The Healthy Guide to Losing Weight this Spring
With summer fast approaching, its time to get that beach wear out of the closet and see if last years mini skirt still fits. But when the button isnt closing and the waistband is not stretching, it can only mean one thing: you have gained weight.
Everyone wants their bodies to be in top form this time of year, so many go on quick-fix diets extreme exercise programs to make themselves thinner. Osteopaths, health gurus, and nutritionists argue that we do not necessarily need to follow meagre diets or spend hours a day on a workout to get rid of our unwanted pounds; there are much more effective natural ways to look and feel great. Here are some healthy, natural ways for you to shed those pounds for the summer:
Eating the Right Foods
It may seem common-sensical, but eating the right foods is the most basic thing you can do to help your body lose weight. Carb counters are quick to warn you about the number of fattening carbohydrates and calories in each bite, but you have to keep in mind that the body needs carbohydrates in order to energize you throughout the day.
So what type of foods are recommended? Acidic fruits such as grapefruits, oranges, and lemons are great for detoxifying the body, while foods such as oatmeal, green tea, and broccoli enhance your metabolism. But dont just monitor what goes into your mouth ” how much you consume is also of vital importance. If you have many light and nutritional meals throughout the day, you should start feeling better and fitter before you can say diet.
Regulating your Metabolism
It is wise to limit your food intake, but dont starve yourself. Many people think that by skipping meals they are sparing themselves the opportunity to gain weight. This is not true. Whenever you skip a meal, your body responds by slowing down its metabolism to help you conserve energy. In order to lose weight you need to speed up your metabolism ” not slow it down.
By speeding up your metabolism you increase the rate at which it converts food to energy, giving it less time to convert that food to fat. To get your metabolism to regulate itself, have five light meals a day instead of three major ones, as this gives your metabolism regular work and prevents it from storing fat.
Sleep
Dont underestimate the important role that sleep plays in weight loss. If you assume that our bodies do nothing in the eight hours that we lie in bed, you might be surprised to hear that important hormones that affect our appetite are undergoing various processes while we sleep. Research has shown that when we do not get enough sleep, we disturb these processes that regulate our hormone levels, resulting in weight gain. Sleep is, of course, essential for our regular functioning in other many other ways as well, so the only thing you have to lose by going to bed early is weight.
While these natural weight loss solutions all but comprehensive, they do give us a general idea of how our body works in relation to weight loss. As long as the right foods and sleep are combined with regular exercise, you should be able to slip right into those mini shorts before summer.