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So, you want to know how to lose weight? Well, you have come to the right place. In this article, we will discuss how you can lose weight efficiently and effectively.
Table Of Contents
How To Lose Weight
When it comes to weight loss, people are always trying to figure out the best methods for quickly getting rid of those pounds. However, they fail to consider the 3 most important factors to losing weight: exercise, nutrition and sleep. If you do not focus on these key things, you will struggle to make progress in your weight loss journey.
Exercise
The first thing you must focus on when it comes to losing weight is exercise. Regular exercise is imperative for weight loss as it helps you burn off fat, which in return allows you to lose weight. But how does it do this?
When you exercise, your body may need 3 or 4 times your regular cardiac output because your muscles require more oxygen when you exert yourself. This causes your heart to beat faster so that more blood gets out to your body. Due to this increase in heart rate, your body will begin to burn fat. Once your body reaches between 70-80% of it's maximum heart rate, it will start to eat away at your fat for energy. As a result of this, you will lose weight.
In additon, not only is exercise important for burning calories, but it can also build lean muscle mass at the same time. This is most effectively done through strength training, which burns calories AND builds lean muscle during the same workout. As this lean muscle mass is built, your body will find it easier to fight illness, infection and stress.
There are also many other benefits of consistent exercise that you should be aware of and understand. Some of these benefits include feeling happier about yourself, easier to manage weight, good for muscles and bones, increased energy levels, reduced risk of chronic diseases, better skin, improved brain health, better sleep quality, reduced chronic pain, improved sex life. These are only some of the pros of regularly exercising - there are many many more out there!
The Best Exercises for Weight Loss:
Running
Cycling
Walking
Strength training
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)
Yoga
Pilates
Swimming
Nutrition
Nutrition is crucial to helping you move closer towards your weight loss goals - if not even more important than exercise! But why is nutrition so important for losing weight?
Consuming a healthy diet that includes plenty of fruit, vegetables whole grains, and a moderate amount of unsaturated fats, meat and dairy can assist you in maintaining a healthy weight. Ensuring you eat a good variety of these foods daily leaves less room for foods that are high in fat and sugar, which is a leading cause of weight gain.
But which nutrients should you be consuming for weight loss? Firstly, protein is essential for repairing and building muscle mass while also making you feel full. Secondly, you should focus on eating an adequate amount of fibre to help fill you up quickly. Surprisingly, fats are vital for losing weight because they're important for optimal function of the brain, heart and body cells. The final nutrient you should ensure you're eating enough of is carbohydrates (carbs) as they can fill you up better and prevent you from having cravings.
Another thing to consider when thinking of weight loss nutrition is staying hydrated throughout each day. This is because drinking enough water may help to increase your metabolic rate and how much energy (calories) you burn. The easier you're able to burn calories, the easier you'll find it to lose weight. So make sure that you're drinking enough water daily. Aim to consume half of your body weight in ounces of water. For example, say you weigh 200lbs, you should aim to drink 100 ounces of water at least.
Miso-roasted aubergine steaks with sweet potato
Sardine tomato pasta with gremolata
Rice noodle salad with peanut butter tempeh
Spiced chicken, spinach & sweet potato stew
Low-fat chicken Caesar salad
Ginger chicken udon noodles
Sesame salmon, purple sprouting broccoli & sweet potato mash
Lighter chicken cacciatore
Sleep
The third and final factor to losing weight efficiently is ensuring you get an adequate amount of sleep each night. Sleep is just as important as the other 2 factors (exercise and nutrition). But how can sleep help with weight loss?
Firstly, sleep can help to moderate your appetite. A study discovered that people who are sleep-deprived consume an additional 385 calories each day, with most of these extra calories coming from fats. This means that they gained extra weight than those who slept more. if you ensure that you're sleeping enough, you will end up losing weight faster as you will not crave extra high-calorie foods during your day.
Also, getting adequate sleep brings potential benefits for your metabolism. A lack of sleep can negatively affect your resting metabolic rate (the number of calories you burn when resting). This will result in you burning fewer calories during your day, which will slow down you weight loss efforts. So, ensuring you have enough sleep means you can burn calories without even doing anything!
How to Get Better Sleep Quality:
Invest in a comfortable mattress
Block out all light
Minimise noise
Relax for 30 minutes before bed
Exercise for at least 20 minutes a day
Limit caffeine consumption after 2 pm
Summary
In this article, we have discussed exactly how you can lose weight by considering three key factors. These vital factors to losing weight were:
I hope you have found the information in this article useful and I hope any questions you had have been answered. Thank you for reading, please come back soon.
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