Hot girl summer starts in October. Now is a good time to check back in on your body goals. Here's some tips for those looking to shed a few pounds by the summer...
ᴿᴹ Know your BMI and target weight
When wanting to lose weight, it's important to know what your current BMI is and then identify your target weight. A healthy BMI range is from 20-25; anything less than this is considered underweight and anything over is overweight. A BMI of over 30 is classed as obese. This is a guideline of a good weight. Anything less or over the recommended BMI range can have adverse effects on your health. If you feel you are severely underweight or severely overweight, speak to your GP as suddenly changes to your lifestyle can have some serious consequences and these needs to be monitored.
ᴿᴹ Monitor movement levels
Losing weight is about having a calorie deficit. Get a step counter or even use your phone (assuming it's in your pocket all day) to gage how much movement you're getting in a day. Ideally, you should be getting about 10,000 steps in per day. However, this isn't always a realistic figure for people to achieve. By getting a step count, you can see how far off you are from reaching the 10,000 number and think of ways of increasing this. For instance, you could park further away, or if you take public transport, you could get off and on a stop away from where you usually would.
ᴿᴹ Get a balanced diet
In weight loss, a balance diet is more important than daily exercise as you cannot work off a bad diet. Don't overwhelm yourself by changing your diet entirely. Instead, slowly integrate healthier options. Keep a check on labels and avoid anything that has a high calorie count. As a rule of thumb, you should aim for natural, unprocessed food as much as you possibly can. So, instead of having fries, have an apple.
ᴿᴹ Regular exercise
Exercise is a great way to use up energy and burn calories, which is what you need to do get get into calorie deficit. If you think exercise is boring, perhaps, you haven't found the type of exercise that is right for you.
ᴿᴹ Drink more water
There are some studies that suggest increasing your water intake can be useful in weight loss as it helps boost the metabolic rate; metabolism occurs in the presence of water. Water also helps in food digestion, another reason why more calories are burnt when consuming water.
ᴿᴹ Chart your progress
Chart your progress. Initially start by keeping a record of every day you worked out, how much water you are drinking and the types of food you are consuming. Even if there is no visual changes to your appearance, it is helpful to see how much you are doing. Keeping a record gives you confidence and pride and it is far more likely that you will continue with your weight loss journey when you track your progress. And as you start to see the weight come off, start charting your weight.
Comments