4. Replaced Refined Carbs with Fruit and Vegetables
Most people wildly underestimate the quantity of refined carbs in their diet – everything from bread, cereal, to packaged foods contain carbs that spike insulin and turn into sugar in the blood stream, any excess will rapidly be converted into fat. Don’t eliminate carbs that are unsustainable, instead replace these foods with fruit, vegetables, and grains that provide a steady insulin response as well as nutrients that increase insulin sensitivity. Fruit and vegetables also contain fiber, which helps you feel fuller for longer and slows digestion. A note with regard to fruit, especially in Egypt we love our fruit – and it is healthy so we can eat as much as we like right? Wrong, portion control is important as fruits do have more sugar than vegetables so eat them in moderation and after working out.
5. Train the Big Three
Even Britney told us: if you want a hot body you better work work! These classic multi-joint lifts like squats, deadlifts, and pull-ups are hard work, but by including them in your workout they’ll help you build a strong lower back and tighten your midsection. They also place more emphasis on the hip and thighs, which is the last place women tend to lose fat due to the higher percentage of alphareceptors that hinder fat loss.
1. Train for Muscle
Align your goal to the type of training you do, if you’d like to be leaner and have a tighter midsection, lift weights. Lifting weights is more metabolically stressful so your body burns a much larger amount of calories post workout. In addition to this, you’ll activate the production of hormones that burn fat and quash your appetite. Ever noticed how cardio makes you hungry, whereas weight training doesn’t?
2. Don’t Slash Calories
One of the worst fitness myths is that in order for a woman to lose weight she needs to starve herself. In order to preserve fuel stores, you’ll burn less calories every day and heaven forbid you should fall of the wagon and binge. A good rule of thumb is never eat less than your BMR – base metabolic rate. The amount of calories your body burns at complete rest. I would also recommend that you disregard calories as your main fat loss tool. Low
6. A little Cardio Goes a Long Way calorie diets are stressful and stress is a key factor in weight gain and binging. Instead, opt for a more sustainable approach. Many people find that higher protein and lower carb diets allow them to naturally eat less as the protein leads to a better release of hunger reducing hormones.
3. Don’t Be Afraid of Fat
Low fat diets are problematic for women; the reason for this is twofold, firstly when they eliminate fat they eat more carbs – leading to unstable blood sugar levels and increased levels of insulin. Secondly an inadequate intake of dietary fat contributes to hormone imbalances – cholesterol is the building block of hormones. Women who have a higher intake of dietary fat have been shown to be leaner. Think of average U.S. diet versus Japanese (which is rich in dietary fats from a high fish intake) and you’ll find despite the considerably higher intake of dietary fats, the Japanese women are on average far leaner.
The key word here is a ‘little’ if you are doing more than 30 minutes of HIIT or 45 minutes of steady state cardio you may be decreasing your chances of being lean. Too much cardio is catabolic – the longer you work out the higher your energy needs and cortisol causing muscle tissue to break down thereby lowers your metabolism. (Exactly the same process occurs when you starve yourself.) Strength training, nutrition, and cardio are the building blocks of athletic performance, but the key is the finite balance – don’t diet too obsessively or do excessive amounts of cardio; each of these elements should be mutually beneficial. When you are lean, you will feel more confident about your body. It takes good nutrition, self-discipline, and a good workout program, just give it a few weeks and you’ll be stronger, fitter, and have an improved self-image – sounds worth giving it a try. March 2016 | 21