Best Ways to Lose Body Fat

When we are looking for the best ways to lose body fat, it's important to look first at what makes us gain weight.

And honestly the answer may surprise you a little, because nutrition and exercise are actually further down on this list than you may have thought.

Hormones play a HUGE role in keeping us from losing body fat. 

Nutrition and exercise are very important also, but are a bit further down on the list. 

Ways to Lose Body Fat - Hormones

Regulating hormones is one of the most important ways to lose body fat, like I mentioned earlier. 

The big question is - 

How can we do this?

There are a few ways to go about this so let's talk about all of them. 

#1 - Get enough sleep!

I know we all tend to have individual ideas about how much is "enough sleep" for each of us, BUT... for the sake of our goal of weight loss we need to be getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night. 

These 7-8 hours of sleep are essential for allowing the right hormones to regulate the flow of insulin within our bodies. Otherwise all of the other important factors like your nutrition and exercise will not pay off the way you expect or desire! 

If you have a difficult time sleeping, this next tip is very helpful for allowing your body to relax enough to get the right amount of sleep.

#2 - De-stress and relax your body. 

This may seem easier said than done, but it is easily doable to set aside a small portion of the day to initiate what is called "the relaxation response". The method is outlined in the link to psychology today.

This is just 10 - 20 minutes daily of purposeful and mindful relaxation of all the muscles in the body. Seated in a chair, begin to focus on each muscle relaxing. 

This technique daily also helps to lower blood pressure. It was discovered by a Cardiologist looking to help others with heart issues.

This is an important step in allowing the hormones to be regulated, since holding our bodies in tense postures all day will keep us from losing weight. 

This is a habit that allows us to relax more easily !

Ways to Lose Body Fat - Intermittent Fasting 

#3 - Intermittent fasting

Intermittent fasting is one of the ways to lose body fat that also allows for hormones to be regulated more easily. 

All we are doing, essentially, is simply delaying our eating window and going 14 or more hours without eating. 

This would be equivalent to simply skipping breakfast with a few other important keys. The whole process is outlined in the above link. 

These first three keys to help lose fat all have to do with the regulation of hormones. 

One of the reasons it is more difficult for women to lose weight than it is for men is due to the hormones produced more in women's bodies.

We all produce these hormones that inhibit weight loss, however, so men and women can both get great results starting here.

Ways to Lose Body Fat - Strength Training

#4 - Fitness Strength Training

For long term results, it is important to build muscle to lose weight. WHY?

For every one pound of muscle we add to our body mass index we burn an extra 37.5 calories PER DAY in a rested state.  It is also very easily doable to add 9 pounds of muscle to our bodies in less than a year. 

This would increase our metabolism to burn more calories than running three miles every single day. We would burn an extra 337 calories, just sitting still. Every day.

This is the power of strength training and why it is so important. 

Aerobic activity can also be useful, but please keep in mind that aerobics like jogging will not give you the health benefits of strength training. 

Adding muscle to our bodies is paramount for a healthy fat loss plan.

Ways to Lose Body Fat - Smaller Meals

#5 - Mini-meals - This is the most common of the ways to lose body fat, simply cutting calories, eating less, but eating just enough to satiate your hunger.

I'm one of those people... and really, ask my best friend, she'll tell you also :) - If I'm hungry I get SO easily agitated and frustrated. 

If you're like me then it can really help to keep a small snack with you through the day. 

Essentially what Dr. Ellington Darden suggests is to cut calories for women to 1,300 calories and for men to 1,500.

This isn't set in stone but works to be a good guideline for getting the fat loss we desire. I have many clients getting results from this! 

It may be difficult at first but if it feels like too much all at once you can work your way down to this by weekly decreasing the amount of calories.

Lose Body Fat - Drink Cold Water

#6 - Drink Ice Cold Water - This may seem a bit... excessive off hand but I actually recommend working our way up to drinking a full gallon of ice cold water every day. 

Why ice cold?

Our body has to crank up our metabolism to warm the water up in our body, and it allows for us to burn an extra 123 extra calories for every gallon of cold water we drink. 

This one I listed last because it's actually one of the easiest to do in my opinion. 

It really doesn't take much planning to simply drink a ton of water, but you really may have to work your way up to it over time. 

If we begin increasing slowly over a month, our bodies adjust and we won't spend as much time having to run to the restroom. 

I just want to encourage you and let you know that you can do it! 

If you want a team of fitness coaches at your disposal to help you along the way  - 

We are here to help!