Nothing beats a vacation when you can slim down naturally, thanks to stress-free days and veggie-packed meals.
Reach your favorite destination in health which is your dream size, with the best healthy-eating tricks.
Eat more
Depriving your body with food restriction will definitely backfire. Most people think that by drastically lowering the number of calories will result to faster weight loss. When you don’t consume enough calories, your metabolism slows as well as the rate at which you burn calories. Aim for at least 1,500 calories per day (up to 200 more if you exercise regularly). Concentrate on getting a combination of good carbohydrates such as produce and whole grains, lean protein, such as chicken and fish, and healthy fats, like olive oil or avocado, with each meal.
Go for foods you like
You don’t need to eat unsavory and bland food just to lose weight. It will not yield any good results. There is a chance that you will rebel against this type of diet since you will not enjoy following it. Instead, make your favorite whole grains, fruit and vegetables as the focus of your diet. Forget about healthy foods you’re not crazy about in other dishes. Why not toss spinach into soup or add broccoli into pasta with marinara sauce? It sure does look delicious but also low in calories and packed with vitamins and minerals.
Make meals tastier
To satisfy our need for gastronomic pleasure, our taste buds need to experience all six tastes - sweet, salty, sour, bitter, pungent and astringent - in a meal. Pungent foods or the spicy ones, and an astringent taste (from foods like cabbage) cause a puckering in your mouth. Dieters may overeat after meals because they’ve missed one of these flavors.
Eat for the next few hours
Think about your day’s activities before eating. Think about how active you’re going to be for the next three hours. Your meals should consist primarily of good carbohydrates with a serving of protein and a little bit of healthy fat. Hitting the gym soon? Slightly increase your carbs so you’ll have energy to burn. Protein actually helps you feel full for a little longer than carbohydrates.
Focus on your health
Women who successfully lose weight think of diet and exercise as a means to be healthy rather than ways to be slim. If you want to eat to reduce your heart disease risk, for example, you’ll want to include foods like low-calorie fruit and veggies. A result that you will rave is that you’ll lose weight nearly effortlessly.
Enjoy chocolate
Do not deprive yourself with foods you like to eat. It will likely make you binge on your list of “forbidden” foods. Indulge your sweet tooth, but with limits. You can enjoy eating these foods to about 160 calories a day.
Keep a future-food journal
The traditional food diary where you log what you eat after you bite will give you lesser control than planning meals that you are going to eat ahead of time. In your journal, use one side to schedule meals for two days. On the other, note whenever you eat outside of your planned meals. Once you figure out your trigger points, you can schedule activities, such as walks or exercise, around those times.
Be a food snob
Women throw half a paycheck on a pair of heels, but when it comes to food, we all want a bargain. You’d be better off if you spent a little more. The higher the quality of food you eat, the more satisfied you’d be. Plus, fresh, top-notch foods often have more nutritional value for the buck. Consider it a worthy and healthy indulgence!
Redefine yourself
Picture yourself at a healthier weight. Do you enjoy shopping for new clothes? Would you hit the gym before work every day? Once you have an image of your dream self, choose habits that will help you become that slimmer and healthier person. Eating breakfast will power you through workouts during the day. Give up late night munching to drop a size. These small adjustments can add up and become permanent habits. You are sure to attain the goal of healthier and toner new you.
Relax, and then eat
Have you ever gorged food then suddenly felt so full that you wished you had stopped eating few bites ago? You can avoid overeating by pacing yourself. All it takes is a soothing breathing trick. Inhale deeply through your nose, and then exhale slowly. Repeat several times. This slowdown could help you slim down. Researchers from the University of Rhode Island at Kingston found that people who ate more slowly consumed 70 fewer calories per meal than speed-eaters.
The most difficult areas of the body to lose fat is the waist. It takes a big amount of discipline and dedication to take it off. The reasons why fat is stored in the belly section can be because of pregnancy, a beer belly, couch potato, or from sitting in a cubicle. The good news is it’s possible to take control and make your waist look fit again.
Read below to know simple ways to lose fat found on your waist.
Tip 1 - Drink plenty of water. Refrain from consuming pop soda, juice, and other highly sugar processed drinks. Water helps your body lose weight.
Tip 2 - Aim to have at least 7 hours of sleep. When the body is deprived of sleep, it produces two important chemicals namely insulin and leptin. Insulin is produced by the body during sleep to regulate blood sugar and helps the body to naturally burn calories. The body produces Leptin during sleep. It suppresses the appetite in a natural way.
Tip 3 - Steer away from foods high in saturated fat and trans fat immediately. It means to avoid butter, margarine, salty and sugary snacks. If you can’t avoid foods such as potato chips, corn chips, ice cream, cookies, cake, and other highly processed snacks, consume them sparingly. Do not indulge on these kind of processed foods all the time. Saturated fats are difficult to remove from the body.
Tip 4 - Keep stress in check. High level of stress has been found to cause build up of fat deposits in the mid-region of the body or your tummy area. Incorporate relaxation time into your schedule to help manage stress. Studies has shown that yoga, massage, bath, meditation, prayer, stroll at the park can curb stress and help the body balance itself.
Tip 5 - Burn excess calories by using more calories than what you eat or drink. The amount of calories that you burn each day should exceed the number of caloric intake to lose fat. It is best to keep a record of the calories you use during work out or any physical activity and the calories you eat or drink each day.
Tip 6 - Gradually increase the amount of exercise. Target moderate exercise 4 to 5 times per week. Moderate exercises can be in the forms of swimming, walking, light jogging, treadmill, and gardening or yard work. The exercise helps increase calorie burning and help to eliminate build up of triglycerides.
A slim waist best epitomizes the standard of beauty for women. It does not matter whether you are plump or thin, a narrow waist relative to your body is the key. How do you achieve a relative narrow waist to your body without having to lose weight in other areas?
Follow these simple ways to narrow your waistline in no time without any need for surgery:
Yoga
Yoga exercise helps reduce fat around your waist while strengthening your core. Nothing beats an exercise like yoga to correct your posture while enhancing a sound mind and toned body.
Posture
Stand up straight and hold your stomach in. Good posture is taught to young children yet as we get older we tend to forget how to maintain a correct posture. It goes beyond aesthetic purpose but also helps strengthen and tone your abdominal muscles. Thus, it keeps your stomach from bulging out. It instantly makes your stomach look slimmer and your waist smaller.
Lipo in a box or Spanx
Purchase one of these great products that will hold your waist in. It gives you an instant skinny waist and helps your clothes fit the way you want.
Ab exercises
The most effective way to slim down your waist is to develop that abs into steel! If you need extra motivation and clear instructions, purchase a video such as Abs of Steel with Tamilee Webb (add amazon). If you want to work your abs on your own, visit our recommended ab exercises (add link to ab exercises). You will need to variety of moves to target different muscles such as crunches, side bends, torso twists and hip extensions. Always remember to exhale forcefully on the crunch and squeeze your muscles as much as you can.
Exercise
Ab exercises alone won’t give you a smaller waist. Your time and efforts put into toning your muscles go to waste if they’re hidden underneath a layer of fat. It will only help pull things in and firm you up. If you don’t burn fat, you will still have that “jiggle of fat instead of a toned look.. Some women prefers a soft tummy but if you don’t like jiggling tummy then you need to burn fat to let the muscles show.
Go for exercises such as rowing, swimming, and walking to enable your body to go into fat burning mode, which is a requirement to lose inches around your waist.
Computer time
Be conscious of your posture when you are behind your computer. Chances are, your slumped posture tends to let your stomach bulge out thus your stomach develops a pooch.
Detoxify
Toxins present in your system can build up in your intestines thus causes you to be bloated. You need to cleanse and detoxify your body to eliminate these wastes. Try a detox such as the Master Cleanse.
Reduce stress
Did you know stress signals the body to produce a hormone called cortisol that stimulates storage of fat in the midsection? Stress can also cause improper digestion leading to gas and bloating. Try yoga and meditation to help you cope better with stress. It is also recommended that you try to assess what causes the stress and decide the steps to take to eliminate it.
Patience
The process of shrinking your midsection fat and getting a slimmer waist takes time so try to be patient. No specific drug or plan will target fat reduction of your waist. Your waist size is a good indicator of your overall health. Thus, you need to eat healthy, drink plenty of fluid, perform toning exercises and lead a stress-free lifestyle as much as possible. The first place you tend to gain weight is the last place to lose it. Stick to your weight loss plan and be patient with it.
Don’t eat late at night.
Your body starts to prepare into sleep mode after 8 pm. Your metabolism gradually slows down late during the night. When you eat late at night, it causes more fat stored in your waist and stomach. Refrain from eating 3 hours before you go to bed. If ever hunger sets in late during the night, opt to have something healthy like a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts.
Need a complete work out that melts fat fast while toning all over?
The following high-energy exercises from trainer Sean Burch, author of Hyperfitness (Avery), melt fat fast while toning all over. Do each move in quick succession, up to five times a week. Then jump at the chance to show off your sexy body.
Plyometrics
This antiflab plan consists of plyometrics, high-powered explosive jumping movements. Because plyometrics is weight-bearing, it firms muscles while zapping an astounding 10 calories per minute for a 135-pound woman. Start slowly, then pick up the pace. To double the burn, fly through the routine a second time.
Soaring eagle
Stand with feet hip-width apart, arms down. Squat, leaning torso forward and extending arms behind you, palms facing ceiling. Explode up, reaching arms and legs wide. Land with knees soft, feet hip-width apart, and squat low again. Repeat as many times as you can for one minute.
• Works abs, butt, legs
Pop-up
Start on all fours, knees under hips, wrists under shoulders. In a single, quick-fire movement, contract abs, push off floor with hands and jump to feet. Finish with knees bent, arms raised out front at shoulder height, palms down. Return to kneeling; repeat for one minute.
• Works shoulders, arms, back, abs, butt, legs
Pogo stick
Stand with feet apart, arms down and knees slightly bent. Contract abs and quickly push off toes, bursting up with feet and wrists flexed. Land softly on balls of feet with knees slightly bent. Repeat for one minute.
• Works abs, butt, legs
Hurdler hop
Stand with feet together, elbows bent 90 degrees. Engage abs and hop from one foot to the other, raising leg up and out to side as you bend it. Allow arms to move freely to help balance. Continue for one minute.
• Works arms, abs, butt, legs
Carioca
Stand with left foot diagonally behind right leg, heel lifted so left toes face right heel; raise arms out to sides at shoulder level. Step left foot left, so feet are hip-width apart. Step right foot left, diagonally behind left leg. Step to left again with left foot, so legs are hip-width apart. Step right foot left, diagonally in front of left leg to return to start. Move arms freely to help balance. Quickly take 10 of these steps, then reverse direction. Continue for one minute, finding a rhythm.
• Works arms, butt, legs
Tush tuck
Lie faceup with knees bent, feet flat on floor and arms straight up. Contract abs and quickly roll up to standing. Then jump up and kick heels up and behind you toward butt. Land with knees slightly bent and return to start. Repeat for one minute.
• Works arms, abs, legs
Open sesame
Stand with legs together, knees bent, elbows bent 90 degrees. Engage abs, then jump feet apart wider than hip-width, toes pointed out, knees soft. Jump feet back together. Repeat for one minute.
• Works arms, butt, hips, legs
Flutter kick
Lie faceup. Squeeze abs and butt as you alternately kick right leg and left leg quickly up toward ceiling. Repeat for one minute.
• Works back, abs, butt, hips, legs
The straddler
Stand with left knee bent and right leg extended to right, elbows bent 90 degrees. Engage abs, then push off left foot and lift up vertically, driving right knee up. Land softly on right leg with left leg extended to left side. Immediately repeat on other side, quickly alternating for one minute.
• Works abs, butt, hips, legs
Getting jiggy
Stand with feet hip-width apart, arms overhead. Hop on left foot, bending right knee to bring up right foot as you reach left hand toward right ankle to tap it. Hop onto right foot, bending left knee to tap left ankle with right hand. Repeat for one minute.
• Works arms, abs, butt, legs
Try this killer home arm workout you can do with just a set of dumbbells for toned and strong biceps, triceps and more.
This slimming workout can be done twice a week, 12-20 reps of each set. This is an arm workout for beginners to advanced fitness levels. Adjust the weight according to each exercise to really feel the burn of the this killer work out.
Yoga
Posture
Reduce stress
