20 Days to Lose Weight Fast and Easy (Day 1)

Today, we are dedicated to providing individuals with the best 100 weight loss tips in the ShapeFit’s Amazing Weight Loss Tips eBook. We have compiled the top 100 fat burning tips in this eBook to help you succeed on your weight loss program. We hope you enjoy this information and we wish you all the best to get fit and live a healthy lifestyle! Thank to shapefit.com for this amazing eBook.

1. Don’t cut too many calories

Avoid drastically cutting your calories. Quick and drastic weight loss can cause issues with your body’s metabolism and muscle mass. When you lose a lot of weight quickly, you really need to strictly monitor where the weight is coming from. Is it water weight, body fat or muscle mass? The majority of the time, it unfortunately comes from lean muscle mass and this is exactly what causes serious issues with your metabolism. Muscle is your body’s most potent and active tissue for burning calories and body fat. It’s basically your body’s “furnace” and you always want to keep it burning hot. When someone loses a lot of weight, which usually comes from crash dieting or some other unhealthy way of dropping the weight, the body’s lean muscle mass is cannibalized and the person loses some of the most powerful tissue for keeping a lean body.

The worst thing is when the person finally decides to get off their diet and they go back to their unhealthy eating habits. The calories go back up, but since their BMR (basal metabolic rate) is lowered and they have lost muscle mass, they end up packing on the body fat very quickly! Have you ever heard of the term “yo-yo” dieting? This is one of the main reasons why so many people have issues and hard times with their weight loss plans.

2. Increase your water intake

Drinking water is one of the most important aspects to losing weight. Our bodies are over 70% water and it needs a large amount of this liquid to maintain its daily functions. Water helps to flush our systems and remove harmful toxins. When you don’t drink enough water, your body actually holds onto the water is has which in turn, leaves you bloated. In order to release the water, you need to consume enough of it throughout the day. Water is also a great no-calorie source to fill up your stomach which helps keep you feeling fuller. Try drinking ice cold water to actually burn more calories. Your body needs to heat up the ice cold water and it uses energy (calories) to do so. This is what’s called the “thermogenic effect”. You can burn an additional 100 calories a day by drinking one gallon of ice cold water. Over the course of month, this equates to almost 1 pound of weight and 12 pounds of weight loss per year!

3. Don’t forget your protein

Make sure to include a lean protein source at every meal. Shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. By eating enough protein, you will keep your nitrogen levels high which supports muscular repair and growth. Protein has a thermogenic effect of 30% which makes it the highest thermogenic food compared to all other nutrients. This means that for every 100 calories of protein you eat, 30 calories are burned by your body to digest the food leaving you with a net 70 calories. Here are a few quick and healthy protein packed snacks:

- Black beans and albacore tuna (water packed)
(Mix a can of each and microwave.)

- Protein powder and non-fat cottage cheese
(Mix a scoop of protein with a cup of cottage cheese.)

- Protein bars
(Choose one with at least 20 grams of protein, a maximum of 5 grams of sugar and 300 calories. Throw a box in the freezer and they will make a great snack. They’re really good for hitting that sweet tooth late at night.)

- GeniSoy Soy Crisps
(The perfect richly seasoned, low-fat baked alternative to traditional high-fat chips. Each serving contains a unique blend of soy and rice offering 7 grams of soy protein and a surprisingly low 2 grams of fat.)

4. Build lean muscle mass

Strength training builds lean muscle mass. By adding muscle you will be adding the most potent fat burning tissue to your body. Muscle tissue is the most metabolically active tissue in your body, so make sure to build as much as possible. Studies have estimated that for each pound of muscle you add to your body, you burn an additional 35 to 50 calories per day. So, an extra 10 pounds of muscle will burn approximately 350 to 500 calories per day, or an extra pound of fat every 7 to 10 days. This is without making any other changes! In another study, researchers found that regular weight training boosts basal metabolic rate by about 15%.

5.  Eat smaller meals more often

By eating small nutritious meals, you will increase your metabolism and keep yourself full throughout the entire day. It will also amp up your energy and keep your insulin levels constant. Ideally, you should eat 5 to 6 times per day, with about 3 hours between each meal. Imagine yourself grazing versus hoarding. You want to graze on small amounts of foods several times instead of hoarding on large amounts of foods a few times a day. If you wait too long between meals, you will have the tendency to binge and consume far too many calories since you will be extremely hungry.

You are reading part 1 of the ShapeFit’s Amazing Weight Loss Tips eBook.