So, the weather’s getting warmer and you’re already thinking of beach trips, swimming pools, and bikinis. And then you realize that you’ve been slacking off during the holidays and you need to get back into bikini shape quickly. So, how do you do it without torturing yourself?
1. Drop 500 calories off of your total daily calorie intake. Cut back on the soda, take away the cookies, whatever you want as long as it equals 500 less calories a day. The reason – 3500 calories burned is equal to a 1 pound loss. If you did nothing more than this, you would lose about 13 pounds in 3 months, assuming that you’re eating an amount that causes you to neither loss or gain weight at the moment.
2. Cardio. Lots of it. At least half an hour a day, but more is always good. A half an hour of swimming breaststroke, for example, can burn 350 calories a day. If you burn 300 calories a day, you’ll lose 8 pounds in 3 months. That, together with the decrease in calories, should put you at the 20 pound weight loss you’re striving for. And if you want to lose less, you can tone down the exercise, and tone it up if you want to lose more, though it isn’t good to overdo it.
3. Weight training. I know what you’re thinking. You want a lean body, not a bunch of bulk, but the sad truth is, you still need to do weight training. The key here is to do a lot of repetitions of a light weight. Stretching is also helpful. That will help build lean muscle and ensure that you won’t look flabby, even after weight loss. It also makes your metabolism faster so you don’t have to work as hard to keep the pounds off.
4. Stay away from crash diets. It’s natural to want to lose weight as fast as possible, but it’s actually counter-productive in the long run. Crash diets that restrict certain foods or restrict calories too much actually cause your metabolism to slow down, making it harder to lose weight and easier to gain weight back. Anything that restricts food groups (with the exception of the Atkins or South Beach diet if you plan on maintaining it long term) or cuts calories below 1200 a day is not going to be good for you.
5. Increase your metabolism. If you take steps to increase your metabolism, you’ll be able to burn calories faster. Drinking green tea, eating 5 -6 small meals, instead of 3 large ones, getting enough low-fat dairy, and spreading your cardio workouts out throughout the day are all things that can help you boost your metabolism. Some other things are drinking 10 cups (8 oz cups) of ice water, which burns an extra 100 calories a day, and fidgeting when you’re sitting. Yep, fidgeting burns an average of 350 extra calories a day.
6. Don’t let the scale rules you. When it comes down to it, you may not lose 20 pounds. Maybe you only lose 15 because you’ve gained some muscle. Or you’ve lost 18. Don’t let this be disappointing. Even if you aren’t 20 pounds lighter, it’s almost a guarantee that you’ll look and feel at least 20 pounds lighter, if not more. Sometimes toning and being
