As another new year is on the horizon, some of you would be happy to have achieved all your current year goals and resolutions, while some of you wouldn’t even remember what your resolution was. Whatever your situation may be, this is clear that just by making a new-year’s resolution, you can’t achieve it. Then what else do you need? Discipline. I’m not saying that you should have an “after photo” in your mind, I’m just asking you to have a plan to make that “after photo” possible. And the best plan to do something like losing fat isn’t some 4-week or 8-week magic diet plan which you see on the internet. The best plan to lose fat is to change your habits, gradually, which will change your overall lifestyle and you would be able to achieve your goal.
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1.Strength Training Is A Must To Lose Fat
Just cardio isn’t going to help you a lot if your plan to lose fat, strength training for at least 3 days per week is mandatory to retain those lean muscles and give your body that defined look. You don’t have to go all crazy over weights, unless your aim is to gain muscles, but just try to develop a habit to lift.
The more muscle mass you have, the more calories your body is going to burn to keep them functioning, means – more fat loss.
The easiest place to start is to go for full body workout on 3 non-consecutive days. Or, you can split the workout into upper-body, lower-body and core. There are a whole bunch of workout plans out there, choose the one that suits you best.
2. Off Days Aren’t Rest Days
In the above point I told you that just cardio isn’t going to help you much in fat loss, that doesn’t mean it’s not going to help at all. On the days when you don’t strength train – “off-days”, you must include cardio in your daily routine. You can go for long walk or cycling, hiking and jogging can also be considered, or you can just go to the gym and hop on your favorite cardio machine for 40-45 minutes. Just make sure that you enjoy that physical activity or it would become tough to keep it up as the time goes on.
3. Eat A lot Of Fruits And Vegetables
If your aim is to lose fat, fruits and vegetables are your best friends. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables throughout the day which will make you feel fuller for a longer period of time and you won’t be tempted to eat junk. Fruits and vegetables have high-fiber and are packed with vitamins and minerals which are necessary for the body, and they don’t carry a lot of calories hence aren’t bad for your fat-loss goal. The best way to consume fruits and vegetables is to have different types of salads. Just don’t go crazy with the dressings.
4. Protein Is The Most Important Macronutrient For You
A golden rule for fat loss is to consume the required quantity of protein everyday. That quantity depends upon your daily activity level and ranges between 0.5 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of lean body weight. Your body needs protein to build and maintain muscle mass, and you already know that more muscle mass means less fat, so try to consume protein with every meal and snack to achieve your daily required quantity.
Whey protein is the easiest source of 25-30 grams of protein in one serving, but that doesn’t mean you just have to rely on that. You must include other protein rich whole foods also in your diet like eggs, chicken, fish, meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds etc.
So, did you like the new habits? They’re pretty simple and easy to follow, right? Well, habits take some time to develop, so yeah, for that period it’s going to be difficult and you’d have to push yourself through. But, once these habits become a part of your daily life, you’d see how your whole lifestyle and overall health changes, for good. Make sure that this new year is the year that you turned your life around.