Fitness and Diet: How to Lose Weight Fast

To eat or not to eat?

You are consuming more calories than you burn – alas, this is the most common reason why weight stays in place even during active fitness activities. A couple of slices of a colleague’s birthday cake or a nice plate of pasta and creamy sauce at a restaurant – no, it’s not very bad, even if you are on a diet. The main thing is not to arrange such gastronomic holidays for yourself on a regular basis, better – no more than once every ten to fourteen days.

Regular gluttony are not noticed and you do not miss trips to the sports club, but the weight still does not decrease? Maybe it’s the way you eat on class days. It is better not to listen to advice such as “do not eat 3 hours before class and 4 hours after”. Think, even with an hour of training in this way, you doom the body to 8 hours of fasting! This may not only not help weight loss, but even hinder it, slowing down the metabolism. The stomach will not say “thank you” to you either.

For different types of fitness and sports, different diets are appropriate. But if your goal is precisely to lose weight, 1-1,5 hours before class it is better to have a snack with vegetables (fresh or boiled), a light sandwich with whole grain bread and, for example, turkey, yogurt. After class, you can eat something like this in 1,5 hours, the main thing is not to overeat. But if you train right in the morning, you don’t have to eat before exercise.

Cardio: timing matters

Do you pump the abs every day for half an hour, but your stomach does not go away? Or do you sweat on the simulators, loading the muscles of the thighs, and the “breeches’ ears”, that is, the “breeches” are all in place? You don’t have enough cardio workouts.

Brisk walking, jogging, swimming are all cardio exercises. It is very good for fighting excess weight, for burning fat, and at the same time strengthens the heart. Cardio can be exercised in the gym on a treadmill, elliptical trainer, rowing machine, stepper; in pool – swim; even on the street – to walk at a brisk pace. The main thing is to remember: the first 20-30 minutes of such a workout, the body feeds the muscles with glucose contained in the blood, and only then begins to use the hated fat as fuel. Therefore, it is better to practice for at least an hour. You can start with 35-40 minutes and lengthen each workout by 3-5 minutes.

Cardio does not negate other types of fitness at all, but it will help you lose weight faster. It is best to alternate workouts: cardio – for the heart and harmony, and, for example, strength machines for a beautiful muscle relief.

And dumbbells are overweight

By the way, about strength training equipment and weights in general. By choosing dumbbells or when setting the resistance level on the machine, remember that a lot of weight helps muscles grow. If you fatigue after 3-5 repetitions of the exercise, the weight is clearly too much for you. You are unlikely to become a Schwarzenegger of the time of the Terminator from such activities, but you will not get rid of fat either. And body weight can increase if muscles grow: muscle tissue weighs more than fat tissue.

To lose kilograms, you need a small weight with which you can do the maximum number of repetitions of the exercise per set. For example, dumbbell exercises can help tighten your arms, chest, and back; for this, the dumbbells must weigh 1,5 – 3 kilograms.

How do you weigh yourself?

Maybe it’s not your weight that doesn’t go away, but is there something wrong with your weights? Or how do you use them?

Here Weighing rules:

• Get on the scales at the same time, best of all – in the morning, on an empty stomach, after using the toilet.

• Weigh either in the same clothing or (optimally) naked.

• Use the same scales – different scales, especially those that are not very accurate, can show very different results.

• Place the scales on the most even, smooth surface: on a carpet, rug, uneven old parquet, they can lie.