Best Ways To Stay Lean
If you are always on the lookout for tips to help you lose weight, you’re certainly not alone. There are people who are constantly trying to decipher the code that will rid them of extra pounds. Some find it extremely difficult to lose weight. Even when something works and they do shed some pounds, studies prove they are likely to regain the weight in the near future. That makes the real problem not finding a way to get rid of excess fat, but keeping it off.
How can you achieve your target weight and permanently maintain it? Let’s consider some of the most effective methods to stay lean after you have achieved your desired physique.
Plan in Advance
In order to stay lean, you need to master your weekly meal prep, plan your daily routine and no matter what your plans are for the day, schedule in plenty of time for your workout. It’s just too tempting to miss workouts with an unplanned day. When your day is planned you are left with fewer excuses to let go of your exercise regime.
Along with planning your daily schedules, plan in proper meals so you don’t end up reaching for unhealthy snacks to stave off hunger pangs. It’s always a good idea to have healthy snack alternatives and pre-prepared meals in your fridge that can come to the rescue on busy or lazy days. So stock up on fruits, veggies, varieties of egg mixes, chopped vegetables, or anything that appeals and can be made up fast for a quick healthy meal and stored in your meal prep containers.
Meal and Workout Balance
Plan your meals according to your workout regime. Ideally, exercising 2 to 3 times a day is the key to get lean, but you still have to eat right. Eat high carb low-fat meals if you are really breaking into the gym. They will help you refuel, gain strength and motivate you to hit the gym. But, if you are planning a light workout day, then your choice of the meal should be low carb. It won’t make you feel heavy and will go easy on your metabolism.
Whether you are exercising or not, you should eliminate sugar from your diet. Sugar is your worst enemy and a hindrance to achieving a lean and fit body. It spikes your blood sugar level but it inhibits muscular growth, which is enough of a reason for you to cut it from your life. A better substitute is a handful of nuts to satisfy your sweet cravings.
Maintain Your Calorie Count
Taking the desired number of calories per day according to your body’s need is as essential as eating the right kind of food. Just as taking surplus calories is unhealthy, taking less than required is another hindrance to getting a lean and healthy body. Find out the number of calories required for you individually by using any available online fitness app then strictly maintain this digit by eating a healthy balanced diet.
Include Nuts in your Diet
A handful of nuts makes a healthy snack and keep you fuller for a longer. Nuts do contain fat, but not in the quantity that will add any weight to your body. Some of the fats present don’t even get absorbed and are flushed away.
Some healthy nuts options are chestnuts, almonds, walnuts, and peanuts and are just as effective when eaten raw, roasted or salted.
Build Your Strength
In your journey to get lean, don’t focus on your weight instead work on building your strength. Having strong muscles is far better for you than having a weak albeit leaner body. Your weight is just a number but what matters is your health and physique.
Lifting weights encourage muscle growth and makes you stronger. The more muscle you put on, the higher your metabolism, which is going to help keep you lean. Be sure to include compound exercises. Running on a folding treadmill will help, but nothing compares to the number of extra calories you burn than hitting the squat rack.
Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated by drinking plenty of water is vital towards your goal of attaining a lean beautiful body.
Water flushes away all toxins from your body and helps you in lose unwanted body fat. Maintaining a good intake of water each day prevents dehydration and won’t allow water retention. Keep drinking more water to stay healthy.
Include Omega 9 in Your Diet
Omega 9 is an essential ingredient of vegetable oils. It is commonly known as oleic acid and makes you feel fuller for a longer time. It releases the oleo ethanol amide into the small intestine which signals the brain you don’t need more food. Adding 1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil to your everyday diet will help you gain its benefits and trick your body into wanting to eat less.
Stay Consistent
Staying active and persistent is the key to success. Whether it’s a holiday season or busy routine, keep yourself active and remain ever watchful about what you eat. Deviating from a strict healthy diet once in a blue moon is completely acceptable and doesn’t mean completely giving up on your healthy eating regime. If you are taking a dessert or a drink at a party you can compensate for it with a wise selection for the other elements of your meal. Enjoy your life and all the food options around you but maintain strict portion control.
Stay Active
No matter the diet plan you’re currently following, you should never underestimate the importance of staying active in your life. Be active and socialize more, but know what you should or should not be eating in those gatherings. Drinking alcohol can put you off track and make it difficult to stay lean.
Moreover, you should always try to walk more, even if that means parking your car a few blocks away from your workplace to take a short walk. Similarly, take the stairs instead of taking the elevator. It implies that you don’t always need to get your running shoes out to live an active life. Just start walking more.
Practice Moderation
It is sensible to practice moderation in everything you do in your life and especially to help stay lean. Although it becomes difficult to follow the healthy lifestyle rules during the holidays, you should learn to restrict yourself and make a conscious effort to avoid falling off the ledge.
Before any big holiday meal, drink a glass of water. It is also a good idea to have a healthy snack before you eat to avoid overeating. This works because your body can only handle around 750 calories in each meal.
When practicing moderation, your goal should be to limit yourself to a single plate. That means no second helpings. Similarly, take a few small bites of different desserts if you really need something to satisfy your sweet tooth. Above all, keep drinking water during your meals to eat and drink in moderation.
Take Steps to Control Your Hunger
What you eat as your first meal of the day is going to impact how hungry you feel during the remainder of the day. Although you need carbs in your diet, you should also pay special attention to your protein intake. Studies confirm that the body takes time to digest protein, so you’re less likely to feel hungry after a protein-rich meal. Purchasing a protein shaker and preparing yourself some hearty protein shakes in no time is a good move. Investing in a good protein powder is also going to help, but be sure to get your protein from milk, yogurt, meat, and other healthy food items.
Try Intermittent Fasting
So many experts are now propagating the practice of intermittent fasting. Your body stores fat to use when you may not have much to eat. It means that you lose weight if you do something that makes your body tap into these stored energy reserves.
Intermittent fasting is beneficial because it helps with fat burning by lowering levels of insulin. Similarly, experts believe fasting can increase your human growth hormone (HGH) levels, and elevated levels can facilitate fat loss and muscle gain. Above all, fasting can make your nervous system send norepinephrine to your fat cells, which breaks them down to free fatty acids and helps you lose weight. Therefore, if you don’t have a medical condition that prevents you from fasting, you may certainly consider trying it to maintain a good physique.
Some Quick Rules to Staying Lean
While you will certainly be able to maintain a leaner physique using the tips mentioned above, here are a few additional changes you may want to make to your lifestyle.
- Work consciously to relieve stress. You may have no idea of how devastating being stressed out can be. It can hurt you in more ways than you can imagine, as it leads to a hormonal imbalance that may actually make you eat more than you really need or want.
- Go natural to stay lean. The idea is to eat fresh fruits and vegetables to ensure you don’t load up on added sugar. You can also add fresh, cold-pressed juice from a home juicer or blender to your diet to stay lean. Raw vegetables and smoothies are also your friends.
- Eat smaller meals instead of eating three large meals. Many studies have confirmed that you will be able to prevent hunger pangs and overeating if you eat small meals (around 400 calories) several times a day. It helps you stay protected from the cycle of overindulgence.
- Get to know more about your macronutrients. As mentioned already, you need to increase your intake of protein, which is a macronutrient, but you should be equally concerned about other macronutrients, namely carbs and fat. Be sure to eat healthy fats to avoid gaining weight though.
- Consider chewing the fat to help stay lean. Many experts are of the view that you will snack on at least 36 fewer calories throughout the day if you consider chewing gum after lunch. You may think 36 calories are not a lot, but getting rid of this many without any exercise is surely going to make a difference in the end. 36 calories every single day are going amount to 3 pounds of fat lost every year.
- Avoid drinking too many calories. Most people are concerned about eating less fat and intaking fewer calories, but they don’t understand that they may be drinking many calories without their knowledge. Studies have found that most people consume more than 222 additional calories a day from sweetened beverages. So, avoid soft drinks to stay lean.
- Try probiotics to help lose weight. Running around in a weighted vest helps you burn additional calories, but you can hope to get better results if your digestive system is functioning optimally. That is when you can get good results from probiotics or friendly bacteria that improve digestion and perk up your metabolism, which in turn help you stay lean.
The fact of the matter is that restricting your calorie intake and sticking to an exercise program will certainly help with weight loss, but to keep that fat off, you need to make special changes to your overall lifestyle. You can always start by taking smaller steps, like going for a short walk daily and then go big by including weight training to your routine. It may look intimidating in the beginning, but it soon becomes a habit and helps you maintain the right physique. So, keep working hard to stay lean!
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