Nowadays, almost every single person struggles to maintain a proper weight and has issues with excess pounds. Namely, it is not that easy to be in shape even if you regularly exercise or a physically active, mostly due to our changed diet which is based on unhealthy and fast foods.
Even more alarming is the fact that a growing number of children are obese, some of them even born thus. For instance, there are certain communities in India where 40% of the population is overweight. What’s more, according to statistics, it is predicted that half of the world’s population will have weight issues soon.
Moreover, obesity leads to numerous other health problems, including an increased risk of diabetes, cardiac problems, high blood pressure, thyroid problems, digestive disorders, gout, ulcers, as well as physical and psychological stress.
However, obese people eat more than their body needs. Namely, it has been shown that 1/3 of all the people in the world population eats 50% more food than they actually need. Apparently, if all people consume just the amount of food they really need, we can easily solve the problems with the shortage of water and food.
It is far from difficult to gain weight. In most cases, we become aware of it when it is too late. However, the leading causes of extra pounds are the following:
Unhealthy diet– The larger part of the food we eat are either fast foods or full of chemicals, sugar and other dangerous substances. We regularly consume bread, pastries, flour, bakes, fried foods, sugary desserts, processed, packaged foods, and drink unhealthy beverages like soft drinks.
No physical activity- The modern lifestyle is generally based on sitting, as we use machines for almost every single action during the day. We sit in front of computers for many hours, we have no time to walk in the park, or go to the gym. Moreover, almost all of us drive their own car, or catch a taxi, but we almost never walk.
Unhealthy lifestyle – insomnia, sleeping late, unpredictable working time, insomnia, etc.
Yet, people are often unaware whether they need to lose some weight or not. However, if you can notice that you have visible extra weight and do not feel comfortable anymore, you should implement some changes in your lifestyle.
You can check whether you are overweight or not with the help of the waist-to-hip (WTH) ratio and the fat percentage. These are established measuring procedures that will provide correct results.
In women, 25% and 2.3 % increase can be tolerated, but you should be cautious in case you have been 22% and you are 25% now. Moreover, you may be easily confused by checking lean body mass or BMI, so avoid doing it.
However, the simplest and best way to learn if you have gained weight is with the help of the clothes. If they are getting smaller and smaller, it is an alarming sign that you should do something for your body.
Also, people will often notice if you have excess pounds. Another sign that you are gaining weight is that you feel hungry even though you have just eaten.
Therefore, we will suggest you an effective weight loss diet plan which includes simple, but efficient tips to help you lose excess weight fast:
Weight loss diet plan
At the beginning of the process of weight loss, you need to have a diet plan that will lead you in the entire period. You can easily find some popular diet plans, or you can follow these ones:
- Your day should start and end with a glass of lukewarm water;
- Stop drinking water during and after your meals;
- You should not eat after 8 PM, but if you feel hungry, you can have a glass of milk or some fruit.
- Eat a bit less food that you need, as your meals should be small enough in order to keep you full for 3,4 hours only.
- You can try following a liquid diet, which involves milk and various kinds of soups. 25-30% of the meals should be liquid.
- Avoid the consumption of junk food as they are high in preservatives and chemicals. These foods include pizza, sweets, fried foods, canned food, hot-dog, processed foods pastries.
- The best alternative is to eat lightly cooked vegetarian food;
- Reduce the intake of tea, soft drinks, canned juice, coffee, and alcohol
- You should not have more than 4 snacks a day. Yet, some healthy variants for a snack are a salad, smoothie, lime juice, or a piece of seasonal fruit.
- You should walk for 15 minutes before meals, four times during the day.
- Moreover, in order to keep your body in shape and accelerate the weight loss process, you should regularly do cardio exercises.
We will suggest seven of the most effective cardio exercises, for every day in the week:
- Kickboxing
This exercise will help you burn more than a hundred calories in less than 10minutes. Moreover, it requires no equipment and it will also calm down your spirit and reduce stress, which is often a major cause of gaining weight. Therefore, you should kick, punch, and combine these two, against a bag, or the air.
- Jogging in Place
This cardio exercise is simple, but it is an incredible way to warm you up for a more intense exercise. You should simply jog in a stationary position.
- Squat Jumps
This plyometric exercise will accelerate the heart rate, it will effectively burn calories and will strengthen your legs. So, from a squat position, you should try to jump as high as possible, and land back into the initial squat position.
- Jump Rope
This is an amazing cardio exercise, as it will burn 220 calories in less than 20 minutes. Moreover, you can buy a jump rope for a cheap price and you can exercise wherever you want. You should just turn the rope with handles repeatedly while you are jumping over it.
- Burpees
You should squat to the floor, jump the feet to a plank position, and then jump back in and standing up. This exercise is a fantastic one, as it will burn more than 100 calories in 10 minutes.
- Jumping Jacks
You should jump the feet wide repeatedly while circling the arms overhead, and back again. This exercise requires no special skills or equipment, and it will help you burn around 100 calories in 10 minutes.
- Mountain Climbers
Start from a pushup position, and run the knees in and out. This will accelerate your heart rate, but it will also provide body strength as well as endurance in the core.