Trying to lose weight, especially belly fat, can be extremely challenging. You try working out daily and watching what you eat but still, your body refuses to let go of the fat.
![Graça Machel was born in 1945 [CGTN]](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf8,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg'%20width%3D'100'%20height%3D'100'%20data-ring-placeholder%3D'1'%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E "Graça Machel was born in 1945 [CGTN]")
It's probably because you haven't made the following diet and lifestyle changes. Here are five proven strategies to help you lose weight quickly and safely in no time:
Increasing your water intake is an easy, often overlooked way to boost weight loss. Research has shown that upping your water intake enhances weight loss by reducing your appetite and keeping you feeling full for a long period.
It also temporarily boosts your metabolism, which means your body burns more calories. This applies when you drink water before and during meals.
To get the best results, drink at least 1–2 litres of water every day. You can also replace soda and other sugary drinks with water.
Intermittent Fasting (IF) is the rave of the moment because of its enormous health benefits. As the name implies, it is basically going without food for some time, before eating normally during a certain window.
This pattern of eating does not change what you eat, only when you can eat. There are several IF methods with the most common one being the 16:8 method. This involves fasting every day for 16 hours and only eating in the 8-hour window.
You also have the 5:2 method (eating normally for 5 days and fasting for 2 days of the week), Eat-Stop-Eat method (doing a 24-hour fast, once or twice a week) and the Warrior Diet (fast during the day and eat a huge meal at night during the 4-hour window).
This writer recommends the 16:8 method since it simply involves skipping breakfast. You could eat dinner between 7–8 and fast till 11–12 pm the next day. You can have water, tea or coffee while fasting.
Health benefits include lowering the risk of breast cancer, improving the health of your heart, lowering blood sugar, increasing your lifespan, and of course weight loss.
Adding protein-rich foods to your diet is essential to weight loss since protein is known to promote feelings of fullness, increase muscle mass, decrease belly fat and overall body weight.
Protein-rich foods you can find in Nigeria include eggs, fish, lean meats (skinless chicken and turkey), snails, egusi soup, okra soup, oats, and beans in all forms including Moi Moi and Akara.
It's common knowledge that exercise has several health benefits apart from weight loss. The problem is usually figuring out how to squeeze it into our busy days. This is why it's best to get it out of the way by doing it first thing in the morning.
According to Anthony Hackney, a professor in the department of exercise and sport science at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, working out in the morning is also the best way to burn stored fat.
In his words, “In the early morning hours, you have a hormonal profile that would predispose you to better metabolism of fat.” So you’ll “draw more of your energy from your fat reserves.”
You get more health benefits if you work out with an empty stomach.
Sleep is another reason why many people still struggle with weight loss. You could be doing everything right but not realise that you are sabotaging your results by not getting adequate rest.
Mounting evidence has shown that lack of sleep leads to an increase in hunger, appetite, and obesity. Researchers are now recommending adequate sleep as a way to successful weight loss. So aim for 6–8 hours of a good night's rest every day.
Note: These tips can also help you keep the weight off long term.
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