My ultimate healthylife

Pesky lower belly fat can be hard to shed. In fact, certain body types will hold on to fat stores around the stomach longer than anywhere else. You can lose fat on your thighs, arms, and chest before you even notice a difference in your lower belly.

Losing belly fat can be a challenge. Nevertheless, it’s not hopeless. Eating healthy and following a strong workout plan helps you get rid of lower belly fat and keep it off. The most important aspect of weight loss is a balanced diet. Eating too many calories (even if it’s healthy food) will make you to gain weight, while too few calories may cause your body to hold on to pesky fat stores as a measure against starvation. To get rid of lower belly fat, you need to eat the right amount of food, and the right kind of food.

Banana Coconut Energy Bars

Read on to learn more about the diets and exercises that help you lose belly fat and keep it off!

Step 1: Limit the junk food.

You don’t have to eliminate junk food from your life. In fact, the occasional treat can help you stay on track with your eating. However, daily burgers and ice cream will add inches to your waist line. Even if you’re cutting calories from other parts of your life, a daily junk food fix can stop you from losing belly fat.

Start by replacing junk food with healthy alternatives. Have a banana instead of dessert, or veggies with hummus instead of salty chips. If you currently eat junk food every day of the week, but begin limiting it to three nights a week, you’ve already cut your junk food consumption by more than half!

Step 2: Make Your Diet a Lifestyle.

Not only do our bodies react differently to diets, so do our brains. For one person, frequent meals can help prevent cravings. For someone else, constant grazing can be the cause of weight gain. Some people benefit from tracking their intake and counting calories. Others can find this stifling. Find a diet that works for you and make it a lifestyle.

Avoid crash diets and restrictive meal plans.

Step 3: Stick to it.

Once you’ve found a plan that works for you, the trick is to stick to it long-term. Constantly vacillating between diets can lead to a vicious weight gain cycle and unhealthy relationships to food. In fact, it can cause you to hold on to stubborn lower belly fat longer. When you put your body on a restrictive diet, your brain can interpret the lack of sustenance for a famine. If this happens, it will slow down your metabolism and hold on to fat stores in case of emergencies.

Instead of cycling through restrictive and binging periods, try sticking to a healthy diet for an extended period of time. You’ll be able to eat when hungry, you’ll be full of energy, and you’ll see better results.

Step 4: Add exercise.

Once you’re settled into healthy eating habits, try adding an exercise plan. We have many beginner workouts as well as 5K training plans.

When it comes to losing belly fat, you want to do a combination of cardio, ab workouts, and strength training. Cardio helps you shed excess weight. Ab workouts tone your abdominal muscles for a tight, strong core. Finally, strength training builds muscle, and more muscle means you’ll burn more calories while at rest.

Step 5: Stay confident!

Our final step to losing belly fat is to stay confident. Chances are you’re more self-conscious of your belly fat than you should be. Don’t waste time and energy putting yourself down. Instead, focus on the positive. Learn to love your body at every point of the journey and you’ll find that eating healthy and exercising regularly become easier than ever!

Losing weight and reaching your goal weight can be a challenge, whether it’s 5 or 10 pounds you want to lose. If you have a timeframe where you need to reduce weight quickly like a month, it’s even harder. So you’re probably wondering, “Is it even realistic to lose 10 pounds in a month?”

Losing 10 pounds in a month is a steep goal, but doable. Most experts suggest losing one to two pounds a week is a realistic weight loss goal, and this is a bit over that. Because it is over, you will need to make substantial changes to hit these weight loss goals in one month.

So what changes do you need to make for a substantial weight loss? In this article, I have a list of 15 weight loss tips on how to lose ten pounds in a month and keep it off permanently.

What’s more, their body fat percentage also went down with their weight.

So what are the changes needed for a substantial weight loss?

Based both on science and my personal experience, I came up with a definitive list.

Here are 15 simple tips on how to lose 10 pounds in a month and keep it off permanently.

Let’s get started.

woman how lose 10 pounds

Table Of Contents

1. Eat fewer calories

2. Eat a nutritious diet

3. Eat balanced meals

4. Eat more fiber

5. Avoid processed foods

6. Workout in the morning

7. Do cardio exercise

8. Do resistance exercises

9. Eat a high-protein breakfast

10. Cut out sugary drinks

11. Drink water before each meal

12. Drink coffee or green tea

13. Try intermittent fasting

14. Cook your meals at home

15. Stock up on healthy snacks

Final Thoughts

1. Eat fewer calories

Eating less is the obvious place to get started. Whether counting calories works has been a hot topic within the weight loss community for years, some trainers argue it’s a must, while others say there are better ways. Regardless of your approach, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn to lose 10 pounds.

You can either reduce your calorie intake by changing your eating habits or increase your activity levels; or both. This balancing act os critical to creating a calorie deficit for weight loss.

Take in more than your body needs; you’ll gain weight.

Eat less than your caloric needs; you’ll drop weight,

So the question is, how many calories a day do you need to cut to reach your weight loss goals?

One pound of fat is around 3,500 calories, and losing 1-2 pounds of fat a week is considered safe and realistic. To lose one pound of fat per week, you need to create a deficit of 500 calories per day or 3,500 a month.

Based on this math, to lose 10 pounds in one month, you need a 1250-calorie deficit per day (assuming you don’t add additional exercise to burn calories.) While this calorie deficit seems a lot, remember, it doesn’t have to come solely from reducing food. You can add activity to take the pressure off of your diet.

Here are a few simple ways to reduce your daily calorie intake:

Use a smaller plate size: Downsizing your plate is the easiest way to reduce portions and food intake because we tend to fill our plates when serving. The bigger the plate is, the more food we serve ourselves. By using a salad plate instead of a dinner plate, you will automatically cut your portion.

Cut the junk food: Another easy win is banning empty calories. Sugary drinks and candy are the best places to start. For some, cutting your drinks and sweets alone can result in a 500-calorie deficit a day.

Keep a food journal: keeping track of your meals and food intake throughout the day brings awareness and makes it easier to stay under your calorie budget. There are many great apps for tracking.

How much you eat every day is going to be critical in your weight loss journey – even after you lose 10 pounds. But you don’t need a starvation diet. Instead, swap high-calorie food items for lower-calorie, more nutrition, and filling meals.

2. Eat a nutritious diet

The type of food you eat is as essential as your calorie consumption, if not more. When you want to lose weight and maintain healthy body weight, what you eat matters. For your weight loss, eat a diet high in nutritional value that will help you feel full longer.

Different foods have different nutrients. Some are void of nutrients, while others offer them in abundance, and this creates a difference in how your body processes them.

Foods high in nutrition are:

Leafy greens vegetables

Avocado

Whole grains (quinoa, oats, oatmeal, brown rice)

Peanut butter

Fruits (apples, banana, blueberries, strawberries, mangos, are all high in antioxidants.)

Legumes (black beans, red kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils)

Chicken

Fatty fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines)

Red meat (grass-fed, organic)

Foods like this are full of essential nutrients like fiber, protein, vitamins, and minerals. Together they increase satiety, slow digestion, and reduce appetite. They will reduce your overall calorie intake and body weight.

When you are working on your weight loss plan, make sure you’re eating a diet rich in nutrients. Think high-fiber, high-protein, and healthy fats. Low-calorie veggies also help you add more volume to your meals.

3. Eat balanced meals

Nutritionally balanced meals are another pillar of a sound weight loss diet. Each meal should include all three macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbs.

According to the USDA Dietary Guideline, a healthy diet plan should include:

Carbohydrates: 45–65% of calories

Fat: 20–35% of calories

Protein: 10–35% of calories

However, there are several other suggested macronutrient ratios for weight loss.

40/30/30 plan or Zoon Diet recommends 40% of calories from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat (1).

A low-carb Atkins Diet has you eat 60%-70% fat, 20% to 30% fat, and 5% to 10% carbs.

The Ketogenic Diet has macro distributions of 60% fat, 35% protein, and 5% carbs, which means carbs are to be limited to a mere 50 grams a day.

There are many other diets with varying macronutrient distributions, and there is no right or wrong plan here. It’s not a matter of one approach being better than the other. Instead, ask which balance of macros can you stick to for the long term. Some may find the Atkins or Keto diet tolerable or even enjoy their high-fat component. But others need a generous carb allowance to enjoy their diet.

What’s important is to maintain your proscribed calorie intake throughout the day with healthy balanced meals that offer the appropriate portion of each macro food group.

4. Eat more fiber

Eating nutritious and balanced meals are the cornerstone of any good weight loss plan, but there is one nutrient you want to be sure you eat regularly, and that’s fiber.

Numerous studies show diets high in fiber have significant weight loss effects (2) That’s because fiber is a nutrient that stays intact and undigested as it passes through your digestive system, so your body doesn’t retain calories from fiber.

Moreover, fiber produces more prolonged feelings of fullness. Fiber also helps you stay regular, which also leads to weight loss. According to one study, eating 30 g of fiber every day results in weight loss and helps manage blood pressure (3).

Fiber-rich foods like legumes, green beans, and whole grains are rich sources of dietary fiber. Include them in your everyday meal planning to take advantage of fiber and its health benefits.

5. Avoid processed foods

Just as there are foods you should eat to shed your body weight, there are things you need to avoid. One fantastic strategy to lose weight is to cut out processed junks. A diet high in processed foods is also high in calories and full of preservatives, sugars, and sodium. No matter what your activity level, too much low quality food, like doughnuts and you will gain weight.

Be careful. Food manufacturers are clever with their advertising and packaging to promote these unhealthy food products. Many processed junks are being advertised as healthy when they are not. Always read ingredient labels and stay away from highly-processed items.

Here’s a healthy food list to base your diet on. This list can be handy when grocery shopping.

6. Workout in the morning

Workouts help you burn calories, torch fat, and increase your metabolism. But according to UK research, working out in the morning on an empty stomach can have a more significant impact. The experts say morning workouts can help you burn extra calories and 20% more fat loss as opposed to working out during the day or later in the day (4). The reason is that when your body is deprived of its energy supply, glycogen, your body taps into your fat reserve for fuel.

Best of all, you don’t need a gym membership or a grueling, long workout to reap the benefits. Your morning workout can be as short as 6 minutes. For example, see this 6-minute morning workout that you can do right after you get out of bed. It’s an easy way to score extra calorie expenditures without leaving the house.

Make this part of your morning routine for at least 3 – 4 days a week.

7. Do cardio exercise

While you now know the benefits of a morning workout, you also want to maximize your efforts by doing the right exercise to lose pounds. Cardio exercise can improve your fitness and lower your body fat percentage. According to studies, cardio activities, also known as aerobic exercise, are great for weight loss.

Cardio is any type of physical activity that raises your heart rate and burns calories. It includes running, jogging, stairs, biking, swimming, Zumba, and even power walking. For indoor options, hit the treadmill, elliptical, or try cycling on a stationary bike. Or try some HIIT style workouts and do interval training with calisthenics like jumping jacks, mountain climbers, and burpees.

In addition to overall weight loss, cardio workouts seem to be particularly useful at getting rid of the dangerous belly fat (visceral fat) that resides near your organs, which can cause metabolic disease (5).

8. Do resistance exercises

Cardio is excellent for burning calories, but not suitable for muscle building. Muscle is essential; one of the side effects of dieting is a loss of lean muscle mass. The amount of muscle you have can account for around 20 percent of your total metabolism. When you begin to lose your muscles, your metabolism will slow, and it will be harder to lose weight. (6).

Our advice is to incorporate resistance training and weight lifting into your workout regimen to prevent muscle loss (7). As an added benefit, your body will also look firmer and have more tone.

Here’s a list full of resistance or strength training workouts you can do using your body weight or a pair of dumbbells.

Squats

Lunges

Push-ups

Plank

Crunches

You can hold weights in your hands for added resistance when doing the squats and lunges. If you not sure how to do these exercises above, talk to a personal trainer in your local gym to make sure your forms are correct. You should aim for at least 30 minutes of resistance training 2 to 3 times per week.

9. Eat a high-protein breakfast

If you are starting every day with a bowl of cereal and a slice of white bread, it’s time to rethink your breakfast. A high-protein breakfast like freshly cooked eggs and smoked salmon may help you eat 175 fewer calories on your lunch break, according to Biofortis Clinical Research (8). In their research, those who had a high-protein breakfast reported feeling fuller, more satisfied, and less inclined to eat after their meal.

Another study found that increasing protein intake from 15 to 30% of total calories helped people eat less per day. Those participants lost over 10 pounds during their 12- week study (9).

Protein-rich foods are weight loss friendly, compared to carbs and fats, because protein takes more work for your body to digest. It uses more energy in the form of calories to metabolize protein (10).

To get started, here are some healthy high-protein breakfast ideas that taste amazing!

Two eggs with a side of salad and a cup of black coffee

Greek yogurt with fresh berries or any other fruit (Fun fact – berries are also high in fiber)

Spinach and tomato omelet with a side of turkey bacon

10. Cut out sugary drinks

Cutting out drinks like sodas and juice is one effective way to lose weight, they offer little to no nutritional benefit, but instead are a huge source of sugar and have high amounts of calories. They contribute to weight gain and increase your risk of diabetes.

According to Harvard research, sugary drinks make up 9% of the total calorie intake for both adults and children (11, 12). They are also suspected of partly contributing to the current obesity epidemic.

To illustrate how much sugar soda has, here is one popular soda’s sugar content: one 12oz can of Coca-Cola contains 150 calories and 39 grams of sugar, which is equivalent to about ten teaspoons of sugar! (13) Ice cream only has 14 g of sugar per cup.

Bonus tip: alcohol, like wine, also has little nutrition and a lot of calories. Plus, when you are in your cups, it is easy to overeat. To keep to your daily calorie intake, switch out sugary drinks with non-sugar alternatives, like glasses of water.

11. Drink water before each meal

Regular water consumption can help decrease your appetite, especially before meals. Instead of sugary beverages, drinking water enables you to achieve your goal to lose 10 pounds in a month.

For one, dehydration can often be mistaken for hunger, so stay hydrated. Hydration will help prevent overeating and cuts down on unnecessary snacking.

What also can help your weight loss is to drink 17oz of water a 0.5 hour before your meal. According to one study, this habit helped dieters increase their weight loss by 44% over three months (14). Another study showed drinking 500ml of water before a meal can cause you to eat less and consume 13% fewer calories. (15).

Research also shows drinking water may benefit your metabolism by boosting your resting energy expenditure by 30%. So, fill up that water bottle. It helps increase the number of calories your body burns, which will result in losing weight faster and easier. (16).

Tips: I like to mix glass water with a tablespoon of lemon juice, a little extra boost of vitamin C.

12. Drink coffee or green tea

Black coffee and green tea also make great beverage choices during weight loss. According to research, natural chemicals found in both coffee and green tea increase fat burning and stimulate the calorie-burning process by 3-11%. (17).

The caffeine found in coffee and green tea boosts metabolism and effects weight loss. Coffee and tea are drinks you can enjoy, as long as you forego, adding dairy and sugar.

13. Try intermittent fasting

One popular program for fat loss is intermittent fasting (IF). (IF) is an eating pattern that alternates periods of fasting and eating.

This eating pattern can help people eat fewer calories and optimize some weight loss related-hormones. It works because IF doesn’t regulate what you eat, instead, it helps reduce your total daily calorie intake with a fast. By temporarily depriving your body of food, your body becomes forced to tap into the fat reserve for fuel.

If you are new to IF, the most straightforward plan to start is the 16:8 fasting method. In this method, you fast for 16 hours, which includes sleep and eat in the remaining 8-hour window. In a typical 16:8 fasting schedule, you begin fasting around 8 pm and end the next day at noon. You eat your first meal then and complete all your eating by 8 pm.

Then start another 16-hour fast. Intermittent fasting methods can help you lose weight if you make it part of your everyday routine.

14. Cook your meals at home

In weight loss and dieting, small changes can make significant impacts. Research shows those who cook meals at home 6-7 times a week eat about 600 fewer calories, 5 grams less fat, and 16 grams less sugar than those who cook dinner less than once a week (18).

Here’s the bottom line, you don’t have to be a pro around the kitchen. Start cooking simple recipes with whole ingredients and a combination of herbs and spices. Making your own lunches and dinners will help you fit in your jeans.

15. Stock up on healthy snacks

Here’s an easy trick, have snacks you want to eat handy. Healthy snacks can be a diet saver when your hunger strikes unexpectedly. Without having weight-loss friendly snacks, it’s easy to reach for treats like cookies and chips. Having healthy choices within reach will keep you from having to make decisions on the go.

While there are countless snack options, here are some of my favorite weight loss snacks:

Greek yogurt

Fruits

Nuts

Hard-boiled eggs

String cheese

Smoothies

Apple + peanut butter

Nuts and seeds

If you buy healthy snacks, make sure to check their nutrition labels for hidden calories.

Final Thoughts

How to lose 10 pounds in a month? Make small lifestyle changes and you will see progress. Some may see a massive drop in weight right away. But for other, successful and permanent weight loss may take time. Everyone is a little different.

While you may wonder “how much weight can I lose in a week?” and “how to lose 10 pounds in a month?” the most important thing, is to focus on developing healthy habits. Start exercising and eating healthy to nourish your body better – not just to lose weight.

When all these healthy habits become part of your lifestyle, losing weight becomes part of your gain.

You’ve likely heard a million weight loss “do’s” but what about weight loss don’ts? If you seriously want to lose weight, you need to focus on weight loss dont’s just as much as weight loss do’s, because they can seriously jeopardize your weight loss efforts!

Almost 70% of the American population is considered to be overweight or obese. Additionally, 1 out of every 3 American children are overweight or obese.

weight loss don'ts

Sadly, this generation is the first in history that is expected to die younger than their parents.

The thing is, we can change this. We just need to make the appropriate lifestyle changes. “Eat healthy and exercise is the classic advice” but while it’s true, it’s not always that easy.

Before I get into the weight loss don’t’s, let’s talk about expert help. Because sometimes, as much as you try to go it alone, let’s face it – losing weight is damn hard.

NEED SOME EXTRA GUIDANCE?

Probably the best program that I’ve come across for promoting long lasting weight loss is PlateJoy.

PlateJoy is a unique meal planning service that provides custom meal plans for all dietary requirements, including vegetarian, paleo, clean eating, pescetarian, gluten free, kid friendly and more.

You choose your goal – “weight loss” or “basic plan” and then your dietary requirement. PlateJoy will then send you customized meal plans and a shopping list, which you can sync with Instacart so it’s all delivered straight to your house – can’t get more convenient than that, right?

You can try PlateJoy for 10 days for free using this link.

11 Weight Loss Don’ts To Watch Out For

1. NOT HAVING A BIG ENOUGH MOTIVATOR

Like most goals in life, it’s important to have a “why” that’s bigger than your “why not” if you want to be successful at losing weight. This will help to ensure that your excuses don’t stop you from getting in that early morning gym session or evening run.

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Money has been proven to be a simple yet powerful and effective motivator. Think about it – it’s what makes you keep on showing up to work each day even if you’d rather just stay in bed!

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HealthyWage is an awesome company that has partnered with the likes of Kobe Bryant to encourage people to lose weight by providing a financial reward when they achieve their weight loss goals. You can complete a personal weight loss challenge or get a group together and compete as a team.

Learn more here: How to Get Paid to Lose Weight With HealthyWage.

2. SKIPPING BREAKFAST

I’m sure you’ve heard it before:

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Eating a healthy, nutritious breakfast will help to restore our glucose levels, provide energy for the day, and reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes and heart disease.

In addition to this, a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that people who skip breakfast are more likely to be obese.

However, eating breakfast won’t provide any of these health benefits if it’s full of junky carbs and trans-fats, and loaded with sugar. (Doughnuts, unfortunately, fall under this category.)

10 Healthy Make-Ahead Breakfast Ideas

20 Healthy No-Bake Energy Ball Recipes

17 Healthy Weight Loss Smoothie Recipes

3. WEEKEND BINGEING

While it’s usually ok to have the occasional treat, all of your weekday progress can be completely thrown out of the window if you binge over the weekend.

A study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that the typical non-chain restaurant meal contained 1205 calories.

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American, Italian and Chinese cuisine fared even worse, with the average meal containing 1495 calories.

The amount of calories you need to consume varies based on age, gender, activity level and weight-related goals. However, it’s generally recommended that the average female consume about 2000 calories to maintain weight and 1500 calories if weight-loss is the goal.

A 1495 calorie meal leaves just 5 calories for the entire day, which is neither healthy, nor realistic.

4. DRINKING YOUR CALORIES

In a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it was reported that the energy (i.e.) calorie intake from beverages “represents 21% of of total daily energy intake in the general American population.”

What exactly does this mean?

This means that 21% of the calories that you’re consuming every day are coming not from the food you’re eating, but the drinks you’re consuming.

And a large amount of this is from artificially sweetened beverages like soda, fruit juices, energy drinks, and alcohol.

These types of drinks contain no nutrients and provide next-to-no satiety, meaning that you are left feeling hungry, despite consuming a large amount of calories.

So, what should your beverage of choice be?

Water. If you’re not a fan of the taste of water, try flavoring it with lemon, fresh berries, or cucumber. You can get this infusion water bottle for cheap on Amazon.

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10 Fresh Fruit Infused Water Recipes

5. NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP

Experts recommend for optimal cognitive function, adults should get between 7-9 hours of sleep every night.

But a 2013 Gallup poll found that 40% of Americans get less than 7 hours sleep, with the average amount of shut-eye being just 6.8 hours.

In addition to impaired cognitive function, a lack of sleep can also contribute to weight gain.

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when participants were sleep-deprived, they consumed more calories (but expended the same amount) than when they received 9 hours of sleep.

A lack of sleep can also slow digestive function and increase cortisol levels, which can lead to overeating.

Here are some tips for getting a good nights sleep:

Set a reasonable time to go to bed, and stick to it

Unplug – don’t lay in bed on your iPhone or laptop

Meditate – meditation has proven relaxation benefits and a wonderful way to wind down before bed

Set the room temperature to 60-67 degrees, which is considered optimal for sleeping

Make sure you have a good, supportive mattress and pillow

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If you’re unsure of the quality of your sleep, then I recommend investing in a sleep tracker like this one, which monitors how long and how well you sleep.

6. GOING “FAT-FREE”

Fat has long been considered the devil when it comes to weight loss. Walk down any aisle in the grocery store and you’ll see “fat-free” advertised on everything from milk to mayonnaise.

But not all fats are created equal. While you definitely want to be avoiding hydrogenated fats, other fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat are both beneficial to overall health and can contribute to weight loss. Healthy saturated fats such as what’s found in coconut oil is also beneficial for weight loss.

Monounsaturated fats help to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease while the polyunsaturated fats found in avocado’s contains essential omega-3 fatty acids, and may lower your risk of heart disease and Type-2 diabetes.

And because fat is highly satiating, it keeps you feeling full for longer, making you less likely to snack on empty calories.

7. TOO MUCH CARDIO, NOT ENOUGH WEIGHT-TRAINING

Regular cardio is important for weight-loss and essential for building a healthy heart, lungs, and cardiovascular system. Cardio also helps to boost your metabolism, which aids in weight loss.

But there can be too much of a good thing. Spending hours and hours sweating it out on the treadmill does not a lean, fat-burning body make.

In fact, overdoing it on the cardio can actually have the opposite effect. Too much cardio can cause your body to start using your lean muscle mass as a source of fuel (NOT a good thing!)

Less lean muscle mass = lower metabolism and less fat burning.

It’s incredibly important to not only maintain the lean muscle mass that you have, but to also increase your lean muscle mass.

This can be done by making sure you don’t overdo it on the cardio and by incorporating weight-training in to your exercise regime.

Regular weight training will help to build lean muscle mass which means that your calorie burning will increase, even when you’re not exercising.

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A personal trainer can help you with setting up a weight training routine, but if that’s not in your budget, check out Aaptiv. I love Aaptiv because it’s like having your own personal trainer with you 24/7, at a fraction of the cost. There are so many excellent workouts, so whether you’re into weights, yoga, running, cycling, elliptical etc., then Aaptiv will likely have an awesome routine!

How to Create a Home Gym on a Budget

8. AVOIDING CARBS

There’s a common belief that carbs are the devil when it comes to weight loss. This is simply untrue.

Carbohydrates are not the devil – simple, “junky” carbohydrates are the devil.

Our bodies need carbohydrates to function properly – they’re the bodies main source of fuel. The key is to make sure you don’t overeat carbohydrates and that the carbs you do eat are the right kind, not the junky kind.

There are two types of carbohydrates:

Simple carbohydrates are sugars, and they’re the type you want to avoid.

Simple carbs are low in fiber and rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream which can causes major spikes in blood sugar levels.

Some examples of simple carbohydrates that you should avoid are candy, refined white bread, pasta, and white rice, soda and sugar.

Complex carbohydrates are “good carbs” – they type you want to eat more of.

Unlike simple or “junky” carbs, complex carbohydrates contain fiber and they take longer for the body to break down. Complex carbs provide more sustained energy for the body and don’t cause rapid spikes in blood sugar.

9. STARVING YOURSELF

One of the absolute worst things you can do to lose weight is starve yourself.

When you drastically reduce the amount of food you eat, you’re missing out on vital nutrients that your body needs to function optimally.

Females need a minimum of 1200 calories/day and males need 1500 calories/day just to function (that means breathe, pump blood around your body, repair cells, etc.)

Anything below this seriously jeopardizes your health, and long-term, can cause organ failure and even death.

Starving yourself will also put your body into starvation mode, which means that the body stores fat and starts breaking down muscle for fuel. This is the exact opposite of what you want your body to be doing.

And while you may initially lose a couple of pounds, you will immediately gain them back when you start eating again.

In a nutshell, starving yourself is an incredibly bad idea.

Instead, eat a diet consisting of fresh, whole foods, with an abundance of fruits, vegetables, and lean protein – food that fuels your body.

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The Ultimate Guide on How to Shop For Healthy Groceries on a Tight Budget

10. EATING HIDDEN SUGAR

Sugar is one of those nasty guys that is lurking around every corner, using a variety of different aliases – 257, in fact!

Yep, that’s right. There are 257 names for sugar. Insane, right?

(If you want to read them all, Dr Alan Christianson has them listed here.)

You’re probably doing a great job at avoiding the obvious sugar-bombs, like cakes, candy bars, pop tarts, etc. But what you might not realize is that almost every processed, pre-packaged food you buy probably has added sugar in it.

Some common foods that contain high-levels of hidden sugar are:

Soda

Non-fat fruit yoghurt

Condiments like BBQ sauce and ketchup

Salad dressing

Granola bars

Bread

Pasta sauce

Fruit juice

Flavored coffee drinks (the type you buy at Starbucks)

Here are some healthier alternatives to those sugar-bombs:

Water

Greek yoghurt sweetened with fresh berries

Mustard

Olive oil, avocado oil

Fruit (contains natural sugars, but also contains fiber)

Sugar-free 100% whole grain bread

Homemade pasta sauce

Water, flavored with berries, lime, lemon, cucumber or mint

Black coffee or herbal tea

11. NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER

Our bodies are composed of 60% water – almost every single cell in the human body requires water to function.

Additionally, water contains exactly zero calories.

By replacing one Starbucks frappucino with a bottle of water, you’ll save around 480 calories and avoid 70 grams of sugar (which is almost THREE DAYS worth of the recommended daily sugar intake for a female.)

Drinking water flushes toxins from your body, can help to boost your metabolism, increase your energy output (cold water is especially good for this) and help to transport nutrients around your body.

Ever feel sluggish or low energy? Ever question why your friend can seemingly eat whatever she wants without gaining weight?

Ever wonder if there is a way to burn more calories even while relaxing?

The answer to these questions may lie in your metabolism.

Table Of Contents

What Is Metabolism?

12 Tips to Boost Metabolism

1. Drink Plenty of Water

2. Eat More Protein

3. Try a HIIT Workout

4. Do More Strength Training

5. Increase Your NEAT

6. Get More Sleep

7. Give Yourself Time to Relax

8. Have a Spicy Meal

9. Drink Coffee

10. Sip on Green Tea

11. Avoid Crash Diets

12. Don’t be Afraid to Snack

The Final Word

What Is Metabolism?

At its most basic, metabolism is the sum of the physical and chemical reactions in the body that sustain life and maintain vital activities.

Even at rest, your body is performing metabolic functions to remain alive. The faster your body is performing these activities, the more calories you burn per day. This is also sometimes referred to as your basal metabolic rate.

A higher metabolism means you have more energy and may help you lose weight and keep it off.

Multiple factors determine metabolism, including age, gender, and genetics. However, there are ways that you can accelerate your metabolism and keep it elevated.

Here are 12 tips to boost your metabolism.

12 Tips to Boost Metabolism

1. Drink Plenty of Water

Research suggests that drinking water can provide a temporary boost to your metabolism.

Studies have shown that drinking 500 ml (about two cups) of water can increase metabolism by up to 30% and that this increase lasts for about 1 hour (1, 2). Researchers estimated that increasing consumption of water by 1.5 liters more than you normally drink may burn about 50 calories per day (1, 2).

Drinking plenty of water may also increase feelings of satiety, meaning that you will feel fuller for longer. One study found that subjects who consumed two glasses of water half an hour before mealtime consumed fewer calories during the meal (3).

2. Eat More Protein

While this may sound counterintuitive, eating increases your metabolism for a few hours after meals. This increase in energy burn that occurs while eating is known as the thermic effect of food (TEF). The TEF is the energy or calories needed to digest, absorb, and metabolize nutrients. For most individuals, the TEF is responsible for burning about 10% of daily calories (4).

However, not all foods contribute to the TEF equally. Protein increases metabolism by 15 to 30%. This is compared to 5 to 10% for carbs and 0 to 3% for fats (4).

Protein may also reduce appetite and help you feel full after eating. One study found that participants who consumed a diet consisting of 30% protein experienced greater satiety and consumed 441 fewer calories per day, on average, compared to a diet consisting of 15% protein (5).

3. Try a HIIT Workout

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a form of exercise that involves alternating between intense bursts of activity followed by less intense periods of recovery.

Studies have shown that HIIT increases metabolism for a few hours after exercise (6,7). This means that doing a HIIT workout can help you burn many calories even after you are done exercising.

One study consisting of 20 active women found that HIIT increased the participant’s post-exercise metabolism more than jogging and weight training (6).

Additionally, research has shown that HIIT can also help you lose weight. One study found that participants who engaged in a 20-minute HIIT workout three times per week had an average weight loss of 4.4 pounds of body fat in 12 weeks. This was without making any dietary changes (8).

4. Do More Strength Training

Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, meaning that more calories are needed to maintain muscle mass.

Therefore, strength training can increase metabolism by building muscle. One small study looking at the impact of strength training on metabolism found that the participant’s resting metabolic rate increased by 7% after 24 weeks of strength training (9).

Additional research has shown that strength training may elevate the resting metabolic rate by 5 to 9% for up to 3 days following a strength workout (10).

Strength training also stimulates the turnover of protein and amino acids in the muscles. After a strength training workout, the body uses energy to help repair and rebuild muscle and other body tissues. Studies have shown that this increase in energy expenditure needed for muscle remodeling may persist for 72 hours after a strength workout (10).

5. Increase Your NEAT

As previously discussed, there are multiple ways to increase your metabolism through exercise. However, you can give your metabolism a boost through non-exercise activities as well.

Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is defined as the energy or calories that you burn by doing normal daily activities. Examples of NEAT include the movement involved in grocery shopping, cleaning the house, doing yard work, and taking the stairs.

Studies have shown that increased energy expenditure from NEAT is associated with higher resting metabolic rates which may help with weight loss (11). Higher levels of NEAT are also associated with a lower risk of certain diseases including heart disease and type 2 diabetes (11, 12).

Unfortunately, Americans are spending more time engaged in sedentary activities compared to previous generations (12). This means fewer calories burned through NEAT. Examples of ways to increase your NEAT include taking the stairs, standing more throughout the day, taking short movement breaks at work, and running errands.

6. Get More Sleep

Sleep deprivation can result in a slow metabolism. Unfortunately, many people struggle to get the restorative shut-eye that they need. According to the CDC, one-third of adults in the US report that they usually get less sleep than recommended. Current medical advice is 7 or more hours of sleep a night for adults 18 to 60 years old (13).

Research has found that a lack of sleep may lower your resting metabolic rate. One study found that men and women who slept 4 hours per night for 5 nights had a 2.6% decrease in their resting metabolism, which returned to baseline after recovery sleep (14).

Lack of sleep has also been linked to increased appetite and weight gain. This is likely due to the impact of sleep on two hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is a hormone released by the stomach and signals hunger to the brain. On the other hand, leptin is a hormone released by fat cells in the body which signals satiety or fullness and may help with weight loss.

One large study of 1,024 participants found that those who normally slept for 5 hours a night had 14.9% higher ghrelin levels and 15.5% lower leptin levels compared to those who slept 8 hours (15). Participants who slept less also had higher BMIs and body weight (15).

7. Give Yourself Time to Relax

Prolonged periods of stress and anxiety can negatively impact weight and metabolism. This is due, in part, to the continued production of cortisol.

Cortisol is a stress hormone produced as part of the fight or flight response. However, when cortisol levels remain high for too long, it can slow metabolism and result in weight gain (16).

A study found that participants who experienced a stressful event burned 104 fewer calories in one day compared to those who did not experience a stress-inducing event (17).

Elevated levels of cortisol have also been linked to weight gain. This occurs primarily because of cortisol-induced shifts in body metabolism that encourage the storage of fatty acids (16). In particular, elevated cortisol levels have been linked to increased visceral or abdominal fat (18).

8. Have a Spicy Meal

Capsaicin is a compound found in peppers which gives them their signature spiciness. A systematic review from 2012 found that consumption of capsaicin may increase energy expenditure by up to 50 calories per day (19).

Studies also indicate that spicy foods may help decrease appetite and increase fat burn, potentially helping with weight loss (19, 20). However, one caveat is that many people may not be able to tolerate capsaicin at the levels needed for significant benefits (20).

One study examining the effect of capsaicin on metabolic activity found that capsaicin at a tolerable level of spiciness burns around an additional 10 calories per meal (21). This alone may only have a modest impact on energy expenditure. However, incorporating spicy food into the diet may help lead to overall improvements in weight when combined with other strategies on this list.

9. Drink Coffee

That morning cup of Joe may help you burn more calories. Studies have shown that the caffeine in coffee can increase your resting metabolic rate by 3 to 11% (22, 23). The caffeine in coffee can also promote weight loss by stimulating the nervous system which signals fat cells to breakdown fat (24).

Caffeine has also been shown to reduce fatigue and increase exercise performance. Studies have shown that caffeine consumption can improve average exercise performance by 11 to 12% (25). This increase in performance can equate to more calories burned and may help you maintain a healthy weight.

10. Sip on Green Tea

Green tea contains beneficial compounds, including catechins and caffeine, which may boost metabolism and help with weight loss. Furthermore, unsweetened green tea is a healthy alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages which can add many calories to the diet.

Similar to coffee, green tea contains caffeine which has been found to help burn fat and increase exercise performance (24, 25).

Green tea also contains the antioxidant known as epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is thought to increase metabolism. Studies have shown that taking green tea extract or EGCG may increase your resting metabolism by about 3 to 4% (26, 27).

However, it is important to note that not all studies are in agreement on the benefits of green tea extract (28). Further research is still needed to determine the full impact of green tea extract on weight loss.

11. Avoid Crash Diets

Crash diets can negatively impact metabolism and weight (29). A crash diet is any type of diet that involves eating too few calories during the day to meet energy needs. This is usually defined as fewer than 1,200 calories for women and 1,800 calories for men (30).

When you consume too little energy your body responds by entering a type of “starvation mode.”

This is an adaptive response that helped our species survive during times of famine. Starvation mode causes the body to slow metabolism to help conserve energy. Therefore, consuming too few calories to lose weight can quickly backfire and may even cause you to gain weight.

Crash diets can also result in loss of muscle mass as the body turns to protein as a source of calories (31). This can decrease metabolism even more.

12. Don’t be Afraid to Snack

Having a small meal or snack every 3 to 4 hours may help you lose weight and burn more calories. This is due to the thermic effect of food (TEF), as previously discussed in the “eat more protein” section. The TEF is the amount of energy needed to perform the chemical reactions involved in digesting, absorbing, and utilizing the nutrients in food.

Several studies have shown that snacking may help reduce hunger and appetite (33). This may be due to a reduction in hunger hormones which accumulate when you go many hours between meals.

The Final Word

Small diet and lifestyle changes can speed up your metabolism and help keep it elevated. From incorporating strength training and HIIT into your exercise routine to managing stress, there are several ways to boost your metabolism. Consider adding one or more of these twelve tips into your daily routine. Remember, even small changes can create lasting results.

Losing a large amount of weight has been a defining moment for me. It was something that I never thought I could ever do. I literally spent decades looking in the mirror wishing I saw something different looking back at me. At that time, I wasn’t thinking about being thin or super fit, I just wanted to be comfortable in my own skin. It took a few years and so many lessons but I eventually achieved a natural weight loss of over 100 pounds. And I took myself from a size 20 to a size 4.

size 22 to a size 4. natural weight loss

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It’s taken me a long time to appreciate the fact that not a lot of people go out and lose such a large amount of weight. And I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what made my experience of natural weight loss different from the experience of others.

It took a lot of reflection and many conversations with so many different people before I started to see where that difference was. And for the most part, it boiled down to one key factor.

Mindset.

Mindset Before My Weight Loss

Before my weight loss, my life was quite different. I remember often feeling like life was just happening around me. I was a new mom to twins, my husband worked long hours and had an insanely long commute, I had family members with addiction issues, we had just moved and my friends were in a different city, and I had a toxic relationship with a family member.

At the time, I just couldn’t understand why all this was happening to me. And that’s how I truly thought about it. That everything was simply “happening to me”. I took zero responsibility for how miserable I felt. And because I didn’t take any real responsibility for my emotions and my life, I chose to self-soothe with food instead of truly addressing my many issues. In my mind, nothing was really my fault because everything was happening to me.

When I looked at Instagram I chose to believe that there was something magical about these people I followed. That they must have been born with some special will-power, or great genetics, or they that loved working out. These are things I now know to be untrue about most people.

Was there something special about them? No. However, there was something different. And that was their mindset.

Changing Your Mindset

Changing your mindset about your life takes a lot of work. And changing your mindset about your body and weight loss takes a lot of consistent work. But it’s something that absolutely anyone can do.

At this point, I’m sure you’re reading this and going, really Shannon? You’re going to credit losing 100 pounds to mindset?

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And yes, I am.

I do talk about the individual habits I adopted that helped me have a large natural weight loss in this post. But without a change in mindset, those habits would never have come together.

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And the first big change in my mindset that I needed to have was that nothing was happening to me. This idea that the world was conspiring against me, or that I had bad luck, or bad genetics, or any of that nonsense had to go. I needed to own up to my own life, recognize where I needed to make personal changes, and accept the areas where immediate change could not be made.

First, I started focusing on personal development. I read books like “Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life“, “It Didn’t Start With You“, and “Dare To Lead“. Books like these helped me to see my life situations and problems in a new light. I began to practice meditation and daily yoga which was my first introduction to seeing my body with a new perspective. Yoga taught me that my body was strong, and could do challenging things even at my heaviest weight. And meditation taught me to reflect on myself and problems instead of having immediate negative reactions.

Even though I hadn’t physically started my final weight loss journey, I started to have a new appreciation for my body. And this was something I had never experienced before.

Being Thankful For My Size 20 Body

The first huge change in my mindset came on the day when I looked in the mirror, at my heaviest weight, and said, “I am thankful for my body. I appreciate what it can do.”

I made a promise to myself that regardless of what my weight was, I would choose to love and respect my body. I would no longer put myself down or berate myself for how I looked. I was choosing to be thankful, even at my highest weight. This body had pushed out twins so I knew it was capable of hard, challenging and seemingly impossible things. I was making the choice to like myself regardless of what society’s standard of beauty might be. I know it sounds silly but choosing to accept my body as is was the first big step in my weight loss journey.

Shortly after, I made the choice to do something for my body. I decided to try a fitness program that had been recommended to me by a close friend, P90X. For the first time ever, I truly put the focus on health and not on how my body looked. And that 90 days taught me more about myself than I could have ever imagined.

Moving Foward With A New Mindset

That 90-day program changed everything about how I thought about myself and my body. It challenged me physically and mentally. And not only did I drop two dress sizes but I had developed a whole new way of thinking.

I got hooked on bettering myself. It wasn’t about losing weight, it became about being the best version of the person I knew I could be. It was a lot of trial and error but I continued to slowly move forward with the mindset of becoming my best self.

I began dealing with my emotions in a real way instead of just drowning my feelings with food. I got rid of toxic relationships and people who didn’t align with my values. I added journaling, meditative coloring, walks, and regular bits of exercise to my routine. I stopped trying to numb myself and instead chose to feel all the feelings.

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When I hit size 12, I started to set real goals for myself. I was completely satisfied with my weight loss. And I was in shock that I was finally a size 12. But at this point, I was so into personal development that I just wanted to see what I was capable of. My journey had become about so much more than weight loss.

Mindset and Fitness

One of the first real goals I set myself was to run a 10 km race. I set that goal barely being able to run 2 km. But I knew it was something that would challenge me physically and mentally, which was something I was now craving. For eight months, I put all my focus and energy into teaching my body to run 10 km. During those eight months, I barely thought about weight loss but by the time my 10 km race came around I was a size 6. The mindset of wanting to do more and be more had taken me further than I could have dreamed.

Shortly after my 10 km race, I began training for a half-marathon. The half-marathon training and race completely challenged my mindset. At times it made me question everything about myself and my journey. By far, it is the most mentally and physically challenging thing I have ever done. But because I had developed this mindset of wanting to push myself, I chose to push through the hard. I chose to push through the pain. I pushed past the fear.

Training and running my half-marathon took the personal mindset challenge I had given myself to all-new levels. And at that point, I was officially addicted to challenging my body and mind on a daily basis. It was then that I picked up fitness programs again.

It was my first fitness program in a few years and it had me testing my body and mind in new ways. It was like a daily push that checked to see how committed I was to this new mindset I had developed for myself. And it was fun! By the end of that first program, I was a size 4. Without really focusing on weight loss, I had finally reached my dream weight loss goal.

Over those few years, I had become a totally new person in every way. It was a slow and gradually journey but I was consistent because of my mindset. My mindset taught me to love and appreciate my body at every stage. It was the catalyst for a huge natural weight loss. It was what gave me the power to shed everything that wasn’t valuable to me, not just weight.

I truly believe that without a huge shift in mindset, having a large natural weight loss is almost impossible. And maintaining that weight loss without a change in mindset isn’t doable either. Personal development is at the heart of weight loss. Because large weight loss really is an inside job.

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