10 Tricks To Lose 20 Pounds Quickly and Safely
There are ways you can beat the flab and improve the way you feel when
time is of the essence — and you don’t have to starve yourself, invest
in unsafe weight loss supplements, or double up on workouts to achieve
results.
Instead, try this flexible approach that lets you pick from weight-loss
tips that work but won’t completely ruin or disrupt your life.
Choose at least four of the follow time tested weight loss tips, and
work them into your schedule for fourteen days straight. If you feel
ambitious, tack on a few more. The more changes you make, the more
weight you can expect to lose between now and the end of two weeks.
- Drink only water
A sports or energy drink, fruit smoothie, or light beer — each serving
contains about 100 calories. Yet these beverages don’t satisfy you the
way 100 calories of food does, so they’re a waste. Other liquids may be
high in sodium and carbohydrates, which trick your body into retaining
water, puffing you out.
Water, on the other hand, has zero calories and carbs and little to no
sodium, making it the perfect slim-down drink. And, strangely, it
actually helps flush out excess water weight as well as jumpstart your
metabolism. If water is too boring for you, add lemon wedges or mint
leaves using an infuser.
2. Skip Refined Carbs, Eat Veggies Instead
The simple carbs in white rice, spaghetti, and sandwich rolls can wreak
havoc on your weight because they’re digested very quickly, leaving you
hungry and more likely to overeat later.
Instead of replacing these foods with healthier whole-grain bread
products, which contain filling fibers that can sometimes trigger
bloating, sub in vegetables for the 2 weeks — instead of rice, try
cauliflower “rice” made by grating cauliflower. And instead of chips and
dip, go for carrots and dip.
The complex carbs from vegetables are also digested more slowly than
simple carbs , so you’ll remain full longer. And because veggies are
mostly water, they help flush out excess water weight.
3. Do Cardio For At Least 30 Minutes A Day
Any workout that gets your heart rate up will burn calories. But you’ll
use more calories if you pick a cardio routine that engages multiple
muscles simultaneously.
Three cardio heavy workout to consider to get your metabolism revving
and fat burning: spinning, cardio kickboxing, and boot-camp workouts.
Half an hour of each torches 200 to 300 calories while toning up your
arms, legs, and core so everything appears sleeker and tighter.
You’ll burn even more calories per session if your workout incorporates
interval training: alternating short bursts of intense cardio with
slower activity.
4. Drink Coffee An Hour Before Your Workout Session
This is the one exception to the stick-to-water-only rule: Just as a
coffee run makes your morning at work more productive, a pre-exercise
cup of java with a splash of skim milk (about 11 calories) or black
(just 5 calories) will energize your workout. You’ll burn more calories
without realizing you’re pushing yourself harder.
5. Have On Top Of Him Sex Every Night
Not that you needed an excuse to hook up with your guy every night, but
the fact is, this position is a fat blaster. Being on top means you do
the rocking, and the more active you are, the more calories you burn.
Sex also pumps levels of feel-good neurotransmitters, endorphins,
helping you ride out food cravings. Get on top in reverse-cowgirl (i.e.,
facing away from your guy) to give your thigh and butt muscles an extra
push (and deeper pleasure).
6. Do One Hundred Squats Everyday
This gym-class staple will help sculpt muscle, so you’ll sport a more
streamlined appearance. Do a set of 50 squats as soon as you wake up in
the morning and right before you sleep. Squats work your core, butt,
hips, and thighs. Remember, as you build stronger muscles with the
squats, add some free weights (if you don’t have weights, use large
detergent bottles) to keep you challenged and away from the dreaded
plateau.
7. Sleep for an extra 30 minutes a day
That extra half an hour, whether you sleep 5 hours or 8, can refresh you
enough that you will make better food choices (in other words, no quick
sugar fix for breakfast in search of energy) and won’t feel lethargic
and skip the gym. More restful sleep (7 to 8 hours is best) also boosts
your metabolism. And because your body builds muscle while you snooze,
getting zzz’s equals better muscle tone.
8. Make one food sacrifice a day
Cutting out one indulgence — such as the chips you have with lunch or
the chocolate dessert you eat after dinner — can subtract a few hundred
calories from your diet, which translates into less flab. Believe it or
not, tour body won’t even notice their absence.
9. Eat More Salmon
It’s packed with nutrients that build muscle tone and give your skin a
healthy glow. Some nutritionists claim that consuming a portion (doesn’t
matter how it’s cooked) may immediately make your face look a bit more
contoured.
10. Get Proper Sleep
Numerous studies have shown that getting less than 5–6 hours of sleep
per night is associated with increased incidence of obesity. There are
several reasons behind this.
Research suggests that insufficient and poor-quality sleep slows down
the process in which the body converts calories to energy, called
metabolism. When metabolism is less effective, the body may store unused
energy as fat. In addition, poor sleep can increase the production of
insulin and cortisol, which also prompt fat storage.
How long and how deep someone sleeps also affects the regulation of the
appetite-controlling hormones leptin and ghrelin. Leptin sends signals
of fullness to the brain while ghrelin tells your brain you’re hungry.
Without a properly functioning leptin and ghrelin, you’re constantly
hungry and nothing you eat will ever make you full — double whammy.
So, sleep more and sleep well.
