My philosophy on how to reduce fat fast
Weight loss should be a byproduct of a healthy lifestyle. Crash diets do not work because they are not viable in the long term and when you come off the diet, you will gain back the weight. The best solution is to adopt a healthy lifestyle and you will stay lean for life!
To reduce fat fast you need to consume less calories than you expend, creating a calorie deficit. It's that simple!
What to eat
Lean sources of protein and vegetables should be the foundation of your diet. Protein is important because it helps repair the body and it has a high thermic effect, meaning the energy used digesting the food is more than the calories the food provides, fibrous vegetables also have a high thermic effect. Foods that burn more calories than they provide are obviously excellent if you want to lose weight. You should eat vegetables with every meal, this will promote a good alkaline balance which is essential for general health. Limit fruit to one portion a day, although fruit is good for you, it is sugar and it will trigger insulin. If you want to be healthy and lose weight, it is important you have high insulin sensitivity because insulin promotes fat storage and can lead to diabetes in the long term.
If you starve your body of fat, your body will cling onto fat stores because fat is essential, your body needs it to aid the absorption of minerals and vitamins. Eat small amounts of good fats with every meal.
Restrict your carb intake and only eat carbs when you know you will be active in the hours ahead. If you have an active day ahead, the best time to eat carbs is in the morning. If you know you will not be active, avoid carbs.
Chillies, spices, cider vinegar and green tea are good for speeding up your metabolism.
Sources of lean protein
Chicken, turkey, fish, lamb, pork, beef and eggs
Sources of good carbs
Sweet potato, squash, vegetables, plantain, yam, parsnips, chickpeas, lentils and beans
Sources of good fat
Fish, avocado, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, nuts
Eat small meals often to speed up your metabolism. Imagine your metabolism is a fire, if you throw a big log on the fire, it will burn out fast. If you feed the fire smaller pieces of wood consistently, the fire will burn strong.
Foods to avoid
For the vast majority of human existence, we did not eat grains, we did not have the machinery to process them, our bodies simply haven't evolved to consume grains and now the modern diet evolves around grains, it is causing big problems for our health. There are a number of reasons to avoid eating grains, i recommend you do some research and make an informed decision. Avoid processed sugars, fats and refined carbs.
Cardio
There are 2 main forms of cardio, low intensity and high intensity, both have their advatages and disadvantages. A low intensity cardio, such as, running, walking or cycling etc will burn less calories, the best time to do this form of cardio is in the morning when you are depleted of energy, it will force your body to tap into fat stores. High intensity cardio is shorter, more demanding and will raise your metabolism for hours after you finish the exercise. Use both forms of cardio throughout the week and do at least 4 cardio workouts. I recommend using something cheap like Timex Men's Ironman 100-Lap Watch to keep track of your progress when performing the cardio exercises. It's one of the most popular, cheap sports watches and will last you a life time! I've had mine now for just over 2 years.
Goal setting
Setting short and long term goals will help motivate you and give you something to aim for. You should aim to lose 2lbs a week and your long term goal could be to lose 20lbs in 10 weeks.
Measuring progress
You can measure your progress by taking photos every month and keeping a weight loss journal.
Cheat meals
Scheduled cheat meals can stop your cravings for bad foods and keep you in control of these cravings. You can look forward to eating whatever you want once a week, but just ONCE a week. If you think you have the willpower to control your cravings then you could schedule your cheat meal once every two weeks.
Summary
I have explained how you can reduce fat fast and be healthy for life. Once it becomes your lifestyle, you will feel and look better than ever.
