belly makes it much harder to get rid of a belly. And that’s before you take into account the fact that you’re now moving around with a large tub of lard attached to your gut. Let’s face it – you are not in your prime and athletic activities probably aren’t your strong suit right now. But imagine if they were…
And that’s what we’re going to start fixing in this book. I haven’t even touched on all the ways that belly fat can lead to depression, further weight gain, low self-esteem and even serious health conditions. If none of these other reasons is going to provide enough motivation then simply consider that a belly will increase your likelihood of cancer, diabetes, stroke, heart disease and more.
So yes, this really is the one thing that you can do to change your entire life. If you look after your body, it looks after you. And now we’re going to see how you can make that positive change happen.
Chapter 2: How Did it Get Like This?
If we’re going to fix this ‘belly problem’, then perhaps the best place to start is by asking how it got this way in the first place. What series of events led to you gaining the weight and letting yourself go? Perhaps with that knowledge, we can then reverse the process and get
back on track.
I’m speculating here, but I’m going to take a stab at how you found yourself with this unwanted flab.
Because for most of us, we weren’t always that way. Most of us were fairly toned and fit when we were in our younger years but then things changed. We got older and then we started to get tireder. Hormones don’t help – hormones make our metabolisms slow down as we get past 25 and suddenly it becomes much harder to keep the belly fat off.
Not only that, but we start spending more and more time at work in the office and pouring more and more energy into that work. Then we get married, get a mortgage, have kids…
Suddenly, the amount of free time we have to ourselves dwindles down to almost nothing. If we aren’t changing nappies, answering angry phone calls out of hours, coming home late or doing the dishes, we’re crashed out on the sofa exhausted.
And stress is another thing that can contribute to weight gain. Stress increases cortisol, cortisol makes us hungry and it stimulates ‘lipogenesis’ or fat storage.
Gradually our gym regime takes a back seat and soon after that, our diet takes a back seat too. We start eating what is convenient and affordable and slowly life chips away at our fitness.
And it doesn’t seem like a big deal either. But as we’ve seen it really is, because it starts to have a knock-on effect in every single other aspect of your life. If you can take back control of your gut, you can take back control of your life!
So how are you going to get it back?
The Problem is Energy, Not Time
Let’s take a closer look at this issue and see what it really boils down to. Now a
lot of people will tell you it comes down to time. They aren’t in shape because they don’t have time to be in shape.
Is this accurate though?
I would argue not. Because if you are like most people, then you have somehow still managed to watch an awful lot of TV series. Maybe you recently completed the latest season of Game of Thrones. And then there’s the simple fact that you could wake up earlier.
And there’s the fact that – if we are being completely honest here – eating healthily doesn’t take that long. In fact it’s very quick and easy to eat a salad, or to eat whatever you were going to eat tonight sans chips.
The problem isn’t that you don’t have time to workout, it’s that you don’t have the energy or the inclination. And it’s not that you don’t have time to cook, it’s that you don’t have energy. Furthermore, you feel like you need a pick-me-up. Something that can help you to get yourself up and running again – and fish just doesn’t cut it.
Fish after a long day at work just doesn’t cut it.
Now, in the next chapter we’re going to take a look at the most simplistic and efficient way to lose weight. This is straightforward calorie tracking. We’ll see why this can work and why it’s really just very simple math.
But I want you to keep this chapter in the back of your mind because we’re going to be coming back to it. You’re going to see later on that your lifestyle makes it hard to cut calories and that you need to have a rethink if you’re going to win this war on your belly!
Chapter 3: The Simplest Diet for Fighting Belly Fat: Cutting Calories
The most straightforward way that anyone can fight belly fat, is to simply eat fewer calories than they burn. This is what is called maintaining a ‘caloric deficit’ and it basically means that the body needs to burn fat in order to get the energy it needs.
The body is constantly burning energy, not only to allow it to engage in various activities such as walking, jogging or thinking but also to allow it to simply stay alive. That is to say that you need to burn energy for the most fundamental of human bodily functions such as blinking and breathing.
If you are constantly eating, then you are constantly supplying your body with the sugar that it needs. This will remain in the blood until the body is able to use it to power whichever movements are necessary. Failing that, the body will look to stores of glycogen which is kept in the cells. It’s only once both of these energy supplies runs short that the body then needs to start looking elsewhere. That is when it starts to burn fat.
How to Measure and Maintain a Calorie Deficit
If you want to measure and maintain a calorie deficit, then you need to first calculate how many calories your body burns in a given day. This means looking at the number of calories that you burn while inactive (called your ‘basal metabolic rate’) and then looking at how
much exercise you do on top of this – making your AMR or ‘active metabolic rate’. There are plenty of different calculations out there for getting a rough estimate of these numbers
Ultimately though, it is actually more effective in most cases to try and work this out using a fitness tracker. While calculations can be useful, they don’t allow for variations from one day to the next. Most of us will find that our active metabolic rate varies tremendously throughout the week and this of course has a big impact on how much you should be eating.
A good fitness tracker will allow you to enter some personal metrics, such as your height, weight and gender, and will then count your steps and measure other
activities throughout the day. A device such as the Fibit Alta HR for instance will not only track steps but also monitor your heartrate throughout the day and automatically detect exercises and activities like walks, runs and sports. Using this data, you can then get a much more accurate picture of how many calories you burn daily.
From there, you can then start calculating how many calories are going in. Again, there is technology out there to help you do this. MyFitnessPal for example is a tool that will let you log the foods you eat by entering the calories and ‘macronutrients’ manually, or by simply scanning a barcode in order to add them from a huge database.
If you scan everything you eat through MyFitnessPal – not forgetting the drinks you consume (including alcoholic!) and any smaller snacks throughout the day – then you now have a total number for all the calories you’ve eaten to measure against the ones you’ve burned.
Now all you need to do is to plan your day so that the number of calories coming in stays lower than those going out. Let’s say that you’ve burned 2,300 calories and you’ve eaten 2,200. You can either stop there, or you can try and do some more exercise in order to burn more calories. Either way, you need to keep the first number higher than the second one. If you can do that, then you will burn fat. It’s that simple and it has to work – because there’s no other source of energy for your body to get fuel from.
Maintain a constant caloric deficit of around 200-300 and you’ll slowly lose more and more fat. Remember: slow and steady wins the race!
Except it’s not really that simple. Is it? For starters, there are the kinds of foods you’re eating – the nutrients. Then there is the matter of your metabolism and, you know, life.
Maintaining a caloric deficit seems simple and flawless on paper but in practice, it is too simplistic. Over the next few chapters you’ll discover why and you’ll find out how to strike that happy balance that will result in guaranteed fat loss.
A Little About Targeting
Before I go any further though, I should first address a concern you may have. After all, wasn’t this supposed to be a book about burning belly fat specifically? How does maintaining a caloric deficit guarantee you’ll lose your gut? Women
reading this might even be worried they’ll lose weight from places that they want it: like their breasts!
As some of you may already know, this does not guarantee you’ll lose your belly. That’s because nothing can guarantee that you’ll lose your belly. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as ‘targeted’ fat loss. That is to say that you can’t choose which part of your body you want to improve the looks of and then conveniently blast fat from there.
The order in which fat is lost from your body is actually genetically predetermined and is impossible to change. Some people will lose weight from their guts first and those people are very lucky indeed. Other people might lose it from their arms first. As of right now, science has no way of helping you choose which order things happen in for you.
So the only way you can burn belly fat is to burn all fat and then feel safe in the knowledge that it is going to eventually reach your belly. That said though, we will look at some tips in this book later on that can help you to make your belly flatter and more toned in other ways…
Chapter 4: The Role of Hormones in Weight Loss
If you look around the web for advice on how to lose weight, you’ll find that people fall into two broad camps. There are those that believe weight loss is entirely dictated by that caloric deficit we just discussed and there are others that feel there are other, more important factors at play.
Let’s take a look at some criticisms of the ‘calorie deficit’ approach to dieting…
Problems With the Deficit
It is certainly true that your body needs to burn fat for energy once it has run out of other sources. It is certainly true that if you have no other means of getting that energy, you will lose fat stores and eventually you lose weight. This really is simple math – cause and
But the problem comes with calculating that magic ‘AMR’ – active metabolic rate. These calculations are rough guesses at best and they are based on nothing more than your physical features. The best calculations take into account your muscle mass (which is metabolically active) but even these don’t take into account underlying issues such as the balance of your hormones.
Simply put, some hormones help you to burn fat faster and some help you to burn fat faster. These are directly responsible for how many of those processes that require energy are going on in your body at any given time and how capable your body is of utilizing the various stores of energy available to it.
Just a few of these hormones include:
• Cortisol
• Insulin
• Thyroid hormones (T3 and T4)
• Adrenaline
• Serotonin
• Leptin
• Ghrelin
• Testosterone
• Estrogen
• Progesterone
• IGF1
• Human growth hormone
• And many more
The problem is that we all have different balances of these hormones. These hormones are in constant flux and are affected by everything from what we are eating at the time and how stressed we are, to how much sleep we’ve had and how sunny it is.
Some people have imbalances in these hormones that are permanent, while others will use medications that can alter them.
Those fitness ‘gurus’ that ignore the role of hormones in weight loss can’t explain why hypothyroidism or polycystic ovaries leads to weight gain. They also can’t explain why using steroids builds muscle and burns fat.
You may not have a condition like hypothyroidism but the point to recognize is that these conditions are not really binary. You do not have to ‘have’ or ‘not have’ a condition – but rather you can view everyone as existing somewhere along the spectrum. You might have a slightly lower production of thyroid hormones than someone else, or you might be higher in testosterone.
This is why some people lose fat very easily and it is why some people struggle to lose it. It’s also why things tend to get harder for us as we get older and it’s why things get harder for us as we become more stressed and more tired. All of this upsets our hormone balance and puts our bodies into ‘fat storage’ modes.
The issue is not with the calorie deficit but rather our ability to accurately calculate our own AMR. Not only that, but these hormones also play a very big role in why we struggle to lose weight (they make us hungry, low in energy and depressed) and they contribute directly to fat storage around the midriff.
This is before we take into account the fact that it is essentially impossible to calculate the precise number of calories burned (heart rate alone is not a perfect correlate for calories burned) or the number of calories in any given item of food. You really think that every single apple has the precise same number of calories in it? Are you sure you are really adding precisely the same amount of sauce to your meals?
Then there’s another fallacy of the calories in/out diet, which is the notion that our calories somehow magically reset at the end of the day: that we can make sure we’re in a calorie deficit on Monday and then start again on Tuesday. In reality, the build up of calories is cumulative and can be ‘carried over’.
And then there is the way that eating in itself can affect your hormonal balance and process the foods that are coming in…
The Cycles of the Body
Not only does everyone have different balances of hormones in the long term, but we all also go through cycles where different hormones pique.
This is useful information to know if you want to try and make it as easy as possible to encourage weight loss because it means you can time your consumption of food to coincide with
points when your metabolism is fastest and you can try to diet the hardest at points when you’re less likely to be hungry.
For example, when you wake up first thing in the morning, your body is in a ‘fasted state’. This is simply because you have just gone the last eight hours without eating anything, thereby meaning you have very low blood sugar.
How does the body interpret this? It interprets it as danger! In other words, your body will now react by telling you you need to eat and need to eat fast. If you don’t get food into your system quickly, then you might starve! Remember: as far as your body is concerned you’re still surviving out in the wild!
Thus, your low blood sugar will trigger a release of cortisol the stress hormone that will motivate you to go and find food. This is also what makes us grumpy in the morning. You’ll release sugar from stores into the blood and you’ll produce ghrelin the hunger hormone. This also triggers the release of myostatin – a chemical that tells the body to burn muscle and to use it as fuel.
In other words, you’re now in a ‘catabolic state’. This is further enhanced by the light coming in through the window, which wakes us by triggering the release of cortisol and nitric oxide in the brain.
Once you’ve eaten though, things change. Now sugar is released immediately into your body which the body responds as good news. This triggers the release of serotonin – a feel good hormone – followed by melatonin which is the sleep hormone. This is why we often feel sleepy after a large meal!
Now your brain becomes slower and groggier and you feel happier… but countless other activities can similarly alter your hormone balance. As it gets darker for instance, we release more of the sleep hormone melatonin. Likewise, if we’re in a good mood and having fun with friends, we release more serotonin. Likewise, when we work out, this triggers the release of stress hormones followed by anabolic hormones like growth hormone and testosterone to trigger growth.
Ultimately, the body is constantly swinging between an ‘on state’ called ‘catabolic’ or ‘fight and flight’ and an ‘off state’ called ‘anabolic’ or ‘rest and digest’. When the body is hungry, harmed or threatened, you become more alert and produce more stress hormones. At this point, you burn your energy stores because you need to
keep going. But when the body is relaxed or you’ve eaten a satiating meal, that’s when you are more likely to store fat and build muscle.
The issue is that countless things we do skew this system all the time and that’s one
of the reasons it’s so hard for us to stick to a diet…
This is where the next huge factor comes in: lifestyle! We’ll look at that in the next chapter, but first…
The Roles of Carbs and Fats
As mentioned, the timing of your food and the way you eat can have a big impact on your hormonal balance. Likeise, the hormonal balance can have a big impact on the way that you’re eating!
For example, if you eat first thing in the morning, you ‘break’ your fast. That is to say that you take yourself out of a catabolic state where the body is desperate for food and is burning fat.
Some people will then try to extent this catabolic state for as long as possible as a trick to burn more fat. They might even engage in something called ‘fasted cardio’ which means that they’ll work out first thing in the morning before breakfast so that the only thing available to burn is stored fat.
Another trick is something called ‘carb backloading’. Here, you engage in intensive exercise designed to deplete the glycogen stores. Then you consume carbs and as a result, they will be more likely to be stored in the muscle cells rather than being stored as fat.
But the technique that most people are interested in is to avoid ‘simple carbohydrates’ altogether. Simple carbohydrates are any carbs that release their energy immediately into the blood. These tend to be the sweetest carbs like sugar,
cake and white bread. By eating these, you cause a sudden spike in blood sugar which triggers the release of insulin and puts your body into a ‘fat storage’ mode.
If you avoid these simple carbs however, then you can maintain more of an equilibrium and thereby prevent your body from storing the energy. Instead, you’ll simply be replenishing your blood sugar as it is being used up. This is the objective of many low carb dieters who will instead rely on complex carbohydrates and fats which digest much more slowly and therefore release sugar into the blood at a slower rate as well.
Some low carb dieters and fasters will go even further to try and reduce blood sugar to the point that the body beings producing an alternative energy source ketones.
Do you need to worry about this? Is any of it relevant for losing your belly? Don’t worry – everything will be explained into a simple to follow programme very shortly.
Chapter 5: Fitting a Diet Into Your Lifestyle
Here is the other issue with eating a diet designed simply to help you reduce your caloric intake: it’s miserable!
I always say that there is no point in starting any new diet or any new training regime unless you intend to stick with it permanently. If you’re going to diet for a month and then go back to your old shape… then what’s the point?
So whatever diet you’re coming up with right now, the first thingyou need to ask yourself is whether you can feasibly see yourself following it forever.
This is the problem with intermittent fasting diets and it’s the problem with calorie counting. Sure, you can stomach the idea of scanning all your food for a few days, weeks or even months. But are you really going to be doing this when you’re eighty? If not, then it is not sustainable.
And what’s the point of going to such effort to count everything you eat, when we’ve already seen that the numbers are really just a guess at best?
For most people, this will be an effective tool until it becomes dull and they give up because they’re too tired and stressed to stick with it. For others, it might never work owing to other biological factors that prevent them from getting the most from it.
Cast your mind back to the notion of your body going through cycles between anabolic and catabolic. Now ask yourself: what have you been doing all day at work? You’ve been stressed, likely getting into arguments, working to deadlines and struggling with difficult clients. At the same time, you’ve been staring into a screen which is a very bright source of artificial light.
What does all this mean? It means you’re very much in fight or flight. You’re very much catabolic. And so when you get home, of course your body is going to revert to anabolic. Not only that, but your blood sugar is likely incredible low and you need something to cheer you up – something that will release some serotonin. You need to swing that pendulum back to the anabolic, rest and digest state.
And now you’re telling me that you’re going to eat fish because it has the right number of calories?
The good news is that there is a better way…
The Other Factors Overlooked by Diets
There are many more important factors that often get overlooked by diets too. One of these is the fact that we tend to eat socially. That is to say that will we often eat something because we’re with our partners, our families or our friends. We like inviting people round for meals, we like going out for fancy dinners and
we like surprising our partners with chocolates.
If you don’t join in with this, then it’s actually quite unsocial and we miss out. Again, with all those hormones screaming at you to get some sugar and now the social pressure of eating out… are you really ordering that salad? Forever?
And yes, there is the simple matter of time and energy. Tracking all your calories takes time and energy and as we’ve discussed, those are both factors that are already at a premium. Can you really motivate yourself to count all the calories in that home cooked meal… every day?
But Most Important of All: Nutrients
And there’s something else that gets not a lot of attention when it comes to diet and that absolutely deserves it: that’s nutrition.
Too many of us view our food as fuel. This is something that the calorie counting
approach is very guilty of doing. We look at food as something that we use in order toenable ourselves to keep going and to keep us productive at work. We think of it in terms of something that our body burns in much the same way that a car uses petrol.
But food is MUCH more than that. Not only should food be enjoyable and social as we have already discussed but it should also be thought of as being the very substance that we are made of. You’ve heard the expression ‘you are what you eat’ and well… it’s true.
When you consume amino acids from proteins, your body actually reconstitutes those in order to build your muscle and skin. You are literally recycling the parts of dead animals and plants in order to rebuild your own tissue. Likewise, the micronutrients found in your food help to build your bones and connective tissues, your brain chemicals and even the hormones that help to drive you.
Micronutrients are the tiny nutrients that come from all our food and they are absolutely essential to helping us to perform and feel our very best. These make us feel more awake, more alert, more happy and they even help to elevate our metabolism so that we burn more fat!
If you are feeling depressed, weak, sluggish and slow, then there’s a good chance that it is actually because you have a deficiency in some kind of essential nutrient. These are nature’s sports supplements and they can be instrumental in helping you to get out of the funk you’re in.
Why Modern Diets Are the Worst
And here’s another thing to keep in mind: modern diets are the worst.
The big issue is with modern diets is that they have essentially hacked the very system our body evolved in order to survive with. Remember the way that
simple sugars cause a rush of blood sugar, insulin and serotonin to make us feel great but then cause us to gain weight?
Well, all food manufacturers care about is that first bit: making you feel good. They want to sell more of their crisps, their chocolate bars and their cakes and so they have made foods that are practically just sugar. These are constantly and immediately spiking the blood sugar and can single handedly raise your chances of developing diabetes and other health conditions.
What’s worse is that these overly processed foods have removed all of the nutrients that made them so healthy. If you eat a piece of fruit, you’ll probably find that it’s packed with vitamin C, vitamin A, resveratrol and a host of antioxidants which will help you to look and feel more awesome. But if you eat a shop-bought sausage role then you’re barely eating meat. You just get sugar, trans fat and salt! Likewise, if you eat a chocolate bar, you spike your sugar but without getting any useful nutrients.
Remember: this is the stuff that your feel good hormones are made out of. This is the stuff that helps to drive your metabolism forward. This is the stuff that rebuilds your wounds.
So is it any wonder that so many of us are burned out, dried up and exhausted?
Chapter 6: Finally: The Lose Your Belly Diet
So there has been a lot of preamble thus far but it’s important that you understand the logic behind the lose
your belly diet so that you can understand why it is working so well.
Remember: our objective is still to eat fewer calories than we burn but along the way we want to take into account the role of hormones and meal timing and we want to actually enjoy eating in a way that is practical.
The Simple Way to Lose Weight
If you were to boil weight loss down into its simplest possible parts, then the main take home point would still be to eat less and to specifically eat less of the bad stuff. What counts as bad stuff? Simple carbs, which just so happens to be most of the empty calories as well.
In other words, if you eliminated processed foods like sausage roles and pork scratchings, along with all the sweets and treats like crisps, chips, chocolate, cake and candy… then you would be able to enjoy a diet with far fewer calories immediately and you
would at the same time not be losing anything important from your food intake. This is not rocket science, it’s pretty straightforward!
While you’re at it,make sure you get rid of any excessive sauces – so that means squirting large amounts of mayonnaise onto your food – and certainly sugary drinks. Did you know that a glass of Coke has as much sugar as eating two Cadburies Cream Eggs!
So remove the bad stuff and where possible, just replace with a vegetable like a carrot or a fruit like a banana.
In fact, make a conscious effort to make sure that you are getting more nutrients. That guideline about fruit and vegetable? Follow it! This doesn’t have to be
complicated or a slow process – it can be as simple as ordering a smoothie from Starbucks in the morning instead of a capuccino (which is also filled with sugar FYI!).
Even if it just means taking a vitamin tablet, this is one of the most important points I want to ram home. Once you start getting more nutrients in your diet, you will start to feel more energetic, more lively and much more positive.
We’re in a vicious cycle right now where stress and a modern diet has made it increasingly difficult to get out of our rut and take back control. You can’t force your way out of this kind of lifestyle with sheer force, you need a quick and easy win. Getting more nutrients is that win. Trust me, you start getting more vitamin C and D in your diet and you’ll regain that spring in your step that will then help to motivate you toward all the other things you need to do.
Simple Tracking
This has immediately improved your health so that you feel more energetic and will be consuming fewer calories. But if you’re in the process of swapping out unhealthy foods for healthy ones, it’s still possible that you might be consuming too many calories.
Just because something is healthy, that doesn’t mean it can’t also be calorific! And just because something is healthy, that doesn’t mean it can’t make you fat.
The perfect example is the avocado. This is absolutely packed with goodness and is a great healthy fat that will slowly release sugar throughout the day. This is the ideal breakfast food instead of a sugary cereal that will spike your blood and destroy your fasted state.
The problem? Avocados are also quite high in calories. This is why it can still be a good idea to track your calories a little to get an idea of what is going in and out. But
we’re going to do it in a way that is much more easy going and something you’re more likely to stick with.
The idea is simple: you will calculate the amount of calories you consume over a few average days and the amount you burn over a few average days. Now you know a rough target and you will have an idea of what some of the ‘staples’ in your diet do to your calorie total.
This is when my wife and I stopped buying a tasty shop-bought pizza after realizing it was well in excess of 1K calories each!
Now you’ll have more of a ‘feeling’ for when you’re getting close to your threshold and you’ll know which healthy alternatives you can snack on to tide you over.
Ride the Tide
Better yet? Make your meals consistent.
If you make your meals consistent, then you can know precisely how many calories are in it (as near as possible at least) and you won’t need to constantly scan and calculate.
Didn’t I just say how a program that’s too rigid is folly though? Well yes, but you
see this is where the clever part of this diet comes in.
The idea is that for the first two meals of the day you are going to eat in a manner that is entirely predictable. If you do switch your lunch-time dessert, then it will be something that is pre-approved, which won’t spike your blood sugar and which isn’t too high in calories. The aim is to keep these meals very clean, very nutritious and very low in calories. They should also be things that satisfy you though and things that you can easily acquire and prepare. If that means buying from a salad bar or similar… then so be it!
This might seem miserable – eating the same two meals every single day – but actually it is the precise opposite.
The purpose of these two meals you see is to allow you to eat whatever you want in the evenings. If you know that you have only consumed 500-700 calories by dinner, then that means that you can go all out without worrying much at all and still remain under your target!
Most people do not view lunch and breakfast as social in the same way. These meals tend to be eaten quickly and viewed as something of an inconvenience. Breakfast for many is stuffed down on the way out the kitchen in the morning, while lunch is often a samey lunch box eaten alone.
So why not just redesign your breakfast and lunch to make sure you aren’t getting too many calories and to ensure that you’re filling up on important nutrients.
Now, when it’s time for date night or a meal with a friend, you’ll be able to eat whatever you want and cut loose and you can rest assured that it will probably still be keeping you in a calorie deficit.
There are also good biological reasons to stick to this diet and to keep it ordered like this. Remember, first thing in the morning you are fasted. Thus, the last thing you want to do is to spike your blood with a massive dose of sugar. Instead, if you make your first meal a complex carbohydrate or healthy fat, then you are slowly providing enough energy to keep moving but without triggering it being stored as fat.
The same goes for lunch and by avoiding a massive intake of sugary food, you’ll also help to avoid creating that four PM slump that normally causes us to crash and become less productive after we’ve eaten.
You’re staying catabolic and you’re staying focussed at the point in the day when you’re focussed and driven anyway. And then, at the point when you’re getting home feeling shattered and just waning to chill out with good food… you can!
Now, some healthy experts will recommend that you fast the other way around and avoid eating a large meal before bed which can have negative impacts on your sleep. Actually though, as long as you leave enough time before bed after your last meal, this shouldn’t be an issue.
What’s more, is that there are some experts who now believe that we evolved to eat sweet things before bed – which might even be what triggered the entire notion of dessert. The idea is that it makes sense to stock up on sugar before bed when we’ll be fasted and to trigger the release of serotonin and melatonin to put us in a deep restful state.
So try this diet: workout your target and then remove all the unhealthy foods (adding back in good ones) to your first two meals. Get to the point where you’re now full of nutrients and very far from your calorie target by evening and then allow yourself to eat normally. Don’t go crazy of course but just allow yourself to eat as you normally would.
You’re no longer fighting the natural cycles of your body and your hormones – you’re riding the wave. What’s more, is that you’re essentially ‘training’ your insulin response and encouraging your hormones to work for you. And on top of all that, you’re maintaining a calorie deficit without having to do any calculating.
If you can stick to this, then you should start to find your belly fat starts to slip away. But don’t go away just yet because in the next chapters we’ll look at how you can make this easier on yourself and how you can enhance the look of that stomach and your overall apperance.
Chapter 7: It’s Not Just About the Food
Losing belly fat is not just about the food. And it’s not just about exercise either.
What I’m talking about is your entire lifestyle and everything that you are doing around your diet. Remember, your lifestyle is likely what got you into this state in the first place. And it’s probably what’s making it so hard to get out.
We’ve already seen how coming home stressed from work makes you more likely to binge eat and then store fat more rapidly. This is a combination of factors but even comes down to the direct and precise action of cortisol on the body.
So it stands to reason then that if you want to reduce belly fat, you should look at combating any workplace stress (or other stress for that matter!). This is easier said than done perhaps but it’s important to recognize just what a profound impact stress has on us. If you can remove stress from your life, then you’ll have far more energy for working out and eating right.
There are a few things you can do to this end. One is to take up meditation or another form of practice that will help you to combat stress generally. Meditation can significantly improve your mood, help you to cope with stress better and even make you smarter! This is a great tool to help fortify you and defend you against things going wrong that can prevent you from continuing your new healthy lifestyle.
Another tip is to look for ways to make your life a little easier. One obvious culprit may be the commute. Could you make this easier in any way? Perhaps with a car share? You might even decide that the job you’re doing is not for you.
If it’s not leaving you with the energy or the willpower you need to look after your own health then guess what: this job is not good for you and you should probably quit!
Prioritize your health!
More Ways to Get Your Body on Your Side
Of course it should go without saying that you should also avoid any toxins that might damage your metabolism. This particularly applies to smoking and to alcohol – both of which can really stand in your way of successful and healthy weight loss (not to mention ruining your energy levels).
Another tip though is to make sure that you are getting enough sleep. We actually burn a lot of sleep during the night but what’s even more important is the fact that sleep is what sets your rhythms and begins the cycle between catabolic and anabolic. Sleep is the ‘ultimate anabolic state’.
If you are skimping out then, you’re not going to be performing at your best and you won’t have the energy or the willpower to stick to the new regime. Try to get 7-8 hours every night and keep it systematic so that you have the same bedtime schedule at the same time. The body likes routine! Another tip is to consider investing in a daylight lamp.
These are alarms that wake you up with a wavelength similar to that of the sun and which get brighter slowly like a sunrise. This is great for combating ‘SAD’ (seasonal affective disorder) and helping us to feel more awake and alert first thing in the morning.
Want one more trick for getting yourself firmly into a catabolic/focussed state in the morning? Take a cold shower! This also happens to be great for stimulating the production of testosterone.
Chapter 8: Training for Six Pack Abs and the Perfect Body
If you follow the diet outlined in chapter 7, then you should find that you start to lose weight from all over your body and that this eventually reaches the gut.
But here’s the unwanted surprise: you won’t instantly get the amazing stomach you always wanted. Apart from anything
else, there’s probably still flabby skin here and perhaps even stretch marks!
That’s because the real magic happens in the gym. Not only is muscle metabolically active, meaning that you’ll burn more calories even when you’re sleeping once you’re strong; but it is also what makes a person look toned and honed – far more than low body fat can. If you have low body fat alone, then you will look skinny and malnourished. If you have low body fat and great muscles, then you’ll look like celebrity.
The problem is that many people don’t know how to go about training their bodies for the maximum aesthetic benefit. So let’s see what you need to know…
Abs
Let’s start by focussing on the part that everyone is interested in: the abs. How do you take your now fat-less belly and turn it into something that Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie would be proud of?
It starts with anatomy. Too many people will want to focus purely on the sheet of muscle on the front of the stomach that is divided into six parts.
This is the rectus abdominus but it is only one piece of the puzzle.
What’s actually more important for many ways for people looking to get rid of belly fat is the transverse abdominus. This is the band of muscle that wraps around the stomach and lower spine and works to support the back and act like a girdle.
The good news is that if you train this part of the stomach, then it will work to actually hold in the gut. Now, even if you haven’t managed to get rid of all of the excess flab around your belly, it will look instantly less noticeable.
So how do you train the transverse abdominus? It comes down to anything that involved holding your body like a plank (so plank is a good one then!) or breathing in and brining your belly button up to your spine.
This is the idea behind stomach vacuums or what is sometimes lovingly referred to as the ‘cat puke exercise’. Essentially, you need to get on all fours and then practice pulling your belly in toward your spine. Hold for ten seconds, rinse and repeat.
Another important part of your mid section are the obliques. These are muscles on either side of the abs which run and point downward in toward the center. Getting a great set of obliques is a surefire way to add a lot more detail around the area that results in a much more ripped final impression.
To train the obliques, you simply need to perform sit-ups with some kind of twist on the end. That might mean literally twisting backward and forward, or it might be punching a bag.
All this is not to say that the rectus abominis isn’t important too. It is and this is what will give you the vaunted six pack look afterall. To train this sheet of muscle, it’s useful to first have a good idea of how it operates. Essentially, the role of this muscle is to prevent you from snapping bakwards and to hold your body upright by tugging against the erector spinae. It’s also used when you bend forward of course.
What all this might tell you is that the rectus abominus is often trained without going through the full range of motoin. This is why performing sit ups over a bosu ball can be a good way to stretch it out and to challenge the muscle fibers that often get missed.
Another powerful tip if you want abs is to try and add resistance to your training. That might mean doing sit ups while holding a weight plate, or it might mean using machines that providing more challenge while crunching in the gym. Either way, lifting heavier will help you to grow bigger and more defined and this definition is what you need for your abs to stand out.
Some people might contest that last point and say that strengthening the abs will do nothing for the appearance. The easy way to contest this statement is to try contracting your abs right now while looking in a mirror. What you’ll find is that they instantly become much more visible which is simply because they’re now bigger and firmer. Train with some resistance and this is what your abs will always look like.
Weight loss
Of course you can also use exercise in order to encourage more weight loss and this will indirectly lead to better looking abs. There are plenty of exercise programs that you can use in conjunction with the diet in this book but ultimately the right one will depend on your specific goals and your training style.
One more rumor that you need to dismiss though is the idea that you need sub 10% bodyfat in order to see abs. I know this to be true seeing as I’m sitting
here at around 15% and you can see my abs. The same goes for an actor such as Chris Evans (Captain America). He is not insanely shredded and probably has a body fatpercentage of around 10-12 percent. He still looks amazing which is thanks to the large, thick muscle that he has built up.
But what is the best option for weight loss? One popular choice is to walk. This is a form of exercise that won’t trigger a fight or flight response, meaning you can do it often and without feeling tireder still at the end of a long day.
Running is great but you can only run so many times a week and it’s not highly practical (you arrive everywhere sweaty!). Walking though is something you can fit into your daily routine and that you can do highly often in order to keep burning large amounts of fat.
Another good option is HIIT. This is high intensity interval training and it essentially involves switching from training that uses slow, easy-going cardio, to training that involves going nearly all-out for short bursts.
This is ideal for using up glycogen, which as we’ve seen can help to prevent sugar from ending up as fat or travelling around the blood. What’s more, is that this then means you actually burn more fat for the rest of the day as you don’t have the glycogen stores to fall back on!
And lastly, consider concurrent training. This simply means that you are combining cardio with resistance training – doing some kind of repetitive task quickly with added weights. A good example might be using a stationary bike on the highest resistance settings, or using the battle ropes. This uses a lot more energy than simply doing cardio and has the added bonus of toning muscle at the same time.
Chapter 9: 101 Diet Tips Help Lose Belly Fat
1. Getting started on a diet.
Prior to starting on a diet, you need to make sure that you are fully committed about it. In other words, you need to have the discipline and the determination to follow through it, in order to attain your fitness goals. Aside from that, you should also have the right motivation to stay on track.
2. Eliminate excuses.
Many people today are not able to start on their diets, since they think that they are not too overweight, or they put it off for another day. To eliminate your excuses, you should face your problem head on, and recognize the fact that dieting is one of the solutions for it. Keep in mind that excuses may also appear even when you have already started; thus, you need to be prepared for them.
3. Gather as much information as you can.
If you have fully decided that dieting is the way to go in order to lose weight, then you should gather as much information as you can. When you have the right information with you, you would receive the right guidance in starting on a diet. Aside from that, you can also become more familiar of the nutritional facts behind different food items.
4. Determine more reasons to go on a diet.
Different people have different reasons in going on a diet. Some people need to do it to improve their health conditions, while others simply want to fit into their small sized clothing. Whatever your reasons are, you should always remind yourself of them, so that you would become more motivated in going through your diet.
5. Get emotionally involved.
Sparking your emotions to go on a diet is a good way to get started on it. This is because it can give your diet more purpose and meaning. Aside from that, it can also bring more passion and desire from you in losing weight. Therefore, you should constantly look at yourself on the mirror, and compare it to your pictures of yesteryears. By doing that, you would become more motivated in reaching your goals through your diet.
6. Don’t view dieting as something difficult to do.
When you are about to start on your diet program, one thing that can stop you from doing it is your thoughts about how difficult it can be. Thus, you should view it as something that is easy to do. Challenge yourself, and take it one step of the time. Don’t do it in an abrupt manner, so that you would be able stay on it long enough to see your desired results.
7. Choosing your diet program.
There are lots of programs about dieting that are available today. However, proper selection is one of the keys in attaining success on it. To choose the best one, you should avoid those that are too restrictive. Aside from that, you should also choose a program, which has received positive reviews from people who have already gone through it.
8. Positive affirmations.
If you are having difficulties in staying on a diet or getting started with one, you can actually use positive affirmations for it. Positive affirmations means that you are going to feed your subconscious mind with positive statements, about what you want to attain.
By doing that, you can have the right mindset in starting on your diet, or in staying on it.
9. Get the support that you need.
There is no need to be alone when it comes to dieting. Although other members of your family may not follow a diet, they can actually support you on it, so that you would be able to attain your goals. To achieve that, you should tell them about your diet. By doing that, they can help you get started on your diet. Aside from that, they can also constantly remind you of the right foods to eat.
10. Make dieting easier for you to do.
Some people may find the first few days of dieting to be quite difficult. Thus, you should come up with a solution to make it easier for you. One of the things that you can do about it is to make sure that your refrigerator only contains the healthy foods that you can eat. Aside from that, you should also start with healthier foods that you really like.
11. Eat only if you are really hungry.
There are times when a person eats when he is not hungry. There are many possible reasons behind this, which can include stress, emotions, habit, and such. Thus, you should become more aware whether your urge to eat is dictated by your stomach or something else. If you are unsure, drink a glass of water instead, or if you really have to, then you should get a healthy snack.
12. MSG filled foods.
There are lots of food items that are filled with MSG these days. Most of the foods that contain this substance are those that are highly processed. Aside from the fact that such a substance can harm your body, it can also add more fat to it. Thus, you should avoid eating food items that contain MSG as much as you can.
13. Get enough rest.
When you are well rested, your body would be able to do its work in repairing damage tissues, and such. However, if you do the opposite, then it can make you gain more weight. This is because lack of rest can slow down your metabolism. Aside from that, it can also boost your appetite to some extent, when your body is trying to compensate for the lack of sleep.
14. Focus on fiber.
In coming up with your own diet program, you should eat foods that are loaded with fiber. Fiber can help in flushing out dangerous toxins from your body. Aside from that, it can also suppress your appetite naturally by prolonging the digestion process.
Additionally, it can also lower down your blood cholesterol levels.
15. Find a more personalized program.
If you want to follow a certain diet program to lose weight, it is best to find one that is going to be created just for you. There are many experts in this filled, who are more than willing to help out people in losing weight. Find these experts, and have them assess your present situation, so that they can come up with a diet program, which is specifically made just for you.
16. Become more conscious of calories.
In achieving weight loss, you need to provide your body with lesser amounts of calories, and burning more of it. One of the things you can do is to check the food items you purchase from the grocery for its caloric content. Aside from that, you can also do some research about how much calories you could be burning on a day to day basis.
17. Avoid soda drinks.
Sodas are loaded with calories, which can result to faster weight gain. Although there are diet sodas available, they are actually still loaded with empty calories and chemicals, which are not good for your health. Thus, it is best to simply avoid them. Focus more on drinking fresh water, or natural fruit juices.
18. Eat to survive, and not the other way around.
Eating should be done in order for you to live. In other words, you should view eating, as something that you need to do, in order to provide your body with adequate amounts of nutrients in order for it to maintain its health. You should avoid thinking that you are living to eat, since that can get you to gain weight in no time.
19. Avoid fast food chains.
Whenever you go to work, you may find yourself frequenting fast food chains on a regular basis, since you don’t have enough time to go home for lunch. If you check the types of foods that are served in these outlets, in most cases, they are usually filled with
fats and oil. Aside from that, they are also highly processed. Thus, it is time that you cook your own lunch and bring it with you at the office.
20. Eat foods that are low in calorie and are harder to process.
Foods like apples, celery, and other fruits and vegetables, are usually low in caloric content. Aside from that, they are also harder to process. Because of that, you would actually be feeding your body with lesser amounts of calories. Aside from that, your body would also need to burn more of it, in order to process them. Thus, eat more of these types of foods to lose weight.
21. Eat slower.
When you eat fast, the tendency is that, you would be able to consume more foods than you really need. Thus, it is best to eat at a slower rate. When you do this, you would actually feel that you are already full, when you have not been able to consume a whole plate of food yet. This is because, it usually takes a certain period of time, for your stomach to send a signal to your brain that it already has enough food in it.
22. Don’t skip breakfast.
Breakfast is actually the most important meal of the day. Because of that, you should not skip it. Skipping breakfast is one of the best ways to become overweight. This is because, it can encourage binge eating for the reason that you would already feel too hungry when lunch time comes. Aside from that, it can also lower down your metabolism.
23. Don’t drink a lot of water or other drinks with a meal.
Drinking liquids with a meal can actually make you feel bloated. When you get used to it, you may let your stomach be able to adjust to it, which can result to binge eating.
Thus, it is best to minimize your liquid intake during meal times. Drinking a glass of water should be done, only after 10 to 15 minutes of eating.
24. Chew your foods properly.
When you eat, it is best that you chew your foods thoroughly. This can ensure proper digestion and assimilation of nutrients in your body. Aside from that, it can also make you eat slower than usual, which is a good thing. Chew your foods as much as you can, to achieve your goals soon.
25. Eating prior to going to bed.
If it is your usual practice to eat before going to bed, you should make sure that you do it 3 hours before. This is because, when you sleep, your body would actually have a slower metabolic rate. In other words, if you eat lots of foods just before you sleep, then your body would be able to accumulate lots of excess nutrients from it, and convert it to stored fats.
26. Clear your cupboard of unhealthy foods.
When you see chips and other unhealthy foods that you like, you will be tempted to eat them. Thus, it is best if you won’t see them at all. With that, it is time that you clear your cupboard of these unhealthy food items. Aside from that, you should replace them with foods that are recommended in your diet.
27. Having protein drinks.
If you like having protein drinks in order to provide your body with adequate amounts of protein, you should carefully select it. Choose those that contain whey protein instead of soy protein. This is because whey protein is easier for your body to absorb. Aside from that, it is also a healthier source of protein.
28. Eat more spicy foods.
There is a good reason why one would start to perspire when he eats spicy foods. Spicy foods can actually boost up your metabolism. In other words, it can help your body in burning more fats and calories to reduce weight. Thus, it is best if you add more pepper into some of your recipes, so that you can make them taste better, aside from helping you lose weight.
29. Eating fruits and vegetables.
Eating fruits and vegetables is one of the best things to do to lose weight since they are filled with vitamins and minerals, as well as enzymes. However, it is best if you consume them in their raw form. This is because processing or cooking them would kill the essential nutrients and enzymes.
30. Purchase healthier snack items.
There may be times when you want to munch on something, especially when you are not doing anything. To ensure that it won’t make you gain more weight, you should purchase and stock healthier snack items like yogurt, nuts, fruits, and such. By doing that, you are assured that you won’t be providing you body with unnecessary calories when you eat your snacks.
31. Go organic.
Although fruits and vegetables are food items that you want to include in your diet, you should still be more cautious in purchasing them. This is because some farmers may have used lots of chemicals like fertilizers and insecticides in growing them. To avoid having to experience negative side effects from it, always purchase those that were grown organically.
32. Avoid simple carbohydrates.
Foods that have simple carbohydrates are high in glycemic content. Thus, it is best to go with food items that have complex carbohydrates. By doing that, you are ensuring that your body is able to maintain healthier blood cholesterol levels. Aside from that, foods that are good sources of complex carbohydrates are also harder to process, which can result to more calories and fats burned.
33. Eat at your dining table.
When you eat elsewhere around your house, there may be a tendency that you could eat more than you should. This is because playing on your computer, or watching the television may distract your brain from accepting the signal from your stomach that it is already full. Therefore, if you want to lose weight, you should eat at your dining table.
34. Eat before visiting the grocery store.
When you shop for grocery items, it is best that you eat beforehand. This is because going inside a grocery store, when you are feeling hungry can make you purchase more food items than you need. In fact, it can even make you purchase foods that are not healthy. Thus, it is best to grab a snack before you go to the store. This way, you can stick to your list of items you want to buy.
35. Minimize eating at restaurants.
When you are on a diet, eating at a restaurant can actually get you off track. This is because most foods that are served in restaurants are cooked with lots of oil. Aside from that, some can also serve foods that are highly processed. Thus, it is best that you set a limit in eating out. Instead of doing it two or three times a week, bring it down to one, or once in every two weeks.
36. Be aware of the things that can trigger you to eat.
There are certain factors, which can make you eat more foods than you need. Some of which would include bad relationships, stress, work conflict, and many more. Thus, it is best that you become more aware of them. By doing that, you would be able to control your hunger pangs by preventing such things to affect you.
37. Proper records keeping.
In following a diet, in most cases, you are doing it to lose weight. When it comes to that, it is best if you keep a record on how much weight you are able to shed off as the weeks go by. By doing that, you would see if there are certain adjustments you need to make. Aside from that, it can also ensure that you are motivated in keeping up with it.
38. Controlling your portion.
To make sure that you stay on track with your diet, one of the things you need to do is to control your food intake. To achieve that, what you can do is to use a smaller plate
when you eat. Doing that would ensure that you can limit your food intake, since you won’t be able to put more food than it can accommodate.
39. What to include in every meal.
To ensure that your body is provided with its needed vitamins and minerals in every meal, you should make it a practice to include fruits and vegetables. This would ensure that your body does not only get its needed vitamins and minerals, but fiber as well.
When you do that, it can effectively suppress your appetite to a certain degree, due to their high fiber content.
40. Enjoy your meal.
Enjoying your food does not necessarily mean that you eat it as fast as you can. It means that you should savor it more. Try to appreciate its looks, smell, taste, and texture. When you do that, you would have a more pleasant experience in eating. Aside from that, it can also make you eat slower, which is a good thing to do to achieve weight loss.
41. Cut your cravings for chocolates.
Many people, especially women love to eat chocolates. However, if you want to achieve your fitness goals, then you should cut your cravings for it. Always remember that chocolates are filled with a lot of fats and calories, which can make you gain more weight. Therefore, you should not include them in your grocery list.
42. Learn more about your BMI.
If you want to stay on your diet, you should become more familiar about BMI. BMI or Body Mass Index actually helps you determine whether you are underweight, fit, overweight, or obese. By calculating your BMI, you would know where you stand, as far as achieving better health is concerned.
43. Reward yourself from time to time.
Whenever you achieve your short term goals, such as losing 5 to 10 pounds in a week or two through dieting, you should come up with a way to reward yourself. One example is to purchase a smaller shirt or a smaller sized pants. By doing that, you will become more motivated in achieving more.
44. Purchase a log book.
Use a log book or even a simple notebook to note down the foods that you have eaten for the day. Aside from that, it should also contain the foods that you are planning to eat for the following days. By doing that, you can prevent unconscious eating, and be on your way to better health with your diet.
45. Hide your TV’s remote control.
When you are on a diet, it is also best if you do other things that can help in achieving your goals. One of which is to increase you daily physical activities such as hiding the TV remote control. By doing this, you will need to stand up in order to change the channel.
46. Burn more calories while riding a bus.
When you are riding a bus, there are certain things that you can do to burn more calories. One of which is to answer a crossword puzzle, or to get involved with any kind of mind boggling games. This would help in sharpening your mind, as well as get you nearer to your goals by burning more calories.
47. Purchase smaller dining and kitchen utensils.
If one of your problems in achieving your weight loss goals is to control your food intake, then it is time to purchase smaller dining and kitchen utensils. When you have such things, you would be cooking lesser amounts of foods. Aside from that, it would also help in limiting your portions.
48. Sign up with an online diet forum.
There are lots of people around the world who are involved in certain types of diet programs. To connect to them, all you need to do is to sign up with online diet forums. When you do that, you can share your experiences to them, as well as learn from theirs. Aside from that, it can also get you motivated more in aiming for your goals.
49. Use the weighing scale, but not too often.
To properly monitor your progress in getting involved with your chosen diet program, it is best if you use a weighing scale for it. However, you should not use it too often. When you step on the weighing scale every day, you actually would not be able to appreciate your drop in weight. Thus, it is best if you do it on a weekly basis instead, so that you can see a larger difference.
50. Steer clear of coffee shops to stay on top of things.
If you are on a diet, it is best that you avoid visiting your favorite coffee shops. This is because, most of the time, when you step inside a coffee shop, you may end up ordering not just a cup of coffee, but also a piece or two of their delicious pastries. Aside from that, iced coffees can also be loaded with calories that you don’t want.
51. Think positive.
Thinking positive is not just all about personal development. It can also be applied in losing weight through your diet. For example, if you are not so sure that you can follow your diet for a long time, then thinking positive about it should help. When you convince yourself that you can do it through positive thinking, you will eventually have the drive to keep up with your diet program to achieve your dreams.
52. Time between your food intakes.
When it comes to the way that you eat, you should not go for more than 3 hours without eating. This is because, when you prolong the intervals between having a meals and snacks, it can actually encourage binge eating. Thus, you should make it a practice to grab something healthy to munch on every 2 to 3 hours.
53. List down the risks of becoming overweight.
Make a list of all the risks that you are putting yourself into in becoming overweight. Once your list is done, place it on the door of your refrigerator. By doing that, you will be reminded of the consequences of eating too much, each time you attempt to open your refrigerator. Thus, it can help you to stay on track.
54. Include a good source of protein in every meal.
Each time you eat, you should include a good source of protein such as eggs, chicken, fish, lean meat, and such. By doing that, you can ensure that you are providing your body with more muscle building nutrients. Aside from that, it can also suppress your appetite, since proteins are usually harder to digest.
55. Bring a home cooked meal at the office.
When you are at work, you may be tempted to visit the nearby fast food chain to grab lunch. Since eating at fast food chains may encourage you to eat unhealthy foods, then it is best to bring your own meal. By doing that, you won’t just be making sure that you stick to your diet, but it can also help you save money.
56. Eat eggs during breakfast.
When you eat your breakfast, it is best if you include eggs in it. This is because eggs are filled with quality protein called albumin. Aside from that, it can also provide you with energy giving nutrients. Thus, it can help you attain higher metabolism, and would make you more energetic throughout the day.
57. Avoid alcohol.
If you are fond of drinking beers with your friends, then you may have to minimize it. This is because, beers are actually loaded with lots of calories. Therefore, it is not a good thing to do, when you are on a diet, since it may prevent you from achieving your goals.
58. Follow the diet program that works for you.
Keep in mind that not every diet program can work to everyone else. Therefore, you should stick to something, which you believe works for you. By doing that, you won’t have to force yourself into doing things that you don’t want. Aside from that, it can also make your goals more achievable.
59. Develop a strong desire to lose weight.
When you have a very strong desire or passion to lose weight, then each time you wake up in the morning, you would already be thinking of the ways on how to achieve it. Thus, it is best if you think of ways to really make you want to lose weight. One example of it is to dream of looking fitter when you see yourself at the mirror. Aside from that, you can also boost up your motivation by trying to fit into your smaller clothes.
60. Set short term goals to achieve the long term one.
If your long term goal is to lose ten pounds in 5 weeks or so, and you see it as something that is a bit difficult to achieve, then you should set short term goals for it. With that example, you can actually establish a goal of losing 2 pounds per week, which is more achievable. Since the short term goals are easier to achieve, you should focus more on it, so that you can eventually attain the other one.
61. Take pictures of yourself.
Prior to starting your diet program, you should take a picture of yourself. By doing this, you would have a picture that you can compare yourself to, after weeks of losing weight. This can make you more motivated, and ensure that you stay on track.
62. Watch models on TV.
There are certain TV channels that feature models sporting the newest fashion trends. Since these models look fit, you would become more motivated in using a diet, so that you can attain a figure just like them. Do it on a regular basis, so that you would not lose your focus in achieving your dreams.
63. Build muscles while you are on a diet.
If you want to lose weight, which is why you are on a diet, you should also workout to build more muscles. This is because muscles require more calories to maintain. In other words, the more muscles you are able to build, the more calories your body would be able to burn, which can result to losing weight.
64. Find yourself a partner.
Dieting would be more fun, if you can find yourself a partner in doing it. You can do it with your spouse or a close friend. When you do that, each of you would be able to help each other out on being on track. Aside from that, you can also discuss your progress on a regular basis, to keep each one of you motivated in losing weight.
65. Make it a competition.
If you can find someone you can go through a diet program together, then you should make it a competition. Doing that means that you can both compare your progress on a
weekly basis. Aside from that, you can also set a certain goal, and provide a reward to the winner who has attain it.
66. Think about your goals before going to sleep.
When you lie down on your bed, think about how good you would feel and look like, once you have lost a certain amount of your bodyweight. By doing that, you would become more excited in doing the things you need to do in order to attain your dreams. With that, you would be looking forward to eating healthier types of foods, and getting enough exercise.
67. Before eating an unhealthy food, think twice.
When you are about to munch on junk food, chocolate, or ice cream, you should think first. You should think deeply if eating an unhealthy food would be worth it, when you have already gone through lots of things to lose weight. By doing that, you may be able to get rid of your cravings, and prefer a healthier snack.
68. Drink cold water.
When you are thirsty, you should drink an ice cold glass of water. Cold water can actually boost up your body’s metabolic rate. With that, you would be able to burn more fats and calories and eventually lose weight. Thus, you should prepare some ice cubes or put some water in a container and place it inside your refrigerator.
69. Be selective about your snacks.
One of the things that can get you off track is eating snacks items that are unhealthy, especially during nighttime. Thus, if you simply need to eat a few hours before going to bed, then you should choose something that won’t provide you with lots of calories. A good example would be pack of cookies that only contains a hundred calories.
70. Enjoy your favorite foods.
Even when you are on a diet, you should still enjoy foods that you consider your favorites. However, you should do it in moderation. When you eat small amounts of your favorite foods, you would not feel that your diet is too difficult to keep up with. Because of that, you would be able to follow it for a long period of time.
71. Use cinnamon on yoghurt.
Eating yoghurt is actually one of the best things that you can do in order to lose weight. However, to make it better than it is, you can actually sprinkle cinnamon on it. Doing that would not just improve the taste of yoghurt. It can actually boost up your metabolism and help you burn more fats.
72. Carrot juice.
If you are thirsty and you are longing for something other than water, then you should drink a glass of carrot juice instead. Carrot juice is actually filled with fiber, which can help you not just burn more fats, but also suppress your appetite. Thus, you should make it a regular thing to complement with your diet.
73. Take calcium supplement.
Taking a calcium supplement on a regular basis can actually help you burn more fats. This is because it can make you become more energetic. Calcium, when combined with phosphorus and vitamin D3 can actually boost your energy levels, which can help you perform more physical activities on a daily basis.
74. Manage your stress at work.
One of the things that can cause lots of people to overeat is the stress they encounter at work. Thus, it is best if you know how to manage it. A technique that can help you with it is to practice deep breathing, whenever you feel stressed out at work. This can help you calm down, and control your hunger pangs.
75. Eat banana when you wake up.
When you wake up in the morning, eat a piece of banana, and combine it with a glass of water. This can provide you the energy that you need to face the day better. Aside from that, it can also help in suppressing your appetite for the rest of the day.
76. Eating the best snack items.
When you eat in between meals, you should make sure that the food you intake is healthy as well. One example of a healthy snack would be a slice of chicken breast. Since chicken is a good source of protein, it can help your body in building more muscles. Aside from that, protein is actually harder to digest, which can help you in controlling your portion when meal time comes.
77. Using soy sauce to suppress appetite.
When you use soy sauce on your dish, it can actually do more things than make it taste better. According to recent studies, soy proteins from soy sauce can actually interact with your brain receptors. Their interaction with these receptors would result to making a person feel full sooner than usual.
78. Combining eggs with melon.
If you are trying to come up with a breakfast for your diet, then you should try eating melon and eggs. It is best if you eat the melon first, and then the eggs. Melons are filled with vitamins, as well as fiber and water, which can give you the feeling of being full.
When you eat eggs after, it will help in breaking down the carbohydrates from the melon, aside from providing you with your needed protein.
79. Drink a glass of wine each day.
Drinking a glass of wine each day, preferably during dinner time, can help you in attaining your fitness goals. This is because it contains resveratrol from the grapes, which can prevent the development of fat cells, especially around your belly. Aside from that, it can also help in boosting your body’s metabolism.
80. Including pomegranates in your diet.
You would probably think that eating this fruit can even make you gain more weight, because of its taste. On the contrary, due to the fact that it is so sweet, eating pomegranates can actually help you in curbing your appetite for sugar-filled snacks. Aside from that, seeds of this fruit can reduce the ability of your body to store fats.
81. Eating BBQ.
If you like to eat meat, especially during the weekends, then you should eat more barbeque. When you barbeque meat, you would actually be burning off more of its fat content, while you are cooking it. Thus, it is time to fire up your barbeque grill, so that you can enjoy your favorite meat without having to worry about getting fat.
82. Eating more spinach.
When you are at the grocery store to buy more green leafy vegetables, you should prioritize spinach more than the other ones. This is because it contains more fiber than the other kinds. With more fiber intake, you would be helping your body in burning more fats, as well as in curbing your appetite.
83. Choosing the best kind of cheese.
If you are one of the many people who love cheese, instead of the regular kind, you should purchase the one that is made out of the goat’s milk. This is because cheese products that are made from goat’s milk are actually lower in calories, than those made out of the cow’s milk by 40 percent. Thus, try to search for this kind of cheese to lose weight.
84. Eat more good fats to get rid of bad fats.
Eating the good kind of fats is one of the best ways to get rid of the other kind. Some of the best sources for good fats would include walnuts, rapeseed oil, and eggs. Aside from helping your body in burning off fats, they can also reduce your risk to heart diseases.
85. Eating oats for breakfast.
Many people today eat cooked oats for breakfast in the attempt to lose weight. This can actually help you lose weight, since oats are filled with lots of fiber. When you have a
breakfast meal that is loaded with fiber, it would make you feel full even when it is almost lunch time. Thus, it can help you control your portions.
86. Eating an apple few minutes before a meal.
An apple a day would not just keep the doctor away, but it can also keep fats away from your body. All you have to do is to eat an apple around 15 minutes before meal time. It can suppress your appetite effectively, which can help you consume lesser amounts of calories.
87. Using olive oil on your salad.
If you think that eating salads won’t make you fat, it is actually true, only if you are conscious about the amount that you intake. Thus, it is best if you gain control of the portion of salad that you would eat. One thing you can do is to use olive oil on it, which has good fatty acids that can tell your body that it is already full.
88. Eat more times in a day.
Instead of eating only 2 or 3 times in a day, you should eat 5 to 6 times to lose weight. Just be mindful of your portions though, so that you won’t gain more. Eating in between meals can help in boosting your metabolism, since your body would constantly process the foods that you introduce to it.
89. Fill up your sandwiches with tomatoes.
When you make a sandwich for breakfast or for a snack, put some tomatoes on it. This would ensure that you would feel full a lot longer. Aside from that, tomatoes also has components, which can suppress the production of the hormone called ghrelin. With that, it would help you control your hunger pangs.
90. Eating pineapples.
Eating pineapples is actually one of the best ways of losing weight. This is because, apart from having good amounts of fiber, it can also boost your metabolism when you eat it during snack times. Aside from that, it also has bromolina, which can help your body in breaking down proteins.
91. Eat oranges.
Eating more oranges can help you lose weight, due to its high vitamin C content. Vitamin C is actually one of the substances, which can help your body in converting fats into energy. Thus, when you eat more oranges, you are actually helping your body in utilizing your stored fats as sources of energy. On top of that, oranges are also good sources of fiber, which can help suppress your appetite effectively.
92. Enjoy eating with a friend.
Research shows that when people eat with their friends or other individuals, they tend to match their intake to others. Thus, you should eat with a friend who does not eat too much food. If you are a guy, then eat with a lady friend, so that you can consume lesser amount of foods than your usual ration.
93. Drinking energy drinks.
Although some people would tell you to drink energy drinks to boost you energy levels, they are actually bad news when it comes to losing weight. This is because such drinks release their energy too quickly. When that happens, your body won’t be able to utilize them, which can prompt it to store excess energy as fats.
94. Swapping your regular milk with skimmed milk.
Drinking milk is a healthy practice, especially if you go with the skimmed type. This is because skimmed milk actually contains half the amount of calories that regular milk products have. Aside from that, they also contain more phosphorus and calcium, which can help your body in breaking down fats.
95. Adding vinegar to your sauces and salads.
Food dressings that contain vinegar can actually help you in burning more fats. This is because they contain acetic acid, which can speed up your body’s ability of processing calories and fats. Thus, it is time that you go with vinegar based sauces and dressings, so that you can lose weight soon.
96. Don’t go with diet programs that are too restrictive.
When it comes to choosing your diet programs, it is best not to go with those that are too restrictive. This is because, such kinds of programs can prevent your body from absorbing nutrients that it needs. When that happens, your body could go on a survival mode, in which it would try to save all its stored fats and calories, and slow down your metabolic rate.
97. Try to have at least one or two bowel movements per day.
When you try to have at least one or two bowel movements each day, you would become more conscious on the foods that you eat. Aside from that, it can also help you become more conscious on the amount of water you drink. Because of that, it can help you observe healthy practices.
98. Make your own fruit juice.
Drinking a cup of fruit juice that you made from fresh fruits is actually better than drinking powdered or artificial fruit juice products. Fruit juices are filled with vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Aside from that, it can also help you suppress your appetite, since it can make you feel fuller.
99. Drink green tea to burn fats.
Green tea can help you lose weight along with a diet, since it can burn fats fast. Aside from that, it can also boost your energy levels, which can help you perform more physical activities. Moreover, it can also boost your immune system.
100. Don’t set your expectations too high.
When you start on your diet program, you should not set expectations that are too high. This is because, it can get you discouraged if you are not able to attain your goals as fast as you have expected. Therefore, you need to set goals that are more achievable, so that you can maintain good motivation when you are able to attain them.
101. Understanding portion sizes better.
When you do your research about dieting and read about controlling the amount of food you intake, you may not have an idea, when it comes to the right portion size. In relation to that, you can actually use your fist as your reference for it. Thus, whenever you try to fill up your plate with food, make sure that it does not go beyond the size of your fist.
Chapter 10: Conclusion
You may be wondering why I went off on that last tangent talking about clothing and getting the ‘Hollywood body’. The answer is that it all comes down to the same thing: getting rid of your gut is a great opportunity to change the way you look and feel and to change the way that others see you. This impacts on countless other aspects of your life but to do it correctly, you need to understand the myriad different factors currently impacted on you.
Hopefully, you understand why the best way to diet is to reduce your intake of sugars (though not entirely) and to reduce overall calories – all while trying to get enough vitamins and minerals from fruits and vegetables. A particularly effective way to do this is to make two ‘boring’ fixed meals that meet all of the guidelines and to then be more relaxed in the evening.
But if you try all this and it doesn’t work for you, then consider that it might come down to factors other than precisely what you’re eating. If you aren’t getting enough
sleep, if you’re overtired or if you’re stressed at work… then you will damage your hormonal balance and you will have no energy or willpower left to eat and train right.
I hope in that case you will consider making some changes to that lifestyle that is leaving you so burned out. Even if that means quitting your job! After all, nothing is worth sacrificing your health and happiness. And as we’ve already seen, agreeing to accept this kind of lifestyle will only result in your mood and your health being beaten down further and further over time. It’s time to stand up and take back control over your own body.
From there, you will then be able to start transforming your entire look. Hopefully, if nothing else, getting rid of your belly will help you to fix your posture and to stand up taller and prouder. This instantly changes the energy that you send into the room and it tells the world that you are successful, important and proud.
Losing your belly really is that one thing that changes everything. But to achieve it, everything must change…